Fitting a log burner help

[snowwolf]

I am going to fit a log burner, I have seen good priced ones on ebay, are they as good as the big makes found here in the UK? a branded wood burner would cost £800 where as one off ebay for a similar stove is £375,

I will be doing all the work myself, will be going through an outside wall and up the side of the house,

What are the legal applications for the installation, ie how far does it have to go above the ridge tiles or guttering?

Any help would be gratefull.....regards Mick.

[Ken68]

Something here Snow........http://www.woodburners.com/
more in Google under 'building regulations woodburners'
Had thought of getting one of those from Ebay, bid on several, but lost out. Lotta work. The logs I mean, not the bidding.

[ronnyb]

Ive wondered the same thing myself, about the cheaper stoves. There's a company on ebay who sell them for as cheap as £199. I paid over £600 for my first one over 5 years ago, a Villager. Since then I've moved house and intend to install another. I rang the company up from ebay, naturalheatingco. The bloke said they were imported from China. I asked about warranties etc and he said they didn't need to offer a warranty as they were so well made.? I posted a thread on mse some time ago asking if anyone else had had one. Got one reply who said he'd had one since last May and was very pleased with it, the quality was very good etc. Having had one since May is no guarantee they'll last a long time though.

[ronnyb]

I forgot to put that the flue has to go to the highest point of the roof.

[Ken68]

Read on here that a dedicated woodburner, rather than a multi fuel stove is the best value. I ran a Rayburn for years and that was a bit of overkill, hardly ever used anything except free wood, and never cooked in the darned thing. So I figure that a cheaper stove would be around £200/£300. Fortunately got a chimney, looks like your flue will cost a bit, Snow. Heavy brackets I guess to combat the wind and a cowel.

[John 3:16]

Had one fitted this summer a stockton 5 have not got the multi fuel but for £50 can get the kit. Have had it on a few times and heats the house lovely. Started collecting wood last march so have plenty now. Work as a chippy can get loads of kindling etc but have to work on the hardwood a bit more. The only problem about going outside the house is the chimney will be cold and might take a little getting warm to get the draw. My stove was £400 clean burn and air wash.

[montrose5]

Cheaper stoves tend to be steel rather than cast iron and, I am told, don't last as long(which seeing as the cast iron ones last longer than many people is not too bad). Flue is really expensive, worth hunting secondhand for it.

[jim38curl]

Hi all, Was after a bit of advice for my mum. She currently has an open fire in a property that's approx 100 years old. She wants to start using a multi fuel / log burner and and has found one she likes for around the £700 mark. The guy that sells them has told her that he does all the work including fitting the burner and chimney liners / flue's etc. He may be completely genuine but his prices seemed to me to be going up the longer we stood and talked to him. It ended up at £2000 all in with a possible small dicount for cash. Does this seem reasonable ? I wouldn't question it but he seemed to be quite pushy, talking my mum into buying a burner £250 more than the one she originally liked and there was also a notice on the side saying complete flue kit done for £450. Not sure what the other charges are for but he's going to give my mum a final price today after he pop's round. Also, does he have to be registered with any official body to be able to do the work. I saw some mention of HETAS ? can't remember if it was here or somewhere else i looked. ( may of been this thread actually thinking about it, memory like a goldfish ) Thanks for any advice anyone can give me. Jim

[1111111]

hi there,

I new the guy who sells the log burners at Wimborne Market.In conversation,I recall him saying that there is more profit from sellong/fitting a flue,than actually selling the log burner.If it is from the chap at Wimborne you are buying it from,I can fully recommend him.

Hope this helps.

[Snow Dog]

You get what you pay for in this case, i've seen the chinese imports and if the ebay ones are anything like them then they are flimsy, badly made, the doors fit awful and I should think the chances of getting spares next year are zilch.

A good multifuel burner is fantastic, we have a pretty large house and it will warm up the entire place on its own. The underfloor heating downstairs rarely kicks in and the rads upstairs might turn on occasionally.

Jim38curl,
Does she use the open fire? if so then I presume she gets the chimney swept, so the best bet is to ask the sweep, they are usually very knowledgeable on the subject (I ought to know, my FIL is a chimney sweep, ironically in your area, well bourmenouth anyway).

[jim38curl]

thanks for the reply's guys. As it turned out he forgot to come and visit anyway. Have spent a bit more time researching prices and in all honesty as long as he does a good job his prices seem pretty good. Just got to find out the make of the burner now to make sure mum doesn't get stitched with something that's not going to last long. Have seen lot's of people recommend clearview but there's some pretty scary prices that they come with ! Thanks again. Jim

[bltchef]

hi i have a woodburning stove from eay natural heating it is very good no prob with it had it 2 years now my onll regreat is we did not have boiler fitted at the same time hope this is of somehelp

[spookycat]

Hi just a quick question in a similar vein if you please. We'd like to fit a wood burner to power the central heating but don't have a chimney. We do have a flueless gas fire insitu atm (broken) will it fit there and what do you need instead of a chimney, or is it a complete non-starter?
Thanks

[Alfietinker]

jim38curl:

A stove must be installed to meet certain regulations and building control (council) may have to be informed. Our chimney sweep fitted ours and is registered with HETAS so did all the paperwork. I don't know if it can be fitted by someone else and then simply inspected by a certified person, or whether it is like CORGI and nobody is allowed to touch it. Also if the stove is over 5kw extra ventilation needs to be installed (somehow, we stopped at 5kw as that was all we needed).

With regard to prices, our stove cost about £500 (Stovax Huntingdon 25 in a sales), 1 metre flue was £70. Fitting and register plate was £350. We ripped out the old fireplace and got everything ready ourselves to cut costs. (All work in June 2007)

Our chimney did not need lining at the time but may well do in the future. This is likely to cost around £1000. So the prices quoted do not seem too bad in this context.

Hope this helps.

[Hapless]

Installer should be HEATAS qualified and the installation whether done by HEATAS or not should be done to building regs (J I believe but not 100% sure)

yup just found it.

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/stove_...gulations.html

The 2002 edition of Approved Document J of The Building Regulations stipulates that any work that affects an existing chimney (ie fitting a new stove or liner) or creating a new chimney now comes under building control.

An existing chimney or a new flue or chimney installation must be given a visual inspection to check that it is in good order, clear of obstructions and is of a suitable size and type for the appliance you plan to install. It may be necessary to sweep the flue (which should always be done anyway before fitting a stove or lining a chimney) and also, if necessary, to do a smoke test to check for gas tightness.

[stoveman]

hey guys be careful of these cheap stoves. often enough they are chinease cast and very poorly made, a lot of them turn up without flue collars. Also many of these chinease imports are not CE approved. Because of this it is illegal to install them in UK

be wary,

best prices on internet for branded stoves is either http://www.woodburnerwarehouse.co.uk or http://www.firesonline.co.uk

[jim38curl]

Thanks to everyone for all the advice, just an update really. The wimborne market guy got in contact again after a few days and couldn't apologise enough for forgetting to visit. He quoted £1640 to supply and fit everything which my mum seemed quite happy with so went ahead with the work. All this was finished yesterday and i also ( like 1111111 - post above ) couldn't recommend him enough. He seems such a kind genuine bloke you at first don't trust that he is and wait for the hidden surprise to come but it doesn't. He's also HETAS reg'd and supply's cert's for his work. If anyones intersted he can be found at http://www.ukstoves.com/ Thanks again everyone.

[littleange]

Originally Posted by spookycat

Hi just a quick question in a similar vein if you please. We'd like to fit a wood burner to power the central heating but don't have a chimney. We do have a flueless gas fire insitu atm (broken) will it fit there and what do you need instead of a chimney, or is it a complete non-starter?
Thanks

I'd also be interested to know if you need a chimney?

[chris11ok]

Hi all, first post here. have bought a multifuel stove made by Franco Belge the model is a savoy, bought it really cheap and is like new. my question is how hard a diy job is it to fit. I have all the right clearances around the stove with a five foot flue coming out of the top. Is it ok to just put the flue through the steel plate and seal it up? Does it require a flue all the way to the top of the chimney? The chimney was in full working order as an open fire before i bought the stove, many thanks Chris

[waj1234]

Originally Posted by chris11ok

Hi all, first post here. have bought a multifuel stove made by Franco Belge the model is a savoy, bought it really cheap and is like new. my question is how hard a diy job is it to fit. I have all the right clearances around the stove with a five foot flue coming out of the top. Is it ok to just put the flue through the steel plate and seal it up? Does it require a flue all the way to the top of the chimney? The chimney was in full working order as an open fire before i bought the stove, many thanks Chris

It is best to fit a solid fuel liner as it makes the stove work better due to a smaller chimney and better air flow. The problem with using a standard chimney which was designed for an open fire is and open fire looses most of the heat up the chimney so makes the chimney hot enough to burn most of the soot etc. A stove is more efficient and will not get a chimney hot enough so if burning wood that is not dry enough the condensation stops the smoke rising properly and causes deposits which lead to chimney fires.

Best to get in lined. My install including a new liner, plate, chimney pot and room vent and all flues is £800 and my stove is £600. I did my fireplace myself at a cost of £200 for all materials (slate). The installer is Hetas so he does all registering with building regs.

Hope that helps.

Simon.