Which type of fuel should I burn for my Wood Burning Stove?

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There’s been a lot said in the last few months about wood-burning stoves and the impact that they are having on the environment. Rightly so, as 38% of Primary Particle Matter pollution is the result of domestic wood and coal burning, as highlighted in the government’s Clean Air Strategy, released in May 2018. This does not however mean that Wood Burning or Multi Fuel stoves should be banished forever, in fact there are a number of ways to resolve this problem.

Logs

You should ideally only burn wood with 20% or less moisture content. This is because:

    • It’s more efficient. Energy won’t be wasted having to burn off the water first, so the heat output will be higher.
    • Fewer potentially harmful particulates/air pollution are released into the air than when burning wet wood.
  • It will minimise sooty deposits building up in your chimney, which can be a fire hazard.

Seasoned logs – ones that you have partially dried out or that have been dried out by the manufacturer – contain around 25% to 40% moisture. Because of this, they have a heat output of around 3kWh per kg.

Kiln-dried logs, which are dried out in a kiln before being sold, contain less than 20% moisture. Burning this type of logs produces a heat output of around 4.5kWh per kg.

Free wood that has been collected could have as much as 90% moisture in it. The heat output could therefore be just 1kWh per kg.

Briquettes – fuel created from crushing recycled wood or paper – have a low moisture content. It can be as little as 10% or less, so they have a heat output of around 5kWh per kg. Only six of the 237 people we asked use this type of fuel.

Read more: https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/wood-burning-stoves/article/wood-burning-stoves-what-you-need-to-know/stoves-and-pollution-aIPXC8g7lbu5

To ensure that you are buying the correct wood make sure that your logs have the Woodsure Ready to Burn logo or purchase it from an accredited supplier. Click here to see our range

Smokeless Coal

At Rigby’s we supply a range of smokeless control, via our manufacturer’s CPL. They are one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of smokeless coal in the UK, and claims on its website that its popular Homefire range of smokeless fuels is “environmentally friendly” because it produces “25% fewer CO2 emissions than regular house-coal”. 

Homefire releases up to 25% less carbon dioxide than house coal, mainly due to its higher heating efficiency. This means less Homefire is required to heat a typical room during the course of a year compared to house coal, resulting in lower annual emissions of carbon dioxide. In addition, Homefire is manufactured using a climate-friendly molasses binder, which is also associated with reduced carbon dioxide emissions. Molasses is a renewable material that is viewed as (almost) carbon neutral, in that the carbon dioxide released when it burns is absorbed by the sugar cane from which it derives.

CPL also sells something called ecoal, the all-new eco-friendly fuel for open fires and multi-fuel stoves. It, too, claims to produce 25% fewer CO2 emissions than housecoal and shares the same attributes as Homefire, in terms of heating efficiency and being produced using molasses binder. However, Ecoal has the added benefit of being manufactured from a feedstock blend containing up to 20% additional renewable materials, giving further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.  

(https://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2009/oct/08/ask-leo-sustainable-fuel-fire)

To see our range of Smokeless and Ecoal click here.

Should I mount a TV over a ‘Hole in the Wall’ Gas Fire?

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In the 70’s we had disco, flared trousers and the birth of punk, the 80’s brought us techno, shoulder pads and the shell suit! In the 90’s we had boy-bands, more dodgy haircuts and inflatable furniture…. What we are trying to say is fashion changes and fireplaces are no different. We’ve had it all through our doors here at Rigby’s from retro gas fires with bars that heat up on the front to full wall brick installations. The market however is once more, with people ultimately trying to maximise floor space and a modern contemporary straight line approach, whilst still attempting to maintain that focal feature in the living room for the family to gather round on a cold evening.

More recently we have witnessed the birth of the glass fronted hole in the wall gas fire which provides a stunning elegant look and also fantastic heat out-put. These by all means are superb products, many of which are for sale at Rigby’s both on our website and on display in our showroom. Traditionally these gas fires were designed to be inserted into a chimney breast however significant developments in technology allow for slimline options if being inserted into a cavity wall or the increasing number of balanced flue options.  These fires not only look good but also perform brilliantly, for example, Gazco’s Studio 1 Conventional Flue producing up to 4.97 Kw of heat at 72% efficiency with the balanced flue version as high as 92%. Also Capital’s DL500 (one of the smaller in its range) producing 4 Kw of heat at a snip over 80% efficiency. Fantastic news for everyone out there of course, however there is one slight problem. Our customers and the general public who often inquire into this range tend to always ask the same question:

Q: ‘Can I put my T.V. above the fire?’

A: ‘Erm, not really…..’

Q: ‘What? Why not?….’

To be precise, with such heat output and efficiency to put your beautiful new shiny T.V. above it, is probably equivalent to at the very least manslaughter, no doubt reducing all gadget inspired husbands to a weeping mess.

There is however another way!! That’s right you still have options. You could maintain both your T.V. and glass fronted gas fire, but mount something on your wall between both which will essentially deflect the heat away from your TV’s essentials for example a wooden beam, fireplace surround or some kind of non-combustible shelf which aesthetically doesn’t compromise the look that you are going for. Or you could go for another option which is the Open Fronted gas fire. Manufactured by Gazco, these fires are not only cheaper than their glass fronted counterpart but also don’t require anything which has to be mounted on the wall, and thus the problem is solved! There is however one catch, that is that the heat output is reduced to 1.7 Kw with the efficiency rating taking a hit also. It does however offer up a few additional styling options which allow you the customer to enhance your centrepiece even further.

 

For further information on our range of hole in the wall gas fires  or contact us on 0208 868 7899.