Free wood?

Wot? no kn0b comments?

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by grimey121uk

I was speaking to one of the tradespeople and he was saying that burning a bag of coal every so often will help to prevent the build up of creosote in the chimney compared with just burning wood, any idea if this is true?

I would also appreciate any other advice/information on getting the chimney swept/cleaned..

The burning of coal to prevent creosote build up is a bit of an old wive's tale IMO. Creosote forms when the wood burns cold, so not all the volatile compounds gasify and burn. The unburnt compounds are carried up the flue where they settle to form creosote and tar. The main cause of this is burning un-seasoned wood as most of the energy in the fire is used to turn the water in the fuel into steam, so it never gets hot enough to burn the compounds that create the creosote / tar. Burning coal means that there is no creosote in the flue gases and it 'may' dry out any creosote in the chimney, so it falls into the fire and burns... this does not work with a stove as it will land on the throat plate and burn in the flue....

Creosote build up is not too much of an issue if the flue has been lined. It becomes a problem when it seeps into the brickwork of old chimneys where it can catch fire and cause a damaging chimney fire, this is the danger with creosote build up. Burning well seasoned wood will avoid this. Note that burning dirty, cheap 'house' coal has the same effect and folks who only burn coal can still have chimney fires if they do not maintain the chimney. Having the chimney swept at the end of the burning season will also help and a good chimney sweep will tell you if the material removed is 'wet' (term for creosote) and advise accordingly. Having the chimney swept again before the burning season will remove any nests etc but also any creosote that has dried out over the summer.

Originally Posted by grimey121uk

regarding coal, I realised the coal that the mrs purchased for me was ecoal, other than the smoke is there any difference between coal and ecoal?

Dunno what e-coal is, but as a rule the fire manufacturers will recommend the type of coal in the fire handbook. I would go for a mix of coal and smokeless fuel (anthracite coal is smokeless) on the fire. Depends on costs around you and what's available. Have a coal merchant deliver the fuels and mix them as they chuck it in the coal bunker...

My burner is multi-fuel and also a boiler stove, so I burn coal most of the winter as it heats the water and runs the central heating (also have oil...) as I work from home I'm in a lot, so burning wood is not practical, I'd get through tens of cubic meters of it - coal burns longer and provides a more even heat in the radiators. In the Spring/Autumn I burn wood in the evenings, when we only need heat for a couple of hours.

[Biker Biggles]

Originally Posted by startrek.steve

Wot? no kn0b comments?

Yes I made one but it was so funny no one got it

[Biker Biggles]

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

Theres no such thing as free wood.Even if you marry it you pay in the end

Well I laughed so who cares?

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

Theres no such thing as free wood.Even if you marry it you pay in the end

Ah yes...