What to look for in a Wood / Multifuel Burner?

Danny_Lee

Hiya guys

long time lurker here just thought id post up as im looking for some pointers regarding wood stoves

Im looking for a multifuel stove prob around 5kw as anything more will result in tropical temps in my little room, no thanks

what im wondering is what should i be looking for when shopping around?

I intend to to try and view any potential purchases in the flesh where possible, but when you walk into a showroom 100 + black boxes is nice and everything, but what points should i be looking for?

bassically, what im asking folks is, if you your self are shopping for one, what would you be looking for in a stove?

Thanks in advice guys and gals

cannyClaire

Are you in a smoke control area?

If so you will have to have an exempt appliance. Look here for info.

That'll cut your search down a bit for starters

PennyForThem_2

I would spend just a little bit extra on a multifuel stove - if in a smoke control area it will have to be approved. But it will give you more choice for fuel.

Also where are you going to put it in the room? Is it going to be in an existing chimney place or is it going to be out on its own?

Stoves are messy - they need ash cleaning out and chimney swept. Where and how do you get at the ash tray - is it easy to remove? If installing where outside wall would you want outside access for a chimney sweep to sweep chimney?

How are you going to store wood/fuel? Where in the room?

I have a Morso squirrel which is 4Kw (approx). I love it and wouldn't be without it for the world - it replaced an open and used fireplace.

But it does make dust and it is secondary heating source - though I certainly don't need radiators on in the room I have it heating and if I leave the door open it heats the hall too.

Just to give you an idea of wood consumption: I bought 2cum of seasoned hardwood in Oct 2009 and used the stove from about Nov through to March/April at weekends and Friday nights from about 17.00 - 20.00 when last log went on (don't stay up late) and it was in use fully over Christmas. The wood cost me £220 odd delivered.

I have a little left over. But note that if the stove was in all day then I would have used a lot more wood.

A._Badger

In addition to what others have said, and specifically about the stoves themselves, I'd say be particularly wary of stove salesemen. I've bought several stoves over the years and on each occasion found sifting sales bull from factual information a serious task.

Clearly, retailers make more money from selling higher priced stoves, so they have a vested interest in talking a sale up - that much you expect. What I found, however, was that more than a few I've consulted have been willing to tell outright lies to achieve that. 'Don't buy Brand X they fall to bits', 'Don't buy Brand Z, they're all made in India' 'Oh, don't buy one of those! We stopped selling them, they were so unreliable!'

If the stories were consistent it would be one thing, but they aren't and they are often blatantly untruthful, I've found.

Fortunately we now have the Interweb where people can ask those who actually own and live with different stoves.

Going on from that, I'd also say watch out for the cast iron Euro-snobs. There are some fantastic stoves made in Scandinavia and other countries but a cast iron stove is not automatically better than a well-made steel stove and the best British ones are often more advanced and offer greater efficiency than some of the traditionally made European stoves.

Ask around, decide what you like the look of. Do your homework in depth and don't be gulled by self-proclaimed 'experts' .

Contrary to what you may be told, a stove does not have to be installed by one of the HETAS cabal, but it does need to be installed to Building Regulations standards so if you don't use a HETAS registered installer, you will need to get the local council to approve the installation.

Again, there are good and bad installers - ask around. Sweeps are often a good bet and some are HETAS registered, so become very useful people to have on your side. Again, in my experience, sweeps tend to know a lot more about chimneys than most.

Hope that helps. Please ask again with any specific questions.

chimney_kev

Danny_Lee wrote: »

Hiya guys

long time lurker here just thought id post up as im looking for some pointers regarding wood stoves

Im looking for a multifuel stove prob around 5kw as anything more will result in tropical temps in my little room, no thanks

what im wondering is what should i be looking for when shopping around?

I intend to to try and view any potential purchases in the flesh where possible, but when you walk into a showroom 100 + black boxes is nice and everything, but what points should i be looking for?

bassically, what im asking folks is, if you your self are shopping for one, what would you be looking for in a stove?

Thanks in advice guys and gals

Hi
Ive found that probably the best little burner in the low price range is the fire fox 5 they give off plenty of heat looke nice and are well made.
We fit burners for a living and between £300 and £700 they all seem to be about the same.
Ceers Kev

crphillips

I'd agree that the Firefox is one of the best budget stoves there is although for a couple of hundred quid more you could buy a Dunsley Highlander 5 which is one of the best stoves for the best price i've seen. The Firefox looks like a toy next to it.

Don't worry much about the mess and the sweeping....if it's installed by a fitter who takes this into consideration then it will not be messy to sweep. I've just swept a stove today that we installed 2 years ago and you wouldn't know it had been used by how clean the hearth and surrounding area was and after sweeping (around 15-20 mins) it was still spotless. The client had had heavy use out of it too with the bad winter as the flue was full of fine soot.

I'd really recommend going with a known brand of average price.....no need to spend a thousand pounds to get a good stove.

Look at thing such as the thickness of material used in building the stove....most decent stoves will use 10mm steel for the top and bottom of the stove and around 5mm for the stove body. If you can carry the stove in under one arm then avoid it. Check for things like door handles, check they have a nice action, quality feel and create a sound seal when closed. Operate air sliders/spinners and check they feel quality and seal nicely. Avoid the type used on Hunter/Villager stoves where when you unscrew the handle the air slider falls away from the door causing it not to seal properly when closed. Look for good airwash systems....pre heated airwash is best.......you only get this with brands like Charnwood, Clearview, Woodwarm.....etc. You don't get this feature on Esse, Franco Belge, Dunsley, Hunter, Villager, Firefox....etc and it makes a huge difference to how clean the glass stays. Check how easily the internals can be removed. This makes a big difference when sweeping the flue or replacing parts. Cheap chinese stoves are a nightmare to strip down....especially after they've been fired for a year or so and everything has warped and twisted.
A riddling grate is always handy........height adjustable feet are great.......there's loads of stuff to look out for but i suppose i'm looking from a fitters point of view rather than the end consumer.

It saddens me when i see a comment saying that a £300 stove seems about the same as a £700 stove. A Dunsley Highlander 5, Franco Belge Montfort, Morso Squirrel cannot be compared to a Firefox or Tiger or similar budget chinese stove as they're a million miles apart and anyone with the slightest ability to appreciate a nicely made thing when they see it would agree. Companies like Dunsley, Clearview, Charnwood, Jotul........etc deserve some credit for their products as they're very well made. If i were Morso or Dunsley i'd be gutted to read that someone thought a Firefox was about the same quality as what i were producing.

If your heading in the direction of a 5kW stove i think you'll struggle to beat the Morso Squirrel and despite the constant comments about fitters swaying you to one brand of stove over another, we do not sell Morso's as we cannot get a dealership as there is an outfit close to us that has the dealership for Morso so i have absolutely nothing to gain from telling you to buy a Morso. It's my 5kW stove of choice. All companies involved in sales will try to sell you the brands they have dealerships for over one they don't.......it makes financial sense and it's how different brands survive......There are some other companies that will sell you a cheap peice of rubbish just to make a quick buck. These are the ones that are the problem.

Hope that helps.

Danny_Lee

crphillips wrote: »

I'd agree that the Firefox is one of the best budget stoves there is although for a couple of hundred quid more you could buy a Dunsley Highlander 5 which is one of the best stoves for the best price i've seen. The Firefox looks like a toy next to it.

Don't worry much about the mess and the sweeping....if it's installed by a fitter who takes this into consideration then it will not be messy to sweep. I've just swept a stove today that we installed 2 years ago and you wouldn't know it had been used by how clean the hearth and surrounding area was and after sweeping (around 15-20 mins) it was still spotless. The client had had heavy use out of it too with the bad winter as the flue was full of fine soot.

I'd really recommend going with a known brand of average price.....no need to spend a thousand pounds to get a good stove.

Look at thing such as the thickness of material used in building the stove....most decent stoves will use 10mm steel for the top and bottom of the stove and around 5mm for the stove body. If you can carry the stove in under one arm then avoid it. Check for things like door handles, check they have a nice action, quality feel and create a sound seal when closed. Operate air sliders/spinners and check they feel quality and seal nicely. Avoid the type used on Hunter/Villager stoves where when you unscrew the handle the air slider falls away from the door causing it not to seal properly when closed. Look for good airwash systems....pre heated airwash is best.......you only get this with brands like Charnwood, Clearview, Woodwarm.....etc. You don't get this feature on Esse, Franco Belge, Dunsley, Hunter, Villager, Firefox....etc and it makes a huge difference to how clean the glass stays. Check how easily the internals can be removed. This makes a big difference when sweeping the flue or replacing parts. Cheap chinese stoves are a nightmare to strip down....especially after they've been fired for a year or so and everything has warped and twisted.
A riddling grate is always handy........height adjustable feet are great.......there's loads of stuff to look out for but i suppose i'm looking from a fitters point of view rather than the end consumer.

It saddens me when i see a comment saying that a £300 stove seems about the same as a £700 stove. A Dunsley Highlander 5, Franco Belge Montfort, Morso Squirrel cannot be compared to a Firefox or Tiger or similar budget chinese stove as they're a million miles apart and anyone with the slightest ability to appreciate a nicely made thing when they see it would agree. Companies like Dunsley, Clearview, Charnwood, Jotul........etc deserve some credit for their products as they're very well made. If i were Morso or Dunsley i'd be gutted to read that someone thought a Firefox was about the same quality as what i were producing.

If your heading in the direction of a 5kW stove i think you'll struggle to beat the Morso Squirrel and despite the constant comments about fitters swaying you to one brand of stove over another, we do not sell Morso's as we cannot get a dealership as there is an outfit close to us that has the dealership for Morso so i have absolutely nothing to gain from telling you to buy a Morso. It's my 5kW stove of choice. All companies involved in sales will try to sell you the brands they have dealerships for over one they don't.......it makes financial sense and it's how different brands survive......There are some other companies that will sell you a cheap peice of rubbish just to make a quick buck. These are the ones that are the problem.

Hope that helps.

thanks for such a helpful and honest post

soursweet

I onw a clearview stove and a Jotul F100 both top products but the Jotul ticks all the bowes for me. Like for like the Jotul is solid cast iron and is much better quality than the steel clearview.
Clearview use something called scamalux (spelling?) to line the inside of the stove and it breaks down every 3 years and cost £60 to replace - the Jotul is all constructed in cast iron.
Clearviews airwash is good I have to give it that - but it uses lots more wood ! Considering the both have nominal heat out put of 5.5 I can honestly say that the Jotul wins hands down. The following may be helpful for the future :
Steps to maximum wood burning efficiency


Burn seasoned wood as this burns hotter and more efficiently; it helps decrease the amount of creosote build up in your stove-pipe and saves you money.

Make your fires small and hot. This burns volatile gases more quickly, producing fewer safety hazards and air quality problems than a fire that is over-damped. Smaller, hotter fires mean more frequent loading and tending the stove. Install a stove thermometer on the stove flue. This will help you monitor the temperature of the gases as they leave the stove. Optimum range for most efficiency and least pollution: about 300 to 400°F.

Remove excess ashes. Too much can clog your stove’s air-intake vents and cut down on the amount of oxygen needed for wood-burning.

Check your chimney stack. Burn your stove at different rates then go outside and check the emissions. The absence of smoke indicates that your stove is burning cleanly and effectively.

Inspect your stove. Once or twice a year, depending on how often it is used, your entire stove and chimney should be swept and inspected. Look for warping, check the baffle to make sure there are no gaps and check for creosote.

Choose the proper size stove. A properly sized wood stove will do its job efficiently even on the coldest days. Wood stoves that are too big need to be damped down, which increases creosote production.

Buy the most efficient design you can afford. It will pay for itself in the long run.

Burn only the fuel your stove was designed for. For example, do not burn coal in a wood stove unless your stove was designed to handle both wood and coal. Rubbish should not be burned in your stove either. As well as increasing the chance of starting a chimney fire, some plastics and other rubbish emit harmful gases.

i_hate_the_csa

A very interesting thread.I'm Looking at the mo also.

I am leaning towards the Dovre Astroline 3cb. Looks good but a touch dear maybe? Has anybody got one/heard reports about them? Other option was the Firebelly Firepod.Been told they are over rated. What do you folks think?

Thanks for any help.

Polly

Delighted to have found this thread as we are trying to decide which stove to purchase. We need a stove that will run up to 12 radiators and are considering the Olymberyl 21KW (£800 + VAT) or the Charnwood 15B Country (£1425 inc VAT). I'd really appreciate feedback on these two stoves and also how competitive these prices are - we're in Northern Ireland but are quite happy to buy online if there are significant savings to be made. We really want to buy a good one and don't mind paying the higher price but want it to be money well spent.

w50nky

Lots of information on this forum.

I found http://www.whatstove.co.uk/ useful for assisting filtering stoves out when I was searching for my stove. But many other reviews out there too.

Good luck.