Unbatten The Hatches .......... Dust Off The Barbie

[Lazarus]

Hmm .............. that's a whole bag of worms with arguments nobody can win.

But environmental considerations are/were only one element of that particular choice.

 

[sonnetpete]

So you're not into save the planet then?

Leaving aside any eco arguments, the guy who supplies me with (Belgian) anthracite, Gary, (no not that one LOL) comes accross as a bit of a dreadlocked, multi pierced eco warrior. Apparently he's not above supplying a fossil fuel if theres a profit to be made but on the other hand, using some of his (horticultural) core business skills he's given over part of his large acerage to grow fast maturing and renewable willows with which to heat his own home. If we have the same intense winter as we had last year, I'll be glad to have both coal and wood, perhaps a touch selfish I know.

 

[Huevos]

If we have the same intense winter as we had last year

Same here. Coldest winter since I've been here but the stove can easily keep up. I pack it all the way to the baffle and then put a split on top at the front so it is really above the baffle. I fill it so much I've broken the baffle firebricks a few times. Anyway, once it gets going I shut the primary air completely and then the secondary really takes off. The top corners around the outlet hover around the 600ºF mark for a couple of hours and the vitro-ceramic about 900ºF. Normally by around 8 hours later it's coasted down to 200ºF. Most of the time that is plenty of heat for one day but on really cold ones I can load it up to three times. I've found that compared to my neighbours who put a log on every so often the house is warmer and we burn a lot less wood. I think my biggest problem is how to have efficient small fires just to take the chill off.

 

[sonnetpete]

Interesting. My Supra has no firebricks, it's entirely steel and cast iron. The previous (cheaper) log burner we had got through grates and ash pans quite quickly, eventually cracking the cast iron fireback. I think we had it drawing too long to try and keep warm!!! It was not that efficient as opposed the my current logburner which is. It's all down to how well the door seals and how well you can regulate the draught to keep it ticking over. I usually get through three or four logs a night once I get it going with smaller stuff. I also find it can burn greener stuff quite readily.

 

[Huevos]

The baffle doesn't have to have firebricks but it must be heat proof for secondary combustion to work efficiently. The idea is the secondary air is released below the baffle and the baffle has to keep it above 1100ºF for secondary combustion to occur. It's quite amazing to watch. Even though it is just air entering through those holes it looks like a stream of gas. The air coming in through those holes mixes with the wood gas and creates a strong diffusion flame.

[tube]llPp6WFzaks[/tube]

In the video the horizontal line 2/3rds the way up is the baffle. Almost all the flame above the baffle is secondary. See the way the flame is not connected to the wood, it's the wood gas that is burning. A stove without double combustion just wastes all that energy up the flue.