Are wood burners allowed?

Dougbobbill

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We have a wood burning stove in our van and have travelled around Europe for many years with no issues. However when checking in at Dieppe last week to come home the French officer inspecting the van for illegals etc told me that these stoves are not allowed in France, with the van likely to be impounded. I told him it is only used when parked up, but that makes no difference apparently.
I've delved about online and can't find anything to back this up. Does anyone have any knowledge of this?
 
Vantastic (Youtube channel) have one in their Adria panel van. A Finnish couple, based in Helsinki, but touring Europe, have one, don't recall them having a problem
 
The French have rules for domestic woodburning stoves which have to be compliant. I would therefore assume that any mobile ones would have to comply with the same rules?
 
Trotter said:
Vantastic (Youtube channel) have one in their Adria panel van. A Finnish couple, based in Helsinki, but touring Europe, have one, don't recall them having a problem
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I guess they will not be 'caught' in the same way as someone from outside the EU as any inspections will - if ever done - be less through?
 
mistericeman said:
I'd go drip feed "Bubble Diesel stove" if I build another van ....

Got the flames/output of a woodstove without mess or pfaff of finding decent wood ....
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d/r had one in her single decker,something went wrong and the entire interior got coated in diesel soot . apart from that it was quite good
 
n brown said:
d/r had one in her single decker,something went wrong and the entire interior got coated in diesel soot . apart from that it was quite good
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There's a danger with pretty much any form of heating IF it goes wrong ...

However if properly maintained they are a great form of heating .

This was the one I had on my boat
20231105_170358.jpg
 
Robmac said:
The French have rules for domestic woodburning stoves which have to be compliant. I would therefore assume that any mobile ones would have to comply with the same rules?
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Here in the U.K. we must comply with the 1999 clean air act, the original act came out I think in the late 50s to counter smog in our large cities.
Generally speaking in the U.K. it’s fine to burn all types of wood, but the problem is that folk buy wood burners don’t always burn just wood. Anything which creates black smoke is prohibited, this type of non carbon based smoke can have many harmful gasses and particulate matter. I reckon that’s why they may be banned in France. The act also covers commercial and industrial installations, which is what the act is primarily concerned with today.
 
I remember having a paraffin stove similar to that as a kid. Fitting a refilled tank to it, terrified Mum. I think it was dumped after she tried to fill it when hot. Or it could have been the mess spilt Esso Blue ( Bom bom bom bom) made in the kitchen.
That 1963 winter, in a badly (none) insulated council flat, is a memory that will stay with me forever.
Kids today? Don't know their born. Humffff

The Esso Blue was delivered by a bloke who had an old Morris Commercial van with a large fuel tank fitted in the back.
His second vehicle was a Bedford CA icecream van.
Council estate kid turned entrepreneur.
 
Fisherman said:
Here in the U.K. we must comply with the 1999 clean air act, the original act came out I think in the late 50s to counter smog in our large cities.
Generally speaking in the U.K. it’s fine to burn all types of wood, but the problem is that folk buy wood burners don’t always burn just wood. Anything which creates black smoke is prohibited, this type of non carbon based smoke can have many harmful gasses and particulate matter. I reckon that’s why they may be banned in France. The act also covers commercial and industrial installations, which is what the act is primarily concerned with today.
Click to expand...
Go to any old farm here and they burn everything in the old aga cookers from broken pallets to cardboard and paper waste, they never buy coal.
 
No one is 'available' to 'police' solid fuel stoves, at least around here. They've got bigger issues to worry about 🤷‍♀️

Loads of (owned) properties have log or multi-burners out in the sticks. We have one ourselves, and mighty glad we do. Especially as the gov is apparently warning people to stock up on candles in case of power cuts. :rolleyes:

Also plenty of barns/sheds/outdoor building with a solid fuel heat source of some sort, and long established coal/log merchants on the doorstep

Many settled Romany families in County Durham too.
Doubt if the so-called "authorities" would hold much sway there! :cool: 🖕;)
 
The council did a big letter sending to many homes in Omagh county about illegal fitting of log burners, stating up to 10.000 pound fine if caught, within weeks f book was full of them as folk got scared.
However i know one chap they arrived at his house, he promply told them to ferk of his property as they have no legal right to be there, they left, he has had no trouble since, think its like the tv licence thing, going to be hard to prove as by law they cannot enter the property to look.
Ps smaoke from the chiminey is not proof and they cannot go up there to sample, burn away folks.
 
Thing is. Wood burner in the van? I can’t call it a log burner. The logs would have to be so small, I’d have to call it a twig burner. And where would I put it. The vans cluttered enough already.

💡Now I could take the front passenger seat out. The +2 seats have already gone. That’s were the freezer lives.
 
Trotter said:
Thing is. Wood burner in the van? I can’t call it a log burner. The logs would have to be so small, I’d have to call it a twig burner. And where would I put it. The vans cluttered enough already.

💡Now I could take the front passenger seat out. The +2 seats have already gone. That’s were the freezer lives.
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Having lived for 10 years plus on a narrowboat with a multifuel/logburner ...

Not a chance I'd have one in a van ...
Cosy yes
Warm yes

Smelly yes
Dusty yes
Pain to light often
Subject to going out whenost inconvenient yes
Expensive to run (days of decent free wood are long gone ) yes
Pain to carry fuel for yes

It will be a drip feed diesel stove when I return to the water ....

Cheap to run (will even run on waste oil/veg oil )
Doesn't use any electric power
Very controllable
And pfaff free ...

IF I convert another large van I'd consider a drip feed stove in that as there as some very compact ones out there fron Kabola/taylors/bubble etc
 
mistericeman said:
Having lived for 10 years plus on a narrowboat with a multifuel/logburner ...

Not a chance I'd have one in a van ...
Cosy yes
Warm yes

Smelly yes
Dusty yes
Pain to light often
Subject to going out whenost inconvenient yes
Expensive to run (days of decent free wood are long gone ) yes
Pain to carry fuel for yes

It will be a drip feed diesel stove when I return to the water ....

Cheap to run (will even run on waste oil/veg oil )
Doesn't use any electric power
Very controllable
And pfaff free ...

IF I convert another large van I'd consider a drip feed stove in that as there as some very compact ones out there fron Kabola/taylors/bubble etc
Click to expand...

They do look good.

 
mistericeman said:
Having lived for 10 years plus on a narrowboat with a multifuel/logburner ...

Not a chance I'd have one in a van ...
Cosy yes
Warm yes

Smelly yes
Dusty yes
Pain to light often
Subject to going out whenost inconvenient yes
Expensive to run (days of decent free wood are long gone ) yes
Pain to carry fuel for yes

It will be a drip feed diesel stove when I return to the water ....

Cheap to run (will even run on waste oil/veg oil )
Doesn't use any electric power
Very controllable
And pfaff free ...

IF I convert another large van I'd consider a drip feed stove in that as there as some very compact ones out there fron Kabola/taylors/bubble etc
Click to expand...

A van with a wood burning stove pulled into a CL we were on a few weeks back in the Lake District. I saw all this smoke coming out of the top of the van and went running out in the pouring rain to tell them their van was on fire only to notice it was coming out of a chimney. I wasnt impressed to be honest as it stank. Luckily it either died down or the very slight breeze we had shifted but it left our van smelling of smoke for hours. Bit of a pet hate of mine, Cant stand camp fires for the same reason.
 
barryd said:
A van with a wood burning stove pulled into a CL we were on a few weeks back in the Lake District. I saw all this smoke coming out of the top of the van and went running out in the pouring rain to tell them their van was on fire only to notice it was coming out of a chimney. I wasnt impressed to be honest as it stank. Luckily it either died down or the very slight breeze we had shifted but it left our van smelling of smoke for hours. Bit of a pet hate of mine, Cant stand camp fires for the same reason.
Click to expand...
I didn't mind the smell too much in the boat (but then I had a good supply of good dry wood )

The smoke fest some folks generate is ridiculous ...
Let alone when the slightly more brain dead start burning their plastic waste etc ...
It clings for ages ...

No smell or smoke out of the drip feed ...
Even the one we had at home running (mostly ) on heating was incredibly clean burning when up to temp (around 5 minutes )
 
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