OK so we've established (with neighbour's help) that the chimney is clear,
now I've found out that she's in a smoke-control-area FFS....

There's a list of "authorised" fuels he

http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/fuels.php?country=e

I'm assuming that anything not on the list is prohibited, like logs from the
garden etc., but according to the local regs, I can still burn them on the
bonfire!?!?


OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette stuff.
Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm for the longest
time, without having to keep refilling? And does anyone have any special
ways of setting it all up for best results/least hassle?

On 24/01/13 19:31, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:
OK so we've established (with neighbour's help) that the chimney is
clear, now I've found out that she's in a smoke-control-area FFS....

There's a list of "authorised" fuels he

http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/fuels.php?country=e

I'm assuming that anything not on the list is prohibited, like logs from
the garden etc., but according to the local regs, I can still burn them
on the bonfire!?!?


OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette stuff.
Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm for the
longest time, without having to keep refilling? And does anyone have any
special ways of setting it all up for best results/least hassle?

I cant remember a conviction for burn8ing smoky fuel since the 60s....


Lots of people DO...
--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On Thursday, January 24, 2013 8:13:41 PM UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 24/01/13 19:31, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

OK so we've established (with neighbour's help) that the chimney is

clear, now I've found out that she's in a smoke-control-area FFS....



There's a list of "authorised" fuels he



http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/fuels.php?country=e



I'm assuming that anything not on the list is prohibited, like logs from

the garden etc., but according to the local regs, I can still burn them

on the bonfire!?!?





OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette stuff.

Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm for the

longest time, without having to keep refilling? And does anyone have any

special ways of setting it all up for best results/least hassle?



I cant remember a conviction for burn8ing smoky fuel since the 60s....





Lots of people DO...

Until a neighbour complains and the local authority impose a nuisance order, or whatever they call them. Get a supply of smokeless fuel and burn the wood until the council call, then show them the smokeless stuff.

She could burn wood in an 'approved appliance', basically a stove with secondary air supply; list on Hetas site. They're much more efficient. Some open fires have a negative efficiency, they blow more heat up the chimney than they emit into the room.

There's not much you can adjust on an open fire.

On 24/01/2013 20:13, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

I cant remember a conviction for burn8ing smoky fuel since the 60s....


Lots of people DO...

When I asked my council they said that they weren't sure if I was in a
smokeless zone, and in any case they don't enforce it...

Andy

On Thursday, January 24, 2013 8:13:41 PM UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
snip


I cant remember a conviction for burn8ing smoky fuel since the 60s....


Lots of people DO...
I suspect that the numbers in most places are too small for them to bother unless a neighbour gets agitated about it...
Around 20 years ago, just after I had moved house, I received a letter from the council saying that they were considering making my area a smoke control area, and asking whether I used any fires which couldn't burn smokeless fuel, as I could possibly get a grant to have them replaced. I naturally replied that I did - although I don't use it often my fireplace is really not well designed for smokeless fuel. I haven't heard anything more from the council on the subject, and recent investigations show they didn't go ahead, so this means when the supply of tuits is finally sufficient I'm going to have to fund a new fireplace myself.
Many people I talk to seem to believe that the area *is* a smoke control area, so the council have discouraged many people from burning coal and wood without all the legal bother...

Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

OK so we've established (with neighbour's help) that the chimney is clear,
now I've found out that she's in a smoke-control-area FFS....

There's a list of "authorised" fuels he

http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/fuels.php?country=e

I'm assuming that anything not on the list is prohibited, like logs from the
garden etc., but according to the local regs, I can still burn them on the
bonfire!?!?


OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette stuff.
Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm for the longest
time, without having to keep refilling? And does anyone have any special
ways of setting it all up for best results/least hassle?

I find that Coalite burns away to nothing far too quickly, anthracite
briquettes work well in the multifuel stove and in our open grate,
though fortunately we're not in a smoke control zone and can use logs
which is what we mostly use unless we want the fire to burn for a long
time without much attention.

The briquettes make a lot of ash.

--
Burn Hollywood burn, burn down to the ground

In article ,
Mentalguy2k8 wrote:
OK so we've established (with neighbour's help) that the chimney is clear,
now I've found out that she's in a smoke-control-area FFS....

There's a list of "authorised" fuels he

http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/fuels.php?country=e

I'm assuming that anything not on the list is prohibited, like logs from the
garden etc., but according to the local regs, I can still burn them on the
bonfire!?!?

OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette stuff.
Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm for the longest
time, without having to keep refilling? And does anyone have any special
ways of setting it all up for best results/least hassle?

I don't think I'm in a smokeless zone, but when I burn coal on the
multi-fuel stove I have, it's anthracite (small). Local merchant has it
for £10 a 25Kg bag. (Stove maker doesn't recommend anything other than
anthracite though)

However when it comes to lighting it, you might as well practice with
beach pebbles... Good firelighters, some dry wood kindling and let that
get hot before slowly adding the coal...

Gordon

On Thursday 24 January 2013 21:48 Gordon Henderson wrote in uk.d-i-y:

I don't think I'm in a smokeless zone, but when I burn coal on the
multi-fuel stove I have, it's anthracite (small). Local merchant has it
for £10 a 25Kg bag. (Stove maker doesn't recommend anything other than
anthracite though)

However when it comes to lighting it, you might as well practice with
beach pebbles... Good firelighters, some dry wood kindling and let that
get hot before slowly adding the coal...


I found the same with anthracite.

Get some Phurnacite - which is anthracite dust in "egg" form - a
manufactured fuel.

It lights, even if damp and cold, with one strip of good lighters (a 15cm x
3cm x 3cm cuboid) and nothing else. Break strip into 2 and arrange side by
side to form a dense reactangle in the middle of the grate.

Even if you just keep to to kick off and add anthracite later. It does
slumber well though, so I use nothing else these days.


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

If you are reading this from a web interface eg DIY Banter,
DIY Forum or Google Groups, please be aware this is NOT a forum, and
you are merely using a web portal to a USENET group. Many people block
posters coming from web portals due to perceived SPAM or inaneness.
For a better method of access, please see:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."

On Thursday, January 24, 2013 10:18:17 PM UTC, Tim Watts wrote:
It lights, even if damp and cold, with one strip of good lighters (a 15cm x
3cm x 3cm cuboid) and nothing else.

If I can't light the coal, even wet, with either half a firelighter (2x2x3 max) or a couple of sticks, then I fear the angry spirit of Baden Powell is going to haunt me

A whole strip of firelighters isn't an ignition source, it's fuel.

On 1/24/2013 8:27 PM, Andy Dingley wrote:
On Thursday, January 24, 2013 10:18:17 PM UTC, Tim Watts wrote:
It lights, even if damp and cold, with one strip of good lighters (a 15cm x
3cm x 3cm cuboid) and nothing else.

If I can't light the coal, even wet, with either half a firelighter (2x2x3 max) or a couple of sticks, then I fear the angry spirit of Baden Powell is going to haunt me

A whole strip of firelighters isn't an ignition source, it's fuel.

I've been using dried pampas grass. Works every time.

On Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:27:15 -0800 (PST), Andy Dingley wrote:

If I can't light the coal, even wet, with either half a firelighter
(2x2x3 max) or a couple of sticks, then I fear the angry spirit of
Baden Powell is going to haunt me

You'll need more than a couple of sticks to get anthracite going. It can
be hard to light but is the best stuff to burn, burns slow with lots of
heat and very little ash.

Never used firelighters meself, just a few sheets of screwed up
newspaper(*), a dozen or so bits of kindling, few small bits of coal, set
any aircontrols/flue dampers to make the fire draw, light and keep an eye
on it. Once the coal starts to go slowly add more until you have the
desired size.

(*)The insides CPC flyers are good but not the glossy covers. Screwfix,
Toolstation, Wickes, Machine Mart, etc cataloges are OK at a push but not
good, just that little bit too glossy.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Friday 25 January 2013 01:27 Andy Dingley wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On Thursday, January 24, 2013 10:18:17 PM UTC, Tim Watts wrote:
It lights, even if damp and cold, with one strip of good lighters (a 15cm
x 3cm x 3cm cuboid) and nothing else.

If I can't light the coal, even wet, with either half a firelighter (2x2x3
max) or a couple of sticks, then I fear the angry spirit of Baden Powell
is going to haunt me

A whole strip of firelighters isn't an ignition source, it's fuel.

But it works I learnt that skimping usually means raking back the coals
and putting more lighters in which uses *more*. I'm too busy/disorganised to
keep a stock of kindling wood...

And when I light up for half a week at a time, I'm not too bothered - a
packet of lighters still lasts a month at £1.65


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

If you are reading this from a web interface eg DIY Banter,
DIY Forum or Google Groups, please be aware this is NOT a forum, and
you are merely using a web portal to a USENET group. Many people block
posters coming from web portals due to perceived SPAM or inaneness.
For a better method of access, please see:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."

May be a silly question but how come you can burn logs in the garden but not
in the fire?

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Mentalguy2k8" wrote in message
...
OK so we've established (with neighbour's help) that the chimney is clear,
now I've found out that she's in a smoke-control-area FFS....

There's a list of "authorised" fuels he

http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/fuels.php?country=e

I'm assuming that anything not on the list is prohibited, like logs from
the garden etc., but according to the local regs, I can still burn them on
the bonfire!?!?


OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette stuff.
Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm for the longest
time, without having to keep refilling? And does anyone have any special
ways of setting it all up for best results/least hassle?

On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:46:28 -0000, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

May be a silly question but how come you can burn logs in the garden but not
in the fire?

Smoke control regulations are concerned with chimneys.
It's probably assumed that garden "bonfires" are only occasional
rather than a daily occurrence.
Clearly it's OK to pollute at a low level so as to contaminate the
contents of your neighbours' washing lines; smoke some 30' higher is
much more of a nuisance...

I'm involved with a steam-engined museum with a 180' tall chimney and
we are apparently (I hope!) exempt from smoke regulation. We burn real
coal and quite a lot of wood.

--
Frank Erskine

On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 01:41:36 +0000, Frank Erskine wrote:

Smoke control regulations are concerned with chimneys.
It's probably assumed that garden "bonfires" are only occasional
rather than a daily occurrence.
Clearly it's OK to pollute at a low level so as to contaminate the
contents of your neighbours' washing lines; smoke some 30' higher is
much more of a nuisance...

Just the sheer number of chimneys, the normal 1930's 3 bed semi has 8...
I don't remember the two upstairs ever being used in the semi I was
dragged up in but the two downstairs were.

With the advent of gas and the Clean Air Acts people have forgotten, or
never experienced, how fithy the air was and the smogs that came with it.
There is no mains gas in Middleton-in-Teesdale, the pall of smoke that
hangs over the town on a still winters day is something that most places
no longer have. Seen similar in China where the principle heating fuel is
coal.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Friday, January 25, 2013 1:41:36 AM UTC, Frank Erskine wrote:
On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:46:28 -0000, "Brian Gaff"

wrote:



May be a silly question but how come you can burn logs in the garden but not
in the fire?

Smoke control regulations are concerned with chimneys.

Not just that: it applies to chimneys on buildings only. If you live on a boat you aren't bound by the rules AFAIK. this caused some friction in Cambridge where houseboaters (of whom I was one) were allowed to burn any old coal (cheaper) but a house adjacent to the river had to stick to smokeless.

Robert

Robert

In message , Brian Gaff
writes
May be a silly question but how come you can burn logs in the garden but not
in the fire?

Carbon neutral?

Agricultural exemptions..

Under the *waste regulations* (EA site) I can burn up to ten tons (might
be 20 now) of plant tissue (wood waste) in any 24 hour period. This must
be at the site of production.

I guess it is assumed domestic bonfires will only burn tree and hedge
trimmings produced on site.

--
Tim Lamb

"Brian Gaff" wrote:
May be a silly question but how come you can burn logs in the garden but not
in the fire?

Because they are too long to fit in the grate?

--
€¢DarWin|
_/ _/

Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette stuff.

After dark you burn what you like.

Bill

On Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:31:48 -0000, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette
stuff. Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm for
the longest time, without having to keep refilling?

Top quality British anthracite, if you can get it... I forget the names
given to the different sized coals, I think an ordinary domestic grate
needs bits not much bigger than a clenched fist, they might be "nuts", or
are nuts smaller?

http://www.coalmerchantsfederation.c...cts/anthracite

I'd go for "Large nuts", if it's a bit big you can always hit it 'wiv an
'ammer. B-)

Curiously the CMF only recomend "smokeless ovoids" for open fires in
smoke control areas and only recomend anthracite if enclosed burners
(stoves, cookers, etc). I suspect this maybe down to anthracite being
hard to light and decent air flow.

http://www.coalmerchantsfederation.c...-fuel-selector

And does anyone have any special ways of setting it all up for best
results/least hassle?

Doesn't your Mum know, shouldn't she be teaching you? Maybe she is too
young to have been brought up with open fires.

A real fire is hassle full stop, but there is something very comforting
about a real fire in winter with the weather battering at the windows.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 25/01/2013 09:21, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:31:48 -0000, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette
stuff. Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm
for the longest time, without having to keep refilling?

Top quality British anthracite, if you can get it... I forget the
names given to the different sized coals, I think an ordinary
domestic grate needs bits not much bigger than a clenched fist, they
might be "nuts", or are nuts smaller?

http://www.coalmerchantsfederation.c...cts/anthracite

I remember seeing, I think, beans used in certain stoves.

Or am I thinking about getting a cup of coffee?

--
Rod

On Friday 25 January 2013 09:21 Dave Liquorice wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:31:48 -0000, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette
stuff. Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm for
the longest time, without having to keep refilling?

Top quality British anthracite, if you can get it... I forget the names
given to the different sized coals, I think an ordinary domestic grate
needs bits not much bigger than a clenched fist, they might be "nuts", or
are nuts smaller?

http://www.coalmerchantsfederation.c...cts/anthracite

I'd go for "Large nuts", if it's a bit big you can always hit it 'wiv an
'ammer. B-)

Large nuts are not that large - and are pretty good for a small stove.

Small nuts are too small unles syou want to run a forge.
A real fire is hassle full stop, but there is something very comforting
about a real fire in winter with the weather battering at the windows.


Yes. And because it heats the masonry of the chimney (unless you have an
insulated flue) and the walls nearby, it provides a more buffered heat
source. Fire goes out, house cools more gradually.

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

If you are reading this from a web interface eg DIY Banter,
DIY Forum or Google Groups, please be aware this is NOT a forum, and
you are merely using a web portal to a USENET group. Many people block
posters coming from web portals due to perceived SPAM or inaneness.
For a better method of access, please see:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

"She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon."

On Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:31:48 +0000, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

OK so we've established (with neighbour's help) that the chimney is
clear, now I've found out that she's in a smoke-control-area FFS....

There's a list of "authorised" fuels he

http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/fuels.php?country=e

I'm assuming that anything not on the list is prohibited, like logs from
the garden etc., but according to the local regs, I can still burn them
on the bonfire!?!?


OK, so basically it's anthracite or some smokeless coal/briquette stuff.
Which is the best fuel for keeping the fire nice and warm for the
longest time, without having to keep refilling? And does anyone have any
special ways of setting it all up for best results/least hassle?

IIRC you are looking for a fuel for an venerable lady to use for the
occasional fire with the least hassle.

Try
http://www.coals2u.co.uk/homefire-heat-logs
these are easy to light, burn well and don't leave that much ash.
Cheap (if there is a store near you)
http://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/homefire-heat-logs-10kg-265852

At 3 for £10 they show what grabbing buggers B&Q are who charge about £8
per bag.

I use these for a quick fire in our wood burning stove, or as a quick
stove warmer before adding other fuel.

Very easy to light (especially with a small piece of fire lighter).

The bag says "Not authorised for use in a smoke control area." but given
the ease of use I would go for it :-)

At a minimum you could use these for occasional fires and keep some solid
fuel to add to the fire if you want to keep it in longer.

Cheers

Dave R


--
Pan in Vista on second Vista PC.

David.WE.Roberts :
Try
http://www.coals2u.co.uk/homefire-heat-logs
these are easy to light, burn well and don't leave that much ash.

Interesting page.

"CO2 neutral as the emissions caused are the same amount absorbed by the
tree during their life cycle." Huh?

The information I was looking for, but couldn't find, is how many kWh
per sack.

--
Mike Barnes

On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:13:43 +0000, Mike Barnes wrote:

"CO2 neutral as the emissions caused are the same amount absorbed by
the tree during their life cycle." Huh?

Well apart from not taking into account the energy (and thus the COS2
produced for that) used in manufacture and transport it's more or less
correct.

You can cut down and burn trees at the same rate as new trees are growing
without really affecting the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. It's when
you start burning trees that lived millions of years ago that the CO2
levels start to rise.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Dave Liquorice :
On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:13:43 +0000, Mike Barnes wrote:

"CO2 neutral as the emissions caused are the same amount absorbed by
the tree during their life cycle." Huh?

Well apart from not taking into account the energy (and thus the COS2
produced for that) used in manufacture and transport it's more or less
correct.

You can cut down and burn trees at the same rate as new trees are growing
without really affecting the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. It's when
you start burning trees that lived millions of years ago that the CO2
levels start to rise.

I'd only call it CO2 neutral if they replaced the trees they used with
new ones. I see no indication that they're doing that. Perhaps I
misunderstand "carbon neutral".

--
Mike Barnes

On Fri, 25 Jan 2013 23:15:50 +0000, Mike Barnes wrote:

"CO2 neutral as the emissions caused are the same amount absorbed by
the tree during their life cycle." Huh?

Well apart from not taking into account the energy (and thus the COS2
produced for that) used in manufacture and transport it's more or less
correct.

I'd only call it CO2 neutral if they replaced the trees they used with
new ones. I see no indication that they're doing that. Perhaps I
misunderstand "carbon neutral".

No that is a valid point but these "logs" use waste timber and nearly all
timber these days is from FSC sources so (in theory) the trees that are
cut down are replaced.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Re Homefire Heat Logs it doesn't mattr what price they are they're more than likely to be rubbish. If any damp gets in the bag at all the "logs" lose their bonding and turn to porridge oats which smoulder for hours without producing any heat. Avoid!

wrote in message
...
Re Homefire Heat Logs it doesn't mattr what price they are they're more
than likely to be rubbish. If any damp gets in the bag at all the "logs"
lose their bonding and turn to porridge oats which smoulder for hours
without producing any heat. Avoid!

Well keep them dry!
Any wood needs to be dry before burning.

On 22/03/2015 20:44, wrote:
Re Homefire Heat Logs it doesn't mattr what price they are they're more than likely to be rubbish.
If any damp gets in the bag at all the "logs" lose their bonding and
turn to porridge oats which
smoulder for hours without producing any heat. Avoid!

That is true of damp genuine wood as well. Keep them dry!

Not that I am a fan of reconstituted wood. There is more than enough
seasoned logs from downed trees where I live. The only snag is you need
to mature them for a couple of years until dry enough to burn well.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Sun, 22 Mar 2015 13:44:06 -0700, rcolehamilton wrote:

Re Homefire Heat Logs it doesn't mattr what price they are they're more
than likely to be rubbish. If any damp gets in the bag at all the "logs"
lose their bonding and turn to porridge oats which smoulder for hours
without producing any heat. Avoid!

Got some water damaged one cheap - they were crumbling - and had no
problem burning them when dry.

Very clean burning with very little ash.

--
Windows 8.1 on PCSpecialist box