Wood burning stoves, Multi-Fuel Stoves and fuels

When I had mine installed 5 years ago I used my builder, so just a couple of hundred. But when I had them swept I was told that they had installed incorrectly. The sweep went onto to say that most supply and install offers were incorrect. This particular sweep trains installers so he either had an axe to grind or was making valid points.

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I paid £1500 which included the stove, log stand, single and double walled pipe work, witches hat and storm guard plus the two sheets of cement board on two sides of the fire. This also involved cutting though the roof of the hut and sealing. If your in the South East the guy I used is first class. When he’s not doing houses, outbuildings and narrow boats in Brighton Marina he’s doing shepherds huts. £300 cheaper than my Naim Core!

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Oh and the nice thing about the Hobbit is that it’s made in England. My daughter likes the hut so much that it’s called Bag End with a slate sign from Cornwall- goes well with the Hobbit although none of us have furry feet!

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@Camphuw @anon96829450

Thanks for the info guys. I’ll see what these first people quote and there are another 3 or 4 suppliers/fitters in the Ipswich area that I can get try.

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Go for the hat and storm guard - especially at this time of year!

They have already recommend a wind cowl which helps the stove draw if the flue height needs to be kept below the recommended height. I’ll make sure whatever they quote for will act as a rain-cap too.

Chaps

I am in my Spanish villa where the temperature is dropping fast. It was 28 degrees this time last week but today it is 13 degrees. Spanish houses are built to be cool and they can get chilly during the winter evenings.

I use a wood pellet stove which is a lot more convenient to use than a log burner and you don’t need to store a mega pile of wood which always looks a mess.

I usually switch it on around 3.30pm and switch it off around 11.00pm and it costs around 7 euros w week to run. You can even programme them like central heating.

The only two downsides are they they don’t have the fire in the grate thingy and will stop working if you have a power cut but there are battery add ons available to cater for emergencies.

Mine cost €1600 inc fitting and it whacks out 11 KW which warms the house throughout. It is also carbon neutral.

They are really popular over here.

Regards

Mick

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Don’t get me started on that again!!!

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We live in a village corner with lots of thatch cottages, which I believe have new and young dwellers that don’t know what they are doing - as the nights aroma isn’t sweet like it should be - more like living next to the coast with kipper and bacon smokers at large everywhere.

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It’s the opposite up here … it’s the old er established villagers who burn coal rather than wood. The resulting sulphur stench is noticeable, but they can’t afford the wood (£100 a load).

Actually ISTR that it’s illegal, from this summer, for home users to purchase standard ‘house’ coal. Smokeless only now… ISTR :wink: I know one of my neighbors went berserk at the beginning of the year getting well stocked up before the rule came in.

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I think this only applies to smoke control areas. We await the implementation of the government’s new clean air strategy … this says house coal, I.e. not smokeless, will be phased out. But there are no dates or targets set.

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I must admit I’ve been working from news reports back in 2018 and I haven’t been keeping track of this issue; burning only wood myself :wink:

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And the whole world has its panties in a bunch over particulate pollution. :mask:

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After getting a couple of not particularly favourable quotes we are now finalising details with a company that was a chance encounter.
A neighbour was having some work done by a specialist fireplace installation company so I asked one of their guys if they ever fitted log burners in wooden outbuildings. After a survey he recommends installing a Vlaize heatshield and hearth which still needs a 12mm compatible stove but will make the whole fitting process so much easier and more importantly, I don’t need to build a permanent hearth.
The quote he gave us for supplying and fitting everything including a Stockton 3 Eco stove was £1400, normal price would be over £2k. The quote is so favourable because for various reasons he has all the of the parts in stock so won’t need to buy anything in. :slightly_smiling_face:

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We are pretty reliant on heat from the multi-fuel stoves currently, I shan’t go into the sordid details!

I mentioned earlier that I suspect I’m a closet pyromaniac having loved fires since a very young child.

I’d really not be surprised if many ‘novice’ or infrequent stove users simply buy fuel from th eowrst places such as drenched garage forecourts - I say this from experience of renting holiday cottages where there were log burners and logs bought from garages/similar were so damp the smoke was appalling.

Coal is an odd one - I’ve bought supposedly local ‘steam coal’ and ‘welsh anthracite’ and while it certainly gets hot, the amount of clinker seems excessive and I’m not sure it’s my fireing technique or just poor fuel.

Hate to say it, but Bord na Móna peat is fantastic as a fuel, and I generally use a mix of birch/beech/peat these days and it works amazingly well, so much better than the pungent smokeless fuels with all their binders and additives.

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Yep peat & logs together work great in a stove, interesting that you get Irish peat over there - would that be Briquettes? Peat is coming under scrutiny over here and they’re even closing down peat fired power stations to save the future erosion of bogs and to cut down on emissions too obviously

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Yes, peat briquettes, maybe 20 in a 12.5 kg pack, I’ve bought a shed load recently.

When burned well they seem virtually smokeless/odourless, but when I add some more I get the beautiful aroma I associate with Islay whisky.

I gather Bord na Móna are closing many peat fields early due to environmental concerns, though I’m not sure what proportion of the industry was peat fired power stations vs domestic peat usage in recent years.

Even the cutting of turf here is becoming restricted, hard to believe really as piles of drying turf is so synonymous with Ireland. Briquettes come in bales here, probably about 24 in a bale for around €4.50. I used to get bulk loads of loose cut turf but not any more as although it makes for a great fire I find it very dusty in my Clearview but the smell is great for sure

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After some discussion with the installer we’ve decided on a Saltfire Peanut 3 stove. The other half loves the big window and modern look…I love that it’s got 3 separate air controls so I can play at being an engine stoker getting the burn right.:blush: Well, it’s the nearest I’m likely to ever get…

Anyway, it’s being installed on December 7th and I have to say I’m quite excited. Now I really do need to start looking for a Tidal streaming system to replace the Echo.

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