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thompsonbrown

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Hi guys,
Looking at buying a wood burning stove for my kitchen after christmas and would like to here from any recommendations you have.
Cheers Richard.
 
Good flue arrangement with appropriate termination should be primary consideration. Given an adequate draw all stoves will perform to a degree. At entry level sub £200 Chinese stoves purchased direct from importer are amazing value, many same stoves retail at £500+ through
"specialist" outlets and installers. Equally the second hand market offers quality stoves provided over fired and cracked castings are avoided.
Ease of use should be considered and a stove requiring regular refuelling with small logs may not be appropriate for kitchen.
Given space my choice would be Jotul 118. This burns a 600mm log from one end like a cigarette. Combustion control is excellent. Embers from previous night's burn will greet you in the morning, ensuring a easily rekindled and blazing fire for breakfast.
 
I have had a hunter stove for about 12 /14 years now , no problems at all apart from when the airwash system for keeping the glass clean is on full, the logs burn too quick.
If I was buying another I would be tempted to research other stoves as obviously stove technology has moved on , so I will watch this thread with interest
 
It's nice to be able to burn coal too so I'd opt for a multi-fuel stove rather than just a wood burner unless you have an endless supply of logs. Important to correctly size the boiler too (as you would with rads) as you can have too large a burner that'll overheat the room.

Tbh stove technology hasn't moved on that much imo, there are a lot of claims about secondary burn efficiency but in the end it's only a box with a grate and a few vents. My stove is an Aarrow Acorn five and it's just as efficient as Aarrows' Defra approved Ecoburn version except it hasn't been sent off for approval and costs £200 less. If you're looking for multifuel and around 4-5kw I'd recommend it but they are fairly small and you'd have to cut the logs accordingly.
 
It's nice to be able to burn coal too so I'd opt for a multi-fuel stove rather than just a wood burner unless you have an endless supply of logs. Important to correctly size the boiler too (as you would with rads) as you can have too large a burner that'll overheat the room.

Tbh stove technology hasn't moved on that much imo, there are a lot of claims about secondary burn efficiency but in the end it's only a box with a grate and a few vents. My stove is an Aarrow Acorn five and it's just as efficient as Aarrows' Defra approved Ecoburn version except it hasn't been sent off for approval and costs £200 less. If you're looking for multifuel and around 4-5kw I'd recommend it but they are fairly small and you'd have to cut the logs accordingly.

your right, Multifuel seems to be where I'm heading. The one ive been looking at is the Broseley Serrano 5kw Defra Multifuel Stove With Log Store. Its mid range in price Defra approved but would love to here from anyone who has fitted this range. Im connecting upto my old twin wall selkirk which was used for my old glowworm hidaway. any other thoughts on other brands you would recommend will be gratefully appreciated.
 
The Broseley looks good, an Ekol Clarity 5 high is of similar style/price point but it is steel bodied rather cast iron.

Ekol Clarity 5 High Wood Burning Stove - 5kW - DEFRA

I do like the more industrial modern look but it depends what's more important to you, a steel bodied stove will warm the room more rapidly whereas a stove with a cast iron body will take longer to get up to temp but continue to heat the room long after the fire has died down. Tbh I don't care for the later and steel and cast iron nowadays is generally good enough not to warp or crack whatever the choice.
 
Also look at the Stanley range.
Available in 4 different enamel colours. The enamel option is expensive but looks good.

I have the Tara multi fuel boiler model enamelled black.
 
Also look at the Stanley range.
Available in 4 different enamel colours. The enamel option is expensive but looks good.

I have the Tara multi fuel boiler model enamelled black.

If its enameled and expensive I just know the miss's will pick your choice before mine.
 
I'd also recommend a cast iron stove. I think they just look better with traditional castings that are made in a mould.
 
You'll have trouble getting it signed off if you do it youself. Particulary if you use the existing flue liner. That might not be an issue for you but your insurance might not be valid - if your property burns down through any means (ie. Not caused by the stove) I would put money on the insurance company not paying out...
 
You'll have trouble getting it signed off if you do it youself. Particulary if you use the existing flue liner. That might not be an issue for you but your insurance might not be valid - if your property burns down through any means (ie. Not caused by the stove) I would put money on the insurance company not paying out...

Insurance would be invalidated if not signed off but why the trouble getting it signed off in the first place?
 
I wouldn't sign someone-elses work off. Just like gas, you become responsible & ultimately liable. Even if you had builing control sign it off, who usually don't know what they're looking at, your insurance still might be invalid if not installed correctly. Saw one today that a customer installed himself - eventually managed to find someone to sign it off but there isn't a notice plate, so it doesn't comply.
 
Why the trouble getting it signed off in the first place?

So why not let everyone install their own gas boiler in as well, just flog them the boiler and walk away, that's what you're advocating.
 
So why not let everyone install their own gas boiler in as well, just flog them the boiler and walk away, that's what you're advocating.
The Gas Safe regulations are based on empirical data of safety incidents both in UK and elsewhere. Hence the introduction of Landlords Safety Checks etc. By the same process a regulation requiring annual inspections of owner/occupied properties was deemed unnecessary. Equating Log Burners with Gas Boilers is unhelpful.
 
The Gas Safe regulations are based on empirical data of safety incidents both in UK and elsewhere. Hence the introduction of Landlords Safety Checks etc. By the same process a regulation requiring annual inspections of owner/occupied properties was deemed unnecessary. Equating Log Burners with Gas Boilers is unhelpful.

People have still died. More will as they become more prolific. Then they will be regulated much like gas....
 
To be honest, solid fuel appliances scare me far more than gas ones do. Primarily because, despite however you want to spin it, it's an uncontrolled heat source.

I can shut down and open a gas boiler in 30 minutes from hot, same with oil.

Biomass I'd be looking at minimum of a day before I could get inside it.
And that's a planned shut down
 
I don't think an insurer could wiggle out of the payment by trying to use a non compliant controlled service installation as a loop hole to avoid writing the check when the fire was started by some other means. Malicious, smoking, cooking, unguarded fire etc etc for example.
 
Nothing uncontrolled about stoves. When I shut down the air damper on my stove it goes into slumber very quickly.
I'm currently running on a genny as the storm knocked out the mains electric.
The pump has just stopped so the heat leak rad will take the excess as I'm about to shut off the genny supply.
 
I don't think an insurer could wiggle out of the payment by trying to use a non compliant controlled service installation as a loop hole to avoid writing the check when the fire was started by some other means. Malicious, smoking, cooking, unguarded fire etc etc for example.

Yes they can & most will, just ask your broker
 
People have still died. More will as they become more prolific. Then they will be regulated much like gas....
50 years ago solid fuel appliances were much more prolific and we survived without over regulation. I, like most others have a great regard for the Gas Regulations which is why I object to equating them to other forms of heating. Future additional regulation should be evidence based, not at the whim of vested interests. Meanwhile, more deaths are caused by chip pans.
 
I don't have home insurance so no point in asking him. But I'm not that worried if my home burns down. I'll just look on the bright side. No council tax to pay living in a pre fab.
But I don't agree.
Unless you can point to cases that you know off.
 
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Yes and todays generation don't understand how to use them correctly. And many don't install them properly. The comparison I made with gas was nothing to do with appliances...I was just demonstrating that if you sign off, you're liable. Simple. I won't take that risk but others are happy to, that's your choice.
 
I think todays generation are well informed. They have the internet.

My Dad back in the eighties pulled down the two chimneys in his house to put S bends into the flue. Builders spent nearly a week at the process.
Someone told him the S bends would increase the length of the chimney and there fore increase the draught.
 
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Let's not scaremonger just because we have a vested interest, chimney fires are the biggest fire risk and that's down to a lack of maintenance NOT a poor installation which is why you can still DIY a stove install and get it signed off by BC.
 
Not scaremongering. Please get the facts right though. Bad maintenance is the most likely cause of a chimney fire but a bad installation CAN cause a chimney fire.
 
Why would anybody want to diy a stove install? Pay a quality, experienced professional. Might seem cheaper to diy but probably not in the long run.
 
People diy because its cheaper.
My Dad paid £300 for a stove and installed it himself where an open fire was previously.
That was about 8 years ago.
 
Experienced professional quoted daughter £1800 for flue liner install, not including closure plate, insulation or connection to stove. The quote was for 5" 316/316 and no attempt was made to explain options. The materials in the quote would have cost less than £120.
I installed 6" 904/904 fully insulated with cowl, closure plate and connection to stove at materials cost circa. £400. HETAS certs do not eliminate those content to work to minimum standards. Regulation is necessary, but current situation with recourse to BC is about right.
However, when I need a BC officer to supervise me sweeping my chimney things will have gone too far.
 
That's the main reason I didn't use a hetas guy for my own stove install. He'd probably have insisted on a metal flue liner.
That will fail in a few years anyway. And the cost is prohibitive.
bc know nothing about it and that's the way it will stay.
 
A properly installed flue liner would probably improve performance especially if insulated. 904/904 is good for twenty years plus. It would certainly ease sweeping and general maintenance. Without liner, tar staining can appear through upstairs plaster. By all means DIY, but aim for a superior install with the money saved.
 
I find it astonishing that you guys shutdown every thread and shut out everyone that enquires about their gas boiler - even heating controller questions that require lifting the lid and then brazenly boast about and promote solid fuel DIY installs.

Solid fuel is just as if not more dangerous than gas installations, use a professional (there are others than HETAS) and get competitive quotes from at least 2 ideally three people.

Typically a quality double skinned and insulated flue liner on a two storey property will cost between £900 - £1200 plus VAT to supply and install.
 
Not specifically promoting DIY, just promoting light touch regulation. All regulation bodies result in an additional cost to consumer, in effect an indirect tax. Motor manufacturers would like to with hold repair data, so we would all have to use main dealers. EU law forced them to make data available, at a cost, to independent garages. Not long ago only opticians could sell reading glasses. Regulation should be commensurate with the actual risk, not the theoretical .
 
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