How to get the most from a wood burner: Owners share their best tips trends now
They are at the centre of more than 1.5million homes, warming the houses and hearts of Britons for months of the year.
And today wood burner devotees have told MailOnline of their love for the great British stove and the ingenious ways they use them every day.
Readers have shared their tips about how they get the most from them including using a metal fan to spread heat as well as foraging for wood and making homemade firelighters with pine cones, candle wax and even hoover and tumble dryer fluff.
And in the midst of the worst cost of living crisis for decades, others have described how their wood burners do so much more than heat their homes cheaply including cooking boeuf bourguignon with Wagyu beef or a Full English on top.
Others have been reheating leftovers, baking potatoes, blackening vegetables for soups and even roasting coffee beans. Inside ingenious Britons have seared steaks, made wood-fired pizzas or humble but delicious slices of toast.
Many dry their clothes or their dogs in front on them on dank damp British days or use the heat to improve the smell in the house by gently warming scented candles - or essential oils. Some oenophiles use them to warm their favourite red wine to the perfect 18C.
It came amid threats those who love their wood burners could be fined or even criminalised in the future. The government has instructed council bosses to look at imposing on-the-spot civil penalties for polluting burners, which could be as much as £300. Criminal prosecutions could also be pursued for the most persistent offenders.
Do you have wood burner tips and hacks? Email [email protected]
USE IT TO COOK! OWNERS REVEAL HOW THEY HEAT UP LEFOTVERS, BAKE POTATOES - AND EVEN CHAR PEPPERS IN THE FLAMES
Sarah Williams, a mother of two from Warwickshire, uses the heat from the top of her wood burner to gently heat up leftovers in a saucepan, such as pasta and sauce, avoiding the need to use her hob or microwave.
Others use the roaring flames to bake potatoes in the high temperatures from their stove.
Chefs suggest seasoning the spud with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary before wrapping it in foil and placing it in the embers and ashes of the wood burner. Leave it in there for around an hour and it should be perfectly cooked.
Ribeye steak, wood burner style, cooked on the flames of a great British stove
This clever cook used the top to sear Wagyu beef and make a delicious boeuf bourguignon
Special inserts allow you to cook wiidfired pizzas in your burner, like this enthusiast
You can also buy cast iron potato cookers that holds up to four potato and can be placed on top of most wood burners to cook. Companies also sell cast iron panini sets that allows wood burner users to toast sandwiches using the top of their stove.
For around £60 you can buy a pizza cooker and grill that fits inside most log burners and allows you to bake pizza, naan bread and even tandoori chicken quickly and safely using the heat of the fire.
Pots and pans a plenty for this devotee using the heat to boil water and cook a meal
The steak seared here was used to make a delicious papaya salad
A potato baking in a roaring wood burner - one of several hacks
One family living in rural Warwickshire sent MailOnline a photo of their living room which shows a pot of pasta warming up on a wood burner
You can also buy cast iron potato bakers for the top of hot woodburners
A delicious roasted pepper soup - made after the peppers were blackened using a wood burner to save energy
Some Britons open the door and roast vegetables such as peppers, courgettes and onions for use in a chilli con carne or a tasty soup. Simply use long skewers and wear protective gloves while the flesh is blackened, adding a delicious smoky flavour to any dish.
Amid the cost of living crisis and sometimes extreme weather, people made soups and cooked tea and porride
This hungry person toasted bread using the roaring flames
OWNERS USE OLD PAPERS, WAX, PINE CONES AND EVEN VACUUM CLEANER FLUFF TO GET THE FLAMES ROARING
MailOnline readers have shared their hacks to use household items to light their fires, reducing any need to buy firelighters.
Sarah Williams from Warwickshire said: 'I will use anything dry I can find to light the fire, old tissues, pine cones, even fluff off the vacuum head and occasionally throw a spent tea light in with the kindling as the wax makes it roar into life'.
Others have said the lint that builds up in the filter of a tumble dryer is also ideal as long as it is properly dry.
Old newspapers are a way to get their fires roaring. Some use pine cones as firelighters. One anonymous mother even revealed she sneakily burns her children's artwork, when there is suddenly 'too much of it'!
MailOnline readers have shared their hacks to use household items to light their fires, reducing any need to buy firelighters - including using vacuum and tumble dryer 'fluff' (pictured)
Pinecones are a great firelighter - with some dipping them in wax (pictured)
Experts claim you can even dip them in wax, melted down from old candles or wax that has dripped. After dippinng the cones in the liquid wax, let them cool and put them in a container for safety, lighting one in the wood burner when you need it.
Sarah's mother, Maria Williams, said: 'An eco friendly tip is to use tightly rolled old newspaper and strips of cardboard as a natural fire-lighter with no need for paraffin based products. Seasoned wood is a must'.
Parents have told how they (secretly) use the reams of artwork produced by their kids at home, school or nursery to start a fire.
One mother said anonymously: 'My main source of kindling is the kids "artwork". They go through soooooo much paper expressing themselves'.
Another parent said: 'I burnt a couple of broken wooden toys the other day…. Felt I would be cursed for life looking at them on the fire'.
FORAGE FOR WOOD! USERS SAY STICKS, OLD BRANCHES AND EVEN LEAVES MAKE GREAT (AND FREE) KINDLING
Many people use their daily walk to pick up wood - but you can't pick it up from private property or woodland without the owner's permission.
Branches and small scraps of wood are great for kindling, but it must be dry to work.
MAKE THE MOST OF THE HEAT WITH A HOST OF GADGETS - FROM KETTLES AND FANS TO POTS AND PANS (AND HEAT LOGS FROM ALDI AND LIDL )
Many swear by a stove fan, which helps heat your home more evenly and efficiently.
These metal fans sit on top of the stove, or on the hearth next to it, and are powered by the heat of the burner, beginning to spin as they get warmer.
They then move the hot air around the room, and can save fuel because the room will be warmer meaning no need for those extra logs or coal.
They start at around £20, you can spend more than £100 on larger more esthetically pleasing fans.
There are also clever products on the market that help harness heat from other parts of the woodburner.
Heat Accumulation Ceramic Rings fit around the flue pipe at the top of the stove, absorbing the heat and sending it back into the room.
Some struggle to keep the fire going 24/7.
Maria Williams says: 'Stoke it up overnight and leave in a slow burn so you don’t have to light it from cold again in morning'.
A full English underway on top of the roaring stove
There is an extraordinary array of products you can buy including this toastie maker
Fancy a bit of crumpet? You can get this accessory for your burner too
