Hunter multifuel burner problems - where am i going wrong?

katieq1

Hoping some-one can help us with our Hunter Herald 5 slimline stove. We had it installed in our holiday cottage approx 20 months ago.

We have never seem to have had a good output from it. We initially burnt wood and then swapped to coal to see if it was any better, but to be honest there is little difference. We've decided to stay with coal as it is easier to get and store than seasoned wood and adapted the stove according to the instructions.

Our problem now is that when we intially light it at any time the room fills with smoke from either the top vents or when we open the doors, this then and sets off all the electric fire/ carbon monoxide alarms!

The airwash system doesnt appear to work and the glass panels are black ( I have cleaned these every time we use it). The ash is removed each time, so there is no build up. We have used the secondary and the primary air controls to open and shut and again it appears to make little difference. There is also an approx 2mm gap at the top of the door, even though the doors are locked. I totally cleaned out the stove today and all appeared ok but on lighting the fire the same has happened.

Is it the fuel we are using (it's coal from the local supermarket)?
The coal isn't smokeless ( we don't live in a smokless zone) or possibly its all down to our inexperience.

The stove is probably used only approx 30 times per year. It was installed by a professional and chimney was lined etc.

We would aslo love to use it as an open fire and have paid £70 for the special guard for it, but at present we'd be smoked out of the cottage!

Any help would be greatly appreciated please?

Many thanks

A._Badger

It sounds to me (and I have a Hunter - though a larger one) either that it wasn't installed properly, or that your chimney, or the stove's internal passages, have become blocked. Previous use of coal could have blocked the flues and in a holiday home a blocked chimney is quite possible, as birds love to nest in unused ones.

So my first advice would be either to get back the people who installed it for you, or call in a local sweep and ask his advice. They need to check for a blockage and also to take a look at this mysterious gap you mention. The doors should fit tight, so that the airflow is from beneath (for coal) or above (for wood).

The other thing to do is stop using house coal. It's a shame, I know, because it is a lot cheaper and you get a good flame effect but it is far too sooty for stoves. I've tried using it in several over the years (against the manufacturers' instructions, of course!) and the only one that handled it at all well was a primitive Little Wenlock II - and even that got well and truly sooted-up in next to no time.

Try smokeless fuel. Something like Homebrite should be easily available and then look around for a local coal merchant who can supply you with an alternative like Maxibrite or Phurnacite.

Hope that helps. Please report back as it's always interesting to hear how these problems get resolved.

choille

Is you flue capped with a chimney hat?

Our stove pipe filled up with clinker at the bend - Heath Robinson affair for our caravan & filled the room with smoke when we lit it - the having no chimney granny on let the water in.
Try cleaning the flue.
If you burn wood you don't need the grate - you do for coal - or with some makes at least.
The rope around the door sounds like it needs replacing - very cheap to buy & do yourself. You get self adhesive asbestos rope from all stove shops - there should be no gap.

navig8r

Hi, a few things to try, first ,have you cleaned the firebrick baffle..failure can block the flue?
you need to adjust the door handle to apply more pressure on the door seals to get rid of that gap .the glass fibre seals should be fine after such a short period of use unless you have abused them.
The flue may be cold if not regularly used so light a few sheets of open newspaper so it flares up the chimney which warms it and gives some draw.
Try opening the window very slightly and if this increses draw you need an air brick although they are not a requirement for stoves 5kw or under.
If all of the above fail you may have a downdraught problem..look around properties that are close by to see if they have cowls fitted..on my house the only cowl that works is an "H" pot, any other will fill the house with smoke.

Dave

crphillips

It's a problem with draw.

If your stove has been working fine for a while and has suddenly stopped performing properly then its is probably down to a blocked flue.

If it's been like this from new then it's a bad install. Flue could be blocked, chimney damaged, incorrect terminal/cowl, incorrectly fitted (not sealed into chimney)

From your original post it sounds as though it's never been great......all your symptoms are due to poor draw from the flue.

How old is the chimney? Is it lined?........it could be a number of things causing the problem. At the end of the day it's the installers duty to make sure it work properly........if it hasn't from the wrod go then get him back and get him to sort it.

If it's an old flue it could be blocked with a nest, the flue could be damaged or leaking, it could have the wrong cowl..........I bet it hasn't been fitted with a stainless flexi liner?

katieq1

UPDATE:
Many thanks for your replies. We recently got the installer back and he swept the chimney which solved the smoking problems - £40 ( we thought that as we hadn't used it very often it didn't need sweeping!). Amazingly he said the gap that had appeared at the top of the doors was down to some-one having replaced the glass in the right door and had put it in upside down!! We rent the cottage occasionally so some-one must have broken the glass, replaced it and hoped we'd have never found out!

Hope the update is sueful to some-one else too.

A._Badger

Thanks for the update - it's good to know you solved the issue and very helpful to others to see what can go wrong.

I would just add that Hunter don't recommend the use of non-smokeless coal (and nor do several other stove manufacturers) as it can very rapidly cause a build-up of soot both inside the narrow liner and the stove itself.