Author: Jess Hill

Should you burn coal?

Currently, there is scrutiny over burning wood and coal in people’s homes. This is to help improve air quality in cities across the UK.
They say the domestic burning of house coal, smokeless solid fuels and wet wood is the single largest primary contributor of harmful sooty particles. Our mission is to refine and improve current conditions as using Firemizer can reduce harmful particulates by 72%.

This leads to the question, should we be burning coal in our homes?

 

These are some of the pros and cons of burning coal!

Pros

  • The most common type of coal is anthracite, the dense composition results in high enter efficiency.
  • The production of coal is on the rise and as a result, the stock of coal is abundant.
  • The cost of coal is low and remains stable compared to other heating sources.

Cons

  • Coal is a finite source, eventually, it will run out and damages the environment in a non-reversible manner.
  • Ash from the coal contains harmful metals, handling the ash with care is important and making sure the disposal of the ash is safe.
  • We all know coal damages the atmosphere, the release of carbon and sulphur dioxide makes coal the number one contributor to Co2 emissions.
  • The way to reach coal is environmentally intrusive, mountains become raised and abandoned mines pose a variety of dangers.

coal Coal and Multi fuel stoves

Multi-fuel stoves can burn coal and wood. But not all multi-fuel stoves burn wood as efficiently as a log burner would. This is due to wood needing to sit on a bed of ash with air coming from above. Coal requires an oxygen source from beneath it in order to produce an effective fire, this is why multi-fuel stoves have raised grates.

Never burn wood and coal at the same time. Coal emits sulphuric acid and combined with the moisture levels from wood creates a corrosive substance that can damage your stove system.

Smokeless fuels

They give out a higher heat and can last 40% longer than coal. More heat makes it into the room rather than being wasted up the chimney. Using Firemizer with your smokeless fuel will burn longer and you will use less fuel to heat your homes and spend significantly less money on fuel.

Smokeless fuels are much better for the environment, these fuels were created to make smoke free areas across the UK and improve air quality. Household Coal can create up to 20% more carbon monoxide than a fire that uses smokeless fuels.
Man-made smokeless fuels can be burned with wood. These can actually assist logs as it burns quicker.

We know that coal isn’t the best for the environment and nowadays there are plenty of alternatives if you are looking to make the switch however many people still rely on burning coal as their heating source.

More information on coal and the environment here! 

 

 

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s day!

I don’t know about you but mums are the bread and butter of the household! As Mothering Sunday is a couple of days away. We figured it’d be great to marvel at the mothers in the animal kingdom.

Elephants

They carry their calves for 22 months and give birth to the largest animal baby on earth weighing 200 pounds and standing almost 3 feet tall.
Other female elephants babysit for the other elephants, they’re called ‘allomothers’

monkey Orangutan

The bond between the mother and her young is the strongest in nature. The first two years of life the young rely entirely on their mother staying together for 6/7 years. Female Orangutans are known to visit their mothers until they reach the age of 15/16.

Meerkats

One dominating couple produces new pups and the whole clan raises them.
They live together in large groups of about 20, that’s a lot of baby sitters!

Koalas

Perhaps the grossest fact but shows a mothers testament of love to her child. Koalas eat eucalyptus which is highly poisonous, but an adult’s bowels are lined with bacteria that assists digestion of the leaves. Her child doesn’t have the lining yet so she will eat her own faeces and feed it to her child. Yeah told you it was gross!

Alligators

Having laid dozens of eggs, once hatched they will carry their babies around in their jaws to the water for protection until they can defend themselves. Instinct stops the mother from closing her jaw so the babies are quite safe.

Polar Bear

The mother raises her cubs alone, she’ll dig a den and hibernate throughout winter and give birth. Once they are old enough they leave the den where the mother will eat for the first time in eight months!

octopus Octopus

The female octopus will lay over 50,000 eggs at a time and the hatching takes around 40 days. She’ll stay close to the eggs and protect them from predators. She would rather starve herself than leave her young and even going as far as eating one of her own limbs.

Whales

Humpback whales stay close to their calves as they grow, they don’t stop nursing their young until they’re a year old. The bond is strong the mothers often will carry their calves even if they have died.

Cheetahs

They are born without survival instincts so the mother has to teach them everything to survive.

Emperor Penguins

After laying the egg the mother will leave it with the father who protects the egg. The mother travels up to 50 miles to catch fish. she then returns to a hatched chick and regurgitates the food for the newly born chick.

 

 

It’s safe to say that all of us wouldn’t be here without our mothers and neither would many animals.

For more animal facts click HERE!

If you need a last minute gift why not get a summer pack, especially if she likes summer evenings in the garden!

How To clean Your Fire!

After many cold winter months, spring has finally sprung! Now might be the perfect time to clean your stove you’ve been burning ruthlessly throughout winter. To get you started here are some helpful spring cleaning tips!

shovel poker and brush Tools

  • Make sure you have the right tools for the job.
  • Say NO to plastic, only use metal tools.
  • Use a metal shovel and brush but only sweep when the ash is cold!
  • Take care and wear thick gloves and use a metal bucket for ash.



Top tip; if you burn wood, it burns better with a little bit of ash left in the bottom so you don’t need to throw it all away.  Here are some more useful tips for what to do with leftover ash!

 

keeping the glass clean

  • Use damp newspaper or a paper towel and dip it in wood ash. This will help clean the glass of your stove. Another way is to burn a few high-temperature fires before cleaning, make sure you are burning well dried well-seasoned wood.
  • warm glass is easier to clean but make sure the glass is cool enough to touch!
  • Cleaning the glass regularly will help with build up.
  • Don’t spray water on to hot stove glass, as this could cause the glass to shatter or break.
Make sure you get your chimney and flue swept around once a year! Using Firemizer will help prevent lots of build up of creosote in your chimney or flue.

 

Air pollution

We can’t talk about cleaning without mentioning air pollution. Did you know that if you use Firemizer in your stove it reduces particulates and emissions by 72% and it works with Fire pits so you don’t need to stop enjoying the fire in this spring weather!

Safety

  • This is a good time to check your fire and carbon monoxide alarms.
  • Make sure you have a suitable fire extinguisher
  • Always be careful when dealing with fire!

With all these cleaning tips you’ll have a lovely clean stove in no time!

Best Wood For your Stove!

Ever wondered what the best wood for your stove is? Sit back as we’re about to find out!

As the majority of people use seasoned logs, kiln-dried logs or free wood from their garden/ local area or friends. Here are some things you need to know about using wood on your stove.

Unlike coal and smokeless fuels wood is the most environmentally friendly choice for your stove as it is carbon neutral. It will take in more carbon dioxide in its lifetime than it will take to burn.

To make burning wood more efficient the moisture content should be as 20% or less as the energy won’t be wasted having to burn off the water first.

Wood fuel and moisture content
  • Free wood that has been collected could have as much as 90% moisture in it
  • Seasoned logs – ones that you or the manufacturer have partially dried out contain around 25% to 40% moisture.
  • Kiln-dried logs, which are dried out in a kiln before being sold, contain less than 20% moisture.
  • Briquettes – fuel created from crushing recycled wood or paper – have a low moisture content. It can be as little as 10% or less

Look out for the ready to burn logo as this means the wood contains less than 20% moisture and only wood from reputable manufacturers can display this logo.

Multi-fuel stoves can burn coal and wood. But not all multi-fuel stoves burn wood as efficiently as a log burner would. This is because, to burn at its best, wood needs to sit on a bed of ash (or with Firemizer) with air coming from above.

Hardwood or softwood?

Hardwoods are any broad-leafed tree such as beech, elm, and ash. whereas Softwoods are conifers, for instance, cedar and fir.

Hardwoods are better for burning in your stove as it burns slower and softwoods burn twice as fast as the density is half that of hardwood, meaning you’ll need twice as much. However, softwood makes the better kindling for your fire.

Best woods for your stove!

Oak – This is the nicest firewood although it takes longer to dry it burns slowly and generates a lot of heat. It can be difficult to light however using Firebuilder can help you there!

Birch – This wood ignites quickly and generates lots of heat however you’ll use much more fuel but you can mix with other logs to slow the burn time or use Firemizer, that can reduce your fuel consumption by 38%

Maple –  Is a slower burn than oak and the fire won’t as hot as the types of wood above but it is a good choice for firewood.

Choosing the right wood for your fire means you can stay toasty in the colder months and enjoy a relaxing fire!

How do I light a Fire Without Matches?

These days it’s easy to get fire but how would you light one without matches, you may need to know how one day!

Using flint to start a fire has it’s advantages as it doesn’t matter if it gets wet as it won’t be ruined. 

fire, axe and matches What you’ll need!

Flint

A pocket knife [if your flint doesn’t have a scraping tool]

Kindling [ paper, cardboard, dry grass and small twigs] all work well

Sticks and larger logs once the fire gets going

Prepare the tinder nest

You want a nest of dry tinder the tiniest spark can be used to create flames. Use a knife to scrape thin wood shavings or alternatively gather dried grass, leaves or bark for a loose nest.

If you use dry grass you want to make a little bed for the flint shavings to go on. Put the bed on some smaller twigs and have other pieces ready to put on the fire.

Get in the zone

Take the flint and pocket knife, scrape some of the flints off one side, if you see sparks flip it over as you’re using the wrong side. You want to create some small flint shavings to go onto the bed of dry grass. A pile the size of a 5p is all you’ll need but you can add more if necessary. 

Relight the fire!

This time you’ll need to use the other side of the flint to create a spark. Hold it down next the bed at an angle so sparks will fall onto it. Take the scraper or pocket knife and scrape down the flint towards the bed. You should start to see sparks and if they don’t catch just keep scraping. Once you have a small flame going start to add some smaller twigs and continue to feed the fire. Don’t add too much too fast. The fire might go out!

Having problems

Is your kindling dry enough?

Is there’s too much wind getting to the embers?

Do you have enough flint shavings

If the fire starts but doesn’t keep going start blowing gently on the glowing pieces. 

Firebuilder can help your fires get going, a kindling and fire starter in one! No odour,  mess or chemicals!

The Top Five Uses For Wood Ash

What are the best uses for wood ash?

Before using wood ash for anything there is something to bear in mind. Only use ashes from wood that is free of chemicals, no pressure treated wood, painted or stained wood, charcoal briquettes, or commercial products like slow burning wood logs. why no checkout our blog on what wood you should use on your wood stove. 

wood ash However, if you are using Firemizer this makes the ash finer and there are less unburnt log chunks leftover as the fire burns hotter for longer. Accompanied by Firebuilder a firelighter and kindling in one, this has no chemicals or odours as it’s made from 100% recycled cardboard.

If you’re using these then the wood ash is perfectly safe to use once your fire is out!

Make sure the ash is completely cool before touching it, buried embers can remain hot for days. To store ash safely place them into a metal container with a lid and place on a non-combustible surface such as dirt or concrete.

Never combine wood ash with nitrogen fertilisers it will produce ammonia gas.

Compost

Wood ash added to the compost will help boost potassium levels, a key nutrient for flowering and fruiting. Only add wood ash to compost in moderation, since the ash is alkaline too much can raise the pH that may damage your plants.

Melt ice

Wood ash is an environmentally safe way to melt ice and snow. Since the ash contains potassium carbonate, a type of salt that is more eco-friendly it can help break up ice and melt snow when scatted on roads.

Make soap

When ash from hardwoods, for instance, oak and maple, are boiled in soft water it creates lye and when this is mixed with animal fats or vegetable oils it creates a soft soap. A little salt added creates a firmer bar of soap.

Block garden pests

A sprinkle of wood ash around plants or along the perimeter of the plot will be a major turn off for the slimy creepy crawlies, for instance, slugs and snails.

Shine silver and polish glass

Wood ash can be used to polish tarnished silverware, dull metals and cloud glass since it is mildly abrasive. All you need is to take a cup of ashes and a small amount of water to make a thick paste. Then off you go, you’ll have the silverware shining in no time!

Firemizers Valentine’s Love Facts

Happy valentine’s day folks!

Roses are red violets are blue I want to sit by the fire with you!

If you’re missing or remising over old flames or celebrating with new flames or even if you’re a fire that can’t be tamed. I hope you’re enjoying this valentine’s day however you are celebrating, even if at all. 

To get you in the mood, here are some interesting facts to relight your fire about love!

hedgehog

We aren’t the only species that finds someone for life! Many animals like wolves, swans and even termites have one partner for life. 

It only takes 4 minutes to decide whether you like someone or not. Your body language, tone and speed of your voice are the deciding factors to a good first impression

Falling in love has similar brain effects to those of cocaine. Both trigger a similar sense of euphoria and studies have shown that falling in love produces several chemicals that stimulate 12 areas of the brain at the same time. Love can be addictive.

Cuddling releases natural painkillers. Oxytocin is produced during an embrace, a dose of oxytocin decreases headaches significantly for some and can make the pain go away completely.    

valentines

Broken heart syndrome is caused by an intense and traumatizing event such as a break-up, the loss of a loved one, physical separation or betrayal. These can cause real physical pain in the heart. Emotional stress triggers the brain to distribute certain chemicals that weaken the heart leading to strong chest pains and shortness of breath.

Butterflies in your stomach are real, its caused by adrenaline which floods your body during a fight or flight response situations.

A 75-year long study, conducted by a group of Harvard researchers, showed that love is all you need. The participants’ life experiences revealed that happiness and life fulfilment revolved around love or simply searching for love.

To see more love facts click here!

This might sound cheesy, but being by the fire with you would be grate. With Firemizer, you can enjoy the fire and cuddle for longer! ( Psst! it’s only £14.99 for valentines day!)

Roses are red violets are blue I hope that you come back soon!

Firemizer’s 2018 Round Up

Firemizer had a great year in 2018 and since we still can’t quite believe it’s 2019 let’s hold on to 2018 a bit longer and look back at some quite big and crazy events for the year.

‘In looking back, I see nothing to regret and little to correct.

John C. Calhoun

  • Meghan Markle married Prince Harry and became the U.K.’s first black princess 
  • Serena Williams made an epic return at the French Open in a fierce black catsuit.
  • Ireland ended its abortion ban, thanks to the thousands of people who flew home to vote on the referendum.
  • Doctors Grew a New Ear in a Soldier’s Arm
  • 13-Year-Old Wakes Up After Being Declared Brain Dead

It’s time to turn back time and see what 2018 bought Firemizer

The new website

Jumping straight into January the new website was launched! All shiny and new, perfect and easy for you to use and get all the info you need on all things Firemizer.

Dragons Den

Filming for the TV show went underway in May, a nerve-wracking experience. Maybe you saw us on tv? We’ve had lots of lovely enquires from you and Thanks to everyone that’s bought a Firemizer so far! 

Burn baby burn!

You may be surprised that Firemizer did well this summer, the scorching heat didn’t burn us out! Apparently didn’t stop you from buying Firemizer. Hopefully, you all enjoyed a good BBQ, fingers crossed this summer is perfect BBQ weather.

New hire

Towards the end of June, we hired a new intern. Ever wondered who writes these posts? It’s me! I help design marketing materials and run all the socials, so don’t be a stranger!

Countryfile live

Last year we trekked down to BBC’s Countryfile live! Stood in a black gazebo for 4 days in the burning heat, not the best of ideas. However, it was lovely to speak to people, walk the event, see all the dogs and eat some yummy food! Here’s the blog about our experience of the event! 

winter is coming!

As they say a hot summer therefore this means a cold winter! So, we launched our winter pack and hosted a lovely Christmas competition to celebrate.

Not bad roundup for 2018 and who knows what the rest of 2019 will bring! Don’t waste the year away as we’ll be saying Merry Christmas and a happy new year soon enough!

How fire safe are you?

What are the different types of fire?

Fires can be separated into 5 different categories depending on the type of fuel.  Consequently, for your safety, it is advised to keep a fire extinguisher in your home. Better to be safe than sorry!

As a result, to make sure you have the correct extinguisher look at the 5 fire categories below and decide which rooms you may need an extinguisher.

Getting started with fire extinguishers

Keep at least one extinguisher on each level of your house. Fire extinguishers should be kept in areas where fires are more likely to start, for example in the kitchen and garage.

The five classes of fire extinguishers are – A, B, C, D and F – and each class can put out a different type of fire.

fire

  • Class A/ water-based or foam

extinguishers will put out fires from ordinary combustibles such as wood and paper 

  • Class B/ foam

these are for use on flammable liquids like grease, gasoline and oil

  • Class C/ dry powder

extinguishers are suitable for use only on electrically energized fires 

  • Class D/ specific dry powder 

these are designed for use on flammable metals 

  • Class F

extinguishers are designed for cooking oil fires

How to use your fire extinguisher

Most Fire extinguishers use the P.A.S.S. technique, therefore making them easy to use. 

              • P. Pull the pin on the fire extinguisher in order to break the tamper seal.
              • A. Aim the fire extinguisher low, with the nozzle pointed at the base of the fire. 
              • S. Squeeze the handle of the fire extinguisher to release the extinguishing agent. 
              • S. Sweep the nozzle from side to side while pointed at the base of the fire until it is extinguished. 
              • If the fire re-ignites, repeat the last 3 steps.

How to treat a minor burn

There are three types of burns: first, second and third-degree. Each is based on the severity of damage to the skin. First-degree is the most minor and third-degree is the most severe.

Do not apply ice to burn or use cotton wool as small fibres can stick.

 Treatments for a first-degree burn include:
              • soak the wound in cool water for five minutes or longer
              • take acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain relief
              • apply lidocaine (anaesthetic) with Aloe Vera gel or cream to soothe the skin
              • use an antibiotic ointment and loose gauze to protect the affected area

While fire can be fun and relaxing it is also best to take caution when doing anything that involves fire.

In addition, Firemizer reduces creosote by 57% which is a highly flammable resin that sticks to your flue which will reduce the risk of flue fires.

 

Reference

http://www.eurofireprotection.com/blog/the-fire-classification-system-in-the-uk/

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/burns-and-scalds/

What is Your Carbon Footprint?

Carbon Footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization, or community.

 

‘We only have 12 years to save the planet!’ 

 

With headlines like this, it is time to start thinking about our own carbon footprint and what we can do to help! Since its big energy saving week, why not look at changing to a cleaner energy provider. The big clean switch runs clean energy switches where you can find the best deal. This might be cheaper for you so what’s to lose?

 

what is Clean energy?
Clean energy comes from the earth’s natural resources (sunlight, wind, waves and tides). There are two advantages for clean energy, it will never run out and it doesn’t pollute the environment or cause us harm, unlike oil, coal and gas. It’s versatile,  abundant and perfect for the UK. We have the best access to the cleanest energy, wind and tidal resources meet our energy needs.

 

Clean energy meets around a quarter of electricity demands in the UK.

 

How to change your carbon footprint

 

Reduce Waste! 
Did you know that wasted food in the UK represents 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions! Everything you can do to avoid sending unwanted waste to landfill will benefit the environment. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!
carbon footprint
Support Clean Energy!
Make sure water and energy ratings are as efficient as possible on products. The world can have renewable energy by 2050. Buy showing that you want clean you can help increase demand.carbon footprint
Travel Smart!
You don’t need to walk everywhere, maybe cycle or car share. if you do need a car look for low emissions or invest in a hybrid or electric car
carbon footprint

 

Realistically the changes that need to be made won’t happen overnight. But more people that are aware the better chances we have of reducing our carbon footprint and the effect of climate change and air pollution.
We aim at Firemizer to do all we can help the environment. Our research team are currently in the process of calculating and publishing our carbon footprint and to improve it for the future.
We are proud to say that Firemizer can help reduce harmful emissions by 72%. There’s no downside to that!
To find out your carbon footprint use the calculator at WWF

 

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