Wood burning stoves>

Mrs_pbradley936

Wood burning stoves are very good for heating.

If you use newly cut wood on an open fire it will spit everywhere and burn any carpet, cat or dog in front of it.

Get an Aga if you can afford one.

OverlandLandy

Just an update: I was looking for a woodburning stove - just to heat the living area of the house.

I have made enquires ref the 'pellet stoves' - The principal looks good in theory as you can get a grant of around £600 (stove) or £1500 (stove & boiler) in England & Wales via the following http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home/ In Scotland you can get back 30% of cost up to £4k http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/generating/types/biomass/

The grants sound good but the cost of stoves etc...are quite high: as a benchmark only:

STOVES:
Eco Prezionsa (stove) 5.1Kw @ £1600 + Vat
Ecofire Freddy Air (stove) 11.8Kw @ £3000 + Vat
Eco Lucrezia Idro (stove & Boiler) @ £3050 + Vat

FITTING:
Flue needs to be done - around £700 + Vat
Installation around £500 + Vat for a stove up to £2000 +Vat for a stove/Boiler combo. (but this EXCLUDES the cost of radiators etc.... another £1500 + vat perhaps for the plumber)
If you need an accumulator tank thats around another £1000

SITE SURVEY:
can be anywhere between £35-£400 depending on location etc.... this would be refunded if you bought a stove. A survey will be needed if you want to apply for a grant.

FUEL COSTS:
Costs of 'Pellet' are around £250-£280 per Tonne (aprox)
These generally come on a pallet comprised of £15kg bags.
The fuel MUST be kept dry.

RUNNING COSTS:
as ever this depends on how hot & for how long you run the stove but as a rough guide:
one 15Kg bag will power a stove for around 20-24hours (depending on the heat required)
This works out as (very aprox) £4.24 per 24hours
There is NO rebate or grant for the fuel.

STUFF:
the stoves are quite efficient. The require electricity (to control the fuel hopper and temperature controls).
You need to empty the ash every 1-3 months (depending on use)
For a grant you need to buy a 'grant approved stove' and use an approved installer.
The Pellets are mostly (but not always) manufactured in Europe and imported to the UK (which raises a few questions about how good it really all is for the enviroment?)
In Scotland you need to apply for a Building warrent
In Engalnd and Wales - the installer should be 'HETAS' registered.
If you are in a 'smoke control Area' you may need to apply to your local building control officer for an exemption from the clean air act!
You are not guaranteed to get a grant!


I have spent a bit of time researching this and my own personal conclusion is that these stoves are OK but I question some of the background Enviromental issues.
The most efficient stove still appears to be a dedicated Wood Burning stove (as opposed to a multifuel stove).
The most cost effective still appears to be a Wood Burner - even having to buy wood (locally of course). You can always make your own 'logs' as well from all your old newspapers & Junk mail (a good use I think!).

I hope this helps anyone looking at the options.

As I say all prices are approximate.... and I guess prices will decrease as the number of users increases.

FirstClassMale

That's what I would expect with grants. I looked into them for wind power and by the time I jumped through all the beurocratic hoops, it was going to cost more than if I hadn't bothered applying.

Ken68

It seems to me that grant assisted purchases just increase the price of the product. The supplier see you are getting a grant and ups the price. The same goes on with insurance claims in other fields like car repair and house repairs.
A small dedicated woodburner to assist gas central heating is the way I would go. Free off Freecycle, or cheap from the classified. Always seem to see loadsa free wood about.

Dave2012_2

OverlandLandy wrote:

FUEL COSTS:
Costs of 'Pellet' are around £250-£280 per Tonne (aprox)
These generally come on a pallet comprised of £15kg bags.
The fuel MUST be kept dry.

RUNNING COSTS:
as ever this depends on how hot & for how long you run the stove but as a rough guide:
one 15Kg bag will power a stove for around 20-24hours (depending on the heat required)
This works out as (very aprox) £4.24 per 24hours
There is NO rebate or grant for the fuel.

Just to add to this and answer my own question above, most saw mills, woodyards and quite a few DIY places actually compact these wood pellets themselves to reduce the amount of space taken up by the waste sawdust they produce and they're only too happy to give them away for free - I've heard that some Homebase stores do this, but a local saw mill (Great Bar Saw Mills if ur in the locality of Brum) gave us as much as we could fit in our car - just pulled up, asked nicely and we were away! There's no way now that I would ever pay for these! So it's worth asking around.

Dave

countryman_2

[

I]I'm looking at a woodburning stove. Can someone tell me why you need to line the Chimney?

Thanks

I have had a woodburning stove for some time now, my chimney (1963 bungalow) is unlined, no problems. I'm not too keen on any sort of metal flue liners if you can avoid them (i.e your chimney is in good condition) as they unfortunately can act as a lightening conducter (attracter) :eek:

bealine

See what Pealy has written above. I also have a Clearview 400 and it's the best thing we ever did regarding heating. The house is a lot warmer and the C/Heating gas bills are a lot lower. I wish I had put it in years ago. Lee:j

red8

Considering purchasing a Broseley wood burning bolier cooker from the classifieds. This is all new too me so I've lots of questions: Is it a practical option to use as the family oven and cooker? we live in a smokeless area ao does that rule it's use out totally? Is there a grant for this in Northern Ireland? is it a nightmare to install, a flue would have to be created for it?
this all sounds so negative but I love the idea of it, eco homely and maybe even save a bit of money on heating oil.

Igol

Do a search in the forums for 'wood burners' and you'll find loads of threads about them. If you dont have a chimney already your looking at big bucks and if you want to use it as a cooker you need to be looking at things like agas rather than woodburning stoves.

twiglet98

We have a Rayburn Rembrandt, it was already here when I moved in. It's really too tall for the fireplace and the top is only a few mm from the oak bressemer (sp?), all the concrete lining has broken off, and the grate has a big hole in it. It is used for an evening open log fire 4-5 times a week through winter. I'd like to get a woodburner with doors instead. The chimney hasn't been swept for about 10 years, it didn't draw well last winter and my neighbour thinks pigeons have been in the chimney. I need to get it swept anyway, but would a local sweep be the right person to ask about the flue liner or are there specialists? The house is a 1920s concrete semi but next door don't have fireplaces.