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Is a DIY multi-burner stove poss?


mgsontour
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Hi all

Looking for a multi-fuel burner for home and the installation costs are eye-watering.

There are plenty selling the burners direct on the web so obviously there is a market for a DIY installation; has anyone pros and cons of DIY as if anyone has had a go it will be someone on here?

Thanks in advance

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Depends really how and where you plan to install it, if you are piping it into an existing chimney it shouldn't be too difficult, there are minimum gaps you have to have around it for fire safety, but so long as it's sealed then that's what matters. Even easier if you install the flexible stainless steel flue liner as it clips straight onto the stove pipe and then leads to the top of your existing chimney.

If you are installing one where you have no chimney, like in a kitchen or dining room then from what I've been told you can install it on a concrete plinth on your floor, then a straight flue up through your roof or straight up a bit then 45 degree through the wall and then straighten the pipe up outside. Either way you need to be sure of a good draft and that you are in compliance with carbon monoxide regs.

This all comes from my chat with the fella that installed mine about 9-10 years ago and is assuming you are not wanting it plumbed in to warm your water and radiators....that's where big cost can come in.

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I put mine in about 5 year back now, as said above it’s fairly straight forward with a few regs to be met.

i used a twin wall flue liner, Met all he fire regs regarding space around the stove, and carbon monoxide detectors. Also supposed to check air flow but as my house has more gaps than a wicker basket I knew it would have plenty.

If it’s a rental I would guess the install needs signing off as with most things.

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1 minute ago, mgsontour said:

Thanks lads, I've got a chimney with an existing gas fire and a chimney, dunno if there is already a flexi pipe fitted already. I definitely don't need to to warm water or rads as got combi system for that. So I guess it's doable

 

Following this thread with interest.

What I would do, however, is pay for a corgi (alright, Gasafe) 'engineer' to cap off and test my gas line to the fire somewhere not in the vicinity of the fireplace.

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Just reiterating what ditchy says - you need to really look,at your house insurance.  If you do it under the radar of building regs and hetas certificates, you could be scuopered if you need to make a claim for something fire related down the line.

Edited by Jonty
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Just want to put my tuppence worth in here.I have worked in the stove/solid fuel industry for over 25 years and would like to help and give some free advice. Yes you can fit it yourself but it MUST be signed off by a competent person. (legal requirement). This normally means you get your local building inspector around to do this. Where i live they charge £270 for a 10 minute visit! the material cost for relining a chimney would be approx £500 without insulating the new liner-not mandatory to insulate but best practice. this keeps the flue warm and stops condensation in the new liner, which will potentially rot the stainless steel liner. (condensation can take the form of flouric acid and/or sulphuric acid depending on the fuel burnt).

The photo posted isn't too clear but it looks like the fireplace is whats known as class 2-gas and electric appliance only. there doesn't appear to expansion joints in the hearth or back panel so they may well crack with the higher temp of a solid fuel appliance. also, it may an agglomerate material which is made with resins/glue and marble. if it is it would not be suitable and would need taking out.

The flue may be a class 2 system and would need inspecting by a competent person to establish suitability. Some houses are built with a flue system rather than a masonry chimney and the layman would know no better. a look in loft would tell a lot-brick stack or flue system?

some of my customer do some of the prep work themselves but get a stove installer to do the installation and sign it off, which can save quite a few quid.

if you are set on doing it yourself I would pay an installer for a site consultation, If he charges you £50 for the site visit its probably money well spent.

If the photo was of a big old inglenook fireplace, and you could stand in the fireplace and look up the chimney and see the sky I would say yep, install a liner and off you go. But that fireplace and flue just needs a look by someone to make sure its class 1 (solid fuel) from top to bottom.

big topic and there's more to it than you may think.

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55 minutes ago, stu64 said:

Yes you can fit it yourself but it MUST be signed off by a competent person. (legal requirement).

I know the OP is in England, but just in case it helps anyone else is looking to do the same, in Scotland it is not a legal requirement to have any permissions or checks to get the install signed off. Although no one will check you have to follow building regs which are easily available. If you don't follow building regs and the worst happens your insurance is very unlikely to cover you.    

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Good advice from @stu64above,

As you are essentially fitting a hot metal box the rules regarding the air gap are defined and are relatively easy to understand. As you are in the planning stage a 6" gap is a good guide.

I had an existing open (coal) fire so the chimney was fine (its an 18" concrete tube), you would need to be checked.

So the first step is to pick a stove and decide weather you want a top or rear flue. A top flue means the stove is set back into the fireplace and a rear flue puts it approx 12" further forward so the back of the stove will be approx 18" from the back wall.

To visualise these sizes, when I did mine, I made a cardboard model and found that (as I wanted a rear flue) I needed a larger hearth and an overall larger opening. This meant I needed to remove the old fireplace back to the brick and then remove the lintel so I could accommodate the additional height. Once that was all done I fitted a new steel lintel and I laid a larger hearth (you can see the wooden former around the old hearth, which I filled with concrete and put a 30mm thick slab of slate on). I then lined the hole with fireproof platerboard and covered that in brick slips. I installed a galvanised steel register plate and the flue stickes up through that into the chimney.

Heres a few pics to show the steps.As @stumpy69noted, being in Scotland I didn't need any permissions or 'sign-off'.

It took me a while to do and we weren't living in the house at the time. Total cost was about £500 (the slate hearth was the most expensive).

 

fire-box.JPG

oldfireplace-out.JPG

newsixed-fireplace.JPG

fireplace-lined.JPG

fireplace-bricked.JPG

fireplace-done.JPG

Edited by miki
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That will do me folks and once again for the PW fountain of knowledge. . . . . . .  I'll get the man in to do the job and book it down to 'birthday present to self' then after a days shooting in winter sit there are look at it while drifting off in the chair!

 

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42 minutes ago, mgsontour said:

That will do me folks and once again for the PW fountain of knowledge. . . . . . .  I'll get the man in to do the job and book it down to 'birthday present to self' then after a days shooting in winter sit there are look at it while drifting off in the chair!

A most sensible decision!:good:

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4 minutes ago, mgsontour said:

Thank you sir, I have an age old mindset of paying the least to get the job done, which is contradictory to having a budget, which makes my Mrs cringe sometimes when a faced with a sales rep/agent

Yes, but it is a good game to play!:lol:

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When I started installing stoves and flues my boss at the time had a saying that I still use- "I'll do it the lazy way and do it right first time". I no longer undertake installation work but recommend installers I trust, and I don't recommend anyone I wouldn't have in my house. All the guys I recommend want to do a good job, when they finish they want to leave the house and not hear from you again (in a nice sense) they don't want phone calls from unhappy customers. Hopefully you can find an installer like that near you.

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4 hours ago, stu64 said:

Just want to put my tuppence worth in here.I have worked in the stove/solid fuel industry for over 25 years and would like to help and give some free advice. Yes you can fit it yourself but it MUST be signed off by a competent person. (legal requirement). This normally means you get your local building inspector around to do this. Where i live they charge £270 for a 10 minute visit! the material cost for relining a chimney would be approx £500 without insulating the new liner-not mandatory to insulate but best practice. this keeps the flue warm and stops condensation in the new liner, which will potentially rot the stainless steel liner. (condensation can take the form of flouric acid and/or sulphuric acid depending on the fuel burnt).

The photo posted isn't too clear but it looks like the fireplace is whats known as class 2-gas and electric appliance only. there doesn't appear to expansion joints in the hearth or back panel so they may well crack with the higher temp of a solid fuel appliance. also, it may an agglomerate material which is made with resins/glue and marble. if it is it would not be suitable and would need taking out.

The flue may be a class 2 system and would need inspecting by a competent person to establish suitability. Some houses are built with a flue system rather than a masonry chimney and the layman would know no better. a look in loft would tell a lot-brick stack or flue system?

some of my customer do some of the prep work themselves but get a stove installer to do the installation and sign it off, which can save quite a few quid.

if you are set on doing it yourself I would pay an installer for a site consultation, If he charges you £50 for the site visit its probably money well spent.

If the photo was of a big old inglenook fireplace, and you could stand in the fireplace and look up the chimney and see the sky I would say yep, install a liner and off you go. But that fireplace and flue just needs a look by someone to make sure its class 1 (solid fuel) from top to bottom.

big topic and there's more to it than you may think.

Excellent advice.  I have two Clearviews, a large one in the kitchen and I had a professional lining put into the old 400year old chimney which encapsulates about 4ft of stainless which runs from the stove.  The other is installed in a slightly younger chimney, probably 300yrs which I had a good look at and it is in good condition. The smaller Clearview has an 8ft stainless pipe and then straight into the chimney. Apart from the pro lining job on the kitchen chimney i did all the work myself including a steel plate above the small stove which has sealed access points for cleaning purposes. Ny chimney sweep helped with advice. Both stoves run on minimum three year dried timber and get very hot much hotter than a small gas stove, which you should bear in mind.  Plus side....nothing beats looking at a real fire.

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10 hours ago, mgsontour said:

That will do me folks and once again for the PW fountain of knowledge. . . . . . .  I'll get the man in to do the job and book it down to 'birthday present to self' then after a days shooting in winter sit there are look at it while drifting off in the chair!

 

Good call mate. I like to try and have a go at new projects but after I costed up the flue, register plate, building regs and how long it would take me to install, it worked out far more cost effective, and in my eyes logical, to get someone in.  I used a local chimney sweep firm and they did an excellent job in probably 1/4 of the time it would’ve taken me to do.

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6 hours ago, Jonty said:

Good call mate. I like to try and have a go at new projects but after I costed up the flue, register plate, building regs and how long it would take me to install, it worked out far more cost effective, and in my eyes logical, to get someone in.  I used a local chimney sweep firm and they did an excellent job in probably 1/4 of the time it would’ve taken me to do.

Now that sounds my kind of fractions. . . .  1/4's are great whether in time/cash, maybe your chimney sweep guy could come for a weekend to the coast and do the job while his Mrs does the sights

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7 hours ago, Jonty said:

Good call mate. I like to try and have a go at new projects but after I costed up the flue, register plate, building regs and how long it would take me to install, it worked out far more cost effective, and in my eyes logical, to get someone in.  I used a local chimney sweep firm and they did an excellent job in probably 1/4 of the time it would’ve taken me to do.

Good decision and good process, great advice from PW. I am professionally involved with Part J, HETAS etc and believe you have made the correct decision. 

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18 hours ago, mgsontour said:

That will do me folks and once again for the PW fountain of knowledge. . . . . . .  I'll get the man in to do the job and book it down to 'birthday present to self' then after a days shooting in winter sit there are look at it while drifting off in the chair!

 

Good decision in my opinion 😉 👌 

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