Rob_the_Sparky

Your first problem will be the Ready to Burn scheme. I do not know the details (I'm not a trader) but I do know that to be formally within the rules you have to give them money to sell logs (neatly stitched up) or you can only sell them 2 cube at a time and marked as not ready to burn (regardless whether they are or not). With regards what is good wood - that depends more on your market than what is good wood to burn in a wood burner. Different woods burn differently and the market may well want hardwood but softwoods dry faster and burn faster. Same energy weight for weight but less dense. The best is a good mix of denser and lighter wood but what the market wants?

Easy answer to that is no. The thermal mass of the insulated flue is minimal so it takes very little energy to warm it up but equally it gets cold more quickly as well. Not sure there is a simple better or worse here.

I was also thinking same amount of wood in one big piece versus two smaller ones but again didn't say that either! I.e. put just one big lump on rather than two smaller ones...

Because I'm crap sometimes

Note: one fan, 2 fans, large fans, small fans. Ultimately they are all powered from the same thing (never seen on with two of the power sources - peltiers?) so provide the same amount of power to the fans. I.e. 2 fans is not equal to twice as much air...

For the fast burning woods, try leaving it in bigger chunks when you split it. That way there is less surface area so it burns more slowly. I.e. lasts longer and does not get so stupid hot.

Contact your local companies. The tip site is aimed at people operating outside their normal areas so they do not have to drive all the way back to base to dump the load. Local companies are likely to have local contacts so best to contact them directly.

I use stove top fans but that is because the burner is in a space that is smaller than I'd prefer, I doubt it would make much difference if the stove was out in the open so convection can move the air nice and easily. As for robing power, not really. Yes they use some heat to turn the fan but that air movement ultimately returns as heat anyway so they truly are free to use. In most cases inefficiency is seen as unwanted heat produced by the device in question (e.g. a light bulb) but when you are trying to heat a room then this is not the case. That waste heat is actually useful energy!

That isn't how solvents work, you are merely putting a material into solution, not reacting with it to change it into a different substance. Having said that there is a lot more than just octane, heptane, etc in petrol now so you may be right about it being a bad idea (back in the day my Dad added parafin to Diesel in winter for an old '68 landy, I guess that is similar to kerosene?)

TBH I don't see what is so hard about lighting a fire that makes folks so desperate to keep fires in overnight. Yes smouldering a fire will keep it in but with wood on the fire it will also lead to flammable deposits in the chimney so why do it? It also seems to vary from wood burner to wood burner. My father had an 8kW Clearview in his previous houses and that (I guess due to the larger fire box?) would burn longer than the 5kW ones we both now have. Without smouldering, a large hardwood log on the fire will result in hot embers in the ash in the morning if put on late and getting up early but generally I can't be bothered. Just light it first thing with a still not cold fire/chimney...

See all the other threads on teh subject: stock answer, get yourself on teh tip site + contact locals. Make it worth while for the people dropping logs and you may get a good reaction, asking for free stuff may not go down so well, although if you are lucky it may happen but depends on circumstances. Has to be worthwhile for both parties.

Get yourself on the tipsite and maybe contact traders locally.

Quote from the BBC: "Restrictions on the use of wood burners and open fires in homes and businesses will be introduced for the whole of Reading borough from the start of December." You look at the Reading council pages ( " What you can burn if you live inside a SCA For residents In a smoke control area you can only burn fuel on the list of authorised fuels, or any of the following ‘smokeless’ fuels, unless you’re using a Defra approved appliance: anthracite semi-anthracite gas low volatile steam coal Unauthorised fuels, such as wood must be properly seasoned, and can only be burned in exempt appliances. When purchasing wood, look for the ‘Ready to Burn’ logo as a guarantee of good quality dry wood." You look at that list of exempt appliances and and it is huge and includes MANY MANY wood burners (for England at least, different lists for Ireland, Wales and Scotland) so in fact the limitation on burning wood in these areas in a woodburner (or multifuel burner) is not really applicable to a lot of woodburners despite the slightly scary headlines. Links: Wood burners: Smoke fines to be introduced to Reading in December WWW.BBC.CO.UK Reading Borough Council say fines for breaching the restrictions would be between £175 and £300. Smoke Control Areas - Reading Borough Council WWW.READING.GOV.UK Reading Borough Council

so you got a second hand high quality stove that was a bit rough. Old design but it was quality at the time. Different from getting a rough second hand stove that was not high quality when new. Good points made above about installation though and each to their own IMHO but you need to know what you might hit to make an informed decision. If I were looking second hand I'd want to know it was a quality stove when it was new...

Putin will not risk looking weak domestically, you can hide a huge amount from your population but withdrawing after suffering huge losses for no gain, even in Putin's Russia, would not go down well. Hence. I see no likelihood of him withdrawing anytime soon.