burning Peat on the fire?

[magnetman]

Years ago I met a bloke on a narrow boat who was burning Peat on his fire. He seemed quite pleased about it.

 

I never really gave it any more thought but today it came up in a bit of research I was doing about wood burning stoves and things and apparently it has 80% of the heat output of coal !

 

£327 for 1.05 tonne delivered.

 

that makes about £7.80 per 25kg bag which is not bad if it does actually produce 0.8 times the heat output of say homefire.

 

has anyone tried it?

 

I'm seriously thinking of ordering a tonne of it later on in the year when the weather gets cold again

[LEO]

Years ago I met a bloke on a narrow boat who was burning Peat on his fire. He seemed quite pleased about it.

 

I never really gave it any more thought but today it came up in a bit of research I was doing about wood burning stoves and things and apparently it has 80% of the heat output of coal !

 

£327 for 1.05 tonne delivered.

 

that makes about £7.80 per 25kg bag which is not bad if it does actually produce 0.8 times the heat output of say homefire.

 

has anyone tried it?

 

I'm seriously thinking of ordering a tonne of it later on in the year when the weather gets cold again

 

 

Not sure,but I have just been watching them cut it in Ireland = make sure it's dried out............................

 

L

[Leo No2]

Have a look at Chris Iddon's website (http://www.peatanddiesel.com/) - I am not connected with Chris or his business - just happened to meet him on the GU last year.

[canals are us?]

I used to live in County Kerry in Ireland and we used to burn peat sometimes on our multifuel boiler stove. We used to pay 3 euro for a 25kg bag. It certainly didn't produce as much heat as say housecoal but was great mixed with it to bulk the fire out and the chimney smelled wonderful!

 

I certainly wouldn't count on it producing 80% heat output of coal although pretty good at around 40-50% at a guess. You could also buy bord na Mona peat briquettes that were sold by the bale (about 20 pieces) and they were very dense compared to natural bog dug peat and cost about 3-4 euro a bale. These lasted longer and around the same heat output.

http://www.donedeal.co.uk/for-sale/heating/5114225

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bord+na+mona+briquettes&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=vCymUeWlHamc0wXx2YHIBA&ved=0CGsQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=564

 

I would say try a sample first to avoid any possible dissapointment. If cost is a consideration you cant beat solid fuel.

 

 

 

James

Edited May 29, 2013 by canals are us?

[bottle]

So for the same heat output, it will cost about thesame as solid fuel.

 

£7.80 = 80%

 

£9.75 =100%

 

Bag of Excel costs £10 from my supplier.

 

[magnetman]

the thing is I am planning to fit an art deco enamelled wood burner in place of my multifuel stove because it looks nice... oh dear...

 

i've got diesel central eating as well but I know I can't get hold of much firewood so the idea of putting peat into a woodburner ie a stove without a grate is quite appealing.

 

its not a cost issue at all.

 

i've always had multifuel stoves before but these old enamel stoves appeal to me and it wouldn't be a primary heating system anyway.

[Jerra]

I know this is the last thing you want me to mention but from an ecological point of view using peat for anything is a bit or a no no.

[magnetman]

yes I know

 

I believe that anything really bad which happens in terms of present or future ecological disasters etc gives species the opportunity to adapt to new situations which is a good thing for evolution

 

 

and yes I do have children 2 of them

[Delta9]

yes I know

 

I believe that anything really bad which happens in terms of present or future ecological disasters etc gives species the opportunity to adapt to new situations which is a good thing for evolution

 

 

and yes I do have children 2 of them

Sometimes I wish this site had a red downvote button next to the green one...

[larkshall]

Sometimes I wish this site had a red downvote button next to the green one...

I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY Have a greenie

[magnetman]

I thought there was a red button - feel free to disagree with me

[Dominic M]

I burnt turf (as they call it in Ireland) on an Epping boatman's range on my boat when I cruised the Irish waterways back in the late 1990s. You would frequently find it just lying around loose on the towpath of the Grand Canal. From an environmental point of view digging up peat bogs I have to agree is not a great idea, however we were given several sack loads on occasion for nothing, because some Irish people do things like that. It was perfect for heating the boat (a 43ft x 9ft Dutch barge) and was incredibly easy to "keep in".

 

When I was in Ireland the Dutch had recently bought a large expanse of the Great Bog of Allen that forms the Irish midlands, just to protect it from being dug up by Bord na Mona, who flog the stuff off in the form of briquettes for the fire, compost for UK and other countries' garden centres, and to places like Egypt so that we can have new potatoes all year round in Western Europe.

[saltysplash]

I thought there was a red button - feel free to disagree with me

 

Burn away shipmate, nowt wrong with burning peat

[carlt]

Burn away shipmate, nowt wrong with burning peat

That would very much depend on where you stand on the "climate change" issue or how valuable you regard unique ecosystems.

 

I spent my youth fighting long and hard to protect the lowland peat bogs of South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire with great success and Thorne and Hatfield Moors and the peat bogs of the Isle of Axholme are permanently protected SSSI's and nature reserves.

 

Sadly the same can't be said for the peat marshes of Europe, Scotland and many other parts of the World where the peat is being strip mined at such a rate and depth that the marshes will never recover.

 

The huge quantities of CO2 that are released when peat is cut, never mind burnt is another reason not to use it on fire or garden.

Edited May 29, 2013 by carlt

[Starcoaster]

I asked this in November:

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=52039&hl=%2Bpeat+%2Bstove

 

I bought one sack, I would not buy it again. It smells nice, but the smoke really comes out as soon as you open the stove door. It clagged up my chimney in the same way that wood does. It may give out a reasonable amount of heat, but I found it almost impossible to keep in overnight, it creates a lot of ash, and 25kg of peat isn't equivalent to 25kg of coal, peat burns much faster.

I naively thought that it was actually more eco-friendly than burning coal when I bought it too!

[magnetman]

thanks - I found your thread after posting this one.

 

blocking the chimney is quite a big risk as the fire I am intending to install has a horizontal flue outlet so would need a 90 degree bend in the flue

[carlt]

 

 

blocking the chimney is quite a big risk as the fire I am intending to install has a horizontal flue outlet so would need a 90 degree bend in the flue

I had a 45 degree kink in lucy's flue (following the line of the tarps) and could only burn fully seasoned wood or smokeless and still had to sweep every week.

 

Peat or house coal will be far too smokey and soot up your stack in no time.

[magnetman]

good advice

 

ta

Edited May 29, 2013 by magnetman

[peterboat]

Hi, when in scotland we used to burn it on our stove it burnt with a blue flame and smelt great it kept in overnight and of course it was a local free fuel for us. Remember this was over 15 years ago so we did not have the same green issues as today. Remember no matter what we use on our fires carbon is always going to be emitted anyway folks just watching tv and surfing the net on my solar power how green is that?

 

Peter

[carlt]

anyway folks just watching tv and surfing the net on my solar power how green is that?

 

 

Well there's the Sulphur hexaflouride (20,000 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2), Nitrogen Triflouride (over 15,000 times more powerful than CO2), Arsenic, lead, chromium, cadmium and, as most are produced in China there are the fossil fuels used to power the production lines and to transport them half way round the world and China's distinctly unimpressive waste disposal record.

 

That said it is reckoned that solar energy is still 90% "greener" than conventional electricity production.

[Shropshirecoal]

If its the cost per kg thats attracting you to the peat I would suggest you give union briquettes a try. You should be able to source them for a similar price as the peat and are a fantastic fuel for wood/multi-fuel stoves. Made from lignite (brown coal) they burn with a great flame, little to no smoke once lit, and no blackening of your stove glass. Classed as a smokeless fuel in europe but unfortunately not in the UK. A great alternative to seasoned wood with a good heat output and flame picture and you may get it as low as about £7/25kg.

[saltysplash]

That would very much depend on where you stand on the "climate change" issue or how valuable you regard unique ecosystems.

 

I spent my youth fighting long and hard to protect the lowland peat bogs of South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire with great success and Thorne and Hatfield Moors and the peat bogs of the Isle of Axholme are permanently protected SSSI's and nature reserves.

 

Sadly the same can't be said for the peat marshes of Europe, Scotland and many other parts of the World where the peat is being strip mined at such a rate and depth that the marshes will never recover.

 

The huge quantities of CO2 that are released when peat is cut, never mind burnt is another reason not to use it on fire or garden.

Its not the depth and rate of cutting that is destroying wetlands, its the method of draining the land prior to cutting which then leaves a dry field with no chance of recovery.

 

There is so called sustainable peatland managment going on around the world where wetlands are encouraged by replanting of moss and minimum cutting to still provide peat as a valuable garden resource.

 

As you say it depends on your stance.

[carlt]

There is so called sustainable peatland managment going on around the world

The problem is that the proportion of peat cut using sustainable methods is minuscule compared to the land rape going on to maintain the needless levels of demand for peat and, even if cut responsibly, huge quantities of CO2 are released into the atmosphere.

 

Peat cutting is like Bio-fuel production, ecologically sound in principle but the exact opposite when big business steps in.

[Jerra]

Its not the depth and rate of cutting that is destroying wetlands, its the method of draining the land prior to cutting which then leaves a dry field with no chance of recovery.

 

There is so called sustainable peatland managment going on around the world where wetlands are encouraged by replanting of moss and minimum cutting to still provide peat as a valuable garden resource.

 

As you say it depends on your stance.

With estimated growth rates for peat of between 1 and 8cm a century it strikes me any form of sustainability is a bit of a red herring. Cut a single turf and wait centuries for it to be replaced.

[canals are us?]

In Ireland a lot of bogs are going to be closed by EU law, because of the ecological aspect.

 

I used to own several French bought stoves when I used to live in Normandy. I found the antique French enamel stoves beautiful to look at but totally hopeless for heat output.

 

Technology has moved on. But as it's for secondary heat source it may well be fine.

 

James