Just the sight of an open fire or the flames behind the glass of a stove makes us feel warmer. This is one reason why wood burners and multi-fuel stoves have become such a popular trend, especially in rural properties, over the last 30 years. The other reason for this popularity is that your stove can add a real heat bonus to your home, providing you choose the right size stove and model for your particular needs.
Planning
The following are all key considerations:
- Will the stove provide additional heat to an existing central heating system or will it be the sole source of heat?
- Do you need your stove to heat water via a back boiler?
- What type of fuel is readily available?
- Have you considered the site for your stove and the suitability of the chimney?
- Is the day-to-day maintenance straight forward and are spare parts readily available to you?
If you have answers to these five important questions, then you’re ready to choose your cosy stove. Your search will probably start on the internet, where you can track best prices, and these prices often include free delivery. Alternatively, take a short cut via a qualified dealer who can supply and fit your stove in accordance with safety regulations, which will include taking into consideration adequate space at the sides and back of a stove that is inset (for example, into an existing old fireplace). You could make a good start by contacting GR8 Fires (gr8fires.co.uk, 0121 271 0231) who have a large range of stoves priced from £300-3,000.
Installation
Having your stove installed by a qualified installer is a must, because there can be no risk to you and your family from the possible leakage of gases and fumes. Your installer will also supply a carbon monoxide alarm, which is an essential piece of kit. Carbon monoxide is a bi-product of solid fuel, it has no colour, no smell, and it can be lethal in an unventilated space. On this topic, the British Flue & Chimney Manufacturers Associations advises: ‘All wood burning and multi-fuel appliances should have a carbon monoxide alarm fitted within the same room as the appliance. The carbon monoxide alarm should comply with BS EN 50291-1:2010, and must be installed to the manufacturers’ installation instructions, and current Buildings Regulations.’ Your qualified installer will also line your chimney if necessary, as well as making safe connections between the stove and the flue. Following this, he should also carry out a safety test using encapsulated smoke pellets manufactured especially for this purpose.
Fuel
Unless you live in a forest or woodland location, the best choice of stove is the multi-fuel burner, giving you the choice of a smokeless fuel such as Taybright (pre-formed nuggets) or wood, or both. Burning regular house coal that you would burn on an open fire is not an option for the multi-fuel stove because the excessive amount of smoke will soot-up your stove, blacken the glass and fur the chimney in no time. With all stoves the rule is—the cleaner the fuel, the better. Wood is great to burn but it should be hardwood, and a mix of oak and ash is ideal. But it needs to be dry! Burning any ‘green’ wood will, like house coal, produce a lot of smoke, a sulky fire and consequently a lot less heat. Whatever you burn, some smoke is inevitable and, to counter this, most modern stoves boast an ‘air-wash’ system which is designed to be a down-draft just inside the closed doors that keeps the smoke away from the heat-proof glass panels in the door or doors. However, the efficiency of this system is questionable and you will need regularly to clean the glass (when the stove is cold) if you want to be sure of seeing your glowing fire on a winter’s night. And on the point of seeing the fire, don’t be tempted to leave the doors open! A stove is not an ‘open fire’ and having the doors open not only reduces the efficiency of the stove, it also allows potentially dangerous fumes into the room.
Advice
Best advice is to buy a multi-fuel stove bigger than the one you think you need. After all, you can always put less fuel in it; on the other hand, it’s frustrating to find you have to move closer and closer to the stove to get any benefit. For the smaller house, a multi-fuel stove with a back boiler is an option certainly worth considering because one of the bigger stoves, such as the Esse 700-27B boiler stove, will heat a central heating system of six or more radiators. Of this stove the manufacturers say this offers ‘a total output of 60000btu/h (17kW), delivering 27300 btu/h (8kW) to water heating and 30700 btu/h (9kW) to direct space heating’.
There’s no doubt the Esse 700-27B does a good job, but it’s a hungry beast that need constant feeding—which in cold weather may by three or four coal scuttles a day. The ash-can needs to be regularly emptied, too, as the wrought-iron grate will develop ‘sag’ if it’s left sitting in a build-up of red hot ash for tool long (which in turn is also restricting the necessary air-flow). The back boiler face plate inside the stove also needs to have the deposit scraped off from time to time as this build-up forms an insulation of sorts and the water-heating process will, by degrees, become less efficient. You need to love your stove to make it work well and by paying heed to the practical advice given above, you will not be disappointed with your new stove.
Phil’s Top Tips
‘If you’re planning to have a woodburner, multi-fuel, or even a gas-fired stove installed, it is well worth considering the actual fireplace surround, too. I think the fireplace surround in the living room can really become a major asset and key focus point if you get it right. Vice versa, if you get it wrong, it can detract from the place as well. I have always gone for as good a surround as I could possibly justify.’
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