I have gone through 28 cubic meters of firewood since last September and my back is beginning to give out. I am investigating switching to compressed logs. Does anyone use them? How many in what size wood stove for what size room, please? Has anyone done a cost comparison they would be willing to share?
Thanks
Martha
Ben, Your reply of the 19th of March is so helpful and thank you again. I am revisiting this headache and wonder if you have a supplier of the buches whom you can recommend. Have you tested many? Are there any you suggest I avoid?
Thanks,
Martha
I neglected to say in the above that I have about 10 cubic meters of wood still in stock. Without that, I would need to buy 8 or 9 pallets, I guess.
Thank you Andrew. Converting the burner is not realistic, in my case. So far as I can determine, Jotul does not do that, and it is a fantastic burner that I would not want to ruin.
Thanks so much, Ben! If you are saying that I need half the volume, and that they cost twice the price of wood, then the price is just about the same, for me. For me, burning wood has the added labour cost of stacking, cutting down pieces that are too big, etc. which I cannot do myself and pay someone to do for me. I had thought that if 6 pallets of buches, at 980kg each, could get me through a winter, it could actually come out cheaper, as there would be almost no labour costs. All of the advertising says that 1 such pallet is equal to 4 cubic meters of wood. On the principle that they exaggerate and that I like a warm room, I estimated that 1 pallet probably is equal to 3 cubic meters, hence the estimate for 6. At just wood prices, it comes to about 300 euros more dear than wood, but with all of the labour costs factored in, it comes to about 300 euros cheaper than wood. (Storage is not a problem; I have barn space.)
The issue is estimating the correct amount. I have tried a few and yes, they are surprisingly heavy, but would really appreciate hearing from people about using them all day every day.
Thanks also for the 70% / 30% advice. I had not thought of that.
Buches reconstituées have an approx. 2 times higher caloric value (realistically) then ordinary wood. Combined with their burning properties you could assume that you need half the volume of these compressed logs in comparison to ordinary wood. 3 times higher caloric values can be achieved under ideal circumstances i.e. an state-of-the-art, well serviced stove with afterburner system.
You should take your time to test out different producers, there is a difference in qualities of these logs due to the use of different mixes of wood. Some use too much resinous wood thus reducing the burning time of a log and producing more waste products in your system.
As for your back, length-for-length they're heavier than your normal logs ;-)
If you're going to use it as main means of heating you can also choose to use two types of logs, called "jour" (higher combustion rate, resulting in a higher daytime temperature in your rooms) and "nuit" (lower combustion rate, giving of less heat but more gently to maintain a lower temperature for a longer time in your rooms during the night. Normally you order 70% daytime logs and 30% night logs.
But you also need the appropriate place indoor to store the logs. They contain only about 7-8% of moisture when produced and act as a sponge when exposed to too much moisture, even though they are seal-wrapped. If they come into direct contact with water or rain they swell up like carton-board and are useless for your stove.
Comparing a price per stêre isn't possible, as those compressed logs don't come in stêres. But you can compare the averige price per kW of heat produced. And in that comparison these compressed logs are about twice the price of first quality, dry oak.
Well, I like a warm home. The burner is a large Jotul, in a room of about 50 square meters, with an open stairwell going up (and taking a lot of the heat with it) and stone walls. The wood is a mix of oak, ash, hornbeam and I don't know what, but no pine. I keep the stove running constantly, so the radiators on the ground floor are not necessary.
What wood are you burning & what are you burning it in?
28 cubic metres (about 9 cords here) of good wood would last us at least 2 seasons & we have 2 woodburners running almost full time.
vic
How did you get one with the compressed logs @Martha_Greenlees I’m interested in trying them out this winter.
I tried some from Braxeco. We had bûche compressée de jour Premium. An oak and beech mix. One pallete is equivalent to 5 stere of normal wood. There is also an option for night time burning which is 100% oak. Can’t speak for the latter but the others worked really well. So nice to go to the barn and pick up a box of clean wood ! Easy to store and use. Delivery is pricey but you can collect from a nearby depot if you have a suitable vehicle.
Do you mean Brazeco? If so there’s one near to us, I bought a pack from a Brico shed today to have a go later!
Butting in here… can these logs be burned in any wood-burning stove ??
Sorry yes I did.
I have used them in 4 diffetent types of wood burner and they work fine.
thanks Rik… definitely worth considering…
I’ve tried the Woodstock version of these on our Jotul. It’s in a large living room with stairwell and double height ceiling. At this time of the year I can just use some kindling with one of the logs and it will be plenty warm enough if I light it in the evening. Economical I reckon, but when the weather turns cold I’ll be back to normal logs as I don’t see it being cost effective. Much cleaner and less effort though…