There are many different types of solid fuel on the market for you to burn in your Stoves or Fireplaces and here we are going to explain some of the fuels you are likely to encounter when looking to buy such Products whether online or from a high street shop
Coal
The most popular choice of fuel for burning in fireplaces and stoves around the UK the main product you will find is called House coal. It is a Bituminous (non smokeless) coal, which cannot be burnt in smokeless areas.
It is available in three sizes
Doubles are the normal grade that is around the size of a golf ball
Trebles are larger than doubles and tend to be about the size of an apple
Cobbles are the largest of the house coals and are normally only used for large open fires
Anthracite
Ideal for glass fronted stoves it is very hard and dense and offers good heat and burning times and is also classed as smokeless
Wood
Very popular again due to the prices of other solid fuels as most companies offer trailer loads from around £80. This is normally supplied as a mixed load of hard and softwood. The only drawback to wood as a heat source is that it has to be dry to get the best use from it so make sure its stored correctly before use
Paper Bricks
With the rise in solid fuel prices a few of our customers have told us how they make paper bricks from waste newspaper with a paper press I have heard mixed results with some saying they were great and others saying they took too long to make and then burnt away to fast so without experience of these myself its hard to say but it is a very green option.
Green Logs
Manufactured into brick size blocks these “ Green Logs” are made from rapeseed oil plants and comes from the crushing process when extracting the oil I have tried a few of these logs given to me by a customer who bought a stove from us. I must say they were difficult to light but when going lasted longer than wood and im sure gave off heat slightly warmer the only downside is they are expensive but they stack well and don’t need any drying anybody interested in this fuel contact me and I will point them in the right direction to try them
There other options of solid fuel on the market such as Coke, Peat, etc but they are not widely used so just google search them for further info on burning these items and remember when burning solid fuel have your chimney swept on a regular basis.
Tags: Coal, Fireplace, Fireplaces, logs, Multi Fuel, Stove, Wood