Suitable Timber For Wood Burner

[bob561941]

I'm thinking of getting a wood burning stove and would like some advice on the timber I should be burning I've benn told that old scaffold poles are a no no as they spit.

[redman41]

Check the Link below

http://www.flamingfires.co.uk/which-wood-burns-best.htm

[shoota]

You can use any old wood but they all have different charcteristics and some burn better than others.
Oak and ash are probably favourite with fruitwoods close behind.
Don't use youngor freshly cur wood as the saps and resins will have a detrimental effect on you stove nd pipes - 3 years is the rule of thumb in France.

[shoota]

(Excuse my sticky keyboard......)

[shoota]

That's a great link Red.

[shoota]

Erm.....aren't scaffolding poles made out of tubular metal?

[FredPuli43]

And avoid elm. It burns like granite!

[redman41]

Old wooden Railway Sleepers should burn well providing you can get a hold of them. They are not used any more

[The Builder]

Rope & pole scaffolding Bob?
Waaayyy before my time :o)

[Baldric]

The last time scaffold poles were flammable, they were building the Tower of Babel!
;-)

[Baldric]

'Burn Railway Sleepers?'
There're worth a blooming fortune for landscaping in this area!

[shoota]

...And full of noxious oils.

[Svejk]

Here you go bob ;)
http://static0.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/100-3/photos/1247567879-discover-hong-kong-series--bamboo-scaffolding106403_106403.jpg

[Frank97]

I get mine from a friendly tree surgeon, buy it in March, let it dry over the summer and it's ready to use now.
It's not as good as the proper kiln dried stuff but works just fine.
Personally I wouldn't use railway sleepers, too much treatment in them for my liking.

[shoota]

At 11.27 I should have made it clear that the French leave cut wood to 'dry' for a minimum of three years before use.
They also have a regulation that stove chimneys should be swept every year to negate the possibility of deposits from the wood catching fire. But then a French woodburning stove is likely to be in use continually from late October through until the end of March - that's a lot of wood.

[KARL]

Pretty much any wood that burns is fine, but only if it has not been coated in any way and is dry to 15% moisture or less. Higher moisture causes tar build-up and less efficient burning in order to drive the moisture off and up the chimney.

[jake-the-peg]

A few other things to consider

Are you getting a flue liner or do you have one? is it insulated. Hot gasses escaping from old chimneys into the loft area is a real fire hazard

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/stove-flue-sizes.html

Do you have sufficient ventillation? you may need an air brick or some such in order to get enough air in

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/stove-ventilation.html

[bob561941]

Of course I meant scaffold planks

[espookid]

I live in Finland and have six places that I burn wood
The most popular woods here are birch alder pine and spruce and I burn all of them along with any willows and fruit woods that we get
We have by law to have a sweep ,who is employed by the council ,visit once a year or the house insurance becomes null and void
Despite burning about 20 cubic metres of wood each year he is happy about any build up that we get and I also burn wooden pallets that are of a variety of woods
Oh and by the way most houses here are made from wood

[Percy_Flage]

The Firewood Poem

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But ash wet or ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.