Fuelling the Fire
Jan 21, 2007
With the winter cold set to return again later this week I thought it might be a good idea to stock up on some wood and also cut some stock for two years time.
Wood burning stoves are a great way to heat the home and very cost effective too especially if you have a 2 acre oak wood as we do.
What is apparent though is the planning and stock piling of enough wood to see you through a winter.
Talking to our friends who use wood as their only source of heat it seems like about 4 cubic metres of wood is needed for a winters use but for contingency 6 cubic metres should be stock piled just in case. It doesn't matter if it is too much because it will be even better the following year.
Taking shortcuts is a no no because burning wood that has not seasoned and dried will cause your chimney to ooze a thick black tar that will leak onto the floor and cause a horrible mess.
It will also dry in the flue, bake and then cause blockage which will in turn cause smoke to fill your room as the draw is restricted. There is also an increased risk of a fire.
If you do not have your chimney cleaned once a year then your insurance can be void. A registered chimney sweep will give you a certificate or if you clean the chimney yourself then you have to prove you have done it.