Which Woodburner?

hethmar

I seem to remember one of our customers having a Tiger and we had the devil getting fittings for it. I think its Chinese or Indian.

The Buildings Control varies across the country - used to be £70 - £100 + VAT. but check with your LA


We have our own supply of wood - fortunately we have a very large garden and have planted ash trees which we lop every year but even then we usually buy a load in as well.

maryhillgirl

Thanks, Hethmar. I phoned Building Control but they have still to ring me back with an answer.
My sweep and builder have both said I don't need a liner, so I'm hoping it will be a straighforward job just popping the stove in place, fitting the plate into the chimney opening and off we go. Am I being unrealistic, naive? How much might a HETAS reg fitter charge for this, including the relevant notification and paperwork? (I'm near Preston, Lancs)

hethmar

Well, I cant comment on that mary. I dont know what age/condition your chimney is, certainly I would not like to burn a woodburner in an unlined chimney. Is your sweep a registered NACS one? Does he give you certificates of condition on each visit? If not, Id change him if I were you.

poodlehorse

I've got a Stovax Stockton 5 and absolutely love it, we were worried 5kW wasn't going to be enough but it THROWS out the heat. Wish we had put it in earlier as it has saved us a small fortune in the last 18 mths.

MiM

Thanks PH. Someone's just put the Clearview Pioneer on Ebay for about £850 but as I can get the Stockton 5 for not much more than half that I'm greatful for your recommendation. Now to find a fitter!

maisoldman

Mim - The Clearview on Ebay is priced at £850 but you still need to add VAT onto that price. Beware, I emailed the guy to see if he had one in stock and he said he did however when I called the shop to confirm they said they are awaiting an order. Given that Clearview have a backlog from Oct/Nov orders you could have to wait a while.

MiM

Muc appreciated M, another reason to stick with the Stovax then. That's confirmed it!

hethmar

The Stovax 5 is a fine little stove.

maisoldman

Hethmar...Are you referring to the Stovax Stockton 5 ? Thats one of the stoves I was looking at, as well as the Aga Little Wenlock Classic SE & the Pioneer Clearview 400. I have used the online calculators to estimate the size of stove we need for our living room. It estimates a 4.3 KW hence I am looking at 5 KW stoves. I am concerned however that this is a cold room in a Victorian house, as its got sanded floor boards, no insulation, old sash windows and on the end of the terrace. Will a 5KW be enough for this size of room with these characteristics ? We are also looking to leave the door open and allow the heat to go into the hall and try and lift the temperature in the ground floor of the house. Has anyone else out there had this situation and did you go for a Output to fit the room or buy a bigger stove ?

Regarding the Stoves above, is the Clearview Pioneer 400 worth the extra money ? Its nearly double the price of the Stovax and Aga as I need to add on the Smoke Control component as we live in Glasgow which is a Smoke Controlled area. I have looked at the efficiencies and it is the best but not by much.

A._Badger

I did the calculations (and had them checked by a supplier) for a small, two-floor appartment in an old (18th C) building, with little or no insulation.

Taking the figures at face value, I bought a Little Wenlock II and while it was a reasonably goid stove (it did eat expensive firebricks, though), it didn't produce quite enough heat for the job.

You often see the recommendation not to buy too big a stove, as a smaller one run hard works better. This is true, up to a point, but I suspect the calculations make assumptions about thermal insulation which do not always tally with the reality of an old house.

My advice, for what it's worth, would be to get someine who knows what he or she is talking about to actually visit your house and see what it is like - not just rely on averages.

Hope that's some help.