Anyone got a wood-burning stove in their living room?
13 November 2014, 11:53 AM
#31
The above is true.....
I have had one tree fall across my shoulders when some brambles that were caught up in it deflected it off line...not good
Our French neighbours have an insert fire, it heats the house and water and does eight radiators.
For summer they have a heat pump that keeps the garage cool and heats water from it.
I have had one tree fall across my shoulders when some brambles that were caught up in it deflected it off line...not good
Our French neighbours have an insert fire, it heats the house and water and does eight radiators.
For summer they have a heat pump that keeps the garage cool and heats water from it.
13 November 2014, 02:22 PM
#32
Over here they use small 15/ 20L boilers under the sink for washing up, I have just installed an electric shower that i'll use in summer when I have guests in the main part of the house. going to install a pump system like you mentioned for the winter that works of a wood burner that has pipe work inside for water to flow through for the radiators, but not decided exactly how to do the hot water yet as there are a couple of different methods, pipe work in the chimney and a second pump is winning at the moment, a bit like the old back boilers of the 50's and 60's.
13 November 2014, 02:33 PM
#33
Is that in France?
We don't have a large enough electrical supply over there to instal an electric shower, ours tops out at 9kW. If you go much above 9kW they come out and do a careful check on your instalation....the older part of mine, (the bit I didn't have anything to do with), wouldn't easily pass
Also they start wanting you to instal 3-phase electrics.....
Even an 8kW shower would cause us problems if much else was connected.
Electric showers seem very rare in France for that reason.
We don't have a large enough electrical supply over there to instal an electric shower, ours tops out at 9kW. If you go much above 9kW they come out and do a careful check on your instalation....the older part of mine, (the bit I didn't have anything to do with), wouldn't easily pass
Also they start wanting you to instal 3-phase electrics.....
Even an 8kW shower would cause us problems if much else was connected.
Electric showers seem very rare in France for that reason.
13 November 2014, 03:32 PM
#34
No Croatia, we have the same problems with electricity out here which is why I'll only be using it in the summer when I don't need it to be hot, I have electric boilers in the two apartments, which are fine now my old neighbour has croaked, he used to have a 3kw bar heater on full bore which affected my supply, they are also renewing the system but like everything out here it's a very slow process.
Just been out for some wood and got my burner going as it's a cloudless sky and will be getting dark soon, I like to make sure I keep the temps in the mid 20's.
Just been out for some wood and got my burner going as it's a cloudless sky and will be getting dark soon, I like to make sure I keep the temps in the mid 20's.
14 November 2014, 04:00 PM
#36
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Check with local planning department to see if you are allowed to use it first. Some councils won't allow fuels that smoke and your Wood Burner stove salesperson only cares about selling you the stove. We're currently saving up for ours as the budget on our build needed to go elsewhere. Some very efficient multiburners out there but they come at a price.
14 November 2014, 05:39 PM
#37
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Check with local planning department to see if you are allowed to use it first. Some councils won't allow fuels that smoke and your Wood Burner stove salesperson only cares about selling you the stove. We're currently saving up for ours as the budget on our build needed to go elsewhere. Some very efficient multiburners out there but they come at a price.
15 November 2014, 09:40 PM
#39
Yes good shout..
Can be a problem if next doors car keeps getting covered in ash..
If they complain to the Council and your burner is not a smokeless type then they may make you take it out or at least stop you using it.
I am not saying they give out ash but it depends on what you burn.
If its old railway sleepers covered in tar then you may upset the neighbours a little, unless you are on your own private estate ....
15 November 2014, 10:53 PM
#41
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Guy at the end here burns dubious stuff im sure
Sometimes smells great - some kind of fruit wood maybe, other times not great - like it's got plastic in it
Sometimes smells great - some kind of fruit wood maybe, other times not great - like it's got plastic in it
16 November 2014, 11:06 AM
#42
I've recently moved into my new build and this the wood burner I chose. I love it already. I lit it for the first time yesterday evening and it's beautiful to look at and chucks out loads of heat 
. I spent an hour this morning chopping wood and it gives a really nice homely feel. As you can see I opted for a modern burner on a gloss black stone harth and it suits the house very well. On minimum setting it is 4kw (1.5kg wood per hour) and higher setting 6kw (2.2kg wood per hour). If you do research on the net, everyone rates a wood burner over an old open fire. Mine is a Contura and even came with a DVD to show you exactly how to use and light it correctly and efficiently.
. I spent an hour this morning chopping wood and it gives a really nice homely feel. As you can see I opted for a modern burner on a gloss black stone harth and it suits the house very well. On minimum setting it is 4kw (1.5kg wood per hour) and higher setting 6kw (2.2kg wood per hour). If you do research on the net, everyone rates a wood burner over an old open fire. Mine is a Contura and even came with a DVD to show you exactly how to use and light it correctly and efficiently. 
Last edited by LSherratt; 16 November 2014 at 11:12 AM.
16 November 2014, 11:54 AM
#43
Pretty nice, I must say.
How do you cope with bits falling off the wood stack?
Do you cut the wood yourself or buy it cut to size?
What sort of wood is it?
Over in France, ours is oak and chestnut, with some birch. It comes in lengths of 1m-1.2m, and I cut it myself to 460mm to suit our fire. That gives me some shorter offcuts that suit the potbelly stove in the dining room...we usually light that to annoy the hornets that keep nesting in our chimney Then I put dried grass clippings on to REALLY annoy them.......
Over here, a neighbour has an open fire. He burns all sorts of stuff, I've given him oddments in the past, bits of fence panel etc. Sometimes it smells like he's burning his old socks.
How do you cope with bits falling off the wood stack?
Do you cut the wood yourself or buy it cut to size?
What sort of wood is it?
Over in France, ours is oak and chestnut, with some birch. It comes in lengths of 1m-1.2m, and I cut it myself to 460mm to suit our fire. That gives me some shorter offcuts that suit the potbelly stove in the dining room...we usually light that to annoy the hornets that keep nesting in our chimney
Then I put dried grass clippings on to REALLY annoy them....... Over here, a neighbour has an open fire. He burns all sorts of stuff, I've given him oddments in the past, bits of fence panel etc. Sometimes it smells like he's burning his old socks.
16 November 2014, 12:06 PM
#44
I only stacked it all like that this morning and it just holds by itself because the wood isn't all entirely round. I could probably stack it to the top and it would still be fine. I predict that what I've got there currently is about 3-4 days worth if I had it on all day. Basically it should burn 2 of those cut logs in an hour and half depending on heat combustion setting).
I have a whole shedfull of unused and unwanted wood on my farm which has come from trees around the farm that we've had to clear. Some oak, conifer and not sure what else but it's all been dry stored for about a year so totally dry. My manual which came with the burner said that ideal logs are 25-35cm long and 6-8cm diameter. The wood I have stored was cut up by myself with a chainsaw in around 30cm long chunks when we were falling trees on the farm so all I've had to do is split them with an axe to make them around 6-8cm diameter. Now I'm going to be hoarding wood from now on now that I have a use for it!
I have a whole shedfull of unused and unwanted wood on my farm which has come from trees around the farm that we've had to clear. Some oak, conifer and not sure what else but it's all been dry stored for about a year so totally dry. My manual which came with the burner said that ideal logs are 25-35cm long and 6-8cm diameter. The wood I have stored was cut up by myself with a chainsaw in around 30cm long chunks when we were falling trees on the farm so all I've had to do is split them with an axe to make them around 6-8cm diameter. Now I'm going to be hoarding wood from now on now that I have a use for it!
Last edited by LSherratt; 16 November 2014 at 12:31 PM.
16 November 2014, 04:35 PM
#45
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LSherratt, caution advised. When we have logs that near our burner, they start smouldering. I would keep that entire hearth area free of combustible materials.
16 November 2014, 06:13 PM
#46
I've had it on since 10am and I've just touched the logs and they're hardly warm and not touching the burner either. Pretty sure its near impossible for them to get hot enough for them to actually ignite or hot enough to smoulder? I'll keep my eye on them anyway as I'll have no where 'nice' to keep them indoors otherwise. Got a couple of directional spotlights in the far corners as well which makes an added feature.
16 November 2014, 07:43 PM
#49
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I've had it on since 10am and I've just touched the logs and they're hardly warm and not touching the burner either. Pretty sure its near impossible for them to get hot enough for them to actually ignite or hot enough to smoulder? I'll keep my eye on them anyway as I'll have no where 'nice' to keep them indoors otherwise. Got a couple of directional spotlights in the far corners as well which makes an added feature.
Last edited by john banks; 16 November 2014 at 07:45 PM.
16 November 2014, 08:07 PM
#50
So this is what I have been up to today, all in the name of wood burning.
This lot was delivered by a mate yesterday.
Pics didn't up load, oad up a minute.
Sorry it's messing around so your going to have to click the images.
This lot was delivered by a mate yesterday.
Pics didn't up load, oad up a minute.
Sorry it's messing around so your going to have to click the images.
Last edited by ditchmyster; 16 November 2014 at 08:40 PM.
16 November 2014, 09:35 PM
#56
A little while longer and I'll be taking bookings, but tbh I'm not looking forward to having people here, kind of got used to being alone and most people are more trouble than they are worth.
Don't really want to share my little piece of paradise with anyone else, but I could do with the money.
Dilema.
Don't really want to share my little piece of paradise with anyone else, but I could do with the money.
Dilema.
01 December 2014, 05:06 PM
#57
I've got a 5kw Stovax with an Ecofan http://www.ecofan.co.uk and it heats the whole house. Total cost about a grand including slate hearth, flue liner and installation. Love it.
I had someone round a week ago to look and advise. I (the wife) haven't chosen a stove yet at all.
Yet the bill/estimate was £995 for installation only.
that included 10m of flue liner at £30 a metre and £400 labour...and that was if I removed the old fire, fireplace etc and made good.
they would come along and fit my chosen fireplace, (eaxtra cost) and chosen stove to the chimney(extra cost.
So the TOTAL is looking more like £2000!!!!!!
They said something about a HEPA certificate from the council costing £250 when I queried it?
So how are folk getting this for under a grand?
01 December 2014, 07:12 PM
#58
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Ours was coming in at nearly £5k hence why it got shelved! Building being listed doesn't help as we're punching through a Cotswold Tile roof. I'm hoping to get the burner, flume, chimney topper and plinth purchased for summer next year then butter the father-in-law up enough to allow a certified installer to do a cash job on the install. We should be able to trim that figure by about 50-60%. We're oil-fired out here, so a big investment in a multi-fuel burner will see oil bills reduced as we get our wood for free save a bit of labour. It'll service the living areas upstairs so we can knock the radiators right back.
01 December 2014, 07:41 PM
#59
£2-3k is a realistic price "all" in.
£600 for the Flu pipe installation.
£800-1000 for a decent burner.
£200-300 for the hearth installation.
Maybe a little bit for any upgrades or extras.
You will get quotes of £4-5k if you go to one of the high street shops who supply and fit as they charge for the "fit " but contract it out to someone else with their mark up on it .....
£600 for the Flu pipe installation.
£800-1000 for a decent burner.
£200-300 for the hearth installation.
Maybe a little bit for any upgrades or extras.
You will get quotes of £4-5k if you go to one of the high street shops who supply and fit as they charge for the "fit " but contract it out to someone else with their mark up on it .....
01 December 2014, 08:36 PM
#60
Looking back at it, my total was more like £1200 - that was about £500 for the stove (Stovax 5kw), the rest for installation, including chimney liner, outlet, plate, slate hearth, Co sensor and a HETAS certificate of compliance. The Ecofan cost me £100 later on, worth every penny. I used an independent installer in Bristol. My daughter in Pembrokeshire paid a similar amount for installation by a local small business.
Last edited by Sad Weevil; 01 December 2014 at 08:42 PM.