Logburner Advice

[philpjuk100]

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

As I usually cut pallets up away from an electricity supply I use a chainsaw,I cut them into the three bits with blocks in,stack these and then cut the blocks out,I dont seem to hit any nails but if they are dropped off near the workshop I use a recipricating saw I was given via "freecycle"(the chap who I got it from had cut through the wire!) but its a great bit of kit! the only problem with burning pallets is all the nails that are left in the ash! I agree that a manual impact driver is not the best tool to use on cast iron if you use one wear stout gloves!

 

[wobs]

I take slightly broken pallets and break them up by hand. Any that need some more persuasion, I use a 4lb lump hammer. Great fun, and cheaper than any power tool. Not much good on the more sturdy pallets. We get a wide variety available.

I don't usually use the planks unless they are sturdy enough and have been broken from the cubes already, but the timber cubes themslves are ideal.

Any cutting that needs doing is then done with a bow saw.

 

[Penners]

You may be thinking of the action of a hammer drill?

You're right. I'm not familiar with an impact driver - so does the hammering action start before the rotation commences?

I can understand your reservations about using a manual impact driver on cast iron, I suppose the risks involved would be proportional to the thickness of the iron. As you say, one wouldn't wish terminally to "upset" it!!

 

[DJH]

Yea, the hammering action starts straight away if the screw doesn't turn. In normal use the action starts when resistance is felt (oo err ) I've got the Hitachi model and wouldn't be without it now but you do need to have a good supply of driver bits and it's worth getting good quality ones. A draw back with the tool is that you don't drill holes with it so FF you might need to invest in a drill and an impact driver as well...

Doug

 

[Feltwell]

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.

FF, you need to treat yourself, but as Doug says you need one in addition to your drill/driver, not instead of.

If you use pozi-headed screws then a cordless impact driver is invaluable - 100 times better than using a drill/driver. The Makita LXT one that I've got has been great and I share the 2 batteries I've got between different tools that I've gradually bought from the range - once you've bought the first tool with the batteries and charger, buying "bare" (i.e. no batteries or charger) tools from the same range is much more affordable. Get a box of decent quality bits, as they do wear and need replacing fairly frequently, but they're cheap enough.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-pozi-screwdriver-bit-box-pz-2-x-25mm-pk25/99783

I'd be very, very careful before using one on a cast iron stove though. Agree that a manual impact driver is a definite "No". Personally I'd go for the drilling the screw out method - gradually going up the drill sizes as Doug describes, keep soaking the screw in penetrating oil, keep trying to get the screws undone with a spanner locked on to a screwdriver, providing the screw heads are not mangled. In this situation I'd use a hand drill rather than a power drill - much more controllable, much less chance of causing damage if you slip.

If the screw heads are mangled then you can also have a go at carefully cutting a slot in the head with a Dremel or similar if you've got one - I've got a miniature cutting wheel that's quite good for doing that - to then get a flat blade screwdriver into the new slot.

 

[philpjuk100]

If you are able to use a compressed air impact gun there is an adjustable torque setting so you can increase the torque until the screw comes out or you shear the head off.If the head does come off it is then time to get the drill out.Soak well in penetrating oil (I had some Austrailian penetrating oil called kroil,the instructions said "give the frozen nut a little squirt and then stand back as it unscrews itself" (from the same folk that make "start you bastard" and "bullshit remover").
Kroil's unique, proprietary molecular architecture creates an affinity to metal that guarantees swift penetration, while maintaining a molecular structure capable of breaking bonds at the first molecular level. This unique molecular architecture was chemically engineered in the laboratory based on research which defined the interdisciplinary physical, electrical, mechanical and chemical properties which cause frozen metal parts. This research enabled Kroil to be chemically engineered to loosen frozen metal parts in every instance regardless of the cause. For more information, please read the independent Reed Research Report.
A bit like beachcombers "snibbo" It does say on the can if it does not work you can have your money back!

 

[Feltwell]

from the same folk that make "start you bastard"

:lol: :lol: :lol:

It says many things about the differences between our countries that the Aussies can market "Start-Ya-Bastard" and we have the ever-so-restrained "Bradex Easy Start".



I much prefer the Aussie approach!

 

[Flyfisher]

Though we do have . . . .

 

[skier-hughes]

Which doesn't stick!!
I tried it for a shower plate, with hooks for a hand shower attachment at the top, which would not stick to the tiles.
Started with sticky tape around the edge as supplied and a bead of sealant.
I week later it was peeling off.
I replaced the sticky pad, added more sticky pad to the top, used sealant again and 1 week later it was peeling off.
I replace sticky pad, added more sticky pad to the top, used sealant all the way round with 3 blobs of sticks like shot, each top corner and middle.
Using a long piece of wood I left it pushed into position for 4 days while we were away, 5 weeks later I see that it is slowly peeling away again...........

This job, for those who followed it in the other place, is taking over from the leaky shower joint!!!!!!!!!!!

aaaarrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[Feltwell]

I've never found anything sticks properly to tiles. Drill them slowly and carefully with a glass bit (Screwfix's cheap set of 3 are OK) and then fix into whatever's behind if you can.

 

[LadyArowana]

I've never found anything sticks properly to tiles. Drill them slowly and carefully with a glass bit (Screwfix's cheap set of 3 are OK) and then fix into whatever's behind if you can.

Nail polish does :evil:

 

[Penners]

Kroil's unique, proprietary molecular architecture creates an affinity to metal that guarantees swift penetration, while maintaining a molecular structure capable of breaking bonds at the first molecular level. This unique molecular architecture was chemically engineered in the laboratory based on research which defined the interdisciplinary physical, electrical, mechanical and chemical properties which cause frozen metal parts. This research enabled Kroil to be chemically engineered to loosen frozen metal parts in every instance regardless of the cause. For more information, please read the independent Reed Research Report.

I find it interesting that the company which offers this explanation of its product's efficacy also makes a product called Bullshit Remover.

Physician, heal thyself!

 

[philpjuk100]

Cannot find a pic of the nulon version which is a sort of WD 40 but this arrow type is air freshener!

 

[Ebenezer]

How do you guys get round the building regs for new stove installations? (For those who have installed post 2010) you need progressively bigger air vents for each KW above a 5KW stove. Now for period property's which are ridiculously draughty an air vent is a waste of time and detrimental to the character, and if listed likely not allowed anyway. I want to downsize an inefficient old stove to a more appropriate small new one. But won't get building regs signed off without a vent!

 

[MatthewC]

How do you guys get round the building regs for new stove installations? (For those who have installed post 2010) you need progressively bigger air vents for each KW above a 5KW stove. Now for period property's which are ridiculously draughty an air vent is a waste of time and detrimental to the character, and if listed likely not allowed anyway. I want to downsize an inefficient old stove to a more appropriate small new one. But won't get building regs signed off without a vent!

For precisely that reason I bought and 4.5kW stove in 2011 - and it is quite man enough to heat the room 6m x 3.5m.

We did fit a vent in the lounge where we installed an open fire; the installers wanted to put a hole in the front wall (no, the house is listed and the wall is over a foot thick..... ) but I pointed out that it's a suspended wooden floor with a vent at ground level in the front wall. So they agreed to fit the vent in the floor and were going to put it between the fire and the front wall, but I said it would improve the floor ventilation if it was put between the fire and the back wall - two birds with one stone!

 

[Penners]

How do you guys get round the building regs for new stove installations?

Sorry to sound like a lecturer, but let's just remember that the building regs weren't put together entirely to cause problems for the likes of us! The ventilation rules exist for a good reason - to minimise the risk of CO poisoning. So unless you can satisfy yourself 100% that the required ventilation for your woodburner exists in some form or another (eg: draughts!), I suggest that you should install whatever ventilation the regulations require. In my experience, you probably don't need LBC for every modest hole in the wall, for a GII building.

This will have the added bonus of a proper certificate and sign-off, which will avoid problems with the purchasers' solicitor, if/when you come to sell the house.

 

[Flyfisher]

I don't think it's a case of 'getting around' the building regulations and I also don't see why an air vent would be automatically disallowed in a listed property - only a discussion with the CO would confirm that and I'd be surprised if some sort of mutually acceptable solution couldn't be found, otherwise almost all listed houses would be limited to open fires and we know that's not the case.

We've done much the same thing as MatthewC. A 5kW stove in the bedroom we're 'camping in' didn't require a vent and can keep the 6x8m room at a blistering (to me!) 22C without really trying. The 11kW boiler stove due to be installed very soon ( no, we didn't make it in time for Christmas) does require separate ventilation but we'll achieve that through the underfloor pipes we installed during the recent kitchen extension.

I certainly wouldn't automatically discount the possibility of installing air vents in a listed property until discussing things with the CO. My experience is that they can be quite inventive about all manner of things if you approach things from the actual problem to be solved rather than assuming you need to drill a big hole in a wall.

 

[Penners]

A 5kW stove in the bedroom we're 'camping in' didn't require a vent and can keep the 6x8m room at a blistering (to me!) 22C without really trying.

But I bet it's not "blistering" to Mrs FF!

In Mrs P's world, there are only two temperatures: "freezing" and "nice and warm". Anything that is not the latter is automatically the former. I always know when NAW has been achieved, because I find myself melting and the panting dog begs to be let out, to cool off.

 

[Flyfisher]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Insightful as ever!

 

[Penners]

No insight necessary - simply the many years of experience of a married man!