Woodburner

[Ricko]

I've had an Aarrow woodburner for years, my current gf is having some building work on her house and is thinking of getting one.

Any advice on makes, models, etc., she's going to get it fitted 'professionally'.

Cheers

[billytheghillie]

Get her to move in with you, and use your Aarrow, simples.

[ditchman]

get one with a back boiler...and when money permits have it connected to her radiator system............just an idea

[johnphilip]

CLEVERVIEW  stove  had mine ten years .I used to burn logs when i cut my own . Now I'll  health just burn coal ,

runs 24/ 7  most of the year .

[Robden]

Morso stove with a back boiler (as Ditchy said). Lived on a boat with one fitted, for over ten years. It would burn anything.                                                              In the winter when running 24/7, we would put stews, curries etc on the top, on trivets, to leave cooking all day. Never had any problems with it.

[johnphilip]

Something to think about. Re back boiler on woodstove , is location. These large stoves. Throw out some heat. Depends on room size  . And check regs on how old your building is. And fitting of one . 

[Sussexboy]

24 minutes ago, johnphilip said:

Something to think about. Re back boiler on woodstove , is location. These large stoves. Throw out some heat. Depends on room size  . And check regs on how old your building is. And fitting of one . This.

This.

They also consume large quantities of fuel as you need at least 9-10 kW to run a hot water tank and a slack handful of radiators. Therefore you do need a big room. However, if you are doing building work anyway it is the ideal time to design it in.

[12gauge82]

I've got one connected to a 1000lite heat store, bit of work in design ect but hands down the best thing I've done especially as I have a free supply of wood.

[yates]

Contura is fantastic. We've had ours for 14 years and is still going strong. Some good suggestions already made but what ever you do have it professionally fitted and certificated. Plus make sure you have the fire and chimney parts serviced regularly as your insurance will be null and void without regular maintenance in the case of a potential claim

[udderlyoffroad]

I too am in need  of a new wood burner, but I had the shelve the back boiler idea, as complying with modern regs is challenging.  Apart from anything else, there are limits to the physical distance your hot water tank can be from the fireplace.  That's ok if you're starting with a blank-ish canvas, but not so in my case.  The other issue, as people have alluded to, is that a burner with a suitable size back boiler starts to get big, quickly.  Fine if you're in a large room/open-plan layout, but you'll probably find it chucks out too much heat in a smaller room.  Finally, good luck finding someone qualified to do a 'wet' system.  There aren't many fitters (round here at least) with the correct paperwork.

 

10 hours ago, yates said:

Some good suggestions already made but what ever you do have it professionally fitted and certificated.

You *can* fit it yourself, certainly a straightforward system without a back boiler, and have the local building inspector sign it off, but you might find the local building control dept reticent to take it on.

[moondoggy]

Another vote for Clearview.

Had the large 750 (14kw output) fitted last year, it is incredibly warm, far warmer than the Hunter Herald it replaced.

Also, the added bonus for us was it is British made.

[johnphilip]

10 hours ago, moondoggy said:

Another vote for Clearview.

Had the large 750 (14kw output) fitted last year, it is incredibly warm, far warmer than the Hunter Herald it replaced.

Also, the added bonus for us was it is British made.

Yes exactly made from mild steel, not Cast . So less chance of cracking .

[moondoggy]

On 29/04/2024 at 09:39, udderlyoffroad said:

I too am in need  of a new wood burner, but I had the shelve the back boiler idea, as complying with modern regs is challenging.  Apart from anything else, there are limits to the physical distance your hot water tank can be from the fireplace.  That's ok if you're starting with a blank-ish canvas, but not so in my case.  The other issue, as people have alluded to, is that a burner with a suitable size back boiler starts to get big, quickly.  Fine if you're in a large room/open-plan layout, but you'll probably find it chucks out too much heat in a smaller room.  Finally, good luck finding someone qualified to do a 'wet' system.  There aren't many fitters (round here at least) with the correct paperwork.

 

You *can* fit it yourself, certainly a straightforward system without a back boiler, and have the local building inspector sign it off, but you might find the local building control dept reticent to take it on.

We had real trouble finding a HETAS fitter who would respond to requests for quotes, they obviously don’t need the work.

We eventually found a fitter who did a great job relatively quickly, however, it cost around 2.5 times the cost of the stove to have it fitted. 
Very expensive, but worth every penny to us as we have plenty of free wood in our garden. We went through last winter with very minimal use of the central heating.

You just can’t beat the ambience that a real fire creates.

Edited April 30 by moondoggy

[Mungler]

4 hours ago, moondoggy said:

You just can’t beat the ambience that a real fire creates.

Interesting thread this. We were in our last house for 15 years; it was modern / insulated but had a coal fire place which we loved. Indeed, December to March in this country is a real struggle with the constant wet, lack of sunlight and general grimness.

Scroll on, in our current house (been here 10 years) we arrived to a gas fire / fire place and swapped the fire / surround for a modern gas fire which we’ve never really  used because (1) it’s pretty unexciting (2) we live in a modern insulated house.

Having got every other DIY / building job done (and believe me it’s been a very long list), this week we pressed the green button on ripping out a perfectly good gas fire (in the 10 years we’ve been here I’d be amazed if it’s had 40 hours use in total) and getting a log burger installed.

We got a range of quotes from frightening  to ridiculous but it’s the last thing we’ve wanted to do and I can’t tell you how excited I am and how many hours I’ve spent pouring over log burners and guides. You just can’t beat a real fire. incidentally the Stove Fitters Warehouse website appeared to be the single best repository of guides, tips, manuals and how to information 

https://stovefitterswarehouse.co.uk

I seriously can’t wait for my new log burner and even though we’re heading into summer.

Ah and lastly, when chatting to one of the stove installers I explained I didn’t ‘need’ a log burner and at best wouldn’t ‘need’ one until winter and so wondered if coming back in August for a price would be better. Apparently May is their dead zone as by August people are starting to think about  October / November abd winter and are booking chimney sweeps and kicking the tyres on new stoves. 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Very interesting.

[Lloyd90]

On 27/04/2024 at 21:00, ditchman said:

get one with a back boiler...and when money permits have it connected to her radiator system............just an idea

When you have one of those, can you turn the link to the radiators on and off? 
 

Or is it on 100% of the time? 

On 28/04/2024 at 09:08, johnphilip said:

Something to think about. Re back boiler on woodstove , is location. These large stoves. Throw out some heat. Depends on room size  . And check regs on how old your building is. And fitting of one . 

The only time I’ve seen one with a back boiler it was almost too large for the room and it was like sitting in a sweat box. 

[RyanMc]

If there is an existing fireplace or will to add one, look at an inset stove, this wont throw the same heat into the room and properly insulated hearth and surround will push more heat around the house. My sitting room is too small for a standalone and didn't want to lose the back boiler. I simply added a stove front door to the existing open fire. Far more economical, heats the upstairs easier than before and the sitting room is far more comfortable with a roaring fire going. Uses less fuel all round.

[moondoggy]

10 hours ago, Mungler said:

Interesting thread this. We were in our last house for 15 years; it was modern / insulated but had a coal fire place which we loved. Indeed, December to March in this country is a real struggle with the constant wet, lack of sunlight and general grimness.

Scroll on, in our current house (been here 10 years) we arrived to a gas fire / fire place and swapped the fire / surround for a modern gas fire which we’ve never really  used because (1) it’s pretty unexciting (2) we live in a modern insulated house.

Having got every other DIY / building job done (and believe me it’s been a very long list), this week we pressed the green button on ripping out a perfectly good gas fire (in the 10 years we’ve been here I’d be amazed if it’s had 40 hours use in total) and getting a log burger installed.

We got a range of quotes from frightening  to ridiculous but it’s the last thing we’ve wanted to do and I can’t tell you how excited I am and how many hours I’ve spent pouring over log burners and guides. You just can’t beat a real fire. incidentally the Stove Fitters Warehouse website appeared to be the single best repository of guides, tips, manuals and how to information 

https://stovefitterswarehouse.co.uk

I seriously can’t wait for my new log burner and even though we’re heading into summer.

Ah and lastly, when chatting to one of the stove installers I explained I didn’t ‘need’ a log burner and at best wouldn’t ‘need’ one until winter and so wondered if coming back in August for a price would be better. Apparently May is their dead zone as by August people are starting to think about  October / November abd winter and are booking chimney sweeps and kicking the tyres on new stoves. 

I don’t know if it’s calmed down, but last year, due to fuel prices, there was a Europe wide shortage of wood burners. We ordered ours in the February and it was delivered in the September, had it fitted in the October. 
Probably different the year with fuel prices coming down a bit.

The other thing that shot up in price last year was the price of logs. As stated before, doesn’t really affect us at the moment as we are lucky with having two acres of mostly trees.

So, my advice, get one ordered so that you are in the system for it being installed in time for next winter.

[Duckandswing]

On 28/04/2024 at 23:03, yates said:

Contura is fantastic. We've had ours for 14 years and is still going strong. Some good suggestions already made but what ever you do have it professionally fitted and certificated. Plus make sure you have the fire and chimney parts serviced regularly as your insurance will be null and void without regular maintenance in the case of a potential claim

I can second contura. Our 210g has been really good. I also get wood free through my job so with some effort I can usually have a couple of years worth stored.

The only problem is storing wood, especially when seasoning. Takes up a lot of space.

[yates]

12 hours ago, Duckandswing said:

I can second contura. Our 210g has been really good. I also get wood free through my job so with some effort I can usually have a couple of years worth stored.

The only problem is storing wood, especially when seasoning. Takes up a lot of space.

Agreed, I usually season mine for two years

[Dave at kelton]

I have an Aaron too but multifuel so I can burn the anthracite eggs too. It throws out a hell of lot of heat for its size so important to match to the room. I would never go wood only as anthracite is so convenient.

[Mungler]

Quick question - what’s the difference between a wood burning stove and a multi fuel stove?

There appears to be a lot of wood burning stoves that can become multi fuel stoves by the insertion of a ‘grate’.

I know there’s a whole load of eco nonsense rules with fires and l stoves now - I assumed that you can burn smokeless coal in a wood stove (if you have a grate that lifts the coals and gives air flow) but the manufacturers don’t offer this for some stoves because they can’t reach the necessary energy rating or emissions ratings.

iIn short, I’m getting a double sided stove (sitting in between 2 rooms) but the stove is badged ‘wood burning’ and I’m thinking I can Chuck on smokeless coal if I get a grate knocked up ie it won’t melt or blow up.

The reason I didn’t get a double sided multi fuel stove is because there’s only a couple available in the market place and size wise they were no good for us.

[Stonepark]

Wood burns at lot lower temperature than coal.

coal is fed air from below and generally burns as a solid whilst wood is fed air from above and generally burns as a gas.

 

Hence need for a grate for coal (multi fuel burner) as allows air under and prevents damage from overheating to base of stove.

 

I used to have a wood stove\multifuel stove with additional grate and backboiler. Only the coal got the flue to orange.

Edited May 2 by Stonepark

[Pushkin]

We fitted a Woodpecker 5 plus MFB 2 years ago, great thing, heats the whole house up just by using it and a couple of those Kinetic fans. When using the Smokeless nuggets, I feel the heat becomes oppressive and its not advisable to burn both wood and nuggets at the same time.  Ours is a clearview  setup as standard in manufacture. Price is very good and it is made in Britain.  PS we have gas central heating and hot water as well.  Good balance between the stove and the rads etc over this last winter. Eventual costs were reasonably okPushkin.

Edited May 2 by Pushkin

[12gauge82]

On 01/05/2024 at 08:30, Lloyd90 said:

When you have one of those, can you turn the link to the radiators on and off? 
 

Or is it on 100% of the time? 

The only time I’ve seen one with a back boiler it was almost too large for the room and it was like sitting in a sweat box. 

I have one and it is connected to 1000L unvented vessel, think of it like a gas boiler, when I burn logs it stores the hot water which I can use to run my underfloor heating in the whole house or for hot water for taps and showers ect.

My log burner puts 3/4 of heat produced to water and only a small amount to either side of two rooms.