Wood Burning stove

[figgy]

I have modern very efficient around 96% Zeoos wood burning stove, it burns its own smoke with super heated air, never once cleaned the stainless twin walled flue in seven years. 

We don't have it on a great deal being a modern timber framed eco house with underfloor heating. 

We can burn the fire all day and get less than a pint of ash. 

For peice of mind have done every year before autumn ready for burning in the colder months.

So long as your flue is getting upto temperature it should be fine for a long time if burning seasoned wood.

Edited October 10, 2020 by figgy

[Wb123]

I sweep my open fires twice a year and the Rayburn flue once a year. 

 

My insurance broker said diy sweeping was accepted by a few of his underwriters without issue and didn’t add any cost to the policy but saves me roughly £150 a year versus paying someone else to do it. 

[mowdy]

Right I fit stoves for a living(HETAS) and most manufactures recommend at least swept once - twice a year dependent on use.

Just because you have not used a fire much does not stop it from getting blocked  in the flue even if it has a bird guard on it as i have seen where birds have pushed sticks through the mesh even when they can not get in to the flue and blocked it.

I have seen people tell me that there stove has only been used occasionally when i come to do a homeowners report and the bars are burnt out on a 3 year old stove.

People burn all sorts on them as well .From nappies to plastic and i had to replace the glass on a 3 day old stove that had blown the glass out  after the custard had put a tetra pack cranberry juice carton  in it with the cap still on it  .They said it went of like a bomb!!

Meta twin wall liners/flexible liners  are knackered if they have a chimney fire in them and need to be replaced due to the possible damage caused to them .This is a manufactures response to any chimney fire .

The main thing is to make sure you have a working Carbon monoxide detector fitted correctly in the room and to change it every 7 years at least and a correctly vented room .

Carbon monoxide is odorless  and tasteless and is a killer .

 

Mowdy

Edited October 10, 2020 by mowdy

[oowee]

11 hours ago, gmm243 said:

Thanks for all the replies. Not sure of the make of our stove but it is a double sided (can load from either side) 8kw stove. The house is very open plan so this sits in a wall that half divides the kitchen/living area then the heat is pumped around the house. 

I burn well seasoned,sometimes too well seasoned-4/5 year old which goes up quickly, oak,ash and beech.Am lucky as have a very good supply and I suppose it uses a bit under a fertiliser bag a night.I don't stack it when going to bed so it is usually out in the morning. 

Have never used coal or other fuel and can get the room with the stove in to 26 or 27 degrees which the wife loves but I am not so keen on.The rest of the house will be cooler but still warm with the circulated heat.

I tried coal once but it burns like a furnace and I thought the fire might melt. 

8kw is quite a large stove for a passive standard house. I have a super insulated (nowhere close to passive) place open plan with 5kw which is easily capable of warming the whole house. How are you moving the heat through the rooms and how do you supply air to the fire?

I looked at running a boiler system off ours but the efficiency of the fire drops dramatically. We have a solar chimney in the main living area where the fire is which makes it difficult to circulate the air other than out the roof. 

[gmm243]

My first issue was marrying an architect who wanted to build a super duper timber framed house that would be cheap to run!!

We have under floor heating which is never turned on recently  as it was heating rooms that were already warm from the stove.The heat from the stove is pumped through the house through a vent in each room and one directly above the stove in the living area.We then have an air source for the stove which enters at the bottom of the stove vented to the outside so it can draw fresh air in.I think this is now a legal requirement when building a new house?

I have never burnt coal in the stove,a few friends have had anthracite burning in their stoves when I have been there and you could hardly stay in the room with the heat. I find we get more than enough heat with logs and often have to open the patio door to let a bit of cool fresh air in.I grew up in an old cold stone farmhouse where we always slept with the windows ajar no matter what time of the year so this constant heat is new to me and taking a bit if getting used to.Even when the stove is not lit and you come in after work the house is very warm from retaining the heat created though the glass during the day.We have no oil heating in the house so all our heat comes from the stove,insulation or underfloor but it has not been in since Feb.

I don't have any photos but my wife should have so I will post some later to show you.

[Dougy]

2 hours ago, mowdy said:

 

The main thing is to make sure you have a working Carbon monoxide detector fitted correctly in the room and to change it every 7 years at least and a correctly vented room .

Carbon monoxide is odorless  and tasteless and is a killer .

 

Mowdy

So true, 

i had 1st hand experience of this in the early 80s, bought a house with a damaged flu, it had broken and restricted the flu from the gas fire, it was only brought to our attention from a friend who was a fireman after he popped round for a cupa. 

Luckily we moved in the house during the summer. 

[gmm243]

We have the living area/kitchen split by a half wall that protrudes about 3m into the open area.This is now seen as two separate "rooms" by Building Control.In each area there is a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm and also a heat alarm so in reality there are 6 alarms in the one large room.

Spoke to my wife,she says the ventilation system is known as heat recovery,we have an air source system for the hot water and this is then pumped into the tank and around the house by a pump.Realistically we run water and lighting off electricity and the heating is run from the stove and the one which transfers it through the house.We are in the house almost a year and so far it looks like we are paying less than £3/day for hot water,heating and lights.In our last much smaller house we were paying about £1600 a year on oil alone so it seems to be fairly cost effective. 

I now realise we need to get some pictures on the walls!

[mel b3]

10 hours ago, gmm243 said:

We have the living area/kitchen split by a half wall that protrudes about 3m into the open area.This is now seen as two separate "rooms" by Building Control.In each area there is a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm and also a heat alarm so in reality there are 6 alarms in the one large room.

Spoke to my wife,she says the ventilation system is known as heat recovery,we have an air source system for the hot water and this is then pumped into the tank and around the house by a pump.Realistically we run water and lighting off electricity and the heating is run from the stove and the one which transfers it through the house.We are in the house almost a year and so far it looks like we are paying less than £3/day for hot water,heating and lights.In our last much smaller house we were paying about £1600 a year on oil alone so it seems to be fairly cost effective. 

I now realise we need to get some pictures on the walls!

When you have a log burner,  you don't needs pictures , or a telly .

[figgy]

Mel your right, a nice glass of something to drink and watch the fire.

[gmm243]

I read a lot in front of the fire and sometimes tie flies but I also have two young sons so the tv does keep them entertained.

In the first photo behind the stove you can see the photos leaning up against the wall,they have been there for months so we should really get them up.One is of my first,now sadly long gone, lab. Brings back great memories. 

[oowee]

19 hours ago, gmm243 said:

We then have an air source for the stove which enters at the bottom of the stove vented to the outside so it can draw fresh air in.I think this is now a legal requirement when building a new house?

 

We have the same system and whilst it does not improve on the efficiency of the burner the overall operating efficiency is hugely increased not having to draw cold air into the room to service the fire. 

[mowdy]

7 hours ago, oowee said:

We have the same system and whilst it does not improve on the efficiency of the burner the overall operating efficiency is hugely increased not having to draw cold air into the room to service the fire. 

That is Exactly what they are designed for as new build  Houses are supposed to be air tight and draught free .But you need  air draught for a fire to burn properly  normally a min 12 pascals on a 5 kw stove. larger stoves need upwards of 20 pa or more for a proper burn subject to manufacture's  instructions . This  allows the flue gasses  to be drawn up the Chimney rather than back in to the room  in layman terms.

[Walker570]

Well my home is not quite new, built around 1640, Jacobean. The one chimney has been professionally lined and the other is original. Both draw very well. The house is now almost open upstairs and downstairs, 11 rooms all told including bathroom. I can light the big Clearview in the kitchen and within 15 minutes can feel the warm air going up the staircase.

We do not like overley hot conditions and unless we get a very cold spell only the kitchen stove will heat the whole house. Lit at between 3pm and 4pm it will burn a small wheelbarrow of logs by 11pm and probably continues to burn later.  I never shut the airflow down less than 25% and on the Clearview the air is pre heated before being allowed out into the fire.  That big stove was purchased 30yrs ago at the West Mids Game Fair from the Clearview stand which then was in it's infantcy. I believe our stove was one of the first that they produced.  Two sets of door seals in that time and still running like new.  As said before dry seasoned wood and correct airflow absolutely necessary for a clean burn.  The one thing I am contemplating is putting one of those heat driven fans on it to increased the warm air flow in the house.

[NoBodyImportant]

2 hours ago, Walker570 said:

Well my home is not quite new, built around 1640, Jacobean. The one chimney has been professionally lined and the other is original. Both draw very well. The house is now almost open upstairs and downstairs, 11 rooms all told including bathroom. I can light the big Clearview in the kitchen and within 15 minutes can feel the warm air going up the staircase.

We do not like overley hot conditions and unless we get a very cold spell only the kitchen stove will heat the whole house. Lit at between 3pm and 4pm it will burn a small wheelbarrow of logs by 11pm and probably continues to burn later.  I never shut the airflow down less than 25% and on the Clearview the air is pre heated before being allowed out into the fire.  That big stove was purchased 30yrs ago at the West Mids Game Fair from the Clearview stand which then was in it's infantcy. I believe our stove was one of the first that they produced.  Two sets of door seals in that time and still running like new.  As said before dry seasoned wood and correct airflow absolutely necessary for a clean burn.  The one thing I am contemplating is putting one of those heat driven fans on it to increased the warm air flow in the house.

As an old architecture enthusiasts I’d love to see pictures of your house?  

[harrycatcat1]

11 hours ago, Walker570 said:

 The one thing I am contemplating is putting one of those heat driven fans on it to increased the warm air flow in the house.

Best thing we did putting a fan on it does a good job circulating the warm air.

Ours was from Aldi.

[Muddy Funker]

Twice a year. 

[Walker570]

5 yrs supply, stored in yearly sections, each section on that covered wood store holds one winters burn and will be three years stored before use. The partially full section is being refilled as the contents where removed and taken up to our store by the house.  A mix of ash, oak, chestnut, sycamore and some willow and a small amount of hawthorn.

[Muddy Funker]

I clean my own too using a chimney typhoon off ebay. 

I ended up getting quite a lot of fine dry powder soot out last time so will now do a clean mid winter and at the end. 

Burn only seasoned hardwood, morso badger 5kw.

[Demonic69]

15 hours ago, Walker570 said:

5 yrs supply, stored in yearly sections, each section on that covered wood store holds one winters burn and will be three years stored before use. The partially full section is being refilled as the contents where removed and taken up to our store by the house.  A mix of ash, oak, chestnut, sycamore and some willow and a small amount of hawthorn.

Aren't you not allowed to burn any of that now with the rules on moisture content? I'm hoping to get a log burner when we move, so the rules have my head spinning

[Zapp]

2 hours ago, Demonic69 said:

Aren't you not allowed to burn any of that now with the rules on moisture content? I'm hoping to get a log burner when we move, so the rules have my head spinning data:image/webp;base64,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

The ban is on the sale of "wet" or unseasoned wood.  Logs that have seasoned for 3 years will be well dried.

[Demonic69]

4 minutes ago, Zapp said:

The ban is on the sale of "wet" or unseasoned wood.  Logs that have seasoned for 3 years will be well dried.

Ah cool. I thought we were only allowed to burn "Kiln Dried". That's good then, should save me a fortune

 

Cheers Zapp

[Zapp]

No you can still cut and burn wood.

[Demonic69]

Just now, Zapp said:

No you can still cut and burn wood.

Excellent! Cheers

[blackbird]

2 hours ago, Zapp said:

No you can still cut and burn wood.

Just a matter of time before they put a stop to it like everything else, people will start using un dried wood & **** it up for everyone  😤😤😤

 

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by blackbird

[Walker570]

1 hour ago, Zapp said:

The ban is on the sale of "wet" or unseasoned wood.  Logs that have seasoned for 3 years will be well dried.

That covered shed is designed to provide three years of drying time maybe a bit more as when we empty the third year bay, it will be refilled with wood from the wood stacked outside which may have been there a couple of years. once it has been in that covered area for three years it is very dry but will still have a few more months in a large stable up by the house for burning that winter.  A bit early this year but we had our first burn this week.  Having a ten acre wood plus a regular supply from two farms I shoot on, I don't see me going short in my lifetime.  The joy of these relatively modern air flow stoves is that the glass stays clean and you can see the fire.  I believe the young man...at the time.... who designed the Clearview stoves, was the first to do it and then about ten years after that all the other manufacturers started to produce them.  The time I purchased mine almost 30 years ago at the Midland Game Fair, he had a small caravan and two stoves set up on the grass burning logs and I made an order straight away.  The firm now has a beautiful place in Ludlow.   They ain't cheap but there again neither are Rolls Royce cars.