Peat is popular form of fuel that can be burnt to help provide heat for a home.
Wood burning stoves are typically only designed to burn firewood, while multi fuel stoves can allow you to burn other types of solid fuel, such as coal.
Peat is commonly found in a brick form, known as briquettes, and often used in traditional open fireplaces, but can you burn peat briquettes in a wood burning stove?
Many wood burning stoves are designed to only burn firewood as their source of fuel. Burning peat briquettes may require the use of a multi fuel stove, which are typically setup to be able to burn other forms of fuel as well as firewood.
We have both a wood burning stove and a multi fuel stove and we’ve explained in more detail below whether you can burn peat briquettes in a wood stove using our own stoves as examples.
Can You Burn Peat Briquettes In A Wood Burning Stove?
Peat is a substance scrapped from the surface of bogs.
To be used as a source of fuel for burning, the peat is shredded and compacted into bricks, and then dried out naturally or in a kiln to form peat briquettes.
Peat briquettes are a popular source of fuel for use in fireplaces because they:
- Are slow burning
- Can typically be very dry
- Can produce less smoke than other forms of solid fuel
- Are lightweight and easy to transport
Wood burning stoves are appliances that burn firewood in order to generate heat.
Wood stoves are designed in such a way that they burn firewood as efficiently as possible by extracting the most amount of heat from each piece of wood (we’ve explained more how wood stoves work here).
As a result of their design, wood stoves can only typically burn firewood. Wood burning stoves aren’t typically designed to be able to burn other types of fuel, such as coal.
Multi fuel stoves on the other hand are appliances designed to allow you to burn sources of solid fuel other than wood, including coal.
We show what’s different about multi fuel stoves here, but in summary a multi fuel stove has additional features such as a grate, ash pan, and second air vent at the base of the firebox to allow you to change between burning different types of fuel.
But can you burn peat briquettes in either a wood burning stove or a multi fuel stove?
It can depend on the stove, but it can be more common to be able to burn peat in multi fuel stoves rather than wood burning stoves.
Many wood burning stoves can only burn firewood logs, but it may be possible to burn peat in multi fuel stoves, depending on the model of stove and what the manufacturer recommends.
Burning Peat Briquettes In Wood Stoves
As an example, we have a wood burning stove where the manufacturer states in the instruction manual only to burn firewood within this stove:
Only wood logs with a moisture content of less than 20% should be burnt on this appliance.
Hunter Stoves Group
As such, we have only ever burnt properly seasoned firewood in this stove.
We’ve never burnt coal or peat briquettes in our stove, and we never will because we know that burning low moisture content, seasoned, firewood and properly using the vents to control the fire in the stove will always provide us with a successful fires that put out large amounts of heat.
To ensure that our firewood is always below 20% moisture, we use a moisture meter to check each piece before every fire.
This helps to reduce the risk of poorly burning fires that can be a result of burning wood that is too wet.
See our recommended moisture meters here for more information.
Burning Peat Briquettes in Multi Fuel Stoves
However, we also have a multi fuel stove, and although we haven’t burnt peat it in before, it may be possible to.
Multi fuel stoves work quite differently to wood stoves in that multi fuel stoves are set up to be able to burn types of solid fuel other than firewood, such as coal, and potentially peat.
Multi fuel stove are typically distinguished by their grate, ash pan compartment and additional air vent setup to allow the stove to burn fuels such as coal.
When it comes to burning peat, the manufacturer of our stove explains that:
Very dry fuel such as peat briquettes should be used cautiously; particular care should be taken to not overheat your stove.
Clearview Stoves
The manufacturer also explains that the stove has been tested for burning wood only, and so advice should be sought from them if looking to burn peat.
There’s therefore nothing to say that we can’t burnt peat briquettes in our multi fuel stove, but the manufacturer explains that the we should do so with caution.
The manufacturer recommends that rapid heat fuels (such as peat briquettes) can be ‘mixed with slower fuels such as damp wood’. This can be done to help keep temperatures within the stove at normal operating temperatures and help prevent damage from over firing the stove.
In summary, when it comes to burning peat briquettes in a multi fuel stove, check with the manufacturer of your stove before doing so.
They may recommended not to do so, or may provide other recommendations on how to burn peat safety without leading to temperatures too high within the stove.
Is It OK To Burn Peat?
It may be possible to burn peat briquettes in certain models of stoves, but not in others.
Always check the manufacturers instructions for your particular model of stove before burning peat, or contact them if you’re unsure.
Stoves are designed to extract as much heat as possible from the fuel used. For wood stoves this will typically only be firewood, but for multi fuel stoves this can be other forms of fuel in addition to firewood.
When it comes to burning firewood, you’ll always want to ensure that it’s dry enough. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends below 20% moisture content for firewood.
See our other article here for more information on the right moisture content for firewood.
At this moisture content firewood is able to burn very well without any significant issues, but it also isn’t too dry that it doesn’t burn too hot and fast for it to be a sustainable source of fuel.
Heat can be the main issue when it comes to burning peat briquettes in stoves.
Peat briquettes are compressed, meaning that all of the energy stored within the fuel is concentrated into a smaller area. This can lead to much hotter fires, even when the same amount of peat is used as firewood.
Running your stove at high temperatures may cause permanent damage to the stove over time, particularly to components such as the baffle.
Understanding that peat briquettes can burn much hotter than firewood logs can help you to have a more successful peat fire in your stove (if allowed).
When looking to burn peat briquettes:
- Check with your stove manufacturer that it’s safe to do so.
- Use smaller quantities of peat compared to firewood.
- Keep an eye on the stove temperatures using a stove thermometer.
- Use peat briquettes alongside slightly wetter bits of firewood if required.
You can see the range of peat briquettes available here.
Conclusion
Certain models of stoves will be able to burn peat briquettes, while manufacturers of other stoves may recommended not to.
Check with the manufacturer of your stove for advice before burning peat briquettes.
The manufacturer of our own wood burning stove recommends only firewood should be burnt, while the manufacturer of our multi fuel stove advises to take caution when burning peat briquettes and to ask them for further advice on doing so.
Peat briquettes can burn much hotter compared to traditional firewood logs and so care must be taken to ensure that temperatures within a stove don’t get too hot.
Burning peat briquettes in your stove in smaller quantities can help to regulate temperatures and lead to successful peat fires.
You can find peat briquettes available to buy here.
Further Reading
Can You Burn Pine In A Wood Stove?