Wood Burning Stove - Is it really worth it?

wukfit

Thanks for all the replies.

My suspicions have been confirmed, the wood burner is off the shopping list - maybe a few years down the line we'll get one but not as a means to save money.

Right, time to work out the logistics/costs of installing a wind turbine...

Cheers :beer:

Russ123_2

A._Badger wrote: »

Yes - and it's one of the best things I've ever bought. After years of fiddling around with useless Zip-style firelighters, paper, sticks and all the rest, about four years ago I finally bit the bullet, paid a small fortune for a Grenadier and haven't regretted it. It will even quite quickly light notoriously difficult to get started smokeless fuels like Maxibrite and Taybrite.

Sadly, I was not paid for this unsolicited advertisement!

Thanks very much for the Info Badger, £130 is alot from something that basically blows hot air, but i was impressed with the promotional video and if people on this site are endorsing this product i am very tempted. It will have to be on my Xmas list :beer:

When we first moved into our cottage we were tempted to replace the old fireplace with a multi-fuel stove but soon realised that as a secondary form of heating the old openfire performed well enough, even beyond expectation (it really does kick out alot of heat) and it wasn't worth replacing; besides it would have been criminal to rip out an original feature.

Sorry for hijacking your thread wukfit, my advice would be to not buy a stove expecting to make a saving, they are quite frankly a luxury.

A._Badger

I dithered for years, Russ and only bought my Grenadier when I moved into my current home. It was one of those 'I've spent so much, what's a little more?' purchases.

I'm interested by your comment about open fires. I've said before here how the figures bandied about showing the 'inefficiency' of open fires seem to be belied by the actual performance of a good one. I suspect, like a lot of the 'research' quoted by the stove makers and and their pals in HETAS, that some close, independent, analysis wouldn't go amiss!

An open fire is very attractive and we have a generation, or perhaps even two, that has grown up without experiencing them, while being subject to the relentless marketing for closed stoves.

Having had both, even though I own and use a stove (and have had several in previous homes) I would never rush to judgement that a stove was always the ideal heating solution for everyone. In the right situation, an open fire could be a more sensible choice - particularly given the prices charged for stoves and their installation.

wukfit

For anyone interested I've found a link (can't post links as a new user but google "idostuff woodburner") posted in another thread in this forum - which completely supports the suggestions made in this thread.

Thanks again.

Russ123_2

A._Badger wrote: »

I dithered for years, Russ and only bought my Grenadier when I moved into my current home. It was one of those 'I've spent so much, what's a little more?' purchases.

I'm interested by your comment about open fires. I've said before here how the figures bandied about showing the 'inefficiency' of open fires seem to be belied by the actual performance of a good one. I suspect, like a lot of the 'research' quoted by the stove makers and and their pals in HETAS, that some close, independent, analysis wouldn't go amiss!

An open fire is very attractive and we have a generation, or perhaps even two, that has grown up without experiencing them, while being subject to the relentless marketing for closed stoves.

Having had both, even though I own and use a stove (and have had several in previous homes) I would never rush to judgement that a stove was always the ideal heating solution for everyone. In the right situation, an open fire could be a more sensible choice - particularly given the prices charged for stoves and their installation.

Yes, absolutely. When we were seriously looking at installing a stove we kept hearing the same old quote - something along the lines of - An openfire loses 80% of its heat up the chimney and only radiates 20% into the room, a good stove radiates 80% of its heat into the room and loses only 20%;

When this particular logic is applied to our open grate it sounds ridiculous. I'm sure we do lose a considerable amount of energy up the flue, after all this is how open fires function, but 80%? no chance. My gut feeling is that it is alot less than that.

Interestingly we have no chimney balloon and do notice the living room to be considerably colder than the rest of the house during the summer months.When we bought the cottage there was a damp issue, in and around the chimney breast. With the reopening of the fireplace and the regular use of it (we go through roughly a ton of coal a year), the damp issue disappeared and hasn't returned in the last couple of years. This is why i am reluctant to block, or even partially block the fireplace even in the summer. (bearing in mind this cottage was for LET and ALL occupants left because of damp)

I know many here wont like open grates, brand them dirty, inefficient, antiquated bits of technology but ours certainly works for us and may have even cured our damp problem?

I'm just glad we gave the open fireplace a chance

perhaps not all openfires are created equal :cool:

grahamc2003

Russ123 wrote: »

Yes, absolutely. When we were seriously looking at installing a stove we kept hearing the same old quote - something along the lines of - An openfire loses 80% of its heat up the chimney and only radiates 20% into the room, a good stove radiates 80% of its heat into the room and loses only 20%;

When this particular logic is applied to our open grate it sounds ridiculous. I'm sure we do lose a considerable amount of energy up the flue, after all this is how open fires function, but 80%? no chance. My gut feeling is that it is alot less than that.

:cool:

I have no problem beliving that 80% of the heat produced, as a net figure, goes up the chimney. Obviously, it';s a rough and ready percentage based on a lot of factors - and it's quite easy to lose more than 100% of the heat produced up the chimney under certain circumstances.

The reason is an open fire is sucking gallons of air out of your room and up the chimney. If you have central heating, and that air is quite warm, say 25C, then the raiant heat put into the room by the open fire can be less than the heat in the air being sucked out of your room (and replavced by outside air, which may be at -5C i.e. you can use an open fire to cool a hot room under certain conditions. An 80% heat loss seems reasonable to me as a ballpark- afterall, a stove works mainly by restricting the airflow up the chimney (and hence the warm air sucked out of the room), and secondly by radiating much more of the available heat into the room from a bigger surface area.

My experience also backs this up - with an open fire roaring away (however pleasant it was) it didn't really heat the room any further than the storage heaters had already done on cold days. You had to get pretty close to feel the heat. With a stove the storage heater in that room never goes on.

Does it save money? Well in my case yes, because I get free wood from a wood of which I am part owner. But unless you really like cutting, collecting, chopping storing and generally luggin wood around quite a lot, it's a pretty hard graft way of saving money. I expect there'd be no saving if I bought in dried wood.

In terms of ambiance - I'd say there's not much in it between a roaring open fire and a roaring stove - both are wonderful imv, and with neither, i'd find a house soulless.

poppasmurf_bewdley

I live in a small cottage that was converted from a stone/brick built stable. It is extremely well insulated, and heating at the moment is LPG central heating.

I have a lounge, and my bedroom is like a floating floor above the lounge, ie open at both ends.

I've been thinking about a wood burning stove with a metal chimney going up the wall and out through the roof. The idea being that the metal chimney will pass through my bedroom and therefore heat that as well as the lounge. Heat convection will also help heat upstairs.

I would think that a small wood burner will be sufficient, but has anyone any idea what such an installation would cost, roughly? Thanks.

NotSoWise

I have always lived with the possibility of a fire - I would not be without one and don't begrudge the money spent in order to ensure that.

In my present house I exchanged an open fire which was OK but not wonderful for a Morso 4kw stove which I love. The chimney runs up the middle of the house so the stove chimney heat warms the walls (the chimney is lined). It is cleaner than an open fire but I miss the smell (could open the stove door I suppose).

I reckon that I have 'saved' GCH as I really don't put it on if I have the stove going, only if it is really freezing outside. My stove is so easy to light that I have fired it up this summer when it has been wet and windy - not that i need the heat but because it is cheery and welcoming.

I buy semi seasoned logs (3 cu.m) and season them in my garden (wood stores provided by local recycling wood unit at 65 pounds whatever the size). Yes, not cheap and have gone up in price by 25% since last year. I also acquire pallets from work which I chop up and store.

Sweeping chimney = 70 pounds for 2 stoves (yes, got another Morso to go in room husband uses). OH has a number of illnesses and is retired so sits reading/tele watching during day. Multifuel stove means I don't have to put on CH during day. 25kg bag of smokeless fuel lasts most of week and 4 bags = 30 pounds

So......I don't regret spending quite a lot of money installing (Hetas approved) 2 stoves. It is more than cost saving as there is nothing better than a roaring fire.......but that is my choice and yes, spending on insulation should come first (done - wall insulation done in the 1980's, loft conversion, double glazing).

martinthebandit

Our main room, combined lounge, kitchen and dinning, is about 8 by 8 by 2.5 and we have a 5kw log burner (well its a multi fuel actually) during last winter our gas central heating was on for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening.

When it was -10 outside last winter it was 24 in the room

You will save some money and you will be warmer, one of the main advantages I find is that you have paid for your fuel before using it, so you are not sat there wondering how big the bill is going to be.

Russ123_2

grahamc2003 wrote: »

I have no problem beliving that 80% of the heat produced, as a net figure, goes up the chimney. Obviously, it';s a rough and ready percentage based on a lot of factors - and it's quite easy to lose more than 100% of the heat produced up the chimney under certain circumstances.

The reason is an open fire is sucking gallons of air out of your room and up the chimney. If you have central heating, and that air is quite warm, say 25C, then the raiant heat put into the room by the open fire can be less than the heat in the air being sucked out of your room (and replavced by outside air, which may be at -5C i.e. you can use an open fire to cool a hot room under certain conditions. An 80% heat loss seems reasonable to me as a ballpark- afterall, a stove works mainly by restricting the airflow up the chimney (and hence the warm air sucked out of the room), and secondly by radiating much more of the available heat into the room from a bigger surface area.

My experience also backs this up - with an open fire roaring away (however pleasant it was) it didn't really heat the room any further than the storage heaters had already done on cold days. You had to get pretty close to feel the heat. With a stove the storage heater in that room never goes on.

Does it save money? Well in my case yes, because I get free wood from a wood of which I am part owner. But unless you really like cutting, collecting, chopping storing and generally luggin wood around quite a lot, it's a pretty hard graft way of saving money. I expect there'd be no saving if I bought in dried wood.

In terms of ambiance - I'd say there's not much in it between a roaring open fire and a roaring stove - both are wonderful imv, and with neither, i'd find a house soulless.

Thanks for your reply graham,

My experiences are somewhat different to your own. Our open grate heats our room very well and we once made the mistake of having the GCH on when the Openfire was lit - it was roasting, safe to say we wont be doing that again.

At the end of the day, there are cheaper, more efficient ways to heat a house and whichever way you choose to burn solid fuel in your home, gas always win hands down.

That said, i hope to never own a house that doesnt have an openfire\Stove - i enjoy it far too much