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Archive for March, 2017

How to choose and season fuel for use in your wood burning stove

21 Mar

A double-sided wood burning stove is an efficient and characterful addition to your home. However, choosing the wrong type of wood with which to fuel your wood burning stove or storing the wood incorrectly can cause problems.

Here’s a guide to help you select and season your wood the right way.

Choosing wood for your double-sided wood burning stove
The first rule of choosing wood to be used for fuelling your double-sided wood burning stove is never to use offcuts of timber that have been treated with any sort of varnish, creosote or paint.

When this type of wood burns, potentially toxic fumes are released that could be harmful to you and your family. Burning paint and creosote also coats your stove’s flue with flammable resins and oils, which could easily cause a chimney fire if ignited by a stray spark.

Green wood and sticks that you gather during country walks should not be used for burning in your double-side wood burning stove. Green wood contains high levels of sap and water. Consequently, it won’t burn easily or with much heat and furthermore, the acidic water it contains will finish up as sticky, flammable residue in your chimney. Don’t worry, green wood is easy to identify. The water content makes it very heavy, and it often smells fresh. When you strike two green logs together, they will make a dull, clunking sound.

When collecting dead wood, look out for branches and sticks that are dry and brittle with a pale coloured interior and no visible green tissue. Seasoned dead wood is lightweight. It produces a hollow, knocking sound when struck, and the bark will easily come away.

Seasoning and storing wood for your double-sided wood burning stove
The best method of seasoning wood is to cut it at least six months before use to allow it plenty of time to dry out. Large logs should be split into quarters to aid the drying process and stored where the sun and wind can get at them to dry them out. This also applies to the firewood you buy from garages and garden centres.

Keep your wood in a weather-proof woodshed, away from the rain. Open-sided sheds are preferable as they allow good air circulation which is essential if the wood is to dry out thoroughly, although you must remember to cover them with a tarpaulin on wet days. Site your woodshed in a sunny spot for maximum drying power during the summer months.

 
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5 wood burning stove accessories every home should have

10 Mar

There is nothing like the warmth of a wood burning stove on a cold winter’s day. So it’s no surprise that wood burners have become more popular in recent years. Wood burners are not only cheaper to run than gas or electric-powered heating systems, they are better for the environment too.

But buying your stove is just the start, to get the most out of your investment, there are a few must have wood burning stove accessories that every home with a log-burner or range cooker should have. These five accessories will not only make your life easier but ensure your safety as well.

Top essential wood burning stove accessories:

Moisture Meter

Moisture Meter
A must-have accessory for any wood burner, this handy digital moisture meter checks the moisture content of your wood. The lower the moisture content of the wood you burn, the more efficient your stove will be and the sooner your home will heat up.

Stove Pipe Thermometer

Stove Pipe Thermometer
A stove pipe thermometer helps you judge how effectively you are burning your wood. These are great for those of you that are new to wood burning stoves and help ensure your wood burner is working efficiently. This thermometer attaches magnetically to your stove pipe, no special fitting is required, and shows you when your stove is at its most efficient operating temperature.

Ecofan

Ecofan
Ecofans
 are a great way to get even more efficiency from your wood burner. You simply place the fan in front of your stove and allow it to distribute air around your room. This whisper-quiet fan creates its own electricity, helping improve efficiency and distribute heat around the room more evenly.

Fire Guard

Fire Guard
No wood burner should be used without a fire guard. These are especially important if you have young children or pets. Your wood burner can get incredibly hot, so make sure you keep children and pets away from the burner and hearth with a fire guard. We have a range of fire guards to choose from, including traditional and contemporary designs.

Companion Set

Companion Set
Last but not least, you can’t have a wood burner without a companion set. It would be like Laurel without Hardy, or Morecambe without Wise. The companion set is the ultimate wood burning stove accessory. Most companion sets consist of a brush, tongs, shovel and poker. You will need these items if you are to operate your new stove safely and efficiently, so it makes sense to keep them by the wood burner, where they are handy. We offer a full range of companion sets to suit most tastes. With both contemporary and traditional designs available.

 
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How to safely keep a woodburning stove lit overnight

07 Mar

Here at Stove Sellers we are often asked whether our woodburning stoves can stay safely lit overnight. Is it possible for the firebox to remain hot enough to flicker for 8-10 hours and provide ambient heat through the wee small hours without tending to it? The answer is a definite “yes”: with a bit of practice and care, you can come downstairs in the morning to a warm stove! Here we show you how to do so efficiently and safely.

Woodburning stove

Source:http://www.kenyoncutters.co.uk/blog/beauty-wood-burning-fire/

Using a Woodburning Stove Overnight

Safety first

The safety of your home is paramount, of course, and you need to ensure that leaving your woodburning stove lit overnight will not pose a fire hazard. You need to have your chimney swept at least once every year (twice a year by french regulations) to minimise the risk of a chimney fire and do remove any potentially flammable items from your fireplace before you leave your stove for the night. This includes wax candles and boxes filled with kindling and paper.

Choose the wood for your woodburning stove carefully

You can’t just throw any old wood on your fire and expect it to burn all night. The idea is to stack hard wooden logs of a regular size carefully inside the stove. If there are as few air gaps as possible, the fire will keep going for much longer than if you fill it with unevenly shaped pieces of rough wood.

Dampen down the flames

Light your woodburning stove a good 4-5 hours before bedtime to allow a good bed of ash to build up. You will then need to carefully stack your wood, leaving only minimal space between logs. From a safety point of view, you want to dampen down the fire as much as you possibly can before retiring for the night and using ash is a great way of doing this effectively. Gradually pour the ash from your ash tray onto your flames and this will help to slow down the burn. You may wish to decant the ash into a heat-proof container first so you can do this without spilling any hot ashes.

Close air vents

Once the flames have been dampened down, close your stove’s air vents to control the levels of oxygen getting to the fire: by doing this, the fuel will burn for longer. Once the embers are glowing orange, you can leave your wood burning stove for the night.

Stoke up in the morning

When you return to your stove in the morning, the embers should still be burning and glowing. If you then open the air vents, the fire will light again at once. You may need to put in some kindling wood to encourage the flames, after which you can add some more logs.

Our extensive range of woodburning stoves are elegant, energy efficient and easy-to-use. In addition to this, our prices are hard to beat! Have a look at our collection today!

 
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