Is there a woodburning stove expert here that can tell me what combustible fuels are 'no-go' for burning in a domestic woodburning stove.
I am primarily concerned about burning anything that will damage the newly installed stainless flue.
I would particularly like to know if it is ok to burn clean, unprinted plain cardboard boxes, newspaper etc?
Any suggestions?
I have a neighbour who burns anything and everything. I'd assume the difference between 2 year seasoned wood (apart from price) is the quantity of soot produced and the number of toxins you release if you put bad stuff on.
In my experience the wood burner incinerates anything combustible. I burnt loads of smashed up kitchen units without any apparent problems. It burns better than normal wood.
mark
Things that will produce toxic fumes (certain synthetic materials, agent orange) , things that are an explosion risk (flammable liquids, petrol, gunpowder, IED's etc.) or may burn more quickly than is safe (flammable powders/dusts etc)
Only massive overheating, such as a chimney fire, might shorten it's life.
All fine.
Don't burn CDs. Especially not CD-R or CD-RW. Trying to burn a foam filled sofa is probably a mistake as well.
The ink etc in colour magazines really stinks and is probably poisonous to us and to the planet. As is plastic and the glues in chipboard. Burning nitrogen can make cyanide, and burning plastics make dioxins, which are poisonous in parts per million
Also i believe Elder wood is poisonous, which is why they said it was bewitched.
[george]
Petrol is a bit 'enthusiastic' ;-)
Almost nothing will.
Yep. Its fine. Levaes a lot of choking ash tho.
We've got a wood burner and tend to use household paper based rubbish, newspapers, magazines etc to help light it. A small amount of plastic waste e.g. sweet wrappers, yoghurt pots are good to get the fire going too, but don't use a lot or open the door while any plastic is burning as the smoke tends to stink up the room.
The primary heat source is logs of course, which we have delivered. It is best to use logs which have aged for a couple of years for the sap to dry out or they may smoulder rather than burn.
We also burn twiggy garden waste, hedge clippings, shrub and rose clippings etc, but allow then to die off outside and dry for a few months before using them. Beware using brambles - some twiggy waste such as these tend to give off a lot of flammable gas before actually igniting. I think it may be acetylene gas? Anyway you can sometimes get a big whoosh and blue flame as the liberated gas ignites, which blows smoke out the side of the door and through the air vent! In the worse case scenario it could even blow the glass out of the door explosively - so take care what you burn! Try small quantities of each material first to see how they burn.
It's also damn near fireproof
I hear you can make a damn fine death-wand from it though.
The air is mostly Nitrogen - which is almost inert. And you have to have air for the Oxygen to burn anything!
R.
I hope they didn't have "foil" finishes as they can produce dioxins if the flue temperature is too low like most domestic heaters.
Some plastics burnt in the presence of wood produce dioxins. Use screwed up newspaper and throw the plastic in the recycling/waste.
We burn anything and everything on our multifuel. Rubbish, building debris, plastic, mdf, you name it.. Dry logs best however, and produce least ash. Was worried about the concrete cast in situ flue lining but seems OK I've swept it a few times.
cheers Jacob
I can post you a nice picture of a single skin 316 stainless flue pipe pockmarked with rust perforations and a tell tale light green stain on the floor below if you wish.
AJH
pyrolysis offgas: the volatiles given off as the compounds that form wood (chiefly cellulose, hemicelullose and lignin) break down in the heat
The worst case scenario is when you return home from work in your wet anorak and decide to chivvy the fire, which you left smouldering on a full load of fresh wood. Swing the door wide open and take a gasp of breath in surprise as the smoke suddenly ignites in the presence of air. The burning anorak adds to the lung damage. It couldn't happen but it did, I can't remember the chap's name but he was a lorry driver working for a firm called Blacks out of Oxford, they hauled wood and were funeral directors IIRC.
:-)
Perhaps you can see why I cannot help but agree with HETAS when they insist on 6" double skinned flue to above eaves height, even though it often trebles capital outlay for a wood burning device. It's a bit harder to abuse a natural gas boiler.
AJH
Was advised by our HETAS registered installer (and an all round good bloke too):
NO
- Creosoted/pressure treated wood (pressure treated wood spits like a b*stard anyway!)
- Plastics
- Unseasoned wood
- Slow burning unless you give it a good "blast" afterwards
- Coal (ie lump coal - smokeless is OK)
Basically you are avoiding a build up of creosotey/sooty deposits in the chimney which can rot the liner due to their acidity.
He also recommended leaving the door of the stove ajar if it's not going to be used for a week or so - keep the air going through the chimney to avoid condensation.
I know it sounds all a bit much but having spent £500+ on the woodburner and £1200+ on the flue etc. I think it seems reasonable to follow his advice - backed up with a little bit of Googling too.....
Just me (and the installers) humble opnions!
Andy
Some solid fuels produce hydrocarbons which condense in the flue (coal tar?) - they don't ignite in the main fire. Also you can get moisture buildup if the airflow isn't great. And of course, paper and cardboard burned on their own produce lots of ash, which quickly puts the fire out - try and mix it with wood.
Burning ping pong balls give off cyanide gas. Steve McQueen told me in Blazing Inferno.
they don't ignite in
which quickly puts the
One other possible problem that no-one else has mentioned. A very fierce burn in my woodburner (doh! I'd mopped up a small kerosine spill with kitchen towels) softened the mastic that locked the cowl onto the top of the stainless liner. I wish it had roasted a pigeon (sorry - ring dove) at the same time, but no such luck! The co-incidental high wind then blew the thing off.One of those jobs I must get round to. Crack out the scaffold tower and roof ladder.
Peter Scott
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.