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Scotland/Alba Regional Weather Discussion 23/04/17 onwards


BlueHedgehog074

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Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
8 minutes ago, More Snow said:

For an import from Englandshire I found it to be a very stormy night but guessing I shall get use to that kind of thing.. spent 2 hours today carrying and splitting wood in driving drizzle and gusty winds... i rather enjoyed the work doing this very therapeutic indeed. so onto my next question for you all. i have a log burner in my lounge and an open fire in my downstairs bedroom this is all new to me so looking for advice... when do you all start using your fire or log burner and do you use it instead of heating via oil fired heating or do you use it as well as.?? currently the oil heating is on for 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the evening. this seems to be working well at the moment but am well aware that i will need to use the fire and log burner soon.

Is your wood seasoned? If not, stick to oil till next winter. If it is, burn it as fast as you like to save the oil. You can do some rather woolly sums about relative costs in terms of time and money too.  We've been using oil and wood in varying proportions for donkeys now and have found that over the last 10 years, the availability of burnable cheap wood has dwindled as the boom in log burners has taken place.  So we now burn a bit more oil than we used to, but I'd say it's still 90% wood. Warms you at least twice!

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Posted
  • Location: Fettercain/Edzell
  • Location: Fettercain/Edzell
7 hours ago, Hawesy said:

Yes, a routine Autumn storm here with two to three hours of gales earlier this morning - which of course was exactly as forecast!

Same here, Hawsey.

It would have been interesting, though, to have seen the red sun and the yellow sky.

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11 minutes ago, Hairy Celt said:

Is your wood seasoned? If not, stick to oil till next winter. If it is, burn it as fast as you like to save the oil. You can do some rather woolly sums about relative costs in terms of time and money too.  We've been using oil and wood in varying proportions for donkeys now and have found that over the last 10 years, the availability of burnable cheap wood has dwindled as the boom in log burners has taken place.  So we now burn a bit more oil than we used to, but I'd say it's still 90% wood. Warms you at least twice!

Seasoned??? only chopped the trees down yesterday... it was free as the neighbour wanted the trees gone. split the lot and stacked it in my garage. she said she has others she want cutting down.

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Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
1 minute ago, More Snow said:

Seasoned??? only chopped the trees down yesterday... it was free as the neighbour wanted the trees gone. split the lot and stacked it in my garage. she said she has others she want cutting down.

Burning unseasoned wood is usually only done in desperation - so much of the heat is wasted in just drying it out. You're also risking messing up your flue with creosote which is a fire risk.

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Posted
  • Location: Fettercain/Edzell
  • Location: Fettercain/Edzell
1 minute ago, More Snow said:

Seasoned???

I was just going to reply to HC's post in regard to the importance of seasoning wood.

You'll have a good supply next year.:), or the next.

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Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
5 minutes ago, ciel said:

There's some advice on here:-

http://burndryfirewood.com

depends on the wood. fast grown crappy sitka will be dry in six months if given space to dry off but dense hardwoods up to 3 years. I like ash and sycamore - good compromise of fuel value, easy to split and seasoned in a year. A tip - avoid elm like the plague as it's an absolute bugger to split!

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Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
5 minutes ago, CatchMyDrift said:

Be a badass like me and burn coal. It creates mammoth amounts of heat. 

I must get the chimney swept, good point @Hairy Celt

Lots of things burn well. Plastic, peat, pallets, petrol....

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Posted
  • Location: Fettercain/Edzell
  • Location: Fettercain/Edzell
11 minutes ago, CatchMyDrift said:

Be a badass like me and burn coal. It creates mammoth amounts of heat. 

I must get the chimney swept, good point @Hairy Celt

lol, In really cold winter spells, I burn "eggs"a local name for compressed coal dust bullets. They keep the stove burning overnight.

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so is coal a good option then?? do I use normal coal or smokeless stuff?? been told the smokeless stuff burns longer and gives off more heat. sorry everybody for the constant questions but this is all new to me.

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Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
11 minutes ago, ciel said:

lol, In really cold winter spells, I burn "eggs"a local name for compressed coal dust bullets. They keep the stove burning overnight.

We have a pile of chunks of gnarly knotted wood that have resisted splitting that go on for cold nights in midwinter. Nice to find the stove still going on Xmas morning when there's snow lying, although it leads to awkward Santa-related questions....

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Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
Just now, More Snow said:

so is coal a good option then?? do I use normal coal or smokeless stuff?? been told the smokeless stuff burns longer and gives off more heat. sorry everybody for the constant questions but this is all new to me.

Probably better to use smokeless stuff in a stove if you have the choice. Soot and creosote are the stove owner's enemies.

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1 minute ago, Hairy Celt said:

Probably better to use smokeless stuff in a stove if you have the choice. Soot and creosote are the stove owner's enemies.

ok thanks for that... what is best for the open fire we have in the downstairs bedroom?

 

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Posted
  • Location: NH7256
  • Weather Preferences: where's my vote?
  • Location: NH7256
Just now, More Snow said:

ok thanks for that... what is best for the open fire we have in the downstairs bedroom?

 

I'd probably go for old-fashioned coal as it burns more easily and is cheaper I think.  It's a few years since I've burned it myself, see what  @CatchMyDrift says...

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Posted
  • Location: Aboyne, Scotland, 450ft Altitude (edge of Cairngorms)
  • Weather Preferences: Warm sunny summers. Cold snowy or sunny winters.
  • Location: Aboyne, Scotland, 450ft Altitude (edge of Cairngorms)
32 minutes ago, More Snow said:

Thanks all for the helpful replies. any tips and advice on winter tyres?? whats best etc??

Just received my Dunlop winter sport 5s today on winter alloys. Also used Dunlop winter sport 3 and vredestein snowtrac 3. Both are very good winters. Night and day different to summer tyres.

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41 minutes ago, Mr T said:

Just received my Dunlop winter sport 5s today on winter alloys. Also used Dunlop winter sport 3 and vredestein snowtrac 3. Both are very good winters. Night and day different to summer tyres.

Thanks.. i currently have a grand scenic 7 seater. is this ok to fit winters to?? i am looking to replace this car with something more suitable tho.

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Posted
  • Location: South Falkirk 111m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Sunny in summer, cold in winter.
  • Location: South Falkirk 111m asl
9 hours ago, More Snow said:

so is coal a good option then?? do I use normal coal or smokeless stuff?? been told the smokeless stuff burns longer and gives off more heat. sorry everybody for the constant questions but this is all new to me.

Just a word of caution if you have a wood burning stove you can only burn wood or wood products. It would need to be a multi fuel stove to burn wood or coal. 

Also to season your wood it needs to be kept outside. If you keep it in your garage it might go mouldy. 

We've got a wood burner though I often wish it was a multi fuel stove as I love the smell of coal. 

https://firewoodforstoves.com/dos-and-donts/can-i-use-coal-in-my-wood-burner/

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Posted
  • Location: near Jedburgh
  • Weather Preferences: well it depends.. just not haar!
  • Location: near Jedburgh

Our multi fuel stove stays on 24/7 for most of the year as the hubby feels the cold badly. It heats the stone walls and gives unlimited hot water s I think it's worth it. We burn smokeless eggs and it only needs empting & filling only once a day. On an ordianry open fireplace I'd second what Catch says, use bigger coal and top up with foraged wood. And always have firelighters in the house :)

Edited by mardatha
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Posted
  • Location: Aboyne, Scotland, 450ft Altitude (edge of Cairngorms)
  • Weather Preferences: Warm sunny summers. Cold snowy or sunny winters.
  • Location: Aboyne, Scotland, 450ft Altitude (edge of Cairngorms)
23 hours ago, More Snow said:

Thanks.. i currently have a grand scenic 7 seater. is this ok to fit winters to?? i am looking to replace this car with something more suitable tho.

Might not be worth the investment if changing the car soon. Check the book or door plate that show tyre pressures. I would imagine it will tell you what M&S tyres to fit and pressure required. I've been fitting winter wheels myself since winter 2010 and have never looked back. I change the wheels over myself Oct/Nov and Mar/Apr. Spreads the wear across two sets of tyres designed for summer and winter. Winter tyres are also very good in the wet even if no snow. Check tyre reviews before buying as cheap winter tyres might disappoint (especially wet handling). I've found winter tyres to be so good that I'll take back roads in heavy snow to avoid traffic - roads that most folk avoid in snow.

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Posted
  • Location: Home: Glenrothes, Fife Work: St Andrews, Fife
  • Location: Home: Glenrothes, Fife Work: St Andrews, Fife
On 10/18/2017 at 20:36, CatchMyDrift said:

@More Snow:)

I can't remember exactly how much coal we went through last winter, I don't think we spent much more than £100. That was only for the living room fire, it wasn't on every day. We burn some wood on it too but that's more for effect as the coal will generate proper heat. I've found that trebles (bigger pieces) burn best in the fireplace we've got but everyone's got their own ideas. You'll get what you pay for with coal, there's all different types. I wouldn't recommend any of the manufactured coal products but others like them. All the wood we burnt last year was scavenged from the countryside. I've got a decent collection in the wood shack waiting to get chopped. You can tell if it's ok for burning by the weight. When did I turn into a hillbilly?

I suppose the best advice is do whatever works best for you, your house and your bank balance. Every house is different, some people argue that a fire in a fireplace draws heat from the rest of the house.

Just keep your chimney swept.

Crikey that's good going. I used to go through about £300 worth in the draughty old place in Crail. I would swear by anthracite, burns long and hot, though it is more expensive.

No such issues in Broughty Ferry as it's gas central heating for me now. Miss the multi-fuel stove though! 

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Posted
  • Location: near Jedburgh
  • Weather Preferences: well it depends.. just not haar!
  • Location: near Jedburgh

We put a shovelful of anthracite on  just before bedtime, it keeps the fire from drawing away if it's windy overnight.

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Posted
  • Location: Luncarty (4 miles north of Perth 19m ASL)
  • Weather Preferences: Hot Summers Snowy Winters Stormy Autumns
  • Location: Luncarty (4 miles north of Perth 19m ASL)

I think @More Snow may be disappointed after all this prep if recent winters are anything to go by........let's hope not though 

 

I'm ready for the chase again :cold:

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