Logburner Advice

[Flyfisher]

I think tbh this is a job which even the veriest nincompoop couldn't mess up. Especially give that we're all pretty practical on here.

Oh I entirely agree, but I also remember those halcyon days when electrical work didn't require certification. The sad truth is that nincompoops are not only capable of messing up almost anything but also that they tend to do so in highly visible ways such that everyone becomes tarred with their brush and we are all deemed in need of protection from ourselves = something that insurance companies, in particular, will gleefully latch onto by requiring all manner of certification paperwork in the event of any claim.

 

[Flyfisher]

As for the CO monitor (no offense to our CO's out there!), I'd have to buy one before I melted it!

Our HEATAS man provided one as part of the installation (along with the sheaf of paperwork and a nice metal plate to be fixed next to the stove (I don't think so!) or in the gas/electricity cupboard) so I think they're part of the requirements for new installations these days.

Much as a love a good moan about red tape, there are some things that are eminently sensible and a CO monitor for anyone with a combustion appliance is one of them, in my book.

 

[Zebra]

Well, with electrickery, there are many small repairs for which you wouldn't have to be registered. I don't know whether changing a part on a stove would fall into a similar category. I've changed the glass on mine myself, and redone the seals on the doors several times, and they're just as important to the airtightness of the thing as the plate on the top.
You could certainly effect a temporary repair using heat resistant silicone whilst you shop around for a replacement part.
In any case, I don't think you'd get into any trouble by doing it yourself. If it were my stove, I would, if only to find out whether or not it was within my level of nincompoopery.

 

[middi]

I believe that if anyone happens to poison themselves because they have not installed a basic woodburner correctly deserve to DIE.

What do we need next ?, I know !!, certificates for correctly installed air bags at the bottom of staircases in case we fall.

 

[tobydog]

I believe that if anyone happens to poison themselves because they have not installed a basic woodburner correctly deserve to DIE.

What do we need next ?, I know !!, certificates for correctly installed air bags at the bottom of staircases in case we fall.

No worries, I have no plans on ending the year by being top on the leader board at the 2013 Darwin Awards. As for the stairs, we have a dog that can both cause the fall and soften the landing at the same time. We used to have a board to stop him going upstairs when he was younger. That's now gone and he just waits for us on the floor along the bottom step :roll: .

 

[DJH]

A few more thoughts about log burners...

Clear out the ash pan daily at least, more often if it fills quickly. A build up of ash touching the underside of the grid/grate can lead to it overheating, distorting and, in the worst case, melting..

If you have a riddling yoke on the fire basket give it a good riddle now and again to get the logs to settle down on the embers but do it anyway before loading new logs onto the fire...works for me...

Never shut the combustion air so much that you don't have a good bright fire. All you're doing if you do this is making charcoal and lining your flue with tar and condense which is not good...

Off for another basket of logs...

Happy New Year to all from a sunny Tipperary ... :shock:

Doug

 

[Penners]

a riddling yoke

Here's one:

In California, you can't take a photograph of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?

You can‘t take photos with a wooden leg. You have to use a camera.

 

[philpjuk100]

I bought half a ton of wood/sawdust briquettes off ebay for £100 including carriage and the pallet they were on! I find them good for lighting the fire and rekindling it when you wake up and find it nearly out!.I expect this load to last me the season.I also bought a lorry load of seasoned/split logs for £160 and may need a further two of these to see the winter out (why has the cost of the lorry load of logs risen from £130 last year? I asked the driver and he told me it was in line with the increasing energy prices!) I also collect scrap wood/pallets etc during the year and burn them.I have two log burners,one small in the kitchen and a large one in the living room.I only empty the ash every 8/10 days and then only get about half a bucket full (and a handfull of nails/screws from the pallets) I am suprised how burning 8/10 large baskets full of logs that I can only just carry turn into half a bucket of ash.I have a flue thermometer and somtimes burn the stoves with the doors open for the radiant heat and like to see it burn,the glass stays clean.The stoves are both dual fuel and if I burn coal they give more heat but require emptying every day so I save coal for very cold days.

 

[tobydog]

Last year I had to replace the glass in both doors of our woodburner (which was in the house when we moved here). They nuts were so rusted on to the studs that I wrung three of them off, even after copious soaking with easing oil.

You may wish to extend your mortgage in order to buy replacement glass. Each piece in the doors of our stove cost me over £20! :shock:

Guess what? I need a Plan B for getting the nuts out of the top blank plate. As expected, and as exprienced by Penners, getting nuts out of an old burner is not easy.

 

[DJH]

Oh dear...always happens doesn't it. :twisted:

Try a centre punch to make a small mark in it to locate a drill bit then drill down with a bit which is smaller than the screw. You might then be able to unscrew it with a screwdriver but failing that use progressively larger drill bits and it will disintegrate eventually without damaging the thread...

I had the same problem and it worked for me.

Good luck

Doug

 

[Penners]

In the case of my logburner, the studs wrung off so easily that it was probably a good thing I had to replace them. However, in general if a nut is immovable, the best answer is a nut splitter:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/laser-nut-splitters/17610

You have to spend a few pence on new nuts, but that's infinitely preferable to an expenditure of pounds on getting new studs welded on.

 

[DJH]

Hang on...have I misunderstood here? The top plates are usually held in place with countersunk screws not nuts! perhaps I'm going nuts...

Doug

 

[tobydog]

Doug - yes, the heads are countersunk screws and sit flush. I assumed Penners was referring to nuts on the underside rather than nuts on top. I can't actually see the underside due to the design so these must go into threads in the top panel of the burner. Sorry I carried on referring to nuts!!. I'll try your method. Let's hope the mild weather continues.

 

[Penners]

Actually I was talking about the nuts that hold glass in the doors.

I have a doctorate in obfuscation.

 

[DJH]

Yea, and bad jokes... :lol:

I also collect scrap wood/pallets etc during the year and burn them.

So do I Philip. I cut them up with a jigsaw which is quieter, less dusty and the blades are cheaper if you hit a nail than using a chainsaw or circular saw although blades are available for the latter which take no notice of nails or screws. With the thinner section timber on the pallets I cut them into length,stack them up about 6 high and then fire a 90 mm nail through them ending up with a nice dry log. Simples...

Doug

 

[Penners]

Yea, and bad jokes...

I refer you to my answer on another thread. :wink:

 

[tobydog]

What a right old bag of mixed nuts . All very seasonal. I'll stay of the sherry next time.

 

[Flyfisher]

If the plate fixings are screws of some sort and the heads are in good condition, it might be worth trying an impact driver on them. Perhaps a bit of WD40 to lubricate things and then the vibration of the impact driver might free things up a bit.

 

[Penners]

Doesn't an impact driver need to rotate before it can "impact"? If the screw is solid, that be problematical.

How about trying a manual impact driver*?

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p90581?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=googleshopping&utm_campaign=googleshopping&mkwid=K6xw5UwP&pcrid=26799528743&gclid=CJSFoZWF4LsCFQMUwwod6HcAWg

* Or is that what you meant, FF?

 

[Flyfisher]

I think impact drivers sort of 'bash' the driver around, a bit like the impact wrenches used by garages to remove car wheels. You may be thinking of the action of a hammer drill?

I don't have an impact driver, though I've been often recommended to get one when the time comes to replace my cordless drill/driver.

However, I do have an air-operated impact wrench and it has proved invaluable for removing very rusted nuts and bolts from my old tractor, so my suggestion is based on the assumption that the two tools work on the same principle, i.e. imparting a rotational hammering force - though I could be wrong.

The manual impact driver you pointed to might also do the job - they are very good for imparting a sharp turning force without the driver bit slipping out of the screw head, but I'd be a bit wary of using such a tool on a cast iron stove. I have used one in the past (on the tractor, before getting the air impact wrench) because to be effective they do need quite a wallop, which might 'upset' cast iron somewhat.