Wood burning stoves>

Emielou

crphilips, thanks for responding - the first time few times it burnt very slowly (more of a glow than a flame) and it took about 3 hours to burn away. This morning we got a better load of flames going (more paper and kindling and smaller pieces of wood) and the wood had pretty much burnt away after the hour. It's kiln dried oak, so maybe it just burns slowly. I'm confused because I thought that the big flames would go on for longer but only seems to be when there is paper and kindling.

A._Badger

crphillips wrote: »

The solid fuel trade isn't controlled by a single company though. There are other competent person schemes that you can register with for solid fuel. Also you can install them yourself and get building control to sign them off. It's hardly a closed market. Most trades need to be governed by someone with authority otherwise we'd be back to where we were 200 years ago with a lot of bodgy jobs and nobody to answer for them.

Most trades are goverened by law. It works quite well. As for HETAS, yes, you can DIY and get it signed-off, but that isn't an option for most. Most have to put up with whatever HETAS decides is a sensible regulation. Whether it is or is not.

crphillips wrote: »

I don't see the harm with tradesman making money....afterall thats what we do it for. If we came out with £50 a day then we may as well work at Tesco and do away with all the stress and responsability. If you actually tot up the costs of lining a chimney and installing a stove yourself you can't do it much cheaper than a HETAS fitter.

Straw man. I don't object to people making money, I object to organisations being handed near-monopolies by the government.

crphillips wrote: »

It's fair enough for you to have your own opinion and disagree as a user but my experience and knowledge is first hand not passed down from 'a guy' who works for 'someone'. Also Hethmar seems to share the same views and her hubby is an installer.

It hardly surprises me that you and Hethmar agree. But your're making a rash assumption about my installer. It's his own business and he has an excellent reputation.

crphillips wrote: »

The only time we have problems with stoves is due to wet wood or oversized stoves and no matter how big your inglenook a 12kW stove for a room that needs 4.5kW is too big.....simplz.

Unless my memory fails me, you were the one advising a poster on the size of stove she required for a room you have never seen. I suggested she got several estimates from installers who had actually visited the site and that she takes into account the size of the inglenook she has. You disagree about that last part, which is fair enough - but please don't suggest I was trying to advise her what size stove she should buy.

Emielou

Am I supposed to put another log in when the initial flames have died down and the wood is just glowing? And am I likely to need to add more paper each time (esp as it's oak)?

A._Badger

Emilou - oak could be your problem. I have some well aged oak this year (I know, because I know where it came from) and I find it only burns really well on top of other types of wood. It varies from stove to stove, but you might get better results from mixing it with other types of dry wood.

Emielou

A. Badger - thank you very much. I will order some more wood then.

crphillips

I wasn't questioning your fitters talents at installing fires, he may be great or he may be bad. I was simply following your lead and making comments in a patronizing and assumptious way as you have in all of you previous posts regarding the subject. I assume poeple will read the thread though and choose advice from an installer than someone who knows an installer.

My whole point has been taken out of context......the lady has had an installer out and she is looking at a Herald 14 or Country 12..........i then said they would be far too big for a room that is only around 7m x 3.5m. You didn't suggest getting several quote done you suggested she take the advice of an installer who's visited.......well this is what she's done and they've come up with two stoves that are 3 or 4 times too big for the room.

You say at least they will be held responsible if they're calcs are wrong......i'd rather the lady get it right the first time than have to go through the hassle of calling the fitter back and pulling out the stove and installing a smaller one. and having the whole experience of having a stove fitted turn into a big pain in the a$$.

Unless the celing is made of glass or is 6m tall there is no way in the world that room will ever need a Herald 14 or Country 12. 8kW is ample no matter what fireplace she has.

My room is bigger than that and it's easily heated with a 5kW stove!

navig8r

Oak is more of a smoulderer than a flamer type of wood. Bear in mind that the stove you have kicks out 12 Kw so can be burning 4Kgs or more of wood per hour.
g8r

crphillips

Either split the oak down into smaller pieces to get it to burn nice or ditch it and get some other type of hard wood to burn. Ash, birch, beach burn nice.

A._Badger

crphillips wrote: »

I wasn't questioning your fitters talents at installing fires, he may be great or he may be bad. I was simply following your lead and making comments in a patronizing and assumptious way as you have in all of you previous posts regarding the subject. I assume poeple will read the thread though and choose advice from an installer than someone who knows an installer.

'Knows an installer' is very far from what I said - though it was a nice try to impugn someone else's source of information.

I'm writing as a satisfied customer (twice over as it happens - he's carried out two installations for me). Even so, I advised her to get reliable advice.

crphillips wrote: »

My whole point has been taken out of context......the lady has had an installer out and she is looking at a Herald 14 or Country 12..........i then said they would be far too big for a room that is only around 7m x 3.5m. You didn't suggest getting several quote done you suggested she take the advice of an installer who's visited.......well this is what she's done and they've come up with two stoves that are 3 or 4 times too big for the room.

Here, accurately, is what I posted: "Another word of caution (born of bitter experience, this!) don't automatically assume heating companies get their sums right. Every house is individual and the formula that works fine for a modern, insulated house may not work so well for a draughty cottage. Get several opinions, at least one from someone who has experience with your kind of installation. "

And then: "Take the advice of an installer who has seen your home and can be held to account if he gets his sums wrong - not someone working from a chart who has no idea what your room is really like. As I've said before, inglenooks can gobble-up heat (I have an even larger one than yours) so take reliable advice before you buy."

I'm not sure 'reliable advice' is quite covered by anonymous internet sources. Or was that the point you were trying to make, too?

crphillips

It just seems like you try to overule any comments that anyone else has....this is what you actually said immediately after i made my suggestions on room size and stove size.

A._Badger wrote: »

Take the advice of an installer who has seen your home and can be held to account if he gets his sums wrong - not someone working from a chart who has no idea what your room is really like. As I've said before, inglenooks can gobble-up heat (I have an even larger one than yours) so take reliable advice before you buy.

Considering someone had been to the house and suggested the wrong size stove (considerably wrong) i thought my information useful to the lady but then to have it disregarded by someone not even in the trade a bit rediculous. I have nothing to gain from advising a smaller stove.....it was simply to help the lady who posted.