multifuel stove

welda

brickie58 wrote: »

thanks to everyone who answered some good info here, another query perhaps for the technically minded, i have had some negative answers re stoves about running costs but i have read somewhere that an open fire is only 30% efficient ie 70% of heating is going up the chimney, so as a stove is rated around 70% efficient only 30% waste heat surely then i am going to get more value for my money fuel wise,ta

Figures you quote are about correct. Easy to comprehend when you think about an open fire with good heat blasting up the lum.

Where as with a stove, whether set into fire place, or sitting out, you have a closure plate stopping a good proportion of the heat going up the lum, there are many stoves where design alone improves efficiecy, although these are high value stoves. All in all, you have a steel or cast iron box soaking up the heat, then throwing this heat into room/s, with a small % of heat lost and forced up the flu, lost to outside.

Once you have purchased, I think it fair to say, you wont look back, there are useful gadgets out there to take heat from stove and throw it further around house, eco-fan is one example, basically pushes heat around to where I want it quicker.

As others have mentioned, owning and running stoves can be expensive, obviously if you have access to free wood, all the better, then you can add on chainsaw which includes chain oil, and fuel. One step on from this, log splitting maul, or in my case and, because of a knacked shoulder, I made a petrol driven log splitter, although you can source them cheap on the net at around £200 min. Oh, I forgot to add about time taken sourcing, cutting, splitting, do you have lots of storage space?

:beer:

brickie58

again good info, i am leaning towards the aga little wenlock at the moment anybody got one?,good reviews ta

Jolaaled

I had a Charnwood Country 4 multifuel installed in the autumn and have been absolutely delighted with it's performance.
,,,so easy to light, keeps in overnight no problem, draws beautifully, easy to empty the ash can and glass stays clean.

But, obviously, have nothing to compare it with ..it's my first stove!

HTH

A._Badger

I'm not a great Aga fan, I'm afraid. I had one of the earlier Little Wenlocks (when they were still made in the UK) and though it was quaint, it was a bit primitive. Worse was that Aga's service was terrible . I gather the latest version of the LW has been updated, but it's no longer made in the UK and I see no reason to believe Aga's customer service is any better than it was.

My personal opinion is that you could find a better stove for your money.

In terms of running costs, whatever the figures might suggest, running a stove is not cheap. Smokeless fuel has shot up in price in recent years, as has the cost of logs. If you have the option, and economical heat is what you're after, mains gas is far and away a cheaper means of heating a house.

On the other hand, if you have access to cheap fuel or simply prefer the look and feel of a real fire, then nothing can replace one. I love mine and wouldn't be without it, but I know that it's not a cheap way of heating my house - whatever the lifestyle supplements in the glossy mags and Sunday newspapers try to suggest!

One thing I would suggest is to check your calculations about the size of stove you need. Twice now I've been advised to buy a smaller stove than it turned out I needed (fortunately, I didn't take any notice the second time).

The figures quoted are only a rule of thumb and properties vary enormously. A stove that will comfortably heat a well insulated modern building could be hopelessly inadequate for a draughty old farmhouse.

The trick is to get it just right, so that whatever stove you buy is being run hard - slumbering is bad for your chimney/liner. Too big a stove and it won't be driven hard enough. Too small and you'll regret it when the nights are cold.

Hope that's some help.

grahamc2003

brickie58 wrote: »

again good info, i am leaning towards the aga little wenlock at the moment anybody got one?,good reviews ta

I have one, I fitted it myself about 3 years ago. I'd say it's excellent, and certainly has no quirks. It's the only stove I've had, so difficult for me to compare to others.

I bought it after looking into various stove for several weeks, and settled on an Aga because we already had an aga cooker, so had 100% confidence in the engineering and design. It was more expensive than the competition, but the cost of the stove is pretty immaterial to the overall cost for a professional installation - my view is it's silly to save £100 on a stove when the total costs are around 3 or £4k (£4k was the total quote for a similar stove in my case).

The only problem was the air control wheel, which was a 'butt up' wheel, which didn't completely cut of the air supply (in retrospect, I'm not sure it should do!). Anyhow, I rang the suppliers (stovesonline iirc) and they quickly sent foc a different design knob (silver coloured, probably from another aga model) which has an overlap and really does shut off the air completely.

All in all, I'm 100% happy, but have no experience of other stoves.

crphillips

For around £480 you could have a Charnwood Country 4 wood burner or for around £550 for the multi fuel. Most importantly it features preheated air wash for keeping your glass clean. None of the others mentioned do.

A far superior stove than any mentioned above of top notch quality with Charnwood being in a different league to most out there.

Don't even need to spend more than your budget!

pinkmami

We have a Charnwood Country 8 & we love it. Granted we don't live at the property its located at (building site I'm afraid) we love going up to make a fire! Takes some practice! I have a monster of a void to heat up before the heat fills out to the living room which again is about 20ft long/12ft wide. We'll also have gas CH in the room. But my main point of buying it wasn't to heat the room up but the fireplace screamed for a stove as its an original inglenook. If I wanted to use it to primarily heat the whole room I'd have gone for a 12+kw stove. But I don't know how warm the room gets as we have no internal doors to keep the heat in!

But we love going up & practicing & watching the flames dance around! The stove is easy to use & clean. I guess everyone has their own way of making a fire & getting it going & I'm currently fiding my own way!

Got excellent advice off here & my HETAS registered fitter.

whitevanwoman

brickie58 wrote: »

again good info, i am leaning towards the aga little wenlock at the moment anybody got one?,good reviews ta

I've had a Highlander 5 in my kitchen for 6 yrs, 5kw, so only small with a back boiler for hot water which takes 2kw heat, giving 3kw heat out to the room. Multifuel so I use scavenged wood as much as poss, but use coal for longer burning or when low on wood. It has been excellent, good controls for adjusting air flow for heat output, and when banked up with sawdust on top of hod of coal, I can get it to burn through night till morning. Definitely recommend.

I have been lucky enough to get a 2nd hand 4kw Coalbrookdale (same model as Little Wenlock) for my living room recently for £180 instead of shop price of around £600+. A real bargain. The burn space is smaller than the Highlander 5 so it needs filling more frequently and I don't think the air control is as good as the highlander so it burns through more quickly but it is a cracking little stove for the purpose of warming living room for few hours at night to watch tv etc. I got no central heating so rely on stoves for everything. Heat from stoves warms chimney breasts in bedrooms above so acting like radiators.

In kitchen, the Highlander is set into the fireplace (top opening flue) to give more space in the room whereas in living room the Coalbrookdale sits proud of the fireplace by about 1 foot (back opening flue) and I think this makes a difference to the amount of heat given out to the room, the living room seems to get warmer quicker than the kitchen but once going, the Highlander just churns out heat constantly in the background, whereas the Coalbrookdale burns out much quicker and needs more regular attention.

All in all, I'm pleased with the Coalbrookdale, especially in view of what I paid for it, but if I had to choose between the 2, the Highlander would win. I would rather pay full store price for a Highlander than full store price for a Little Wenlock, but the Little Wenlock is still a damn good stove if you can get it for a decent price.

You definitely get what you pay for with stoves - a traditional english manufacturer will give you a good quality stove which will last for years and years, and the replaceable parts are easy to get either direct through the manufacturer or often in stock in fireplace shops. However, you will pay more. But a quality stove could last 20 yrs +, whereas a cheaper quality thinner iron stove is more likely to burn out and need replacing within that time, plus I don't know how easy (and costly) it would be to get replacement parts.

As a guide, in the 6 yrs I've had my Highlander, I've replaced grate bars once (and will need to do so again soon), throat plate, glass (cracked but my fault for jamming wood in), rope seal, fire bricks. You can expect to replace all the above every 2 -3 yrs if like me, you use your stove daily all year round.

Also, if you burn wood, make sure it is dry and well seasoned to reduce build up in chimney. Premium quality coal, though more expensive, is worth it as it gives off better heat, burns longer, and gives less ash. Get chimney swept every 6 months if used daily to ensure that chimney draws well, and to reduce risk of chimney fire.

I can't manage without a good woodshed, hand axe, larger axe, petrol chainsaw, saw horse, and need a full day a month at least to dedicate to sawing and stacking wood which I've scrounged, wombled or had donated. A dry outside area is an advantage so that you got somewhere to do logs even in bad weather.

Once final thing - have you checked that your chimney is suitable for a stove? Most chimneys need to be lined with flue which is expensive - I was lucky, my chimneys are smallish so I haven't needed to but you need to get advice on this. Measure your chimney opening and if it is more than a foot wide, you will probably need to line it. Mine is a foot but is well sealed and I took a risk but it paid off for me and I've had no probs. And get chimney swept before installing.

Hope this helps, there is other good advice from OPs too on this thread. Good luck and enjoy the stove, and the added benefits of getting fit from all the lumberjacking :rotfl:

welda

crphillips wrote: »

Most importantly it features preheated air wash for keeping your glass clean. None of the others mentioned do.

One problem using these forums is the misleading information, I had two important criteria.

1) Stove dimension, Villager ticked my box.

2) Airwash. Villager spec included this. Works a treat too!

To OP, www.whatstove.co.uk is more depenible for various manufacturer's specifications.

:beer:

brickie58

thanks again, cant find review on the firewarm6? i seem to be going around in circles!! charnwood 4 is a bit under powered for my needs, any other stoves? keep em coming welda like the look of the villager duo with the double door as replacement glass is cheaper than single door are villager still made in britain?