Wood burner - can I get away without lining?

hadleyshope

I am thinking of installing a small wood burner. My house is about 70 year old and assuming that the chimney pulls ok, and I sweep the chimney, can I get away without having it lined?

I was thinking of installing this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Evergreen-MultiFuel-Wood-Log-Burner-Stove-Fireplace_W0QQitemZ370103564191QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item370103564191&_trkparms=72%3A1296%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A4%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

savemoney

That seems very cheap for a stove, I suspect it a cheap imitation and stoves normal costs around £350+ mine costing us almost £500

Only a hetas expert could tell up if you need your chimney lined. My house is built in 1930 and we had to have stainless steel lining, the total costs of fitting lining, stove was just over 2k

hadleyshope

for 2k I might just as well have Central heating fitted. How completely pointless.

savemoney

Central heating will costs more than 2k probably around £3.5k granted it will heat the whole house

I have both I use the stove to supplement the central heating, also where the stove is situated its cold the rad in that room doesn't kick enough heat as its a kitchen/diner

That stove you choose is to cheap, its probably a cheap Chinese imported one.

You also have to factor in wood, it cost us £110 for a large tip up truck load, so you have to find a suitable place to store logs

If you get away with out lining then that could make a difference but I know the guy that fitted ours he said most houses need lining

owned_by_2_Siamese

Well - I have a two year old house - and had a stove (morso) installed without a lining ...all I'll say is that you havent lived until you have had hot creosote running down your fireplace from the register plate - I cant describe the smell... and it takes a LOT of cleaning up. For me it was a mistake! The problem is that you have to get all the chimney hot - so if you have a large (8inch diameter plus) chimney you wont get it hot enough uless you have a big stove (12kw plus) and run it hot (flat out!) My 5KW stove just didnt heat the chimney enough so the wood smoke condensed to creosote. The lining reduces the size and because its insulated it gets hotter and draws better (and stops the creosote) I would put more emphasis on the size of chimney rather than the age. You really need an expert (make sure HETAS registered) A good stove is an asset - and will negate the need for other heating. BUT they are messy and require a lot of 'intervention ' (hourly) get multifuel and you can burn coal (great to keep in overnight orwhen you are out in the day) For us - we have oil heating so the stove makes our overall heating bills much lower. Two other bits of advice - get an expert to work out the size of stove you need - too big and you wont be able to bear it (I thought we needed a 10 KW - but 5KW was fine - in some ways too much!) and buy a quality stove - where you can get spares (i.e glass door!) and one that wont warp - or crack.
As to whether its worth it - in the long run - I'd say yes - but the outlay is not cheap - it WILL pay foritself isf you get the right stove installed in the right way!

Good luck!

A._Badger

I'd have to echo that caution about such a cheap stove. My sweep (who is also an installer and does this sort of work all year round) has told me horror stories about 'dodgy Chinese stoves' which he has been called out to fit. Not that I put much store by it, there is also supposed to be some sort of CE certification on stoves, I gather, so you might find a HETAS engineer unwilling to install one that wasn't certified.

As for lining, I suspect it's very variable - though at the high prices they charge, few professional installers are likely to say you won't need it.

Sadly, if you intend to burn wood, I think they will be right. You might, however, get away with a smokeless solid fuel, without a liner. It's worth asking several professional sources for advice.

John_3:16

We have a stove and the chimney was already pot lined. There are alot of yes you should no you should not being said. It has not been mentioned where your chimney is? Up the inside of the house or on the outside. This will have a big bearing on how cold your chimney may be. I am not an installer but we were adviced we would not need to re line. We have a 5kw stove burn it hard have a 9inch flue and our chimney gets hot enough. Every year the sweep checks and there is no sign of taring up. Every fire will be differant. What you burn also helps. Very dry logs that have been dried for at least 18 mths I am collecting now for 2010.

savemoney

You aren't suppose to burn wood that contains creosote or paint its for that very reason, it sticks to your chimney and is a fire hazard

owned_by_2_Siamese wrote: »

Well - I have a two year old house - and had a stove (morso) installed without a lining ...all I'll say is that you havent lived until you have had hot creosote running down your fireplace from the register plate - I cant describe the smell... and it takes a LOT of cleaning up. For me it was a mistake! The problem is that you have to get all the chimney hot - so if you have a large (8inch diameter plus) chimney you wont get it hot enough uless you have a big stove (12kw plus) and run it hot (flat out!) My 5KW stove just didnt heat the chimney enough so the wood smoke condensed to creosote. The lining reduces the size and because its insulated it gets hotter and draws better (and stops the creosote) I would put more emphasis on the size of chimney rather than the age. You really need an expert (make sure HETAS registered) A good stove is an asset - and will negate the need for other heating. BUT they are messy and require a lot of 'intervention ' (hourly) get multifuel and you can burn coal (great to keep in overnight orwhen you are out in the day) For us - we have oil heating so the stove makes our overall heating bills much lower. Two other bits of advice - get an expert to work out the size of stove you need - too big and you wont be able to bear it (I thought we needed a 10 KW - but 5KW was fine - in some ways too much!) and buy a quality stove - where you can get spares (i.e glass door!) and one that wont warp - or crack.
As to whether its worth it - in the long run - I'd say yes - but the outlay is not cheap - it WILL pay foritself isf you get the right stove installed in the right way!

Good luck!

John_3:16

I don't think anyone is saying to burn wood with creosote or paint although you are right. The term used is when a sticky tar is formed that runs down the chimney and can cause fires in the chimney etc. This is usely because wet wood or the stove is left to smoulder rather than burn well. As I said the dryer the better and the less problems you will have

savemoney

I use seasoned logs and some pallet wood. I do leave the logs near the burner so they dry. Seasoned logs tend to burn better as there is less water/sap in the wood

Igol

It looks like its made from ABS plastic, anyway. Only way to be sure is to get a sweep to inspect it for you, you may get away without having it lined.
If you need to get it lined is it worth it?
Gas = £xx Pallets = Free