It's starting to get a bit cooler now and we had a log burner installed in May so it hasn't been used other than for a quick test run. Not firing it up just yet but we have plenty of wood at the ready and its 8kw so it should be good.

For those who have log burners, how do you rate them? Do they kick enough heat out to negate central heating in other rooms beside the lounge if doors are left open? LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Is yours purely a wood burner?? I have a multi fuel burner and once up to temperature we have to open up the doors to other rooms....it doesn't heat the whole house but certainly helps as the only other heat source we have is oil as we have no mains gas, you can't beat a stove in the winter.... Black FL2
L200 Warrior

To be fair it is a multi burner so we could throw some coal on for example but it would be less messy to stick with logs I dare say. We got a few of those easy burn logs free when we purchased, you just set fire to the packet that it comes in.

We have radiators in all rooms so could just turn off the lounge and turn the others to a lower setting. I guess it will be trial and error. Luckily we didn't need a liner in the chimney because our house was built in the late 30's and used to have a coal fire so the chimney is ready and a smoke test proved it  LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

It will be trial and error as to what works, outside conditions affect the burn too as it alters the air draw, I use coal on mine if I know I'm going to be at home for a while, but I can get this cheap as we don't live in a "smoke control area" , if I put coal on mine and close all the vents then it will last 7-8hrs through the night and then will re-light in the morning with some wood on top, coal is not messy at all as you don't need to touch the coal, I buy it in plastic bags and pour them straight into a coal bucket that is shaped to enable it to pour straight into the fire

Good luck with it, and sit back and enjoy those winter nights!  Black FL2
L200 Warrior

There is a few threads on Disco3 about log burners as they often bring up macho log chopping topics to see who has the biggest chopper

From browsing them, a few recommend a heat powered fan that sites on top of the burner and using some smart gizmo, the heat powers a motor which in turn powers the fan to blow the heat outwards Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

We use a log burner and would not be without it. Prime benefit,as we have free access to logs as my son was given some woodland by his grandfather, is that our oil bill for heating a large draughty 4 bedroom cottage is circa £1,000/annum . Heat output depends on the quality of the wood. You need to use WELL seasoned wood to make the most of it.

A word of warning - wood gives of considerably more tar than coal so over time this will accumulate in the chimney and eventually start to leach thru the brickwork. Look at the gable ends of some old cottages/houses and you often see the dark brown staining tracking the line of the chimney. I would advise a ceramic chimney liner and also Building Regs require a Carbon Monoxide alarm. Hope you have one as if not the installer was not up to the job.

Make sure the grate can be adopted for coal/coke. The air delivery requirements are different from that of wood viz coal needs air from below and wood needs air from above.

Good luck. MY 09 GS manual in Lago Grey, Wood Co arm rest and side bumper strips - now sold.

MY 15 SD4 SE Auto Orkney Grey with colour coded Bumper Door Mouldings

I had a multi fuel burner fitted during some major renovations about 4 years ago,best money ever spent,do not have access to "free wood" so burn one of the eco type logs (buy them of the internet cheaper than I can get them locally where they are made..!) plus the ash is good for the garden eco ,logs only ,mine is an 8kw output so very cosy..great for toast and lashings of welsh butter,toasted teacakes.during the winter and loads of snow when it is on constantly after about 4 days the thermal mass of the cottage is such that the central heating is off and hot water on for only 1 hour a day..oil bill cut by 2/3 !!!!!
plus all the old skills of making paper stick rings,chopping a plastic recycling bin full of sticks good exercise, no more giving the local council my waste paper,flyeres ect junk mail,for them to sell and make money on ,I now use to start my fire and if I get too much I have free heat for about 5 hours......
The only downside is that IT DOES make the paintwork dirtier( but Mrs M usually want,s change of colour every couple or 3years any way)

Biggest plus on a cold winter,s night everyone always wants to stand in front of it to warm their bum,
Biggest down side is any guest,s tend to linger, and my single malt seem,s to evaporate..!!!!!
My advice is If you can fit a multi-fuel,(you can burn virtually anything )
think about a split system hot water and a couple of rads, also one with a flat top great for pan, kettle ,coffee pot, and lastly a. bi- metal fan (wafts the warm air into the room (does make a difference )
agree totally with carbon monoxide alarm and chimney being lined and swept regularly.

 Wales
Were the mud is thicker, and the ruts are deeper.
(And we have the water to wash it off, and more on the way..! )
Sd4 and chrome Ar*e piece, Auto box for best fun
09 Xs Gone
12 xs Gone
HSE with Leather seats and 4 years warrenty.. staying for now !

Buy a proper log or wood pellet boiler, In about 6mths for the domestic RHI to be launched, the Govt will pay you several thousand £ per year for seven years, or better still link up to a granny flat , home office etc and get the commercial rate for 20 years. ( the boiler must heat at least two properties)

A mate of mine installed a big boiler, plumbed it to a neighbours house as well and the govt pay him to heat the neighbours house.


A boiler for my house will cost around 10k , qualifying for around £5k pa RHI .

Wood fuel is cheaper than oil but more expensive than town gas. At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

3rd winter coming up for out multi fuel burner , I use free wood sourced locally and split and stack the logs for the following year.
Sometimes the logs dry out earlier as they are in the sun for most of the day , just had 10 bags of smokeless del last week so am set for the winter as log store if full .
Ours is an Arada 5kw which is more than enough for our living room and we open door to stairs and kitchen to allow heat to circulate , still have the central heating on in the rest of the house where needed and turned down as appropriate but as said above its a bit of trial and error.
Some use an eco fan to circulate air as stated on a previous post , I may give one a try this winter .
I invested in a hydraulic log splitter and prefer that to swinging an axe, electric chainsaw for logging in the back garden .
Had the flue cleaned last year and have a mains carbon monoxide alarm installed , I cant honestly say whether my heating bills have reduced but the family enjoy the burner when in use .

before going for the first big burn, have a few small fires,

the paint on the logburner can let off a bit of a pong when first heated, so it helps to be able to open doors,

Had a multi fuel burner for years, I use coal more than wood as the coal gives a longer burn but the logs give out more heat.

I find that coal lasts longer and gives off more heat in mine, must depend in the wood Black FL2
L200 Warrior

I'm in the process of shopping around at the moment for a multi fuel burner - any recommendations on brands??

So far I've been given Stovax, Clearview, Morso & Hunter to look at but at the end of the day it looks like a black box which burns stuff (sorry to sound so ignorant!)

Any advice would be appreciated  The BEST looking half of the famous Twinlanders
The bald half http://www.freel2.com/forum/member-slaneydore.html

We use wood to get the fire going and then use anthracite to give the bulk of the heat. We have a 5kw burner and we use to heat the house through convection...carefully placing doors ajar so there is no draft.

Logs burn quickly and don't get anywhere near as hot for as long as anthracite. Logs need to be topped up....with anthracite you top it up every couple of hours or so....Used logs for years but found others recomending anthracite, rather than house coal, and agree it is good. It is also a clean burn fuel which means you can use it in smokless zones.

Clearview are top notch..and made in Britain

When buying a burner, make sure it's a multi fuel burner and not just a log burner,and don't buy cheap you get a lot of burners made in China (cheap crap) Became of the heat they but out I had a chimnley liner fitted and that cost £600 total cost with building work Was £2300 but I wouldn't be with out it. The only problem is now is when you tell friends you got a burner and have they any old wood or logs you get all their garden crap.