I've posted something similar elsewhere but thought I'd ask on this forum aswell, so if you're reading this twice, my apologies.

We live in the sticks with no natural gas supply and so we're on oil. For economic, environmental and socially responsible reasons we've decided to go onto solid fuel. We're looking to buy a range for cooking and heating and have been to a nice posh showroom to ask a load of questions and look at our options.

However, I'd really appreciate to hear from people who actually live with and use these things every day. What are the practicalities, how often do they need cleaning out, how easy is it to get unseasoned wood, what's good/bad about them etc...? We're considering Stanley or Rayburn at the moment but will consider anything.

Thanks in advance

Hi forevared, didn't want your post to go unanswered! We are slightly different our heating is all solid fuel so radiators/hot water depend on the solid fuel fire in the living room. Having spent time using solid fuel and not we much prefer what we have at the moment. I thought it would be messy and a pain but its definately not. we have to use smokeless fuel but I top it up morning and night and it just goes 24/7 during chilly months.

Prob doesnt help much! Our oven and the rest are all electric but I love the heating system. Our electricity bill is almost non-existent! And no gas whatsoever. happy days!

Hi Forevared,

We live in a town in a 4 bed Victorian semi and installed a solid fuel Rayburn in Feb this year and absolutely love it. We got it from eBay, and my husband did all the new plumbing for it, including getting an bigger storage tank. We only use seasoned wood and are able to cook, have stacks of hot water and heat about 7 rads.

You absolutely must use seasoned dry wood otherwise you will get creosote deposits in the chimney which can cause chimney fires. We clean ours out on average once every 2 months. We let it go out on a Friday night and clean it out the following morning. I rather like cleaning it out actually, as you get to have a really good look at what has been going on!

Initially, it was like having another baby in the house! couldn't sleep at night, getting up all the time to see it was ok, getting up really early to stoke it, but now we are quite blase about it and we can 'bank it' at about 10.30/11pm and it will be just right for a kettle at 7am the next day.

In terms of fuel costs it is about the same as our gas supply, which we took great pleasure in having removed!, but feel that the gas costs will go up in the future and the wood costs won't, also the carbon neutral aspect is good. We have found a fantastic supplier who now comes in for a bacon sarnie every time he delivers!

Downsides, kitchen gets dirty quickly, sometimes it takes ages to get the oven temp up for no apparent reason (waiting at this moment for a leg of lamb to cook for the kids tea and it is taking longer than I wanted!) lots of log related activities including stacking and bringing them into the house to dry out and for easy stoking. I now have a new perfume..eau de woodsmoke! everything smells of woodsmoke. I don't mind really but some people may.

Wouldn't change it for the world. Yes, you have to remember it is there all the time or it will go out, yes in the summer we cook in our pants, and yes, we are currently wrapped up in rugs and hoodies but to come in from a really cold day out and all hug round it making a pot of tea is worth it. It makes fantastic cakes, baked potatoes, casseroles and toast and definately roast lamb!