multifuel wood burner

bobthedambuilder

Further to my previous post, I'd agree with Mr_Mike about trying with the door slightly ajar to start with - that should get the chimney / flue drawing and once the kindling's alight you can leave it to the built-in vents to supply the air.

Unfortunately this doesn't always work for me as the first smoke sometimes billows out through the door before the chimney starts drawing the smoke up. Cue the smoke monitor alarms!

I guess all stoves and installations have their own idiosyncrasies, and it'll be a case of trial and error until you find your optimum solution.

pinkmami

We have a Charnwood County 8 Multifuel stove & its taken us a fair bit of time to get to know it. I pack plenty of scrunched up newspaper into it, cut a block of firelighter in half & place int eh paper, plenty of kindling criss-crossed & light it paper. Close the front vents but leave the airwash open, and we leave the door ajar. Once is going I pack about 4-5 logs onto it. I don't like my logs to be really big so I chop them down (yes, I chop them not DH!) Then I shut the doors & open the vents & let it rip!!! I have been told that wood burns better with a draught from the sides rather than from below. Coal needs is from underneath. This method works for us but we are yet to burn coal.

When we 1st played about with it it burned too fast....and we struggled till DH played about & moved the ridding grate to a closed position as it was on open - ready for burning coal. The shut position is for bruning logs & is closed to prevent the draugh from below. Since this has been closed we have great fires!!

check your riddling position.

Mojisola

chelleybelley - have you had any more success with the stove?

We've got a Clearview Pioneer Oven and it's a dream to light and control.

Pixelie

Hi We have a Vesta V6. Fantastic stove! Very modern and contemporary.
We have never had a problem with lighting it or keeping it lit. My husband actually installed it as this is his trade. Your problem can be easily diagnosed and normally a flue draught gauge would be used by the installation engineer to check the flue draught pressure and rule out any chimney issue.

Questions:
Is the stove installed from the rear or the top port? If its rear flued then this can cause a choke in the system that slows down and cools the flue gasses casuing problems with keeping the stove alight. Are the any other twists or turns in the flue pipe?

Is the stove installed on a class 1 chimney or a prefabricated stainless steel twin wall flue system? If its a twin wall system; does the flue terminate above the ridge of the house. are there any other overhanging trees or tall buildings close by as you may have a downdraught issue. This can only be overcome by lenthening the chimney ie making it taller. If the stove is installed in a brick chimney then you may need a liner to create the necessary velocity of flue gasses as a large brick chimney can often casue this issue.

Are you getting black glass? Maybe your logs are very wet? Dont take it for granted if your log supplier says they are dry. If the stove works well on just kindling or a broken up pallet then its likely that you wood is too wet to burn and all the energy from the fire is being sucked up in boiling off the moisture from the logs. You can buy a moisture meter but they are not that reliable so your best just getting used to the feel of the fuel and making an assesment your self. Make sure you season your fuel for at least 18 months prior to burning.

If the register plate is not sealed to the stove and chimney correctly you will get leakage causing the flue gasses to cool and therefore slowing down the draw in your fire.

All the problems above can easily be overcome and I am sure that your particular issue can be resolved. Please let us know how you get on.

chelleybelley

hi guys thanks for everyones replies it appears our problem has been merely trial and error as we can now get a long good burn for about 4 or so hours with maybe a poke here n there, we are finding though that the fire isnt "chucking" out heat like we had hoped it was going to (it does if we open the door but its not really heating up the room its a small living room approx 14 by 11 ft and we have a (i think) 7kw stove in there which we know for the size of the room it should be a few kw less but our house is really cold (even though it has newish cavity wall insulation) especially in the living room.
we are having a chimney cowl fitted on friday as we live on a bit of a hill (not sure if this will make a difference with the heat) any ideas on why the stove isnt throwing the heat out??
all our wood is good,non damp and been seasoned for a good year so its not that, but we are wondering why even when its roaring and been going for a couple of hours it barely raises the room temperature by 2/3 degrees ..... any suggestions on what to check or ask the chimney man on friday???

Mojisola

Have you had the fitter back and see if he can get it working properly. A good stove, well-fitted, should not be so difficult to manage.

Lotus-eater

chelleybelley wrote: »

hi guys thanks for everyones replies it appears our problem has been merely trial and error as we can now get a long good burn for about 4 or so hours with maybe a poke here n there, we are finding though that the fire isnt "chucking" out heat like we had hoped it was going to (it does if we open the door but its not really heating up the room its a small living room approx 14 by 11 ft and we have a (i think) 7kw stove in there which we know for the size of the room it should be a few kw less but our house is really cold (even though it has newish cavity wall insulation) especially in the living room.
we are having a chimney cowl fitted on friday as we live on a bit of a hill (not sure if this will make a difference with the heat) any ideas on why the stove isnt throwing the heat out??
all our wood is good,non damp and been seasoned for a good year so its not that, but we are wondering why even when its roaring and been going for a couple of hours it barely raises the room temperature by 2/3 degrees ..... any suggestions on what to check or ask the chimney man on friday???

Have you tried measuring the wood with a moisture meter and have you fitted a thermometer to tell you the temp you are running the stove at?

chelleybelley

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Have you tried measuring the wood with a moisture meter and have you fitted a thermometer to tell you the temp you are running the stove at?

no to both the above but will look at investing in them now and yes guys back on friday so will ask