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[Kate]

Hi all.

Just wondering whether anyone on the oof has installed a woodburning stove or similar? I would like one but don't know anything about them or the installation/running costs. I know they are expensive to buy and I guess that the flue would be really expensive to install.

I have a chimney where I live and it's an old house and some of the neighbours have solid fuel heating. I removed an old gas fire some months ago and what is left is an old solid fuel fire back.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Kate

[Bigron]

Kate, I cannot be specific about this, but I do recall reading negative reports about wood-burners, saying that they do produce carcinogenic vapours and long term use is inadvisable.
Sorry to be so vague, but as I had no intention of getting such a stove I didn't take notes, merely stored it in the back of my mind.
Please do a little research to find the full story for your own safety.
Also of course, this forum being what it is there will be someone along soon to tell you that I'm talking b******s and give you the full story!

Ron.

[Varche]

We have two. You need to have it sized for the area you are heating. Too big and it is hard to keep the room below inferno, too small and you can't keep it hot enough. Right size(thereabouts) lovely. They do create mess. Dust when you are emptying the ashes and draughts which move dust around. They take time to get going when you come in from work. Need feeding from time to time otherwise they go out.

You can get them with back boilers that can heat your hot water and run some radiators.

We are fortunate in supplying our own logs, you would have to be able to source logs and store them somewhere. You would also need to get them ready cut to a size you can get into your stove. It is hard work and potentially dangerous trying to saw a big log into two bits to go into the door.  Anything will burn however there are problems with using unseasoned wood(newly chopped down) and pine for example. Beech, Oak or in our case Olive are better .

We love ours.

[Kate]

Thanks very much for the advice.

Are there stoves about that burn other fuels? Do they all need to be fitted with a flue or would a chimney suffice? Do you need a qualified person to fit a stove? Do they cost a lot to run?

[Kate]

This is what is there at the moment.

[zirk]

Thanks very much for the advice.

Are there stoves about that burn other fuels? Do they all need to be fitted with a flue or would a chimney suffice? Do you need a qualified person to fit a stove? Do they cost a lot to run?

Depends where they're to be installed, unlike the old days you cant just throw them in somewhere and hope for the best, theres all sorts of H&S issues, Building Regs, Smokeless Zones, Local Authority Permissions, Certification etc.

Best place to start is with your Local Authority and see what there rules are or find an Aproved Local Installer who knows the score. 

[Olympia5776]

Best money I ever spent .
I bought two from this company , http://www.naturalheating.co.uk/ ,and shipped them along with flue systems over to Ireland.
The lady at the company ( her name escapes me  ) was very informative, knowledgeable and helpful she is also fully conversant with all the HETAS regulations for installation.
Give her a call she will help you considerably plus their prices ,quality and spares back up are excellent.
Apart from my own stoves I have installed eight more over here some easy , some quite difficult but all users are delighted with their choice to go for WBS's.
They do, as said , require more effort than throwing a switch to use but offer a better , more satisfying heat than their alternatives.
One thing I'd advise , don't fit it INTO  the fireplace place it at the front as doing so only radiates the heat into the brickwork and not out to the room and it makes a huge difference.
Good luck ,you won't regret it.

[05omegav6]

Looking at that, get the chimney swept first off. This will ensure it's ready and not been capped off... especially given that there was a gas fire there before

Then all you need is a suitably sized victorian style grate, and a fire guard and you're away with a nice little open fire on which you can burn logs and/or coal or peat

Perfect for making toast and boiling a kettle when the power goes off

Oh and you'll need to trim the carpet to allow space for a hearth, big door step type slab to stand the fire grate on...

[cleggy]

Looking at that, get the chimney swept first off. This will ensure it's ready and not been capped off... especially given that there was a gas fire there before

Then all you need is a suitably sized victorian style grate, and a fire guard and you're away with a nice little open fire on which you can burn logs and/or coal or peat

Perfect for making toast and boiling a kettle when the power goes off

Oh and you'll need to trim the carpet to allow space for a hearth, big door step type slab to stand the fire grate on...

That was my thought, we have a cast iron Victorian surround, but use a gas coal effect grate. Do think about changing it to burn logs, it would be nice if was easy to switch one to the other, say logs at the weekend and coal effect during the week.

[Marks DTM Calib]

For a wood burner you would need a cassette type and to meet regs you must have a hearth to provide front clearance from combustible materials.

[Kate]

I was thinking about getting a cast iron insert until I've got the money for a stove. I tried getting a fire grate but the way the fire back was installed, non would fit. The depth was only six and a half inches.

Today my housemate and I decided to remove the fire back to see what we would be able to install. I'll put a picture up of our progress.

Thanks for all the great advice.

[Kate]

This is what I've got now.

[05omegav6]

A backward step me thinks

The fire place was perfect for a modest fire, but fitting a stove in that space will either mean a stupidly small one, limiting fuel choice, or making the fire place alot bigger, (which means structural work...)

[Kate]

I don't mind a bit of brickwork. The original lintel is still there. When the fire back was in it was useless as no fire grate would fit. Now it's bigger I should be able to fit a cast iron combination fireplace.

[cleggy]

What size is the hole? If I remember correctly 16 inch is the standard size , less for the bedroom type of grate.