Log burner in holiday let - First post
Just to ad my 2pence worth, we have 2 log burners at home, both burn mainly wood with a little coal on really cold days, and if we want to keep in overnight (not all stoves will burn coal though).
We get virtually free wood, hubby in the groundskeeping business, so its thats a big advantage for us, plus we have our own land an generate cuttings from hedgerows and the odd fallen tree!
You need to be able to store it, provide safe disposal of hot ashes and provide properly seasoned logs which burn well and don't smoke. Badly seasoned wood tars up the chimney and can cause fires and blockages. I have seen it recommended that if you burn mainly wood, you should have chimney swept twice a year atleast!
But of most concern is that fact that there was a case of CO poisoning involving a family not far from us a couple of weeks ago. They were lucky to be alive when the fire service arrived, and had to have hospital treatment. The source was a faulty flue on a woodburning stove, property was rented and the family only moved in the previous week. Landlords, please be aware of the requirements for satisfactory flues on your stoves, and check the installation requirements with the stove manufacturer or supplier. I am fairly sure that stoves must be installed in line with building regs, particularly in a property let to third parties. The landlord in this CO case is lucky not be be charged with 4 counts of manslaughter, but he is being investigated under H&S regs and may yet be prosecuted.
There is currently no requirement for annual safety checks on solid fuel stoves, like there is for gas appliances, but I fear cases like this will soon introduce such regulations, as poorly installed or badly maintained, they can be just as deadly. I would suggest to anyone installing a stove, that a battery operated CO monitor/alarm tested weekly is an absolute must!
We get virtually free wood, hubby in the groundskeeping business, so its thats a big advantage for us, plus we have our own land an generate cuttings from hedgerows and the odd fallen tree!
You need to be able to store it, provide safe disposal of hot ashes and provide properly seasoned logs which burn well and don't smoke. Badly seasoned wood tars up the chimney and can cause fires and blockages. I have seen it recommended that if you burn mainly wood, you should have chimney swept twice a year atleast!
But of most concern is that fact that there was a case of CO poisoning involving a family not far from us a couple of weeks ago. They were lucky to be alive when the fire service arrived, and had to have hospital treatment. The source was a faulty flue on a woodburning stove, property was rented and the family only moved in the previous week. Landlords, please be aware of the requirements for satisfactory flues on your stoves, and check the installation requirements with the stove manufacturer or supplier. I am fairly sure that stoves must be installed in line with building regs, particularly in a property let to third parties. The landlord in this CO case is lucky not be be charged with 4 counts of manslaughter, but he is being investigated under H&S regs and may yet be prosecuted.
There is currently no requirement for annual safety checks on solid fuel stoves, like there is for gas appliances, but I fear cases like this will soon introduce such regulations, as poorly installed or badly maintained, they can be just as deadly. I would suggest to anyone installing a stove, that a battery operated CO monitor/alarm tested weekly is an absolute must!