making good use of new woodburners.

happyhacker · Post by **happyhacker** » 30 Sep 2013, 21:48

I have just self-installed a small one with a flat top so I can cook, boil on it. Anyone have suggestions as to how to introduce more effective use of it for the daily meals to save electric?

silverback · Post by **silverback** » 30 Sep 2013, 21:56

Hi HH, and welcome to the lane )wav(

Don't want to pop your bubble (here it comes!) but, have you installed your woodburner to safety regulations?. Not trying to spoil your efforts, but should anything go wrong!, you may not be covered under your house insurance! >dowhat<

. I was going to install my own woodburner, but after going into all the regulations and procedures, decided against it, and ended up having a HETAS registered engineer install it! >shrug<

happyhacker · Post by **happyhacker** » 30 Sep 2013, 22:10

Yes! The LA has just been round to approve the installation. With all the estimates coming out at 3 - 4k pounds I decided to do it myself for about 1.5k. )t'

.

silverback · Post by **silverback** » 30 Sep 2013, 22:17

Well done you )app(

, hope you didn't think I was being negative, but some people are not aware of the implications!. As for suggestions, the sweet chestnut season is upon us, and the trees are abundant with them! )t'

, start collecting and roasting )eat(

P.S. You could keep a kettle on the go, to save boiling with electric! :-D

happyhacker · Post by **happyhacker** » 01 Oct 2013, 08:08

Thanks, on the question of fuel I regularly go to the LA tip and when there grab as much 4x2s as I can. Usually this is enough to last most of the winter. Should have invested in some woodland years ago!

bmpsands · Post by **bmpsands** » 01 Oct 2013, 08:33

We got our multi-fuel burner last year and I love it. The only "cooking" I do is to sit casseroles, etc, on the top but being a bit cautious I always get them bubbling on the gas hob first. We bought a little kettle and that lives on there occasionally but I wouldn't say it made a great contribution to our overall fuel bill.

I like my croissants/brioches etc slightly warm for breakfast, so if the burner has been on for long enough I use that rather than the microwave or toaster.

It will be interesting to see what other people do - thanks for asking the question.

Post by **manda** » 01 Oct 2013, 09:08

You can do roast chicken and veg on top of the woodburner...big pot (preferably cast iron if you've got one) or a dutch oven if you've got one...pop the chicken on a rack, surround by veg, bit of water in the bottom and then pop the top on a leave for 3-4 hours (depend on the size of the chook).

Bake potatoes / veggies / apples inside the firebox....wrap in foil and job done (when the flames have dies down).

Soups, stews, steaming on top.

Pot of water / Large kettle on top during the winter...as you use it replace it. Put it on a trivet to keep it warm and then put it on the top when you want to boil it.

Pop pans on a trivet if you want to slow down / regulate the heating process or if you haven't got thick bottomed pans or a dutch oven....will take it from a boil to a simmer.

We use ours a fair bit but then it's our only source of heat - and we like having it in case of power outages (which happen from time to time here)...but it's also an efficient use of the wood....enjoy :-D

Post by **Sara** » 01 Oct 2013, 11:01

I love my woodburner, Like Manda says, keeping water going through the day, soups , stews and reheating food, boiling veg etc... but id never thought of roast chicken, thanks Manda ill give that a go in the winter. )t'

I also have a shiela maid above both the woodburners to dry washing, within half an hour everything is perfectly dry, also for warming pj's , and drying herbs... )t'

fabindia · Post by **fabindia** » 02 Oct 2013, 21:49

I some times put my cup of tea on top of ours, forget how hot it gets, and then usually end up burning my lips {rofwl}

polymoog · Post by **polymoog** » 15 Nov 2013, 22:20

hi to everyone on this forum ive lurked for a while but decided to join at last.
Weve had our wood burner for 3 years now and i always have a kettle on it in the evening, one kettle full washes up the evenings dishes and the next kettle full makes a nice bedtime drink.
im going to try cooking a casserole on it this wekend as someone else has mentioned.
we also have an ecofan on the top of the stove and they really do work it helps to push heat out into the room.
we keep our internal doors open and it circulates through the rest of the house.
we also dry clothes in front of it too ( but only when we don't have visitors {rofwl}

)
we have not put our central heating on yet (gas!) and try to leave it later each year!
cheers Polymoog

silverback · Post by **silverback** » 17 Nov 2013, 16:21

Hi Polymoog, and welcome to DTL )wav(

, sounds as though you have got it all sussed already!. Our central heating is only kept on low during the winter period, and then only for drying clothes on, like you our woodburner keeps the whole house warm )t'

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