cooking with the log burner!

HELLFIRE PIZZA COOKER AND GRILL SET

As winter draws nearer and the energy bills will be going up by over 80% in October like everyone in the uk we are all looking to save money any way we can and as we have a log burner we are looking to use it to cook more food on.

The wife found a grill plate to place in the log burner to aid in cooking on the stove, they do two sizes, and I'm debating whether to purchase one for cooking on the cold wet weekends when we have the burner on all day warming the house.

It comes as a kit to cook all manner of things, not just pizza, I would not think of using anything other than good kiln dried wood as I would think the smoke will flavour the food to a degree, especially when grilling over the glowing embers.

We have measured the dimensions, and it looks like we could fit a nine-inch grill in our fire I'm just waiting on feedback from the shop to confirm this, as it's a bank holiday weekend I doubt ill get anything back until mid-week next week.

This company also do a planning maker, and they did do a jacket potato maker as well (we have these items already but are unable to use hem to the best of their ability as they need to be used inside the stove) and I fear they will fail or damage the burner if not placed flat 

check out the company's website and see what they do at naturalheating.co.uk

check out their YouTube channel, they have cooked some awesome stuff natural heating YouTube

Burn baby burn

The log burner, 3 years on:

OK after three years of log burner use what have I learnt? 

Economy: a log burner is between 70 to 80% efficient, so to me it made sense to have one instead of a gas fire or open fire, it also stops cold air coming down the chimney when not in use.

If  I wanted to save some money I could have carried out a lot of the work my self, all that needed doing to make the fire safe was the installation of a carbon monoxide alarm and a registered installer to carry out the final fitting of the burner. If you do some running round and getting quotes some will come round and assess also advise you on what you can do your self.

Chimney sweep's prices vary and as long as you use a registered sweep it's all that matters, so spend a little time contacting your local sweeps for a quote. To find a registered sweep click HERE

Should I have got a multi fuel burner? No not for us, I don't think coal would have been appropriate as you need to store it and then there is the added mess of coal bits over the place, As well as having to install a more expensive liner for the chimney.

Fire wood we have an external log store for the logs and kindling, so for us kiln dried logs are pointless for me so we use seasoned wood, I order by builder's bag at a time to save money, from empty it takes two bags to fill my log store 

Is a burner messy? yes the burner can be a little messy, ash can come out when you open the door quickly if it is windy outside or the fire is burning wood, you will also get some ash over the place when you empty the ash it's not half  as bad once you learn to take your time.

Cleaning:  emptying out the ash, we find leaving a layer of compacted ash in the bottom of the burner works better for the efficiency of the burning logs as opposed to the bare firebrick of the wood burner, if you don't plan to use the burner for a while then remove as much ash as you can so not to absorb any damp.
If you get a dirty window when the burner is cool, get a damp cloth and use a bit of ash dust and wipe the window until the dark marks are gone. Then wipe with a clean damp cloth and then wipe dry.
To clean the outside of the burner, wipe over with a  duster or damp cloth when cool.

Making the log burner operate more efficiently:
I would recommend a stove fan to place on the top of your burner in the back corner, it will blow warm air out and around your room, a chimney thermometer as it will show you the best temperature to have your log burner at to reduce soot deposits up your chimney. Quality tools, a good set of tongs and a spade will help no end a metal bucket for the ash that could contain hot embers and a pair of gloves to protect your hands, a damp meter if you are storing wood outside 

Cost to run per year

Chimney sweep: £40 yearly
Seasoned wood: £60 per bulk load delivered to our door,  we use approximately 3 bags a year 
Kindling: free if you are willing to collect old pallet wood and cut it up your self
firelighters: cost about ten pence to melt the old wax candles down, the rest is recycled material 

Questions:

Do you use your gas central heating?
The only time our central heating comes on is when we have heavy frost outside in the early mornings and in the evenings if the fire is not on. Without scientifically testing this, and that's not easily done, I would say I don't use my boiler by up to two thirds as  much as I did the 1st year.

Could I use pallets instead of fire wood?
You could, but pallet wood burns extremely fast and creates a lot of soot.

Can I chop my own trees down and use?
it takes about 12 months or more to season the wood so it will need to be dry stored, If the wood moisture is 15% or less yes you could, I would, if your wood is from an evergreen tree it will spit a lot and sap will be hard to get off the glass

Why not throw freshly chopped wood in the log burner?
Green wood has a lot of moisture in it. The  wood will spit heavily from all the moisture and sap in it, the moisture and sap will stick to the liner and cause issues further down the line. The wet wood will cause the fire to cool down and not burn efficiently also causing a lot of soot that won't burn because the fire is not hot enough.