Are multi fuel and woodburning stove fuels being banned?

Flamecraft • 21 February 2020

Short answer: Not all of them. Long Answer: New regulations.

The government has announced changes to the regulations concerning woodburning & multi fuel stove fuels due to the harmful level of pollutants that they produce.

The changes:

  • Traditional house coal will be phased out. By February 2021 bagged house coal will no longer be available for sale, and by 2023 loose house coal that is delivered direct will no longer be available.
  • Wet wood will be phased out from February 2021. This is only for sales below two cubic metres, for amounts above this it will still be sold with advice on how to properly dry the wood for burning.
  • Solid fuel products that remain on sale will require the manufactures to provide proof of a low sulphur content and minimal smoke emissions. Smokeless coal will remain on sale as long as it meets the new regulations.

What does this mean to owners of multi fuel or woodburning stoves?

The honest answer is not a lot.

Industry standard has been ahead of these changes for several years. Anyone that has purchased a stove in recent years will have been advised that burning wet wood, which has a moisture content above 20% and house coal will invalidate any guarantees for a woodburner, multi fuel stove and any pipework required for the installation. More often than not operating instructions provided with stoves will clearly state that only seasoned or kiln dried logs with a moisture content of below 20% or smokeless fuels can be burnt inside the units, any other fuel will invalidate guarantees.

The reasoning behind this is not just due to emissions but also because traditional house coal and wet wood produce a great deal of soot, tar, creosote and other harmful substances that can cause damage to stoves and pipework, as well as heightening the risk of a chimney fire.

Most reputable retailers avoid selling wet wood to the general public already and sell either seasoned or kiln dried logs. Most will advise if you want true ready to burn logs to purchase kiln dried as the process they go through to dry them often gets a lower moisture content that logs that have been left to season naturally for eighteen months plus.

All reputable coal merchants and HETAS engineers who are qualified installers of multi fuel stoves will advise not to burn traditional house coal in stoves, and heavily stress that only smokeless fuels can be burnt.

Who will these changes actually effect?

These changes will primarily affect open fire owners who will no longer be able to purchase house coal and those who are not aware that they should not be burning these fuels in woodburners or multi fuel stoves already.

December Opening Times

by Flamecraft • 3 December 2020
We all made it through second lockdown and are pleased to be open to the general public once more. We welcome customers to come visit us, but kindly ask they adhere to the government guidelines regarding social distancing. While we understand lockdown was frustrating, we are in a tier 3 area and therefore we also ask that our customers shop responsibly and only come into the showroom for essential purposes when possible. We are still able to take orders for stove spares over phone and email and in many cases out manufacturers will deliver these directly to our customers to help us to reduce the need for people to put themselves at risk of Covid-19. We know we sound like we are lecturing, however we want to ensure all our customers have a very happy and healthy Christmas. With all this in mind, we have reduced the hours the showroom will be open. We will review these regularly and open for longer if needed, we are also able to arrange appointments to visit the showroom at Baytree outside these hours, Our December opening hours are as follows: Monday: CLOSED (Pre-booked appointments available) Tuesday: CLOSED (Pre-booked appointments available) Wednesday: CLOSED (Pre-booked appointments available) Thursday: 10am - 2pm (Pre-booked appointments available till 5pm) Friday: 10am - 2pm (Pre-booked appointments available till 5pm) Saturday: 10am - 5pm Sunday: 10am - 4pm We kindly ask when pre-booking appointments Monday - Wednesday that customers give 24 hours notice and Pre-booked appointments are available between 10am - 5pm. On Thursdays and Fridays appointments can be pre-booked on the day before 1:30pm via calling 01406 373600. We are available via emailing flamecraftuk@aol.com outside our opening hours and will try to reply to customers as quickly as possible.

Call & Collect Available during Second Lockdown

by Flamecraft • 3 November 2020
With second lockdown looming many of our customers are concerned about being able to purchase fuel and spare parts during second lockdown. We completely understand this and whilst our showroom wont be open to the general public we are running a 'Call & Collect' service.

Introducing Saltfire & Ekol stoves!

by Flamecraft • 1 November 2020
In October we teased that we were going to expand our range of wood burning and multi fuels stoves to give our customers a bigger range of Ecodesign Approved stoves that would suit a range of budgets, and we are excited to finally be able to introduce our two new brands to you.

What is Clear Skies?

by Flamecraft • 30 October 2020
The clearskies scheme has been recently introduced, and many of the wood burners and multi fuel stoves we sell have a clear skies mark. However many of our customers see this logo and are left wondering what it actually means. Therefore we have put together the basics explaining what clear skies is, and how this potentially will effect choosing a wood burner or multi fuel stove.

EcoDesign 2022: What do I need to know?

by Flamecraft • 23 October 2020
EcoDesign 2022 is changes to regulations for the Stove Industry.

Our range of wood burners & multi fuel stoves is about to get bigger!

by Flamecraft • 16 October 2020
It is the season for hot chocolate, fluffy blankets, hot water bottles and curling up in front of a roaring fire. With the days getting sorter and the nights getting longer it means we are busy installing wood burning and multi fuel stoves in homes. Like for many this year has been challenging, and we have worked tirelessly to ensure our customers will still receive the best service possible from us. We also understand that with the challenges of the past year many of us we are looking for more affordable heating options for this winter. Over the summer we have had many discussions about the issues we are all facing, and we knew we wanted to do everything we could to ensure our customers can still enjoy owning a wood burner or multi fuel stove. On top of the challenges this year has brought us all we are also very aware that since the announcement of the incoming Ecodesign regulations more and more of our customers are coming to us looking for Ecodesign 2022 Approved wood burners and multi fuel stoves. While we had Ecodesign stoves available, we wanted to give our customers more options to choose from. So, we knew we had two targets: 1. Have wood burning and multi fuels stove options available for a range of different budgets. 2. Expand our range of Ecodesign Approved stoves. We went through many different ideas until we finally realised the solution was in front of us (literally in a pile of brochures we had from a trade show we visited last year). A manufacturer that had a huge range of Ecodesign 2022 approved wood burning and multi fuel stoves that meet our own guidelines for quality and design (as well as being manufactured in the UK), and to top that off offering a range of price points that would allow us to offer more affordable stoves. So of course we gave them a call.

Winter Opening Hours

by Flamecraft • 9 October 2020
With the cold weather rolling in we are extending our opening hours to the following: Monday: CLOSED Tuesday: CLOSED Wednesday: 10am - 5pm Thursday: 10am - 5pm Friday: 10am - 5pm Saturday: 10am - 5pm Sunday: 10 - 4pm We look forward to seeing you.

Traditional wood burning with a modern look.

by Flamecraft • 9 October 2020
Everyone has their own style and taste, and they develop and change over time. In recent years our customers are coming to us wanting more sleek and contemporary designs that allow for a full view of the flames within a wood burner or multi fuel stove. We have put together a selection of stoves that have been designed for modern living with a contemporary aesthetic. Every wood burner and multi fuel stove on this list are Ecodesign 2022 approved.

My house comes with a Wood Burner/Multi Fuel Stove, what do I need to know?

by Flamecraft • 11 September 2020
Inheriting a wood burner or multi fuel stove can be confusing, but we have put together a checklist of the things you should know when buying a house with a wood burner or multi fuel stove already installed.

Update: When visiting our showroom

by Flamecraft • 25 July 2020
We are open again and ready to welcome customers back into our showroom. However following government guidelines and to keep our team and customers safe we kindly ask customers to adhere to the following: When visiting please follow Baytree Garden Centre's one way system. Due to the width of our showroom and the positioning of our doors we are only able to accommodate one household at a time whilst adhering to social distancing. We are unable to ensure that there is a 2 meter distance between households due to our built in displays which allow for less than a 2 meter gap between them. Therefore we may politely ask customers to wait outside with a 2 meter distance from the door if we are already serving a household in the showroom, or return later. Please sanitise you hands upon entering the showroom. We are doing our best to sanitise the door handles, card machine and any handles on the stoves between customers. We kindly ask customers are patient with us as during busy periods they may be asked to refrain from touching the handles on the stoves until they are sanitised. We politely ask that you speak to a member of the team before touching any accessories or care products in the showroom, as this will allow our team to sanitise the products to ensure they are safe for the next customer to handle. Update: We kindly ask you wear an appropriate face mask/covering when visiting our showroom. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience at this challenging time.
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