Fireplace selection help

[nativecolo]

Is anyone able to give a general tips re choosing a fireplace

I know how to light a fire but not much more than that.

And if there are any experiences re the stores in Wellington on this topic.

Re my research, I know of the one in Kaiwharawhara, and 4 seasons website seems to have some deals on.

Thanks in advance

[girlwithanewf]

Wood burning stoves put out a lot more heat than open fireplaces.

[mylesdw]

I may be wrong but I don't think you are allowed to build a house with an open fireplace.

[nativecolo]

Yeah, Open fireplaces are associated with respiratory problems, no not looking at those...

wood burner likely or coal burner

Not planning on wetback,

Want to know how to get firewood to store for 12-18 months - where should one go to look?

Should I split it myself (hire a hydraulic ram) ?

[girlwithanewf]

When I used to get firewood in the UK I got it delivered a certain length to fit in the woodburner then just used an axe to split it myself.

[kiwieagle]

Want to know how to get firewood to store for 12-18 months - where should one go to look?

Should I split it myself (hire a hydraulic ram) ?

Are you asking where to look to obtain wood or where to look to store it for that long?

If you have the outdoor storage space, you can leave it outside. Stack it criss cross. We store our wood on the side of our house. We have enough for 2+ years and growing as my husband is always on the hunt for wood. He uses a chainsaw and a splitter axe to split wood but when I asked him your question about hiring a hydraulic ram his eyes twinkled with delight at the thought although he thinks it's not a necessity.

[mylesdw]

Some woods, gum for example, are almost impossible to split by hand so a log splitter is a must. They are widely available for hire and you can split a lot of wood in a day but like anything else there are good ones and bad ones.

[kiwieagle]

Some woods, gum for example, are almost impossible to split by hand so a log splitter is a must.

My husband splits gum by hand but he is a burly fella.

[72andsunny]

Yeah, Open fireplaces are associated with respiratory problems, no not looking at those...

wood burner likely or coal burner

Not planning on wetback,

Want to know how to get firewood to store for 12-18 months - where should one go to look?

Should I split it myself (hire a hydraulic ram) ?

I was having trouble getting firewood delivered last winter (it kept not showing up), so I accepted a request for "free" firewood. A friend works for the forestry service, and was given permission from his boss to pick up the scraps from a felled forest. It sounded too good to be true.

So you need a trailer...if you can get a ute too that helps. And a chainsaw. Rings of wood are very, very heavy; especially blue gum. Unless you have a very sturdy trailer, you will not be able to fit as much wood into it as you would think, as the weight will push the fenders onto the wheels. You will end up taking more than one trip, because you start thinking: the wood isn't going to be sitting there forever, and I have to return the trailer...

You probably know somebody you can borrow these things from; you will have to buy your own petrol, and the forest you are going to will be 50 km (or more) away. You will have plans for splitting the wood by hand with the giant axe you already have. That axe was good enough for splitting pine, but the handle will break when you try to split the blue gum. Go and buy a splitter; split two or three logs, then give up until winter.

We ended up hiring a very large hydraulic thing. I split the cost with the friend who found the wood; I think the full cost was $120 a day (plus petrol).

I probably ended up with 2 to 2 and 1/2 cords of blue gum and macrocarpa. Blue gum is pretty expensive in Hawke's Bay, so maybe the wood is worth 5 hundred dollars. Including the splitter I bought, I probably spent $150, and it ate up 3 saturdays. I felt like a real Kiwi afterwards, but I will not do it again.

[kiwieagle]

I was having trouble getting firewood delivered last winter (it kept not showing up), so I accepted a request for "free" firewood. A friend works for the forestry service, and was given permission from his boss to pick up the scraps from a felled forest. It sounded too good to be true...So you need a trailer.. You will end up taking more than one trip, because you start thinking: the wood isn't going to be sitting there forever, and I have to return the trailer...That axe was good enough for splitting pine, but the handle will break when you try to split the blue gum. Go and buy a splitter; split two or three logs, then give up until winter...I felt like a real Kiwi afterwards, but I will not do it again.

I hope this story was meant to be funny because I found it very amusing!
I think the point is that "free" wood is only "free" if you enjoy doing that kind of thing. My husband drives around with his chainsaw and splitter axe in his work ute so that he can get wood when he sees it. Even though he works 11-12 hours doing very physical work outdoors, he loves gathering wood on his lunch break and then splitting it when he gets home. So, if you like being outside and doing physical work, gathering wood will be a pleasure. Otherwise, you might want to skip all that and pay for it. However, if you know someone like my husband, you can always offer to trade that person things or services. A burly Kiwi loves to trade.