Woodburning Stoves

[Hamish]

Does anyone have a woodburning stove?

Looking at getting something similar to this, but still tossing up whether to get Wood/Gas/Coal/Multi.
At the moment I'm leaning towards a wood DEFRA approved stove (I'm in a smoke controlled zone) but wondering if in future I'll get fed up of clearing it out and lighting it all the time, although I suppose I'll always have central heating too. Always used to love having a coal fire to stoke when I was a kid!

Also where do people get their wood from? There seems to be quite a few companies who will drop a pallet at your door, or are there better places?

 

[Maccapacca]

Log burners don't create much ash, we have an open fire and only really clean it out every 4th fire

Logs we buy 5 bags for 160 and that lasts a winter, beware the smaller the burner the smaller the logs, you might end up having to buy sized bags which is incredibly expensive although you can burn chestnut in a log burner and not on an open fire as they spit.

The cost of the burner above is only the start if you need your flue lining and surrounding with vermiculite and a new pot

If I were fitting one I'd go for one with a heat exchanger and link it to my heating as I've put a couple in on new builds that link up with heating and under floor heating a d they work really well

 

[Hamish]

Log burners don't create much ash, we have an open fire and only really clean it out every 4th fire

Logs we buy 5 bags for 160 and that lasts a winter, beware the smaller the burner the smaller the logs, you might end up having to buy sized bags which is incredibly expensive although you can burn chestnut in a log burner and not on an open fire as they spit.

The cost of the burner above is only the start if you need your flue lining and surrounding with vermiculite and a new pot

If I were fitting one I'd go for one with a heat exchanger and link it to my heating as I've put a couple in on new builds that link up with heating and under floor heating a d they work really well

Cheers,
yep I'll get a sweep over to do a smokebomb test and tell me if I need my flue lining, hoping it will be ok as it will save a lot of cost and hassle if I don't!
Didn't think about log sizes! I'll have to keep that in mind when buying.

 

[Maccapacca]

I'm sure you'll get 6 people tell you you don't need a lined flue and half a dozen saying you do and all the installers will say you need it lined properly, quoted below is something I picked up on about the tar that builds up

Please think carefully about lining your chimney. I have a new house - 3 years old. We had a 5kw Morso stove professionally installed and were told our concrete 10 inch chimney on the exposed north facing side of the house would not need lining.....

After 12 months, of burning seasoned wood, mindful of all the advice to burn hot and clean, we had a deluge of boiling tar pour out of the register late - onto a hot stove. You have no idea how much mess (and the smell) and of course the danger this caused (Boiling mobile foul flammable tar bubbling and catching light!)

A professional company (not the installer) came to our rescue. Lining a chimney isn't just about inserting a metal liner its also about inserting insulation around it - to keep the chimney hot and prevent tar depositing. The exposed nature of the wall and mass of the construction of the chimney (no different to many others!) meant it never stood a chance of getting hot especially with a clean burn efficient 5kw stove (the most common size!) I would never not have the chimney lined - believe me you only have to live through it once to realise its just not worth the risk!

After a clean up costing a lot! we paid another £1500 to install the liner and reinstall the stove. 2 years on the stove gives out the same heat and burns the same - but we have piece of mind! With a 20 year + life thats about £75 a year... a small cost compared to the possible outcome of not lining. For us being off gas, rural and exposed a wood burner was a viable option, its not a cheap alternative to mains gas!

Good luck - I'm sure there will be many different views - I can only share my exp

 

[peter_hutson]

Stoves are brilliant, they give off a much more comforting heat than central heating. There is also nothing more manly than cutting up your own wood. I'd go for a multi fuel stove, at least that way you'll have the flexibility to burn things other than wood at a later date, they only cost a few hundred pounds more. I believe "oval eights" are smokeless and can be burned in smokeless zones.

Please, please, please make sure you get it properly and professionally installed. A chimney fire or worse is not something you want to have to deal with. If the installation is a "homer" you might also run in to problems with your home insurance, if a problem ever occurs. Also, once installed check with your insurance company how often they require you to have your chimney swept, I have heard of cases where they have refused to payout on damage claims associated with a stove if the owner cannot prove they had their chimeny/liner cleaned.

EDIT:
Quick note if you plan to go with a model that also heats your water. These need an electical supply to operate and I think cannot be run without the supply live. For most people this is okay. But I suffer from quite frequent power cuts and it was important to have form of heating that was independant of the mains supply.

 

[jms198]

The HETAS installers willl insist on lining your flue. They make a lot of money out of it. if not lining you can geta cone of concreted facing down back into the stove.

I would have got a third party to look for me before asking their opinion. A decent sweep and an approved one will be able to do a smoke test and will know by what comes down the chimney what state the flue is in. They may offer to install it for you and they don't have overheads like the bigger installers. Also look for tar deposits that might have seeped through the brickwork on the outside of the house. To get building permission you need to arrange a time for him to pop round and get a look afaik. I think in Kent it was about 25 quid or something.

Buying wood is a complete con most of the time. You will order a m3 and you'll get a poorly packed builders bag which is only 90cmx90cmx90cm. Often the wood isn't seasoned properly so you need to buy it at least the february before the winter you intend to use it. Phone around and try to beat down the price.

The law here is an absoloute joke. In Canada they sell by a cord (?) which a seller is required to show in the event of a dispote by lining up the wood. Its serious business if its not all there. Here; just some half arsed excuse.