Log Burner - Overnight burning

[fergusonforestry]

growing up we had a wellstood (like rayburn) it also did water/heating and 90% of the cooking was done on it too, good times wish i had one now!

[Brick100]

There is also a chance of carbon monoide poisoning from fuel that has not fully combusted.

I Don't fuel my wood burner after about 8 pm and when we leave the room for bed I leave all the vents open so there is a flow of air.

 

Have any members fitted air vents in their external walls to aid combustion ,!!!.

 

I have also fitted a carbon monoxide sensor just to be on the safe side.

[Stereo]

We have a CO alarm and save our very best dry lumps of ash for overnight in our Esse W23. I always make sure it's raging and everything is fuly up to temp before I shut it down. The worst thing you can do is to chunk in a couple of lumps of wet oak which will dry slowly over 4-5 hours on the embers and then explode into flame after coating everything with tar.

 

I wouldn't try to burn our Villager A Flat over night.

[Stereo]

We have a CO alarm and save our very best dry lumps of ash for overnight in our Esse W23. I always make sure it's raging and everything is fuly up to temp before I shut it down. The worst thing you can do is to chunk in a couple of lumps of wet oak which will dry slowly over 4-5 hours on the embers and then explode into flame after coating everything with tar.

 

I wouldn't try to burn our Villager A Flat over night.

[si36]

There is also a chance of carbon monoide poisoning from fuel that has not fully combusted.

I Don't fuel my wood burner after about 8 pm and when we leave the room for bed I leave all the vents open so there is a flow of air.

 

Have any members fitted air vents in their external walls to aid combustion ,!!!.

 

I have also fitted a carbon monoxide sensor just to be on the safe side.

 

My old house is so draughty it don't need air vents lol you can feel the cold air coming up through the floor boards towards the fire. But we do have carbon monoxide detectors in every room

[Sharkbait]

What your fitter should have said is that if you go for the higher grade of liner (914 stainless) you can use smokeless coal. It's only a little bit more - especially when the labour costs are taken into account - and it well worth it for longevity.

Liner not in yet. I asked him about the higher grade liner but he said it's not worth it as it's not performing any better than the standard liner.

He has nothing to gain from his advise as he's not supplying any hardware. The problem with smokeless coal is apparantley it's now being soaked in stuff to help bind it and this is attacking the liners - he had to replace one liner after just 3 years due to smokeless coal being used [a lot]].

[Craig Johnson]

Tricky when you're in a rented house - took enough to get them to approve the Rayburn installation (paid for itself in the first two winters by not having to buy oil).

 

Access to our loft space is a nightmare - the hot water cylinder is fairly tiny.

 

have a look around for a coffin tank:thumbup1:

[Alycidon]

A piece of wood contains so much energy, when you put it into the stove ( or open fire) the first thing that this energy does is to evaporate the remaining water. The remaining energy is then converted into heat, so the dryer the log the more heat comes from it.

 

All wood when it burns it gives off gases, these gases contain creosote. In shutting the stove down you are asking the stove to spread the heat release over maybe six hours instead on one hour. What happens when you close the oxygen supply to the stove is that there is no top air coming in, so black glass, the temperature after maybe a hour drops below the combustion point of the creosote, the creosote then gets into the chimney where it condenses and lines the chimney with tar. If you then have a max burn the next morning you may well set fire to that tar in the chimney.

 

So if burning overnight with wood fill stove with big bits, allow to get nice and hot and them close down maybe a third, no more. Your stove will still be warm in the morning and you may have some embers left to start the next days fire.

 

I would recommend using smokeless fuel or anthracite for overnight burning but be aware that:

 

A, the grate needs to be clearish of wood ash as these fuels burn from the bottom up and are regulated by the primary air supply bringing in air under the fire ( secondary air supply is fully open to keep glass clean. these fuels require more oxygen than wood)

 

B, Smokeless fuels are almost entirely imported, they have a very high sulpher content, when burnt under low oxygen the flue gases contain Sulphuric Acid which will attack 316 grade flue liner. A full power burn the next day will help get rid of them but for regular smokeless fuel use then 904 grade liner is a must. The warranty on most 316 grade liners only cover burning wood with occasional smokeless use.

 

Think I have covered most points, will add another post if not.

 

A

[Alycidon]

I have a stovax-Brunel. It has air vents in the door and underneath nr the ash pan. Which one should be open to burn wood?

I have always used the lower one and kept the top one shut

 

[ATTACH]103581[/ATTACH]

 

Pop in and see me and I will give you step by step instruction sheet that I write for all the stoves I sell.

 

For the rest of you:

 

A, Burning wood, set the fire on a bed of about 16-20mm of ash, this ash will protect the grate against the fire burning through it. To light, primary (lower) and secondary (upper) air supply full open, once fire is established close the LOWER air supply and regulate the stove using the upper (secondary ) air supply only. Let the ash level build up, wood burns from the top downwards.

 

B, Burning smokeless fuel or Anthracite ( natural smokeless coal). Set the fire on the grate which is reasonably clear of ash. Open primary and secondary air supplies fully. Once fire is established leave secondary (upper) air supply fully open, regulate fire using primary (lower) air supply. When refuelling move excess ash down into ash pan to allow oxygen direct access to the fire. These fuels require a lot more oxygen than wood.

 

C, Do not burn ordinary house coal in a stove, in burns very dirtily and can in low oxygen situations explode if the door is opened and a mass of oxygen allowed to enter the stove, the blast is called backdraft by firemen.

 

Hope that helps.

 

A

[Nick Watkins]

Thanks Alycidon, a good explanation no trickling it overnight for me anymore.