Wood burning stove

[Anonymous]

As a lot of talk is going on about fire places, chimneys etc, I was wondering if anyone has any good/bad experiences of woodburning stoves. We are thinking of getting one, but are unsure which one to get. We can't afford a mega expensive one (budget max £500) but I quite like the look of the cream enamelled ones. Though I've not seen these for less than £1000! Trust me to have expensive tastes! Cheers!

 

[Anonymous]

Ours is wonderful! It cost rather more than £500, plus installation, but I don't regret a penny of it.

It's worth getting one which has what's called an "air-wash" feature. This draws the air into the unit in such a way that it keeps the tarry fumes away from the glass. This keeps the glass much cleaner than in units without air-wash.

Also be sure that your flue is well insulated. This stops acids from forming inside it, and eventually eating it away.

 

[Anonymous]

Do it. I love them. We have one in our flat and we love it so much we have 3 on order for the cottage we are restoring, all different shapes and sizes. They are amazingly efficient and of course are carbon neutral. At xmas we warm mince pies and mulled wine on the top of ours, makes the place smell wonderful.

Find a stove you like online then phone around. From experience you can get a good 25% off the RRP at some dealers, and often more if they are offloading ex-display models.

 

[Anonymous]

David is right , the air wash is the way to go. In my experience the best are Woodwarm, I have fitted several and have one myself. You are always better off driving a small stove hard than a large stove gently. Take the advise of a good supplier rather than go for the cheapest option. The other thing that cannot be over stated is the need for DRY wood. Don't forget that, as a rule of thumb, wood takes one year per inch to air dry. A lot of people store their logs for a few months and then wonder why the stove does'nt work very well - its much like pouring a bucket of water down the flue. Thats why. In the mad society we live in the majority of pallets are non returnable but they are exellent firewood. Don't look very pretty stacked up next to the stove but they sure as hell warm the house. Mike.

 

[Anonymous]

We have three. Two are Arrow and one is a Clearview. The latter is by far the best, but you can guess how it compares on price. All the advice above is on fuels and features is spot on. It really is the kind of thing where the quality is appreciated long after the price is forgotten.
One additional pointos the need to have some ventilation into the room to feed the thing. Building regs say 1sq. inch of ventilation per kw of stove output in a nice mix of imperial and metric, but that is ample.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, I had forgotten about ventilation. Get the entry point as close as possible to the stove to avoid unpleasant draughts. We always use a bit of 110mm drainpipe as a vent. Make sure the ext. has a rat proof grill. Mike.

 

[Anonymous]

I have just finished fitting one in my 1800 cottage for quite cheap.

£250 for brand new stove from reclamation yard
£50 for 20 400x400 york stone tiles
£270 for 7m of flue linner, 1.2mm matt black pipe with sweep hole, cowl, firepaste and clamps (included delivery and VAT)
£30 for Indian meal to brother to climb on roof and pass flue down (Climbing instructor)
£0 open window and back door for ventilation (Dog can come and go as it wants then)
£0 for 5m2 of Dry logs found in building ready for demolition in Army Garrison currently working on.

not bad I think as I was quoted £1000 just to fit the liner, remember do some hunting around

 

[Anonymous]

You were ripped off on the curry

 

[Anonymous]

Re the comment on the pallets:

Most pallets are non-returnable as you say, BUT they do have a value. You can sell them to dealers for between 40p to £1 per pallet.

Damaged pallets are worth burning, as are other wood packaging such as packing cases etc. as these are low quality wood from fast growing trees.

Its suprising (and criminal) how much waste wood goes to landfill depressingly.

There are of course those pallets where the company keeps ownership of them (usually blue ones).

 

[Anonymous]

That was for 2 and included Kingfishers!!!!!

But it is in Rural Essex so Southern prices, but to be fair the owner sponsers the local boys football team so he does have some imput to the community.

 

[Anonymous]

Could I ask where you sourced the flue liner at that price - I was quoted double that recently (+fitting)

thanks

M

 

[Anonymous]

m*ch*ne m*rt do a range of budget wood burners which are great. i have had one in constant (ish) use for over 5 years with no problems. with flue at approx £30 per metre.... not altogether too expensive a job.

 

[Anonymous]

It was from Hotline chimneys in Cornwall £20.75 per metre

 

[Anonymous]

They are wonderful. They chuck out an enormous amount of heat - I don't need the central heating a lot of the time as I can leave the (internal) doors open and the heat can spread through the house. I have a 'Villager ', one of the most common types. Check your immediate area in case you need a cowl to prevent back draft. I need to fit one to stop puffs (or great gusts in very swirly winds) of smoke coming back out of the stove.
The only problem is getting seasoned wood - I don't think I've ever come across any no matter what the suppliers say. You should store split logs in the spring at least to get them ready for the next winter (yes, I know that's theoretically not enough, but it seems to work OK). They do say that Ash wood will burn well green - it's about the only one that will.

 

[Anonymous]

[No message]

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone, I'm going to keep my eyes open for a good deal and check out my local suppliers. I've got a chimney which should (ever hopeful) only need a good sweep. I really like the Island variety by Charnwood, but I think they are out of my price range. I think we'll have to use the central heating this winter but fingers crossed for next winter.

 

[Anonymous]

We have relied on our Morso Squirrel for the past 7 years and it has been superb. This year I replaced the firebricks and now it's ready for another winter. We used to fit these in narrowboats when I was boatbuilding and we only ever heard good reports about them.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Alex

Enamelling usally adds about £200 on to the price of a stove and only cast iron stoves can be enamelled which is why they are so expensive. You could get a similar look with a cheaper steel stove and a few coats of cream heat-proof paint, such as the kits 'Charnwood' do (about £30). Hopefully you might end up with a similar look for a lot less money.

Wyn @ Fires Online



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