Stoves don’t burn…but wood does!

It’s been a busy few days here at the Robeys Showroom. We have been fortunate enough to have played host to Bart Leenders from Dutch contemporary fires and stoves company Harrie Leenders.

Established nearly 40 years ago in 1979, Harrie Leenders fireplace are of exceptional quality. Using long-lasting materials and carefully working with, Harrie Leenders build stoves and fireplaces that combine original style with the highest efficiency and the very cleanest combustion.

Aside from learning even more about this fantastic brand, Bart kindly hosted for the Robeys staff, a Fire Evening Event which allowed us to learn even more about the top-down lighting technique as well as about choosing the right logs to burn, after all it isn’t the stove that burns but the wood.

Why should a fire be lit with dry firewood?
It is important to use dry firewood when lighting a wood burning stove for a variety of reasons. Dry firewood not only ensure the best combustion but also allows you to get the most heat out of your logs. The efficiency is also much higher when using dry firewood compared to moist ones.

Using moist firewood can not only be damaging for the environment and uncomfortable for your neighbours due to the smoke generation, it can also be damaging to your stove and flue system.

Choosing your firewood
With hundreds of varieties of wood out there, it can be quite tricky to get your head around what type is the best to use particular for novice woodburning users. In an ideal world, wood should be left to dry for two years, in outdoor log store that is in the wind 20-30cm off the ground and sheltered from the rain. Whilst some people do have this luxury not everyone has the space or time to dry their logs in this way. The main things that we here at Robeys advise when it comes to logs is:
* Logs must have a moisutre content of less than 20%
*Only use wood that has been naturally seasoned for at least two years or logs/wood that have been kiln dried
*Opt for hardwoods such Ash, Beech and Birch as we found these are ideal for burning on a wood stove.

Did you know?
Did you know that you can use washing up liquid/ dishwasher soap to check the dryness of your logs?

According to Bart Leenders if you rub a small amount of washing up liquid/dishwater soap on to the bottom of your dry log then blow into the top of the other end it should produce bubbles, indicating that the log is dry.

This might sound mad, but this happens because the channels that once transported water throughout the inside of the log have now dried and the water disappeared allowing the air to pass freely through these channels when you blow.

For more information and to see our great selection of kiln dried logs and wood stores, follow the link: https://www.robeys.co.uk/product-category/fuel/

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