Stoves.
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Woodielanger
Member
I'm no expert but we have a greenheart brand from stoves online. It was daily well priced ( for a woodburning stove ) and works very well. It's basically a metal drum with a lid.
Ours has two air inlets on the top, one that let's air into the top of the fire and one that has a tube leading to the bottom, you control the air as it burn for the best results.
In the morning ( or when it goes out) we fill ours up with wood shavings (from the dust extractor) and add a few lumps of wood then it burns very well for an hour or two depending on the wood. Only one thing to be careful of, fine dust can be expolive so beware tipping a bag of wood shavings onto the flames, it will flame back up!
It will happily burn solid wood, shavings or a mix of both. I'm not sure I'd recommend burning mdf. Burnings cheaper than filling a skip with waste! We burn about 6 bags of chips on a cold day.
follow any flue advice and try not to cut corners, our flu is a bit low so sometimes depending on the wind, it does mot drawer correctly. I think they reccomend the chimney flu at least 1m above the roof or even better above the ridge !
Hope that's of some help.
Hope that helps.
Ours has two air inlets on the top, one that let's air into the top of the fire and one that has a tube leading to the bottom, you control the air as it burn for the best results.
In the morning ( or when it goes out) we fill ours up with wood shavings (from the dust extractor) and add a few lumps of wood then it burns very well for an hour or two depending on the wood. Only one thing to be careful of, fine dust can be expolive so beware tipping a bag of wood shavings onto the flames, it will flame back up!
It will happily burn solid wood, shavings or a mix of both. I'm not sure I'd recommend burning mdf. Burnings cheaper than filling a skip with waste! We burn about 6 bags of chips on a cold day.
follow any flue advice and try not to cut corners, our flu is a bit low so sometimes depending on the wind, it does mot drawer correctly. I think they reccomend the chimney flu at least 1m above the roof or even better above the ridge !
Hope that's of some help.
Hope that helps.
Woodchips2
Established Member
Hi Roy
When we bought our multi-fuel stove (Morso Squirrel) the supplier had a range of stoves in stock and he advised that wood burns best when it is on a solid bed of ash whereas coal needs a grate to allow air underneath to control the rate of burn. If you are likely to burn wood generally then he advised go for a log-burner with a solid bottom but if you want to burn logs and coal then go for the multi-fuel. The multi-fuel won't be as efficient as a log burner when burning wood but gives you more choice of fuel. We generally burn smokeless fuel which is easier to obtain than well seasoned logs but the occassional log (or turned pieces that have gone wrong!) burn well.
Regards Keith
When we bought our multi-fuel stove (Morso Squirrel) the supplier had a range of stoves in stock and he advised that wood burns best when it is on a solid bed of ash whereas coal needs a grate to allow air underneath to control the rate of burn. If you are likely to burn wood generally then he advised go for a log-burner with a solid bottom but if you want to burn logs and coal then go for the multi-fuel. The multi-fuel won't be as efficient as a log burner when burning wood but gives you more choice of fuel. We generally burn smokeless fuel which is easier to obtain than well seasoned logs but the occassional log (or turned pieces that have gone wrong!) burn well.
Regards Keith
hanser
Established Member
Hi Roy
I've installed 4 stoves in my homes over the years ( all pre regs, HETAS etc of course) generally burn logs but they are getting harder to find on the free as more folk are reinstalling stoves etc. I'd buy a good quality cast iron stove not welded plate and buy a bigger rather than a smaller stove. Make sure that the front door easily takes big pieces of wood, Chopping and splitting wood is laborious and good exercise but you don't want it to take over your life
. Get friendly with folk with big gardens and garden maintenance guys, get a chain saw plus protective gear , wedges, splitting maul. Build a wood store and aim to go from green wood to air dried over two year cycles before you burn it.
Best stove I've seen was DIY'd by my neighbour in France but he did work for a metal fabricator at the time. A big deep rectangular firebox made of 25mm plate with a hinged door and built into a stone fireplace. The family lights it in November and finally lets it go out in March. The ash builds up slowly over the season, never goes out and gets emptied in spring. Lovely warm house.
I've installed 4 stoves in my homes over the years ( all pre regs, HETAS etc of course) generally burn logs but they are getting harder to find on the free as more folk are reinstalling stoves etc. I'd buy a good quality cast iron stove not welded plate and buy a bigger rather than a smaller stove. Make sure that the front door easily takes big pieces of wood, Chopping and splitting wood is laborious and good exercise but you don't want it to take over your life
. Get friendly with folk with big gardens and garden maintenance guys, get a chain saw plus protective gear , wedges, splitting maul. Build a wood store and aim to go from green wood to air dried over two year cycles before you burn it.Best stove I've seen was DIY'd by my neighbour in France but he did work for a metal fabricator at the time. A big deep rectangular firebox made of 25mm plate with a hinged door and built into a stone fireplace. The family lights it in November and finally lets it go out in March. The ash builds up slowly over the season, never goes out and gets emptied in spring. Lovely warm house.
misterfish
Established Member
We have two 'multifuel' stoves. One has a lever that opens and closes a series of grate bars to give a solid (ash) base for wood or allows air to flow through the burning material for coal/coke etc. The other has either a fire brick base for wood or a removable grate for coal/coke.
Misterfish
Misterfish
wobblycogs
Established Member
We installed a multi-fuel ClearView stove 18 months ago and it's brilliant. The main difference between a wood only and a multi-fuel is that to burn coal efficiently the stove needs to provide some way for the ash to fall through to the collection pan when burning coal but provide an ash bed when burning wood. On the ClearView stoves this is done by making the centre of the ash grill moveable - a lever on the side moves the central insert so the coal ash falls through. To be honest though I think once you get used to burning wood you probably won't bother burning coal.
That explains a lot chaps. As I have access to viirtually unlimited amounts of scrap timber it's a wood burner for me.
One further question. The outputs claimed by some manufacturers seem highly optomistic, can they be relied upon?
Roy.
One further question. The outputs claimed by some manufacturers seem highly optomistic, can they be relied upon?
Roy.
wobblycogs
Established Member
My experience isn't exactly vast but....
Clearview claim our stove will output 8kw http://www.clearviewstoves.com/vis500dimensions.htm which I think is probably about right when it's loaded up with properly seasoned hardwood.
My geeky reason for thinking this is as follow. Heating calculations indicate the room the stove is in requires about 4kW of heating when the outside temperature is 0 degC. We have fitted a 4.2kW radiator which was able to hold the room at about 20 degC over winter when it was about 0 degC outside. Fully loading the stove will easily make the room like too hot to stay in even when it is well into the minus figures outside thus leading me to conclude that the stove is putting out a lot more heat than the radiator.
I would advise you to think carefully about how powerful a stove you fit, ideally you want to to match or only slightly exceed the heating requirements of the room it's in just like with a radiator. In hindsight I think ours is too big for the room we have it although when it hit -12 deg C outside this winter it was nice to be able to properly heat one room.
The crux of the problem is that while you do have some control of the heat output it's not a much as you might think and apparently the Clearview stoves have more output control than most. In order to hit the efficiency and emissions figures quoted by the manufacturer you have to run the stove pretty hot - in our case the ideal temperature is about 250 - 275 deg C just above the door - which means the stove has to be running close to it's rated heat output. If you are running below it's rated level you'll find the glass soots up.
I would certainly recommend a visit to Dingham house to look at the stoves there. They keep them running all the time (even in summer!) and are very helpful - there's also usually some nice furniture to get inspiration from too
Clearview claim our stove will output 8kw http://www.clearviewstoves.com/vis500dimensions.htm which I think is probably about right when it's loaded up with properly seasoned hardwood.
My geeky reason for thinking this is as follow. Heating calculations indicate the room the stove is in requires about 4kW of heating when the outside temperature is 0 degC. We have fitted a 4.2kW radiator which was able to hold the room at about 20 degC over winter when it was about 0 degC outside. Fully loading the stove will easily make the room like too hot to stay in even when it is well into the minus figures outside thus leading me to conclude that the stove is putting out a lot more heat than the radiator.
I would advise you to think carefully about how powerful a stove you fit, ideally you want to to match or only slightly exceed the heating requirements of the room it's in just like with a radiator. In hindsight I think ours is too big for the room we have it although when it hit -12 deg C outside this winter it was nice to be able to properly heat one room.
The crux of the problem is that while you do have some control of the heat output it's not a much as you might think and apparently the Clearview stoves have more output control than most. In order to hit the efficiency and emissions figures quoted by the manufacturer you have to run the stove pretty hot - in our case the ideal temperature is about 250 - 275 deg C just above the door - which means the stove has to be running close to it's rated heat output. If you are running below it's rated level you'll find the glass soots up.
I would certainly recommend a visit to Dingham house to look at the stoves there. They keep them running all the time (even in summer!) and are very helpful - there's also usually some nice furniture to get inspiration from too
I have the smallest stove :-http://www.thehotspot.co.uk/products.asp?cat=47&subcat=183&range=345
http://www.thehotspot.co.uk/products/Relax_workshop_Heaters/Relax_Stoves.asp
for my shop which you have seen ,50% well insulated single brick the rest. It works fine for burning all my sawdust off cuts etc. and as i am burning lots of soft wood at the moment needs lots of filling so i think the next size up would have been better for a leave alone constant heat also the flue is thin metal, so will not last .Also where it exits the shop its gets cooled and reduces its draw and needs cleaning out from time to time.
http://www.thehotspot.co.uk/products/Relax_workshop_Heaters/Relax_Stoves.asp
for my shop which you have seen ,50% well insulated single brick the rest. It works fine for burning all my sawdust off cuts etc. and as i am burning lots of soft wood at the moment needs lots of filling so i think the next size up would have been better for a leave alone constant heat also the flue is thin metal, so will not last .Also where it exits the shop its gets cooled and reduces its draw and needs cleaning out from time to time.
Chataigner
Established Member
We run a wood fired cooker (french made rayburn ish machine) with 10kW output and another 10kW stove in our winter living/dining room. (The main sitting room is too expensive to heat, so we only use it in summer).
Notable experiences to date :
1 - Quality of wood is critical. It must be dry or efficiency is poor.
2 - Chimney needs cleaning twice a year or you risk a fire and, believe me, you do not want to see the pipe from the stove to the chimney masonry glowing cherry red! It is frightening!
3 - All (dry) wood has roughly the same calorific value per unit weight. However, as all us woodworkers know, the density is very variable and lighter wood will fill the stove with only half the weight, therefore needs filling much more often.
4 - Heavier is better, the more iron there is, the more surface area to transfer energy and the more energy is stored in the metal of the stove itself.
Watch out for output figure massage. Some quote peak output, some quote average output with a fill every 2 hours etc. It is not always a case of comparing like with like. Our Godin in the dining room is quoted as 10kW, based on 20kW peak output 15mins after a fill, then falling off to around 5kW as the fuel is expended until refilled when it rises back to 20kw.
Notable experiences to date :
1 - Quality of wood is critical. It must be dry or efficiency is poor.
2 - Chimney needs cleaning twice a year or you risk a fire and, believe me, you do not want to see the pipe from the stove to the chimney masonry glowing cherry red! It is frightening!
3 - All (dry) wood has roughly the same calorific value per unit weight. However, as all us woodworkers know, the density is very variable and lighter wood will fill the stove with only half the weight, therefore needs filling much more often.
4 - Heavier is better, the more iron there is, the more surface area to transfer energy and the more energy is stored in the metal of the stove itself.
Watch out for output figure massage. Some quote peak output, some quote average output with a fill every 2 hours etc. It is not always a case of comparing like with like. Our Godin in the dining room is quoted as 10kW, based on 20kW peak output 15mins after a fill, then falling off to around 5kW as the fuel is expended until refilled when it rises back to 20kw.
Dodge
Established Member
I used to have an R6 from Hotspot and to be honest I wasn't overly impressed. It was ok but the quality of the single wall flue pipe supplied collapsed within a couple of years and the welded mild steel became so thin in a couple of years that the back fell out of it. I also used to find that if the wind was blowing that I would end up with a workshop full of smoke! It was installed correctly with the chimney 1 metre above the ridge and with a wind vein cowl etc.
Anyway ended up dumping it a couple of years ago and bought a Boxwood Deluxe from Machine Mart (Yes Machine Mart) for about £270 on one of their VAT free offer days. Coupled this with some second hand stainless 6" flue and it is brilliant. Can use with wood or coal using the optional grate. My workshop is about 1600 square feet with a high roof and mezzanine floor and from freezing it will get the workshop up to T shirt temp in about an hour! Burns shaving as well.
I would seriously recommend you get a cast iron stove rather than a mild steel one - MHO anyway
Rog
Anyway ended up dumping it a couple of years ago and bought a Boxwood Deluxe from Machine Mart (Yes Machine Mart) for about £270 on one of their VAT free offer days. Coupled this with some second hand stainless 6" flue and it is brilliant. Can use with wood or coal using the optional grate. My workshop is about 1600 square feet with a high roof and mezzanine floor and from freezing it will get the workshop up to T shirt temp in about an hour! Burns shaving as well.
I would seriously recommend you get a cast iron stove rather than a mild steel one - MHO anyway
Rog
It's not for my shop, it's for the lounge, the wife says if I'm daft enough to work out in the shop when it's cold that's my silly fault! (My wife does understand me!)
We have LPG heating and the price has doubled in 3 years, and as I have access to dry scrap timber a woodburner seems a sensible option.
Roy.
We have LPG heating and the price has doubled in 3 years, and as I have access to dry scrap timber a woodburner seems a sensible option.
Roy.
hanser
Established Member
Roy
Having bought a stove 'sized' to a room and ending up replacing it with one with a higher output I would always recommend a larger stove. Stoves work best with a nice slow steady burn. You don't want to be running a small stove red hot and having to refuel often.
If the output from the stove is too much burn less wood/ let it slumber /open a door to spread the heat. Aim to heat a space rather than 'a room'.
A few other things to think of - there are some double sided stoves on the market that will straddle two rooms. Might work for you. Would you like to cook with your stove - consider a flat top stove. We cook a lot of casserole/slow roasts on ours. Great in winter.
Having bought a stove 'sized' to a room and ending up replacing it with one with a higher output I would always recommend a larger stove. Stoves work best with a nice slow steady burn. You don't want to be running a small stove red hot and having to refuel often.
If the output from the stove is too much burn less wood/ let it slumber /open a door to spread the heat. Aim to heat a space rather than 'a room'.
A few other things to think of - there are some double sided stoves on the market that will straddle two rooms. Might work for you. Would you like to cook with your stove - consider a flat top stove. We cook a lot of casserole/slow roasts on ours. Great in winter.
Cowboy _Builder
Established Member
I very rarely clean our wood burner out , i remove half the ash every 2nd winter ,so it always has at least a 2 inch ash bed and i only burn Olive wood ,which is plentyfull here in Spain ,this is great stuff ,slow burning ,lots of heat and very little ash , it's a lot like Oak.
My neigbour was cleaning his out every other day and couldn't understand why he couldn't keep the fire fed untill i explaned the way wood burners worked .
I also take Olive wood upto France when i work there ,as most of the local wood i've found is Pine and Larch which burns very fast .
I was given a cple of chunks of French Walnut to burn ,but that will be saved for turning if i ever find time to give turning a go .
My neigbour was cleaning his out every other day and couldn't understand why he couldn't keep the fire fed untill i explaned the way wood burners worked .
I also take Olive wood upto France when i work there ,as most of the local wood i've found is Pine and Larch which burns very fast .
I was given a cple of chunks of French Walnut to burn ,but that will be saved for turning if i ever find time to give turning a go .
Woodchips2
Established Member
Roy
We have oil central heating as well as the multi-fuel and find we use the stove for much longer periods during the winter which saves on our oil consumption. Our Squirrel is supposed to churn out 6kw but we find the room gets too hot if the stove is going full blast.
There are other benefits to having a stove like the ability to make a cup of tea if the electricity supply fails! Also it will roast your chestnuts if you put them on a metal tray on top of the stove or potatoes wrapped in foil bake nicely.
Worth trawling the net to find reviews of different wood-burners.
Our chimney sweep advises sweeping the chimney twice a year if you burn wood whereas we get away with once a year burning mainly coal.
Regards Keith
We have oil central heating as well as the multi-fuel and find we use the stove for much longer periods during the winter which saves on our oil consumption. Our Squirrel is supposed to churn out 6kw but we find the room gets too hot if the stove is going full blast.
There are other benefits to having a stove like the ability to make a cup of tea if the electricity supply fails! Also it will roast your chestnuts if you put them on a metal tray on top of the stove or potatoes wrapped in foil bake nicely.
Worth trawling the net to find reviews of different wood-burners.
Our chimney sweep advises sweeping the chimney twice a year if you burn wood whereas we get away with once a year burning mainly coal.
Regards Keith
