I have just read an article tweeted by guardianeco (4/1/10) by Phil Daoust about wood burning stoves and why we should not believe the ‘evangelists’ who sing their praises, see original guardian article.
As a ‘pot boiler’ this is a brilliant effort as it is short, is clearly without any independent evidence beyond the author’s own stove in his mountainside home and is a fine example of journalistic gargling. It makes some of us so-called bloggers feel quite proud of our own work, especially where some effort is made to make use of something known as research. Of course it could be a humorous piece but it's not very funny. More like an old geezer's rant. That's my job.
Many important details are missing. We are not told where his home is other than it is where the temperature falls below -12 c on a regular basis during winter, nor are we told of the extent of its insulation apart from his ‘shack’ being double glazed. We are not told its size. Neither are we told the make of the stove or its age and what kind of wood is burnt. It could all be down to bad sub-editing of course. Either way one is left asking why the Guardian put this very thin article into print.
It starts by referring to a woman who the author says won’t stop talking about her stove and who claims that ‘one tiny log’ will keep her whole house warm for a day. Unless the house concerned is AAA rated someone needs to seek help.
The author responds by claiming that a wood burner will only heat a whole house if it is a tiny house. I would add, ‘...or if the stove and fuel is properly matched to the house’. The author doesn’t bother to tell us what type of stove he has. The picture accompanying the article seems to be a library picture and no details are given as to output or method of burning. He does, however, bother to tell us that his heater is supplemented by four electric radiators and a paraffin stove. Again no details are given. We have come a long way from the old- style slow-burning wood stoves which deposited all kinds of nasties into the atmosphere. Even modern paraffin stoves bear no comparison to the old Aladdin’s.
No details are given with regard to the double-glazing either. Wherever this ‘shack’ is situated I would have thought modern e-glass should be used for triple glazed units with argon gas filler. In any case roof insulation would be a far more important factor to mention in the interests of the article’s aim of veracity.
We are however told that we can’t run such stoves on the odd branch picked up while walking the dog. This is definitely true albeit somewhat obvious. It would have been more helpful if the article had explored the comparative costs of wood and coal. No mention is made of seasoning wood to reduce its moisture content in order to improve its heat output. At nearly £8 per 20 kilos, coal is no longer cheap and it is certainly not carbon neutral. Furthermore, it is possible to source good firewood locally in many country districts and this help support the many new woodlanders seeking to run their woods on sustainable principles. The coal from your local retailer could come from anywhere in the world and often the supplier cannot tell you the country of origin.
The author does however tell us that every time he gets up in the night for a pee he has to throw more logs on, and that in any case if these logs are not added he will wake up shivering. Even outings are spoilt by the worry that there will be no fire left to resuscitate on his return and social gatherings have to be curtailed by 11 in order to get back and feed the stove.
This all leads to me offering the following advice. Firstly, see a doctor to get the prostrate checked out. Secondly, check out the heat rating of your home. It looks as though it will be well down below the UK minimum of F, the lowest given by the Energy Savings Trust home survey form. Check out the type of electric radiators. They could be very old as could the paraffin stove. Install some high efficiency e-glass triple glazing .Make sure you build up a stock of well- seasoned hardwood of at least one year’s drying.
Oh, and I nearly forgot, do some thorough research before committing your money, rather like the process normally invoked before putting pen to paper.
If all this seems too much bother then may I suggest the author moves to a lower altitude or latitude and hooks up to some gas or oil. This should keep you warmer and keep the pot boiling. It would also remove him from the two groups he so dislikes, the Pollyanna type ‘...banging on about how much she loves her wood burner..’ and ‘...a whole bunch of grumps whingeing about how much they hate theirs’. I had no idea that it was only ill informed females that liked wood burning stoves so much. Presumably the author includes himself in the latter group.
Dacier
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Really good post. I've recently sourced a wood burning stove from Less Lettuce and had one installed in my main living room (my remaining rooms are heated more conventionally). As much as this is a feature, I actually enjoy storing and lighting a fire in the Wintry evenings. It's not a chore but a great feeling. There's no substitute for the flicker of flames and crackle of the fire to warm you up on those cold nights.
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