Do I change my gas fire for a wood burning stove?

The_Lyfords

This is my first thread, so bear with me. ,We currently live in a 3 bed semi (1970s) and have an old gas fire in the lounge which I won't let the wife use because of the cost. We want a wood burning stove and need advice.
1. We live in a smoke controlled area so firstly would it be better to get a multi fuel wood burner and burn smokeless fuel or a smokeless wood burning stove and burn wood?
2. I have a class 1 chimney (I think). Will I need my chimney lined?
3. Roughly how much would it cost (i.e. an average stove, fitting it etc)
4. Over the winter months how much does the smokeless coal cost on average, i.e. a 25 kg bag costs £10 online, how long would this last? This may obviously determine if we get a stove.

I do not mind a bit of hard work, cleaning etc - however I am tight and do not really like spending money, hence all the above.
Thanks

A._Badger

Are you certain that using wood or smokeless fuel would be any cheaper than using gas?

Particularly if you add-up the cost of the stove itself (at least £350) lining the chimney (you'll almost certainly be told to do this - whether it's actually necessary or not) and the fitting, then work out the cost of the fuel (anyone would think wood didn't grow on trees) you might be a lot better off getting a safety check on your gas fire and using that instead.

The_Lyfords

Thanks, I am not sure about the cost and thats what I hoped people might be able to tell me. Our gas fire is old and seems to use a lot of gas (I know, maybe a new one would be more efficient). But I like the idea of a real fire and I live by the chase so wood would not be an issue.

A._Badger

You'll have to do some homework on the cost of the actual stove as they range in price from around £400-£2,000 depending on the size, make and style you want. Fitting varies wildly, too, but I've recently been quoted £300 - though that is to replace an existing stove with a new one. You are going to have to use a Corgi registered fitter to take out the gas appliance and then (probably) someone else to install a new woodburning one, which will almost certainly include the supply and fitting of a stainless steel liner for your chimney.

Ball park figure? Impossible to say with any accuracy as who knows what your chimney is like? But at the roughest guess I'd say £1,500 plus stove.

Free wood, meanwhile, sounds great, but you need a great deal to run a stove - as I've said here before, I use more than an entire car port full stuffed front to back every winter. That's a lot of wood to gather. It also needs to be below 20% moisture content to avoid tar build-up, which means it needs storing and seasoning for a least a year before use. If you burn unseasoned wood you won't get much heat and you will get tar residues inside your chimney which can cause fires.

I'm sorry if all this sounds off-putting but there's no point leading you up the garden path. Stoves are fantstic, but they are not a low-cost option compared to mains gas.

Hope that's not too gloomy.

The_Lyfords

Thanks very much. You've helped a lot.

The_Economist

A.Badger makes some good points. I had one fitted last year. What can i say its fantastic. It can be hard work collecting wood to feed it but when its going its most pleaseing. I wished i had brought one years ago. You must do your homework to see if its right for you. Here is a few links.
http://www.hetas.co.uk/public/hetas_guide.html

http://www.newhousefarm.tv/forum/viewforum.php?f=34&sid=fe975de72728e62f34a4d6ceecbe7e6d

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=6356863&posted=1#post6356863

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=289593

http://www.woodheat.org/index.htm
http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/splittingblocksandtires.htm

hope this helps..........

owned_by_2_Siamese

The upfront costs are quite high - we paid £800 for stove and fitting then 12 months later had to have chimney lined at a cost of £1500 !!!Trust me we live in a new house and didnt have a liner we paid the price as chimney faced North on outside of house so we has a creosote nightmare. That aside we buy our wood - cheaply (in a village with lots of wood burners so supply is good! ) running cost for us is about £80 a year and we use the stove daily in the winter. Beware that smokeless doesnt mean 'smell-less' you will know when you go outside - bear in mind if your in a 'densly' populated area!

Igol

A Badgers on the money again
If you've a free steady supply of wood and really dont mind hard work and thats not just cleaning. Your looking at collecting, chopping, storing all in the wonderful British winter. Then go for it once you've done the maths.
On the plus side my gas bill is about £30 a quarter, coal £100 for the year and all the free pallets I can load in the Landy from the local industrial estate.

themole_2

I agree with everyone above. You need to be very careful you get this done right at the beginning or it will come back to haunt you! We had a similar situation and nearly went for the quick, cheap option but fortunately here in Milton Keynes we have a local company MKfireplaces who offer free surveys to people living in the area and I decided to take advantage of this just to ensure what we were planning was OK. I am really glad I did. Mark came and did the survey and there were loads of things we had not considered. Its especially important now if you think you are likely to be selling on your house and will need a Hetas certificate. It is also vital that any gas fitting or modifications are carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer. We are really glad we just took up that free survey option!

themole_2

Hi,

I have a friend who is a fireplace consultant MKfireplaces he says you have the option to burn wood in a burner which turns the smoke into steam (if you are eco friendly) or you could go for a multi fuel burner.

He says he would recommend you line the chimney.

Ball park figures would be £1,500 - £1,800

Impossible to say how much it costs - depends on how hot you burn it and how much air you give it.... more air = quicker burn.

Hope this helps, if you are in or around MK (30 Miles) I think they offer a free consultation service.

He is very friendly and I am sure he would be willing to answer any of your queries.

200

has anyone considered gas central heating?