Woodburning stove recommendations - makes/models

suisidevw

Hi all,

My brother is just completely renovating his house and is keen to put in a stove. He has a supply of free/cheap wood.

It's a 1930's 3 bed semi detached house with 2 reception rooms and a kitchen/bathroom downstairs.

Can you please recommend the best makes for him to be looking at for this? I'm pretty sure I'm right in saying that the 915 grade liner should be used too?

He seems keen on a stove of a similar appearance of the below and he/his wife would like a cream one.

Any thoughts, opinions, links, recommendations of what would be good would be much appreciated. Presumerably the kw is OK too...?
Thanks,

http://www.thegreenercompany.com/7kw-wood-burning-stoves-log-burners/891-creamwhiteivory-enamel-carron-stove.html

alleycat`

I can't recommend a stove as i don't have one at the moment.
Mostly i'm going through the wheels of working out what i'd like.
The one thing that appears to be very important is to size it correctly.

Stoves that are too large (in KW terms) for the room will cause problems down the line.

You are much better off having a smaller stove working hard than an over size stove barely burbling along.

For example a room of about 10 foot by 18 foot (with a 10 foot high ceiling) only needs a rating of about 4.5KW

The above is assuming the room is well insulated, not full of giant windows and doesn't have something like an open staircase.

He/they will also need to check if they are in a smoke exemption area (defra website) as this will impact what make/model they can buy.

Also the usual HETAS stuff needs to be looked at with regards to fitting / commissioning.

The colour isn't really the primary reason for choosing a stove

Woody67

I would look at the Stovax stoves, we have a Stockton 4 which is more than capable of heating my living room and hallway. I would avoid the enamel finished stoves as they are prone to getting chipped!
http://www.stovax.com/stoves/traditionalstoves/wood__multi_fuel_stoves/stockton_stoves.aspx

hethmar

We install stoves and we have a Clearview for ourselves. Brilliant stove.

However, lots of decent stoves out there, Clearview, Woodwarm, Stovax, Dovre, Morso, Charnwood, Franco Belge - it really depends on his personal choice but please dont buy "blind" off the net or in a shop without seeing the stove working and having a play with it yourself. They can vary tremendously in performance/ease of use and once you have yours in you will never know if you are getting optimum performance from a stove if you havent seen a good few working first.

904 lining is what you are looking for

You can use this calculator for the size of room/stove output:
http://www.woodwarmstoves.co.uk/products/calculator.ashx


Read up on the HETAS website.

it'smeinit

Hi Just thought I would mention I'm in the proccess of having a multi fuel burning stove installed.

When I asked the HETAS Fitter what size flue I needed a 904 or a 306 I was told a 306 would be fine for my style of house which is a 1930's semi.

He said the 904 would only be needed if I was burning the fire 24hrs a day at full pelt or for industrial use?? I'm confused now:(

It seems to me the more I learn about log/multi fuel burners the more I realise I don't know...I was given so much conflicting advice from the suppliers I visited which didn't help.

welda

it'smeinit wrote: »

Hi Just thought I would mention I'm in the proccess of having a multi fuel burning stove installed.

When I asked the HETAS Fitter what size flue I needed a 904 or a 306 I was told a 306 would be fine for my style of house which is a 1930's semi.

He said the 904 would only be needed if I was burning the fire 24hrs a day at full pelt or for industrial use?? I'm confused now:(

It seems to me the more I learn about log/multi fuel burners the more I realise I don't know...I was given so much conflicting advice from the suppliers I visited which didn't help.

Type and style of house does not dictate flu spec required. 904L SS is a high alloy austenitic SS with a low cabon content, the grade is intended for use under severe corrosive conditions, which is the case with a MF burner, some of the exotic coals give of very corrosive gases.

I installed 316L outer- 904L inner liner, if I were to do it again, 904L all the way.

I,d give this HETAS guy the bump sounds like he needs to go back to Hetty school to re-sit material specifications!!!

Mojisola

We love our Clearview!

hethmar

There are basically 3 types of stainless steel flex liners. 316 - which is a lower grade and has a ten year warranty. We found that these would corrode fairly early at the top of the liner. The manufacturers then brought out 904 which is a purer grade and has a warranty for 25 years - whether they will last that long ..........we use an extra insert piece at the top of the stack to give a further sleeve of stainless steel. Its the top of the stack/liner that is most vulnerable. And we always use insulation material all the way up the chimney around the liner. Then there is, as welda says the mix of 316 and 904 which is not as good as the 904 inner and outer but is often passed off as just "904" if you arent careful. (It isnt a "size" either its the quality of lining material)

Agree with welda, the HETAS bloke doesnt seem to be fully au fait, that is nonsense about the 904 liner- is he properly registered or just approved? The 316 is cheaper for him to buy though. Get a couple more quotes - the HETAS site has a list of installers. If you have already agreed to use him MAKE SURE you get the warranty paperwork, a data plate fixed on the wall (usually near the utility box) which gives the full details of the materials used and the installers name and address and most importantly a HETAS completion certificate. The data plate and cert are requirements in law now - not to mention an approved Carbon monoxide monitor fixed in the room too.

A._Badger

Be very cautious about suppliers telling you that you need X or Y KW rated heaters to heat your room. The charts and specs they use are for what are deemed average rooms in average buildings and in my expeirnce (particulatly with older properties) these can be very misleading.

You are better having a site visit from a supplier/fitter, getting his recommendations in writing and making it a condition of sale that his recommendations are lived up to in practice.

suisidevw

Thanks for comments so far guys........... so,............. Clearview and Stovax are recommended.... that's a good start..... anymore?!

PS, Any installers here working in the SE? If so, please drop me a quick PM

hethmar

There are a number of decent stoves as per my posting above.