Installing a log burner into your home can be a wonderful decision to effectively and affordably heat everybody inside. The upfront cost of installing a log burner will be worth it eventually due to reduced operating costs compared to mains gas and a possible increase to your property's value.
HouseFuel supplies the very best logs on the market to use in your wood-burning appliance, so here is our advice for the best logs to purchase and tips for using a log burner optimally.
Using a Log Burner
When purchasing a home heating appliance, you should always have an accredited installer fit it into your home to make sure the log burner ventilation system is connected properly and your log burner will work without a hitch.
When the log burner is ready to use and assuming it's in a clean condition, simply place kindling and firelighters into the combustion chamber, and light the firelighters to get the initial flames going. You can then add your wooden logs on top of the area, spread evenly so oxygen can flow between the logs, and watch as the flames increase.
The Best Fuel for Log Burners
Firstly, it's important to remind you that you must never use coal in a log burner. This is because coal Burns to a much higher temperature than wood and the appliance isn't capable of handling this. Log burners also have no ash pan underneath the combustion chamber, so you must always select wooden logs.
Likewise, we always advise to check with the manufacturer details of your appliance when considering to burn heat logs in a wood burning appliance because they reach much hotter temperatures. While heat logs are a brilliant solid fuel, they're far better suited to open fires and multi-fuel stoves.
Kiln-dried wood is by far the best choice for your log burner as they have been properly seasoned to remove most of their moisture, therefore removing a lot of the pollutants contained within them and vastly reducing the amount of smoke that will be emitted when burning the logs.
Log Burner Tips
Consider purchasing safety gloves to wear when operating the log burner to greatly reduce the risk of harm occurring when you deposit the solid fuel into the wood-burning appliance. Always keep children a safe distance from the log burner for their safety.
Ensure that your appliance is as clean as possible before using it so the solid fuel will burn efficiently and you can generate as much heat as possible. We advise that you clean your wood burner after every use once it has cooled down from the previous use.
With a long-handled fire poker, regularly move the kiln-dried logs around to create new pockets of air so the fire can breathe and it won't start to dwindle. If this fails, add a couple more logs to your combustion chamber and your fire should begin to build once again.
