Conversion to multi fuel

[Alycidon]

What are you intending to burn ?

 

House coal was banned from sale in volumes of under 2 tonnes last year.

 

Most smokeless fuels have either been banned or had their formulations changed to bring the sulphur emissions below the Eco Design 2022 requirements.  Solid fuel dealers are allowed to continue to sell stock they bought in before 31st Dec 21.

 

Anthracite ( natural smokeless coal) will continue to be available but is hard to light,  does not burn well in a stove due to restricted oxygen supplies but goes 4 hours plus between re fuels.

 

Solid fuels such as anthracite burn from the bottom upwards,  they are usually burnt on the grate to allow the oxygen to get under the fire,  these fuels burn from the bottom up and need a lot more oxygen than wood which burns from the top down.

 

i would suggest you have a look under your existing grate for any air inlets below the grate,  this will usually be on the rear of the firebox.     No air inlets then you are wasting your time.  Vac the ash out and then see what you have.

 

A

[Cath11]

44 minutes ago, Alycidon said:

What are you intending to burn ?

 

House coal was banned from sale in volumes of under 2 tonnes last year.

 

Most smokeless fuels have either been banned or had their formulations changed to bring the sulphur emissions below the Eco Design 2022 requirements.  Solid fuel dealers are allowed to continue to sell stock they bought in before 31st Dec 21.

 

Anthracite ( natural smokeless coal) will continue to be available but is hard to light,  does not burn well in a stove due to restricted oxygen supplies but goes 4 hours plus between re fuels.

 

Solid fuels such as anthracite burn from the bottom upwards,  they are usually burnt on the grate to allow the oxygen to get under the fire,  these fuels burn from the bottom up and need a lot more oxygen than wood which burns from the top down.

 

i would suggest you have a look under your existing grate for any air inlets below the grate,  this will usually be on the rear of the firebox.     No air inlets then you are wasting your time.  Vac the ash out and then see what you have.

 

A

Hi, my fire has a riddler in the grate, an ash pan and air inlets beneath the grate. My manual says I can burn brown coal briquettes in the fire but it was sold to me as a Woodburner.  I wanted to burn smokeless fuel, something that will last a bit longer than logs .. something I can leave in overnight to keep the house warm. I have no idea what brown coal is. I thought if I replaced the grate with the part for the multifuel then I would be able to burn the smokeless fuel.  I will not be able to afford to run the gas central heating next winter so I’m trying to get more use from the stove.

[Cath11]

1 hour ago, openspaceman said:

 

I have never seen brown coal briquettes but brown coal is generally just one step on from peat and not a smokeless fuel. I think germany burns a lot in power stations.

Apparently they are these 

[Cath11]

1 hour ago, Paul in the woods said:

I was going to ask if running smokeless coal overnight would be any cheaper than gas, even after the gas price rises as I expect coal price rises as well.

 

I've recently had to use a few bags of smokeless brickets and they were terrible - didn't last long and didn't give out much heat. 

 

As it seems you don't have to change anything worth trying a bag of two before stocking up.

Yes you may be right. I used to leave my hearing on 15° and from midnight to 7am cost 90p, it’s now costing £1.76 and come October that will no doubt rise to £2.50 minimum. My daily fuel cost was around £5 a day in winter, I suspect that will be about £10 a day come October so if the burner can be left on most of the day it may work out cheaper.  The smokeless compacted coal dust is £23 for 50kg so I guess I could try that and see how it goes. Although I’m still not convinced I don’t have to change anything as it looks like the the brown coal briquettes are different to the compacted coal dust briquettes. Here is a pic of my grate and the multifuel grate. As mine has a rotating riddler, ash pan and air supply underneath is it likely to break the fire if I burn the smokeless fuel on low and keep an eye on the temperature?

[scbk]

Energy Cost Comparison – Nottingham Energy Partnership

NOTTENERGY.COM

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Visit the post for more.

 

[Cath11]

27 minutes ago, scbk said:

Energy Cost Comparison – Nottingham Energy Partnership

NOTTENERGY.COM

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Visit the post for more.

 

Thank you this was very useful, looks like it will definitely be cheaper to run the stove than the gas central heating come October! 

[Peasgood]

Lignite Briquettes - Heat Logs - Open Fires - Stoves - Coal Hut

COALHUT.COM

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Lignite burns with a long flame and has a greater heat and burn time than traditional logs. Perfect for open fires and...

From what you say, you can burn these. No idea if they are any good, I was just curious what brown coal/lignite was.

[Cath11]

12 hours ago, Peasgood said:

Lignite Briquettes - Heat Logs - Open Fires - Stoves - Coal Hut

COALHUT.COM

---

Lignite burns with a long flame and has a greater heat and burn time than traditional logs. Perfect for open fires and...

From what you say, you can burn these. No idea if they are any good, I was just curious what brown coal/lignite was.

Hi, yes I’m really not sure either. I’m quite confused to be honest as the manufacturer seems to think that I can burn smokeless fuel too although it doesn’t say that in my manual yet I have a riddler and an ash pan!

[scbk]

On 05/04/2022 at 18:50, Cath11 said:

Thank you this was very useful, looks like it will definitely be cheaper to run the stove than the gas central heating come October! 

See I would look at it the other way round, looking at that, mains gas is currently cheaper, the cost of smokeless will be going up, and you've got the hassle of having to carry it into the house and the ash out (with all the associated dust and mess!). Wood ash you might spread in the garden, don't think you would want to do that with smokeless. Never mind the environmental side of it.

Rather than spend money on the stove, insulation is a better investment, so you use less energy

[Dan Maynard]

My heating goes to 10C from 11pm to 6am, would be much cheaper to get a really good duvet than heat the house.

 

Trying not to sound like a Yorkshireman but I do remember when we had naff all heating upstairs as a kid.