Log burner

[bigjim]

Our log burner is more like a furnace rather than a log burner - it gets through logs in about forty minutes. We stayed in a cottage over the Christmas break and the log burner in there took about four hours to gently burn through some logs!

Do I need a new burner or am I doing something wrong!?!

 

[prprandall51]

Sounds like there is too much air entering the burner - you should have sufficient control of the air vents to be able to sompletely choke the fire off if necessary. A slow burn will allow logs to go for hours producing a gentle heat.

Are all of your vents fully operational - do they close fully?

Is there an extra vent that you are unaware of (one of our burners has 3 vents - one of which is controlled from a small lever under the stove - it is completely out of site).

Are your door rope seals correctly fitting - try to trap a strip of newspaper between the door and the body of the burner - it should be trapped / pinched by the door seal right the way round the door. If it doesn't, then get the rope seal replaced immediately.

Are you burning comparable materials? A hardwood log should burn for hours but kiln-dried timber off-cuts burn like billy-o even if you close the vents down low (but, as said above, you should still be able to kill the firs completely by closing all the vents fully).

 

[bigjim]

Perhaps the vents aren't working because I can't kill it completely!

The seals are excellent.

I only bought garage forecourt logs for the cottage, while we were away. So i took some of them home in order to compare. In the cottage they took four hours and at home about twenty minutes!!!

I'll strip it down and investigate the vents

 

[sc320]

Forecourt logs do tend to be cheap pine which doesnt tend to last long compared with chesnut or Oak. That said the difference between your cottage and home sounds a bit strange - do you know the ratings for either wood burner.

 

[Smatt]

We have 4 log burners & soon to be installed a wood burning cooker.

Agree with all that prprandall51 said above.
Four hours sounds too long. The cottage woodburner may not have been in very good order. It will depend on the size of your woodburner. If it is kicking out a lot of heat, then 40 mins could be right. Most woodburners will have a wood consumption in kgs per hour which should guide you.

What log burner do you have?

 

[rizzer]

we have a Villager Bayswater rated at 8kw and is very controllable on the rate of burn by the use and adjustment of the air vents. When first installed it was a case of trial and error with the controls as every installation will be different. We have a twin wall straight flue of about 4.5m in height. I leave the secondary air vents (top sides) at about 50% open and the primary air vents (below the doors) I adjust from fully closed to fully open, depending on heat output required. When the stove is fully loaded it burns well for around 2-3 hours, we burn a mix of well seasoned logs, hardwood and softwood, and offcuts of kiln dried offcuts from our joinery workshop. I agree with other comments, it does sound like there is excessive air entering the stove, so check all the seals and air vent controls. Good luck sorting the problem.

 

[Cabe]

As reliable as a wood bur......dammit!

 

[sl300 ireland]

It could be the draw on the chimley,as this would create more draft ?

 

[MJH]

Another thing to check, is there a crack in the casting somewhere allowing air in ?

Links below to a site with some handy faq's about stoves, especially how burning wood differs to coal. If you use a multifuel stove you may need to adjust how you use it for wood, i.e. don't clean out the ash pan burn the logs on a bed of ash and use the top vent not the bottom to control the burn rate.

How to burn wood on a wood burning stove

How to burn coal on a stove

Mike

 

[bigjim]

We have 4 log burners & soon to be installed a wood burning cooker.
What log burner do you have?

I'm not sure. Its quite old and came with the house - no documentation.

It could be the draw on the chimley,as this would create more draft ?

Yes, we do have a very good draw - the sweep who came to the house said the draw was excellent and the chimney was almost spotless in side - he said he wouldn't need to sweep it out for another couple of years.(normally he advises every year)

Another thing to check, is there a crack in the casting somewhere allowing air in ?

Links below to a site with some handy faq's about stoves, especially how burning wood differs to coal. If you use a multifuel stove you may need to adjust how you use it for wood, i.e. don't clean out the ash pan burn the logs on a bed of ash and use the top vent not the bottom to control the burn rate.

How to burn wood on a wood burning stove

How to burn coal on a stove

Mike

Excellent thanks. I'll check them out.

 

[camerafodder]

Take a picture of your burner Jim I've had a few in my time (oooohhh errr) and might recognise the one you have.

 

[bigjim]

Take a picture of your burner Jim I've had a few in my time (oooohhh errr) and might recognise the one you have.

Best one I've got at the moment (working away from home)

 

[camerafodder]

Well I have to say that's got me stumped (groan). Does it have any controls for airflow?

 

[Smatt]

Try working your way through this lot- you might be able to find your one. Once you have the brand you may then be able to search for it to get manual/instructions.
If there is no branding on it, then it may be one of the many far east products

 

[del320]

Thanks, Smatt for the useful link. The reviews for the Bohemia 60 confirm I am making a reasonable choice for the country retreat!

 

[bigjim]

Well I have to say that's got me stumped (groan). Does it have any controls for airflow?

Two that I can see - although enither seem to do anything.

A lever on the left and a rotary knob on the right - both are located at the back of the burner.

Jim

 

[prprandall51]

Two that I can see - although enither seem to do anything.

A lever on the left and a rotary knob on the right - both are located at the back of the burner.

Jim

A lever? How big? What does it do? Does it "shuffle" a grid at the bottom of the firebox?

This could be a coal burner, and that lever the riddling lever. That would explain the ferocious burn rate.