10 Reasons Not To Buy A Real Wood Burner

A tongue-In-Cheek Look At The Downsides Of Real Wood Burners

I have had a wood burner in the house for five years but these days the only times it's used is when welcoming visitors. Yes it's nice watching the flames flickering inside, but in all honestly, that novelty soon wore off. I wouldn’t have one installed again, for these reasons:

1. Wood burners aren't cheap. You do pay a premium for a heater that adds character to your home.

2. They aren't simple to install. It's not usually just a case of placing the wood burner where it is to be located and starting a fire. It most cases the chimney will need lining which for all, but the competent DIYer, is a case of getting the professionals in. So installation costs can be added to price of the burner for a true idea of how much it will all cost.

3. Takes time to the heat room. You can't set a timer for the burner to turn on for when you get home. The burner needs to be prepared with wood and kindling and it normally to takes a few minutes to get it going, once you’ve mastered the art.

4. Constant Attention. Once the fire inside is going, you can't just leave it to get on with warming the room. Neglect to feed it regularly with wood will mean a loss of heat and the fire going out.

5. They require maintenance like any heater. Twice now my wood burner’s glass has cracked and had to be replaced with special glass.

6. Affects on health. I have found that the wood burner has exacerbated my asthma symptoms. Ok, the smoke and fumes given off is a lot less than an open fire but the door has to be opened to add more wood and there is the exposure to ash which gets in the air when cleaning out.

7. Wood is not cheap to buy. If you have to buy wood and want to use the burner routinely it can work out very expensive. If you have access to free wood, all the better.

8. Storage. Storing wood takes space and ideally it will be kept covered as well. Storage limitations have to be considered.

9. Mess. Wood burners produce ash which has to be cleared out. Most models have a tray, which catches most of it, but transferring it inevitably results in it going where it's not wanted, when the tray is removed for emptying.

10. Cutting and chopping. Unless you're buying expensive pre-prepared logs and kindling, you're going to have to do a lot of cutting, splitting and sawing of logs. This takes time and hard work.

Since having a wood burner I have grown to really appreciate the other forms of heating in the house. Yes, it's nice to watch the flames burning brightly behind the glass panel, but in all honesty, the novelty wore off after a while. If you have access to free wood, not mind or enjoy the additional work involved, and find they don't affect any health issues you may have, a wood burner may be a good choice. But with plenty of other heating solutions now available, many of them as much if not more eco-friendly, I wouldn't be in a rush to have one installed again.