neiln

£1500, that's the cut, split, seasoned and delivered to customer at 1m³ a time price.

I hadn't intended to get that hot, the speed of the rise took me by surprise! However I have read, and do practice, regular short excursions to high temps are good for keeping the flue clean. Judging by the 'tinkle Tinkle's sound I had, a fair bit of soot or cresote got dislodged and fell back into the stove, so it served some purpose. Anyway.... What price a warm and therefore happy other half

The need for good high temps for a clean burn is clear and although I am not a supporter of wet wood I'd like to point out that other things affect the burn rate and hence stove temp. My other half just said, ' Running the stove a bit low tonight? I'm cold.'. Glancing at the flue thermometer it read 180C and the firebox contents were coaling hardwood. I opened all 3 air inlets and looked at the Fireside log store, then selected 2 short and middling diameter soft wood splits. 3 mins later the flue thermometer reads 340C and judging by the nuclear inferno in the firebox, still climbing. Clearly soft woods burn hot, and small splits burn hot too.

Just to add, the tertiary air on my stove ( secondary as stovax call it) is adjustable although I've worked out in never shuts completely. The Defra smoke control kit though, consists of an alternative air wash lever, which ensures the airwash is always part open and the user can't slumber the stove. I'm slightly surprised the smoke control kit doesnt instead ensure the secondary air remains open further.

Yes I know, my stovax has primary, airwash and then what it calls secondary, the heated air that enters the top of the fire box and should ignite the smoke. US stoves meeting current EPA regs can be tube/air feed secondary but a good proportion use a catalytic matrix. Just like the cat in a car exhaust, it triggers the burn of the polutants at a low temp. I think the big advantage those stoves have is very long burn times, as the primary air can be turned right down, giving a slumber, yet the cat ensures a clean burn.

Thinking about how 'better/cleaner' burning could be encouraged or enforced, while making sale of better performing stoves is possible and will help in time, I can't see how wood MC can be enforced nor burning practice, and those later 2 have a big affect. Ok stoves can and are made to prevent no less than a minimum air supply already if Defra approved but that only tackles slumbering. Perhaps it should be a compulsory part of Part J to fit a stove flue thermometer of some kind? The visual guide to good burning would help, but not cure bad practice.

I've been reading stuff on hearth. Com and arborists it's so picked up a few things the Us do. I guess having alot of rural communities they have a lot of wood burners, and their EPA regs seem tight, and are due to get tighter. They have a lot of catalytic stoves, where the cat does the secondary burn. I believe they specify <16% MC for wood. I suspect that is largely to ensure the cat 'lights off' in hot smoke even when the primary air is down low and the primary burn is just a smolder, but it does show the technology trend and the need for dry wood for it to work.

That makes sense to me, a good explanation of something I'd been wondering. However, if the user is content to have a fast and hot burn, and opens the air sufficiently, it should burn clean.

Go ahead.

I've read that too dry wood creates smoke before, but the reason given was weak. The reason is, very dry wood burns quickly so users often restrict the air to the stove too much in an attempt to slow the burn. So the faulty logic, very dry wood = slumbering=smoke therefore dry wood = smoke. What tosh. Like much of that article I fear.

We do need them and outside the house I leave them alone when possible, but inside, with a 16 months old girl about, I'm taking no chances. Annoyingly my wasp count is now at 13 for the season, 12 since Christmas! I've seen my local wood pecker actually inside my old garden shed, where the wood is, he must be gorged and fat on wasp, or blind. Do some wood types attract wasps more than others? Been bringing in holly, laurel, leylandii and a bit of Oak.

I've had 6 wasps in my wood stack so far this winter, 5 since Christmas, 3 in one single split! That split went straight from pile to stove, but i turned around to be dive bombed by another wasp. There's a lot about still.

I just had a thought, do some people want short logs to load stove 'north/south'? Lots of smaller logs will burn hotter than one or two longer ones.

I've read elsewhere that kiln dried can have less heat/ energy. The theory was that the kiln drying would, as well as driving off the moisture, drive off some of the VOCs in the wood, therefore losing some of the energy and some of the stuff they burns hottest. I guess this will depend on the kiln, temperatures and drying times, but could happen a bit. I know I burned some 3x3 planned kiln dried timber off cuts the other day, which burnt but burnt slow and seemed to flame very little and coal very quickly, maybe these offcuts had very little VOCs left after drying.

I thought they were all a bit tosh unless it has adjustment for wood type and temperature?

aren't wasp numbers supposed to be dropping substantially? Similar to the worrying decline in bees.

sandspider, I've no expereince with a stockton 8, but have just installed a stockton 5. Its only had about 30 hours burning so far so I've lots to learn but so far I'm pleased. Its installed on a 5" flexible flue liner in an 8m chimney and draw seems very good. It seems fairly controllable although I wish i could shut it down a little more. I'm in London so have fitted the smoke control kit, this limits how much the airwash can shut. With primary shut, airwash as shut as it goes, secondary all but shut or completely shut it still has flames dancing moderately vigorously....I think it could be shut down more and still not be smoldering. I'm burning largely softwood currently, seasoned by myself for minimum of 15 months, so properly dry i think (feels it, sounds it, but not had a meter on it). Softwood burns away fairly fast but it is big enough to take a decent sized piece which can last up to an hour maybe, definitely 45 mins. It seems quite big capacity for a 5kw to me, but I only have my parents franco belge belfort (4.5kw) to compare to, its able to take much larger logs and can put heat out much more and more quickly than that. I guess the steel construction vs cast iron of the belfort helps there, and it can be radiating warmth within just a few minutes. Heat wise time will tell, its only just turning colder after all, but I don't think I'd want bigger here. I was sweating in 26C the other day with it lit as i was learning to load it more sparsely! I've a roughly 14' square lounge which is open plan onto a roughly 8' square study and a 13' square dinning room (the 3 rooms make an L-shape, stove is in the lounge which is sort of the corner of the L). I've had the doors wide open to let heat round the rest of the house and i've felt the warmth making it upstairs to the furthest bedroom.....that may change when the weather isn't so mild though. Easy to light, i find leaving the door open a crack gives a massive draw and aids lighting. Doesn't seem to produce much ash so far, only emptied the ashpan once after about 24 hours of burning, but this will depend on the wood burnt as much as the stove i guess. Glass seems to stay clean well, after 30 hours the right hand side has a slight sheen of ashy deposits but is nothing more than a tint, left side is clear (I understand the airwash shuts the right side more than the left for some reason....or maybe its the smoke control kit keeps the left open more). So far I'm happy with it, but obviously time will tell

My intent will be to cut a piece of tile for the decorative hearth that I can sit over the metal vent and largely block it off if I think it causes more cold draughts than it cures. if necessary i'd adhesive and grout it in permanently. Time will tell. stove was lit for the first time yesterday and worked great but it wasn't that cold outside so will see how it goes over the next few months I'll try to remember to let you know how how i get on

Correct, for my stove I haven't got a direct connection to the stove but the air vent beneath it should, I hope, ensure I DON'T get cold feet or cold something else from a draught. With a stove drawing air from the room the room air needs replenishing, its got to come from somewhere. That air comes from leaks in the building fabric either accidental round windows and such, or intentional from air bricks and trickle vents, and because it come from outside it will be noticeably colder. If you are putting vents/airbricks in intentionally you can think about where to site them and try to avoid a cold draught across the room, a cold draught past where you may be sat. That's all I've done, by putting the vent under the back of the stove I hope the cold air being drawn into the room won't be causing an uncomfortable draught past me or anyone else sat in the room. Not as good as an outside air kit hooked directly to a stove, but hopefully better than something causing a cold draught across the back of my neck.

really? oo-er. the Turkey oak in my own garden had quite different leaves, less deeply lobed than a native English Oak so I thoght this park tree was something more unusual. Live and learn. Cheers.

Back last weekend and snapped these pics of the leaves and the tree. Tree is pretty sizeable, trunk about 2'6" DBH I'd estimate. leaves are not only deeply lobed but also very large, biggest maybe 6 or more inches long that tree is at the bottom of the park, you can see the River Dee behind, but there are other similar trees in the park

I did this, chiselled a channel across the constructional hearth roughly brick sized (200x75mm), with a ledge chiselled out slightly wider then put a double thickness of offcuts of floor tile stuck down over the top metl vent/grill right at the back. Decorative hearth will cover the lot

I'm putting a stove in currently so have been reading Part J and my understanding is a vent pulling from under a suspended floor is fine. Its what I've done too....so I'll be peeved if building control have an issue. I don't 'need' it, its a stovax stockton 5, a 5kw stove, but i know a vent is good practice and a vent to directly by the stove, even if not connected to an OAK (outside air kit) means cold draughts across the room from some other leak/source of air are much less likely. so not only does the stove burn properly, the room is more comfy. the 5kw cut off is a farce. that figure doesn't come from any tests and oddly enough its why lots of stoves that have a large firebox and can run at much higher power are rated to a nominal 5kw, as consumers like it, it avoid the part j necessity for a vent. a vent is good practice though. the sensible bit is the smoke chimney draw test....does it draw well? only trouble is alot of iffy installs could probably pass that test on a good day...a smoke pellet is perhaps not a great measure of draw but then its about the best practical test i guess. my own house is probably a typical 1930s build, fairly leaky but changed over the years....originally with fireplaces in most rooms for coal fires, and air bricks in all rooms, but previous owners blocked up the fireplaces and put in central heating, then blocked up the draughty airbricks. then you get more damp/condensation. you install double glazing to cut down more draughts but get more condensation...you install bathroom and kitchen extractors to pull moisture out the house and prevent condensation. then i come along and want a stove....so i need to and have opened an air vent, added another vent in the back of the hearth from under the floor too. I do a chimney draw test and it passes but being belt and braces and having read part J i know to redo it with doors to extractor fans open and those fans running. i got it to pass that test too but not so easily...i had to warm the flue with a blow torch for 2 mins or else the kitchen extractor caused a reverse of flow and the smoke from the pellet came out the stove vent and filled the lounge. so although that test passes with a warm flue i'm also going to add another air vent in the kitchen wall to help the kitchen get its fresh air....I know from when i recently installed the kitchen that previous owners had blocked up 3 airbricks in the kitchen so putting one back is not going to be a bad thing....even though the kithcen doesn't have the range the house had when biult (so one should be enough i hope, not 3) what i'm saying is, stoves need air and if you think it through carefully you can ensure they get it, in all circumstances, and in a way that doesn't cause cold draughts and comfort issues. I guess a good HETAS installer will know that...a good one.

Detailing is about restoring paint, trim, glass etc to perfect showroom condition, getting a high shine, and protecting the finish with waxes and sealants. Certain things can do damage to either the finish/shine, the paint or the waxes/sealants. caw dust landing on a car won't harm it so long as its properly washed off (no gritty sponges please!) 2 stroke oil and chain oil will leave an oily residue and damage the shine, but a decent car shampoo will remove it. The oily residue might strip a sealant off, but i doubt it. A dull detail (wash, de-tar, de-iron, clay, light polish to correct paint swirls, and application of a sealant) on a large car or a van is 2 days work and costs a couple of hundred or more. A half detail, the VERY most this van needs (all the above, but not paint polish) would be less. TBH, a wash and a top up with a quick detailer/spray on sealant would be all the van needs, £20 is a fair price for that done properly.

Thanks Peasgood and EdC, yes of course that makes complete sense, its a Victorian ornamental park and the Victorians were great explorers and seedhunters weren't they. The tree I thought the leaf was from was certainly a massive Oak, and dating from victorian times would fit I guess. I'm not in Chester at the moment but will be back in a couple of weekends...and I'm sure I'll be in the park to feed the ducks and play on the swings with my 1yo daughter so I'll try and get a photo of another leaf or 2 and the tree. I'd googled and would say the leaf labelled white oak in this diagram is very much what i saw https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/384917099373134103/