Wood Burning Stoves for Beginners!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Join the member zone for loads of extra vids and it helps support the channel directly: members.gosforthhandyman.com/ 👍😁 Also, sources and much more info about stoves here: gosforthhandyman.com/stoves/ Enjoy!

[@helihoot]

Insense banned soon 😂

[@sarahallenhumboldt2638]

Love the way you acknowledged and spoke to your curious kitten; good man.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Thanks for the video. Here in northwest PA (USA) - we don’t need to re-plant trees. The forest naturally repopulates. We don’t cut down any living trees unless they’re a threat to our house or other buildings. We only cut standing dead trees, or trees that fell over in a storm. That gives us more than enough wood to use in our wood burner to heat for the winter months. We’ve done several videos about heating our house with firewood harvested just from standing dead trees or fallen trees on our property.

[@SebNutter]

How can you know for sure the number of trees re-populating is greater than the number of trees being burned?

[@Cjnchef]

Who wants us to eat bugs and freeze what a clown show WHO is Follow the money

[@buggsy5]

@@SebNutter I expect the trees are on their own property. Or the residential density is low enough that there are plenty of dead or diseased for everyone.

[@denverbasshead]

​@@SebNutterhave you ever walked into a forest? There's literally hundreds of small trees growing per acre. Cut down one big tree, dozens will begin to grow in it's place. Thin those out and in a decade you have 10 trees to cut down for wood

[@denverbasshead]

Yep, I already have a dozen rounds from a beech tree that cracked in half, and I can get a dozen more from what's left.

[@Fatheroftwoand1]

When you test the moisture of the wood you should always put the prongs following the grain not across and always on a fresh split of timber. You should also leave ash in the fire as wood likes a good insulating bed and stays warmer for longer

[@fionagardner4257]

We have oil fired central heating, but as soon as the thermostat switches off, the heat soon dissipates, so I installed three wood burners around the house, all on the ground floor, they all burn long and hard, that in turn heats the fabric of the house and the house is warm for the next twenty four hours without any form of heater running. love them.

[@melclark3993]

I have one of these Wiking mini2 woodburning stoves and I am really pleased with it. One modification I did to the stove was to add a small extension lever to the air control so that it protrudes below the door. This allows me to see which position the control is set to, and also to adjust it with my foot which saves me bending down. The renovation video is great, good craftsmanship.

[@MG63]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing the REAL information and not the garbage the media spew out. Regards. 🔥🔥

[@misterg1157]

May I add to that? I agree - it’s a superb video - thanks, Andy, for making it. I want a wood burner but was worried about what I’ve read about PM 2.5 particles - I don’t want to adversely affect my kids’ health in particular. This video has not only put that to bed but also made me question why we are being misled. Your video is also the first I’ve seen where the maker has opened the door slowly when adding logs, to reduce the change in pressure and therefore the amount of particles that enter the room. Thanks.

[@DavidHalfordsLane]

One of the best videos I’ve ever watched. Full of information and for that I’m grateful.

[@asilver2889]

Just cleaned my grimy glass oven door with wood ash on damp cloth. Better and quicker than anything else, easy, sparkly, safe with no chemical residue. Thanks for reminding me of old forgotten cleaning method.

[@lavernabouzspain]

Hi, I have been using woodstoves in my homes for several years, however I have never truly understood how to burn wood in the stove. I have just learned from your video that there is a better way for me to use my small woodstove. I shall give this a try in the morning. I have saved and subscribed. Thank you, my friend and God bless,!

[@pauldevlin84]

Scandinavian method of top down burning was a real game changer for me. I tend to start with big logs on bottom, then medium size logs, then kindling. I have a slightly smaller stove than that but once I light it, thanks to the Scandinavian method I don’t have to tend to it again for at least an hour and a half

[@GosforthHandyman]

It works amazingly well!

[@privateuploads-geo2625]

I learned the top down method for making fires 50 years ago from a Farmers almanac. I've used it ever since. I put large oak on the bottom and smaller cedar on top, with just right air flow between the logs. Crumpled paper goes just below the kindling. It requires minimum adjustment and once the cedar turns to coals and the the oak is burning, all you do is add two to three oak logs on top in parallel, and you have a great burning fire. It works great in both firepit or woodstove. In an outdoor pit I'll often put an air channel 90 degrees to the bottom logs.

[@adrianhoneybill8591]

When the wood is saw into lengths it is also important to split into quarters. Increasing the surface area increases the reduction of water content. Use of a moisture content meter is so useful Valiant have a good moisture content gauge. Hardwoods, such as ash, birch, oak, apple and pear are good heat producers. Dual fuel stoves are very useful, however smokeless coal is needed. with 30 years of wood burners, remember chimney cleaning every year is needed. A wood burner is such a joy, including on a narrowboat. Great introduction to space heating.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Great stuff!

[@asilver2889]

Enjoying my new stove too. In a small barn conversion with no gas, or "wet" system, just electric. Wasn't sure about stove until last year when electric off for 4 days in snow from storm Arwen. Of course, even gas CH wouldn't help then. So partially resilience, partly the ever increasing electric bills. The main issue is the space needed. First the actual stove and floor plate within the house (no fireplace alcove). Then the fireside wood stock, tools and paraphernalia. Then the log store(s) for the main stock, whether bought-in or harvested. Kindling (with axe etc) needs it's own store. My mother has two truckloads of chopped log each year. Every single piece has to be manhandled from yard to wheelbarrow to stack in very large store. Then from store, into bags, then trolleyed into an ante room. Finally to the living room stove. If you can find a way to stock, store and move your wood around, that is the key decider for a having a stove. Tends to be a rural thing, where the gas grid doesn't reach, and people tend to enjoy faffing about with wood, chopping kindling etc. I initially used a blow torch to get the fire going. But then discovered the natural firelighters, and one of these gets fire going every time. Clean and no nasty smell either. Good video, packed with great info.

[@CodyJames29]

Great video! You can heat the whole house in an average home. Using a fan to blow cold air from the back of the house toward the room with the fire. Also look up room to room in wall vent fans. This all circulates the heat through the home from room to room.

[@robertgeiger2268]

You are absolutely right ash was a cleaner for thousands of years proud of you Mr. Mac

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Robert!

[@robthewaywardwoodworker9956]

Great fireplace/wood stove! Also, Colin's new workshop is truly an enviable space! He really has done well for himself.

[@GosforthHandyman]

It's incredible! 👍😁

[@grolfe3210]

Great Video. All good advice and well balanced view on so much. Great common sense approach to the pollution question. A couple of things I would add- I light my fire with my plumbers blowlamp. They have a piezo lighter and you do not need to get wood too small. They also seem good at getting a bit of heat into the chimney flue which gets the air moving up it to keep any smoke out of the room when lighting. I am running mine on scraps from building works and some trees we had cut down in the garden. Top tip- Make a simple saw horse with the support bars the same size as the logs you want and then it is easy to cut the timber to size. I have gone over to an electric chainsaw rather than petrol. Much quieter and easy to use for the stop-start of logging.

[@bockersjv]

Interesting stove. Our Burley does not have the ash tray. We build new fires on the old ash and get about 20 days of burning before we ever need to empty it. Even then it’s best on our model to leave an inch of ashes on the bed. Top down lighting is easily the best way of lighting, means you don’t have to keep returning to stack more wood. I like that auto venting feature. Usual quality video.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers John!

[@helihoot]

Always fascinated by how different Europe is with heaters and electric. We are in Texas. Love your Bengals

[@DF12]

Got my woodburner in today and what a difference! This video has been extremely informative and helpful, thank you!

[@oldmanriver3066]

Enjoyed your video, never believed the Sheffield university research on particulates anyway. We have had a wood burner for a dozen years and now have three. Agree entirely on having logs below and kindling above. Like you we have a hundred mature trees and have planted 200 or so more, so very economic. I use the ash as fertiliser so just use paper no fire lighters. I would raise two points. Get the fire serviced, not just chimney swept. I believe it might be law in England now to have an annual service. Once in 4 years would do but some jobsworth……second, build a wood dryer. Just 8*8 cm timbers to hold a sloping corrugated roof, a slatted floor perhaps 30 to 50cms above ground and trellis round the back and sides. Let’s the wind in and the rain out. Ours is 1.5 m high over the floor, 1.4 deep and 6m long. I cut and split the wood immediately on felling and after 2 years it’s kiln dry dried level without a kiln.

[@tomstovell7425]

Really informative. Thank you. A great watch to boot as we love our log burner. I am a bit of a central heating Scrooge at the minute and the burner definitely helps with that. I swear I’m turning into my Dad by saying things like ‘put on a thick jumper’ or ‘use a blanket’.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Lol tell me about it - same here! 😂

[@buggsy5]

When I was growing up, our family heated a two story 4 bedroom house with wood - mostly fir because that is what grew on the property. To get heat to the bedrooms upstairs, there was a moderate sized heat register near the top of the stairs. Even during periods of -10 degrees F, no one ever was cold. We did burn a fair amount of wood, probably between 6 and 8 cords a year. It would have been far less, but the house had no insulation in the attic or walls - a house built in the 1930s or 1940s from a Montgomery Ward mail order kit. I heat my 2000 square foot 3 BR house with about 2 cords of Maple/Ash per year. The woods is always well seasoned, since I have plenty of room to let it sit for two years before burning. It gets a bit cool in the bedroom at the end of the hall, but a air circulating fan keeps the temperature around 60 degrees F or above during sleeping time.

[@terryriley8963]

I have had my log burner now for two months and have done quite a bit of experimenting with the central heating along with the log burner being on. What I have found is that their isn’t much of a saving on the overall heating cost as I pay for my burner fuel, which was a bit of a disappointment, but I think the big bonus is that on the really cold freezing winter days is how warm and toasty it is when the log burner is on and you are not thinking about all the gas you would be burning without the log burner to get your living room up to that temperature. So I think on the relatively milder winter days you are probably saving a little bit of money with the log burner plus your central heating on but on the colder freezing winter days the log burner makes more of a difference both financially and mentally so I am happy with it. You could make a massive difference if you were very frugal with the central heating and lived with some of the rooms being very chilly, which I have tried, but I think it would not be cost effective in the long term as I don’t think it would do your house much good by having most of it cold during the winter months and having such extreme temperature differences throughout the house.

[@marium1866]

Thank you so much for this great video! Wow! It provides practical tips, but also the fine details to consider pros and cons. Really great stuff! Your video helps me to feel even more sure of the decision to get a wood stove soon. Thank you!

[@excelsiorhome3266]

Well done! Thumbs up for supporting local business! Thank you

[@roberthardy2013]

We just tonight lit our new wood burner, we had one at our last house for 40 years but this is a more efficient one so we need to re-learn how to get the best from it. Time will tell.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Great stuff! Took us a good few burns to learn to get the most out of this one. 👍

[@srednivashtar5432]

Really good series. I’ve had a woodburner fitted for a couple of years, but still really enjoyed (and found useful) the content. And the presentation, of course!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Thank you!! 👍

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Such an excellent video, thanks Andy, I learned so much!!! Thank you for the mention. Really interesting to see the different pm2.5 levels, I'm tempted to take mine out by the busy road and see what readings I get there. Also noticed your relative humidity sensor on your monitor works, whereas mine has been reading 93% for years... Still, surprised it still works at all considering how much dust it's been subjected to. 👍

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers Keith! Try it in your kitchen with the oven on. I was amazed! Mine packed in a while ago but then came back to life. Was looking in to it and the same sensor is used even on some higher end detectors. More rabbit hole stuff here... aqicn.org/sensor/pms5003-7003/ Cya soon! 😉

[@WG1807]

Good videos, I've watched this and your previous one with the installation. The burner seems excellent. I'm not seeking to boast but I've had a wood stove at home since 1990 and the further background to that is experience with the old open coal fires of the late 60's and early 70's. I was born in 1963 and everyone had open coal fires back then, so almost all kids, especially sons but daughters too, had some knowledge and skills around the business of fires. Everyone had just the kind of fires with a back-boiler for DHW like the one you replaced. We had our coal fires pulled out (at Mum's house) in 1972, like millions of other people did. and went over to gas CH because that was the year that North Sea gas began to become available. I've been fiddling with fires, burners, stoves, ranges and forges from about 1968 (aged five when my grandad taught me about the coal fire and used to let me light it - fascinating for small boys) to 1972 (aged 9) and then from 1982 when I left Mum's aged 19 and moved into a house with the exact same kind of open fireplace and back-boiler like we used to have - and like you recently removed - it was like going back in time lol. From 1983 (when I removed the crappy gas fire and had the gas supply disconnected) until 1990 I ran an open fire, mainly on coal. From 1990 I had a woodstove, first in the kitchen and then in the living room too from about 1992 and have never looked back since. A few tips for you: 1. Try to get that wood in your garden off the ground and on a pallet or two. The bottom layer will be rotting and the damp will rise up through the pile. The same goes for in your wood store if not already. Pallets are ideal. They allow an air flow underneath as well as raising the fuel off the ground itself. Pallets are easily available and cheap, often free if they are a bit damaged (which are easily repaired for the purpose of sitting firewood on them). 2. Split all your rounds at least in half, better in four or more. They will dry a lot quicker. I tend to split everything over about 2 inches in diameter and sometimes even that diameter if it's knot-free and pretty straight. 3. All the information about 2 years 'seasoning' (drying) is overkill if you have the wood split early and sitting on pallets, under cover and with air blowing through the sides of the store (which should be slatted or mesh, not solid-sided). I have very often cut and split logs as late as June (though February/March is better) and they have been ready to burn by November and certainly by January the following year. Obviously if you do get enough wood in store to go through a full winter and have some for the following winter then that's fine, but it's not essential. The only exception might be Pine, cos of all the resin, but it's not ideal anyway cos of all the knots and twists you often find. It's a pain to split. 4. Beware of burning Elder. It actually produces toxic smoke, not just the normal toxic like all smoke but extra toxic because of what's in it. If you have totally dry pieces and add them a piece here and there in an already-established hot fire it might be ok and especially in that super-efficient modern stove you have, but be aware of this. I'm not saying I have never burned the odd bit of elder but I do try to avoid it. Better to let it rot on the ground for all the critters to find habitat in. 5. If any of the wood at the front or slatted sides of your store gets rain damp, then a couple of days indoors should dry it off. Rain-damp is nowhere near as wet as sap-damp from fresh wood, which does take longer to dry out because the moisture is trapped in the cells of the wood and takes time to release - but only months very often if adequately split and stored, not years. You will need to spread the wood out a bit however. Plastic bag storage will just make the wood sweat and the damp will likely travel through all the wood. It won't necessarily increase but it won't dissipate either. Don't dry damp wood, either rain-damp or fresh splits in your living space. Harmful spores are present. The garage is good enough if the wood is aerated. Sorry about the TL,DR and you probably already know some of the above but other readers may not. It's not a small undertaking using wood for heating and like you say not necessarily that much cheaper if you have to buy the fuel. But if you are going to gather and process your own you need the following: 1. A source and that means log wood. Not random chopping down trees (a dangerous business) but proper woodland management and permission to do so. Not really within many people's scope. Not old window and door frames full of paint and silicon sealant and unknown treated wood and wood out of skips. Most of it is nasty and not at all eco to burn and can be nasty to process also. 2. A van or a trailer. 3. A chainsaw and knowledge of how to use it properly. Plus all the PPE to go with it. You will only ever have one accident with one! 4. A good splitting axe and a chopping block - but your back will know about it. It does help with fitness however, but less so as you age. Better to get a hydraulic wood-splitter, prices of which have soared in just the last 2 or 3 years. You need a small hand hatchet too, for splitting kindling or trimming side shoots off branches. A billhook is useful too. 5. SPACE - to work in and to store the wood when processed. If you skimp or ignore any of the above facilities and kit you will struggle and become dis-heartened. Not to mention the increasing likelihood of a life-changing (or life-ending!) accident. Cheers.

[@WG1807]

By the way, your findings with the air quality and particulates was rather fascinating, so thanks for that. Who would have thought - toasters and joss-sticks? They'll be looking to ban those next. If they do .... I shall write a strongly-worded letter!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Great stuff - cheers for the info!!

[@MrFish1968]

There is a great video from a guy in the states who sells these, he has a good method of just burning a bunch of kindling first to warm up the chimney and box so you get a better draft up and out the chimney. This is especially good on super cold days when the chimney is cold.

[@GosforthHandyman]

👍

[@anneforster8692]

Thank you for debunking the myths. So enjoyed this video, and our experiments with particle counting exactly coincide with yours (though we never tried the joss stick, candles apparently are also the devil’s children). Our 9kw clean burn stove heats our large open plan kitchen/diner/living area. Central heating achieved by opening doors to the rest of the house. Bedrooms have solid aluminium electric panel radiators, which are individually programmable. My rabbit hole - why per therm cost of electric heating is much higher than gas, particularly here in Scotland where a high proportion of the generation is renewable. Main deterrent for others to follow this path - the time and effort and space required to process and store sufficient wood. But that whole process is such fun once you get into it!

[@GosforthHandyman]

That's good to know you're getting similar results! 👍

[@MarcusT86]

Amazing video. Definitely can't wait to get mine. My brother can get me endless free soft and hardwood from his factory, not in the form of logs, but batten-shaped packing material that isn't treated or anything, just plain wood. So, I'm definitely looking forward to the free heating when I get my burner.

[@buggsy5]

Get all hardwood if you can. It has more heat value and produces fewer deposits in the chimney.

[@MarcusT86]

@@buggsy5 I’ve come back to this vid as I’m finally getting mine 8th Jan (bloke can’t do sooner) and can’t wait. Anyway, I have both soft and hard wood from my brother’s factory. The soft is packing for materials, and the hard is offcuts from furniture that’s made (chunks of birch). I’m going to roast come January… all for free :)

[@Chriskreepa]

We’ll that particular meter has been a massive relief for me. Always been worried that I’m slowly dying or my pets are because of the stupid headlines. I have a modern one and only burn dry wood. So now I can relax and enjoy it properly now

[@GosforthHandyman]

It's been an eye opener for us!

[@christopherlyon4946]

Great video! I'm about to install a new very efficient modern woodburner. I live in a very rural area which is prone to power cuts in winter very often caused by storms and falling trees, so I'm more focused on simply staying warm than the aesthetics of the dancing flames etc. I also have a lot of free wood. I thought that your particulate matter research was really interesting, and very helpful. However, throughout this video you were operating your very modern stove with care and attention. My reading of the global research shows that burning wood is a real health hazard most of the time, and my experience of woodburners used in my local area is that they are very often old cast iron models which have been abused and have become leaky as a result, and people often use wood which is not fully dry. I like cast iron, but if it is allowed to overheat it can distort. Most of the traditional models did not feature secondary burning, which makes a huge difference to particulate emissions, not necessarily indoors, but in the wider environment. I noticed how you were careful to open the fide-door very slowly to prevent smoke being sucked into the room: the research I read suggested that opening the door incorrectly was a major cause of hazardous indoor particulate pollution. So I think your measurements are really helpful, and put things in context, but it also has to be said that you are carefully following best practice in everything you do (which is why I watch your channel). I think your set-up is excellent, and your personal research is very useful, but this doesn't invalidate the global research about the hidden dangers of woodburning. Finally, I read somewhere that the simple test is that if you can smell the scent of burning wood, then the pollution is entering your lungs. On the other hand, when I bought this house the walls were almost black because of the leaks from the old woodburning range which was the previous owner's only means of heating and cooking, but somehow she managed to keep breathing quite cheerfully through this fug and, having lived here since the age of 4 she died at the age of 95. Thanks again for a great video and best wishes for this winter.

[@GeeWhizRS]

You’d only really want to use the ‘top down’ method if you were in very cold conditions to warm the flue first; or if you had a poor draw. I do exactly what you do but with the larger logs on top. I don’t allow the kindling to start first, I load the logs on top and then light it. The trick is to use kindling pieces that are thicker at the front of the stove so that when they collapse the thicker ones at the front are the last to go. That way, any material on top will slump backwards and not against the door. Enjoy your stove mate. We love ours and have it on most nights between Oct-Apr. 👌

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yup, I do the same to make it slump 'backwards'. 👍

[@salfordsal]

I loved how when you were taking the temperature of the room, one of the cats kept pouncing on the red dot and giving you kitty body temperature :D

[@raydriver7300]

“One of life’s pleasures which isn’t banned yet!” I love it and you certainly don’t talk nonsense. Talking about NOX, notice that diesel is now over £1.00 per gallon more expensive than petrol. How times change. Thank you for sharing Andy 🌞

[@GosforthHandyman]

Seriously? I haven't checked in a while! That's crazy. We've still got a zero-tax diesel - runs on fumes. Although I think they're putting it up to £20 next year. 👍😎

[@amandak2352]

What a well researched and helpful video! thank you!

[@adelejones3746]

If you have a garden or greenhouse do not bin the ash, rather, put it on your garden. It is full of nutrients that promote plant and vegetable growth when mixed in with soil.

[@freakeystyley34]

I have the same air quality monitor and Keith's video sent me down the same rabbit hole. The biggest variable with pm2.5 is whether or not we have the oven on. Not only that, putting the oven on (particularly when you leave an old oven tray in there) leaves the pm2.5 ratings high all evening. We have managed to get readings over 1000 from the stove if it goes out and smoulders then we have to open the door to get it going again. We live in a valley and find that unless it's got going and fully warmed the flue, opening the door can lead to smoke coming back into the room. Even so, the pm2.5 drops again fairly quickly, particularly if you open a window for 5 minutes.

[@GosforthHandyman]

If it goes out completely (but the chimney is still warm) I generally add a new fire lighter and kindling just to get it going again, avoids the smoke. 👍

[@NorthernMonkeeUK]

You can never have enough log stores - We've got two twice the size of yours and I'll be building another next year - free heat, can't be sniffed at these days. Rather than bags in the garage, have you thought about a large wicker basket in your extension - decorative and does a job at the same time (we have ours in our garden room, they then move to alcoves either side of the burner). Obviously depends on your stove, but, ours burns better with a bed of ash at the bottom, so we only half clean it out. Also, split your wood before you season it, otherwise some of those logs will be like trying to split concrete (it'll also help them dry quicker). On the particulate - the way I see it is the air goes through the house and up the chimney when the stove is lit, therefore it's acting like an extractor fan - so any particulate is going up the chimney and outside. We installed honeywell evohome (as I wanted something that worked locally with no internet/cloud so I can't be held hostage if a company decides to start charging a subscription or turns their servers off) about a year ago and zoned each room, because like you, some rooms were cold when we used the stove as the thermostat was in the hallway, which the stove heats nicely. Now we can draw heat from the thermal store (Solar/Oil) to heat those rooms independently on demand.

[@kevinmountford4541]

On your carbon cycle, the experts often suggested baning burning wood but there was a major change of policy when it was highlighted that to replace burnt wood only took the time it takes to grow the tree, 20-30 years. To replace coal , oil ar gas takes 20-30 million years, a bit of a difference one would say.

[@DavidTimmins-n7y]

Refreshing to her someone talking common sence. Great and informative video.

[@sandyblackburn751]

Thats really interesting... love your balanced approach. I think when we look at emissions its more about when its dobe wrong... when your travelling behind a car that black soot is conibg out of the tail pipe is a lot different to running and ICE vehicle and maintaining it.. your demonstrating doing it right... thank you for sharing...

[@plummetplum]

Great video, very interesting about the particulates. I can't wait to get my log burner. I think the whole process feels very cosy.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers!

[@helenavanmaanen6733]

Thanks for all the info, by the end of it I have decided on how to heat my Portuguese house in the winter!!

[@moriartythemundane]

Excellent video! We have had our logburner/multi fuel stove over 12 years. We use wood we can "scrounge" and we buy bags of coal which we use predominantly on weekends as we only load it perhaps twice a day. Yes coal is dearer than the wood we acquire but is now cheaper than using the central heating. Our burner is in a large room with two bedrooms above, so they are warm enough. However our chimney goes up through the middle off the house and as the chimney gets hotter, so do the bedroom walls where the chimney is. This also heats the little bedroom and the middle room together... We would never be without it now.! Costs? A sweep is £45 per year a replacement glass two years ago was £35 and I also relined the chord to help the door seal better, £10. Have we saved on our gas and electric bills? Gas definitely, electric, less so as we have only saved the electricity on the pump in the central heating. Initial outlay can be expensive but can be done on a budget if you buy in the summer and do a lot of the work yourself. But, it does need a qualified fitter to complete and test the installation. Without the yearly test and a sweep, in the event of a chimney fire etc the I Durance will not want to know! Cracking video, well done keep it up!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Great stuff Nick!

[@xl5man]

I had. Multi fuel inset stove and found kiln dried logs very expensive.. about the same cost as electricity.. smokeless coal was more economical but still much more than gas .. even though gas and electric has soared so has the cost of logs and coal ! . Yes if you are burning logs you always leave a good bed of old ash .. if you have a grate let the ash pan build up with ash so it reaches through the grate and fire base to give you that layer of ash .. you need only remove ash occasionally when it starts falling out when you open the door…if the logs are smouldering when you reload either they are not dry enough ( get a moisture meter.. logs should be 20% moisture ideally.. or you’ve let the fire cool down too much .. get a glue pipe gauge to stick on the glue pipe . .. running temperature should be about 200 - 250 c … I think …

[@paulashby4952]

Brilliant video. So much common sense mixed with testing and available data. Thank you. ps Cats were a pleasant bonus.

[@raymondporter2094]

This really is an EXCELLENT video - very informative and a great sense of humour from our friendly Geordie! My son used to live in Jesmond, literally over the road from the cricket ground so, I suppose, fairly near to you...

[@stewartmcardle8149]

The one fire in the one room was "de rigeur" in many houses historically and opening a door let in an arctic blast of air into the room. Cold rooms were a fact of life in the days of my childhood.....thank goodness we had some big coats for extra warmth on our beds !

[@GosforthHandyman]

Too right! Hot water bottles!

[@stewartmcardle8149]

@@GosforthHandyman My sisters got those....we lads had to be a little bit tougher Andy!

[@bellabella9918]

Jack frost on the windows, icicles hanging on insides from the window frame. The smell of smog hanging over roof tops. Outside netty, no bath. Fab memories and very rarely had a cold 🤣

[@withoutthinking3703]

Ok you made me geek out with the particulate meter loved it we have a wood burner it’s is out only source of heat lucky we live in Portugal wood burner cost us 500 euro installed and we pay 80 euro for a metre cubed of seasoned wood olive oak small amount of pine everyone uses them here love your videos very helpful especially since I am fully renovating our 3 houses

[@GosforthHandyman]

Fantastic - that sounds amazing!

[@andrewbarrett2685]

Excellent video ive just had a log burner installed and its definitely saving me turning the combi on as frequently as we would have at this time of year plus the log supplier I get my wood off sells it very cheap a ton bag with approximately 500 kgs of wood for 60 notes can go wrong it lasts me about 6 weeks so definitely saving money.

[@Granto-ni9qw]

@@andrewbarrett2685 I'm in Durham wood s expenses hard to find cheep logs

[@redsquirrelftw]

Wow good to know the pm2.5 is really not that bad. Kind of makes sense though as once you have a good draft it should just get sucked out the chimney anyway if you are careful about opening the door to restoke. Having a fresh air intake helps too as it eliminates any potential back puffing issues if draft is not good. I recently put in a wood stove myself as natural gas costs have skyrocketed under the Trudeau government. I finished the install about a week ago and got it certified so it's ready to go once the weather cools down. Once I get the hang of it I will work on enhancing hvac so I can move the heat where it needs to go.

[@Bobrogers99]

In a New England winter, those that have a woodstove appreciate having a "hot spot" in the house. When you come in all cold and wet, the stove is a good place to dry your mittens/gloves and your jacket. Your wet boots can be on the floor near enough to the stove to dry out as well. And standing next to the stove for a few minutes will warm you up so you can go back out and finish those outdoor chores. My neighbor has a 150-year-old cookstove in her kitchen. It may be inefficient, but in addition to the assets above she can use it to cook and bake. A kettle of water humidifies the dry winter air and is ready for a cup of hot tea.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Fantastic Bob! 👍⛄

[@Redpilled-vv5lk]

Who knew there was so much to log burners! Thanks for the info ! Loving my new burner ! 29 degrees in no time 😱😜 .

[@bluecurlygirl]

You sent me down a rabbit hole there as we're quite close to Donegal where Maghery is. The general consensus online seems to be that it's a faulty sensor. Either that or someone is burning turf close to where the air quality station is set up. It's gone nuts since July and locals aren't affected by it/haven't noticed a difference. You scared the living daylights out of me for a minute! Aside from that fright, I'm loving this video. Saw Keiths video as well. We're planning to take out our solid fuel range and replace it and the open sitting room fire with wood stoves so I'm soaking up all this info. Trust the cats to find the warmest spot. Our two would nearly climb into the fireplace when the fire starts dying down. They love their warmth. Little brats.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Interesting! Yeah, did think that was odd! 😁

[@incorrect1844]

Love my burner..got vents to each room so nothing gets wasted.Had £800 credit last year..this year this bad boy will pay for itself. Get them fitted while you can

[@rooicolchester3174]

Thanks for the video. My view: stove smoke is diffused into cubic kilometres of air space. Incense sticks, frying, oven, is diffused into cubic meters of air space. Hence lower readings from stove inside the house. The stove also draws fresh air into the house.

[@mandyleeson1]

Really informative video, Andy. I ordered a particle meter after seeing Keith’s video, so it’ll be interesting to see how our 20 yr old wood burner performs. We’ve been informed that because we can close our fire down without it going out, it produces much more smoke and therefore harmful particles. However, we won’t be replacing it any time soon as it’s very efficient and economical and we can’t afford a new one! P.S. Loved seeing the cats having fun and ‘splooting’.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Defo! And the cats love a good sploot!

[@christianforster2468]

Absolutely just, unbiased, video. Great clarification and earned a sub from me. Appreciate all the knowledge just one critique, a little to long winded in the UK Regs and such but that’s just because I’m from Canada. Thanks for for the info!

[@andrewadam9544]

all you need to know is its minus 7 today and my central heating gas boiler would be on continually trying to maintain the temperature, im basking in about 25degrees in the living room and the heat goes through the whole house, best thing we ever purchased

[@barneyvannrogers3856]

The reason the scandi method is the best is that the kindling heats the liner up creating better draw. Also logs prefer their oxygen from above and coal from beneath, so leave the Ash in the fire instead of cleaning it out when burning logs. Clean the Ash out when burning coal and open the bottom air vents

[@lleo100]

Thanks for video looking at getting one for the house this as just made me so much happier on getting one keep up the good work

[@konnosgar]

This is truly a great and helpful video. Thank you so much!

[@srw_cricket2976]

If you have space a heat powered fan on top of the stove may help circulate the heat and by doing so reduce your burn rate and therefore save logs. Just a thought. Great informative videos. Txs

[@GosforthHandyman]

Defo! Although I don't really want the room to get any hotter! 😉👍

[@fetabrown]

The cat! An unexpected treat. Also thanks for this thoughtful video. :-D

[@johncampbell3182]

Wood burner with back boiler Great investment for hot water and central heating

[@WobblycogsUk]

Give or take your findings match our experience with a wood burning stove. I do a fair bit of woodwork so the scraps from that get burnt which saves a bit of money. I agree though if you have to buy wood it's not really a cost saving over gas and it's less convenient (it does look good though). The carbon neutral argument isn't a strong one for me. For most people it's not really true as they are buying wood. There are emissions from harvesting and processing the wood and the growing of new timber. It's certainly lower carbon than coal and gas but it's not neutral usually.

[@EM-fh2tx]

Love the kitten looking for the 'laser' dot on the floor!

[@GosforthHandyman]

I hadn't even noticed that until afterwards! 😂

[@pekkahilden6802]

As someone said you better split the logs. Bark is the main reason for sud. Burning mixed wood is better. Here in nordics birch is favored wood but its bark produces lot of sud. In facr if you are burning only birch there is a risk for chimney fire as the hot fire ignites the sud on chimney walls. Otherwise, nice fireplace and wonderful ginger cats!❤️

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers - great info! 👍👍

[@SM-cz5od]

Great video. Very informative and really easy and pleasant to listen to. Thank you

[@cometahyakutake9375]

Absolutely brilliant, I live in Durham and it's just what I needed. Any update would be great! I'll have a look at your website and all the links you have too! Cheers mate!

[@scotttaylor-chisholm8662]

Awesome video my friend. I shall proceed with some knowledge now, cheers Scott

[@tesscot]

Great explanation on the emissions.

[@petercoughlan103]

Andy great videos as always! and the house is top class. I always find it funny reading the comments and hearing about getting approved installers (maybe it shouldn't be funny ) etc this side of the pond any one can install and start using a stove/ wood burner no signing off nothing. It's second nature to us I would go so far to say probably more than 50% of all houses use solid fuel for heat in the form of turf mainly.

[@GosforthHandyman]

That's fantastic! Judging by a lot of the comments the approval seems to be a waste of time anyway! 👍😂

[@EM-fh2tx]

I didn't know that turf (peat) was burned in houses in the USA?

[@843thebear]

I believe log burners work best if a bed of ash remains, rather than removing it.

[@GosforthHandyman]

With this stove I believe they recommend to remove the dusty ash but leave the bigger lumps of charcoal. 👍

[@843thebear]

@@GosforthHandyman You've done a great job with your house, and great videos too, thanks.

[@jimbartley9125]

The pleasure of the fire far outway any saving you can make. Cheers

[@CarolHaynesJ]

@@GosforthHandyman my Aga recommends leaving the ash. Just a word of warning with pets - we only had our stove two weeks and the glass blew out in shards. Aga replaced it and checked the installation (suspected a bad batch of glass). It was extremely frightening and went off with a loud bang and showered large shards all over the rug. Luckily we were there and no real harm was done - also luckily our elderly dog was not in her favourite place when it happened. I know it is a rare thing to happen but we now keep a guard over the fire when we are out of the room or the dog is nearby!

[@ourclarioncall]

@@CarolHaynesJ wow , hold old was the stove ? I got rid of some glass items out of my house after learning it’s quite common for glass items to shatter/explode , even ones that are many years old and well used.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Some good research there, although the outside particle measurements should be done some distance away and downwind from the chimney. But even then the pollution of stoves is exaggerated by many media, same her in the Netherlands. Today, with a temperature average of 5,5°C I managed to get gas usage down to 35kWh over 24 hours, and burned apr. 7 kilos of wood. Still 21°C in the living room, 18°C in the open kitchen, 18°C upstairs, and 13,5°C in the not used rooms in the extension downstairs in a 211m² house. Not bad I think, the insulation installed when renewing my flat roofs performs excellent. Walls and floors still to do!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Yeah, I tried the outside measurement all over and it was about the same - 6-8 and sometimes much lower. The insulation makes a massive difference. 👍

[@clarkfinlay78]

its important not to remove all the ash between burns the manufacturers general suggest leaving a bed of ash to improve the heat of the burn and the secondary burn that keeps the glass clear.

[@freakeystyley34]

Not only that, there's still fuel in the ash - super efficient stoves will produce less ash because it keeps on burning. By throwing out too much ash you reduce your fuel efficiency.

[@GosforthHandyman]

Remove the dusty ash, leave the lumps. 👍

[@clarkfinlay78]

@@GosforthHandyman Pretty sure my manufacturers instructions recommend about 25mm depth of ash to improve the insulation on the base of the fire and help keep it burning at its peak efficiency

[@DocteGaby]

Love the idea of your corrections page, excellent stuff!

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers! Will keep adding to it! 👍

[@Gaz1za21]

Thanks for sharing Andy, great video. Like others I'm a big fan of splitting the rounds early as helps with drying, stacking and the greater surface area does help with the burn. One myth I've also been told - and watching yours was interesting - is not to burn logs with bark on; apparently the energy required to burn bark is greater than the energy created, so I try to use 'clean' logs but welcome others views....

[@GosforthHandyman]

Defo! Will be out with the axe once we get a few days decent weather. 👍

[@anneforster8692]

We’ve found that the dried bark that accumulates at the bottom of the wood stack makes fabulous kindling.

[@andrewelliott1939]

I have a stove in my small, late 19th Century, two-up-two-down, stone terrace cottage in north Derbyshire. If it put in slow-burning night logs that are still glowing 8-10 hours later, and from which I can quickly and easily relight my stove in the morning, then I can get by without central heating most of the winter with little discomfort.

[@gdfggggg]

Nice.

[@elliothooker7631]

Great video. Thoroughly enjoyed the trip down the rabbit hole. From my experience with emissions testing (industrial furnaces) this is done in stack rather than at the burner so it would be interesting if there were significant differences there but a little overkill for domestic.

[@ianhickey48]

HI Andy IAN The Handyman Don't forget to put the Ash around your fruit trees and bushes or mix it up in your compost

[@GosforthHandyman]

Great stuff - I need to start keeping it!

[@ianhickey48]

@@GosforthHandyman Hi Andy Just a bit different? I use Muti Suface paint from a company called BEDEC a good range of colours and will mix F&B Dulux It comes in soft mat soft satin soft gloss good for M D F wood metal .very good spraying Better to buy it from your Paint supplier.Its waterbased and thick so get them to give it a good shake. Good for spraying cabinets ect..You can get all the information on line all for now Andy have a good Christmas and looking forward to your next video buy for now Ian The Handyman

[@mermaidlafemme1022]

First time visitor loved your knowledge and great content....most helpful video I have now subscribed....best wishes from beautiful but chilly Scotland 🙂🤗

[@GosforthHandyman]

Cheers and welcome on board! 👍👍

[@stovic1442]

Interesting seeing how someone else does it. I've two burners and been using them 15 years. I thought the clicking was just metal movement! I almost never empty the ash unless its spilling out 😀

[@stuartjones2242]

great video , plenty of useful information, love your attention to detail 👍👍

[@reggiedixon2]

I have always hated incense sticks because of the pong and the feeling that the air is really crap when they are burning, reminds me to always trust my instincts.

[@GosforthHandyman]

I've always loved them but the emissions were quite surprising! 😂👍

[@andrewwatkinson1548]

Loved the cats chasing the laser thermometer around the floor. 😆

[@alanwood9804]

... I think the temperature at 17:23 is the cat and not the floor!!😄

[@highpath4776]

Indeed it is proper burning that is needed , I lived in rural oxfordshire and poor smoking chimneys still caused smog in the mid 1980s, something that had been banned in London and South Yorkshire by 1974 ( Grants in S Yorks councils for more efficient burners rather than open fires were avalible on the clean air act switches

[@GosforthHandyman]

Defo!

[@FrankWoodPhotography]

The reason they say fires are bad for the environment is they don’t want you to have self sufficiency.

[@GosforthHandyman]

I'm coming 'round to this way of thinking more and more. 🙄👍

[@keithtennant699]

who are they?

[@denverbasshead]

@@keithtennant699 governments, and people like Klaus Schwab at the WEF. The Uber hypocritical rich

[@geoffhaylock6848]

Maybe 'they' don't want people stripping the trees from all over the cities as fuel. Even in the countryside, we have far less Woodlands than somewhere like France.

[@MrManic52001]

​@geoffhaylock6848 you are the reason... complete lack of basic awareness

[@lukepowell4953]

Here in my life again, like the father I never had!

[@JamesMears76]

Your full log store would last me about 2 weeks lol

[@GosforthHandyman]

Ha - it's deceptively full! Doesn't look it on the vid. 😁

[@Lazarusart]

Great Video. So it sounds like the only real benefit to having a wood burner is a very small saving a year, but the way gas prices are going and standing charges, that totally cancels out any saving at all. Which is what the big energy companies want

[@bikerdad63]

Our stove can handle an 18"-20" log we also do not have it in a cubby hole. I also have a fan that i put next to it to help distribute the heat throughout the house. My natural gas heater rarely runs because of it. Not to mention the house can be the same temperature with or without the wood stove on but will feel warmer when it is running.

[@musicandmore605]

Great video. Thank you. Just moved to a house with a wood burner. So I’m geeking out. The air particulate thing was very reassuring! Luckily I don’t like incense 😂😂

[@normanboyes4983]

Andy, that was excellent and really covered all the bases. Considering how much you have insulated this property and the fact that is a ‘semi’ it is highly likely that the total property heat loss at say -2C is around 3 KW and so rather less than the designed max heat output of that wood burner. So, have you considered putting vents in the lounge ceiling into the first floor to help ‘vent’ some of the ‘excess’ heat from the lounge? Too late now but you could have had a back boiler version of the wood burner that can be married into your existing CH circuit.😉

[@iannorton4463]

I'm a brand new subscriber today 1/2/23 and I have been telling the missis for 10 years about the benefits of a log burner and only now is she showing a glimmer of a maybe...how do you get through to people like this? The funny thing is, is that she wouldn't have to lift a finger in the whole process 🤣

[@nirupam.biswas]

Brilliant video! Many thanks!

[@caineanderson8961]

Beautiful vid bro, well done sir.