have I done something wrong with the install of my stove?

millsmum

ok, we have inherrited a stove its a chinese multi fuel thing. I have had the chimney swept, liner fitted, register plate in, cowl on, new glass and rope in the stove. I then couldn't wait to light it.

burnt some wood, then added some coal, even bought a thermometer for the flue. I can hardly tell its on. I wanted to be sat in my pants and socks and to be honest I can hardly feel any heat even when I am sat next to it.

there are a couple of gaps at either end of the register plate which haven't been filled yet but they are about 2cm each side.

I am looking at pulling the stove out and replacing it with something else. its suppose to be 5kw, but if it is what to i need to feel the effects? the room is about 8x4x2.2m with a bay at one end and patio doors at the other.

please any suggestions to fix this before I spend some more money

G_M

1) what's the fireplace like? Is it situated well back in a large fireplace so heat goes up rather than out? Consider pulling it out further into the room and installing the chimney flue to the back rather than the top of the stove (some stoves have this option, not all).

2) are you giving it enough time (and enough fuel) to heat up. When I first moved in I was mean with the coal, and like you disappointed. A friend came to stay and piled in the coal (I was thinking "there goes my month's supply...". The stove gradually heated up and started pumping out heat, and because it was loaded didn't need topping up with fuel all night.

But with any fire/stove there is a self-defeating fact of life: to breath, stay alight, and not fill the room with smoke, there must be a draw up the chimney. And that will take heat up the chimney. So however hot they get they can never be an efficient heat source.

A._Badger

millsmum wrote: »

ok, we have inherrited a stove its a chinese multi fuel thing. I have had the chimney swept, liner fitted, register plate in, cowl on, new glass and rope in the stove. I then couldn't wait to light it.

burnt some wood, then added some coal, even bought a thermometer for the flue. I can hardly tell its on. I wanted to be sat in my pants and socks and to be honest I can hardly feel any heat even when I am sat next to it.

there are a couple of gaps at either end of the register plate which haven't been filled yet but they are about 2cm each side.

I am looking at pulling the stove out and replacing it with something else. its suppose to be 5kw, but if it is what to i need to feel the effects? the room is about 8x4x2.2m with a bay at one end and patio doors at the other.

please any suggestions to fix this before I spend some more money

How big a fire are you making? Time and again we see posters here who think a couple of knobs of coal or two small logs will do the trick. You actually need to make quite a big fire to get sensible output from a stove.

highrisklowreturn

Clearly, your stove is chinese, so as others will tell you, is crap to begin with, DO NOT add wood and coal together, this gives you sulphuric acid burning our your chimney, and clearly you are clueless as to ow to build a fire using so many ingredients and OMFG how dare your installer leave 2CMS at either side of the plate what a f er.

Greenfires

The Chinese stoves often have more problems with being unable to control the heat output downwards than not getting hot enough, due to poor seals and poor fit between parts.

The register plate should be sealed really - but this will make less difference in your case if you've had a liner fitted to the stove flue pipe. In an unlined chimney it makes a bigger difference - the draught goes the easiest route, and if that's around the gaps in the register plate rather than through the vents in the stove, then that's the way it will go. This leads to a poor draught through the firebox, and a low fire that doesn't respond so well to opening the air controls on the stove.

You said you had a thermometer for the stove - where have you fitted it and what was it showing?

Have a look at this video and see if you're doing the same - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ewoH7FWT0

A stove of any description - even a Chinese one, will be a lot more efficient than an open fire due to the greatly reduced draught going up the chimney, so a lot less heat being taken away.

Not a good idea to burn coal and logs at the same time - either/or is fine - just not the two together - this is likely to reduce the life expectancy of your liner.

Cheers,

Andy

PS - 5kW would be about the right sized stove for the room dimensions you gave

suki1964

Give over on the Chinese stoves - they can not all be tarred with the same brush and my wee tigar is a belter.

Mind I might have bought the only one ever made that doesnt leak

The one thing - are you actually putting in enough fuel to get the stove hot? Theres been plenty of people post on this forum over the years saying they are getting no heat from their stove and then we find out they have one log in there or 6 pieces of coal

Once you get your fire going, get enough fuel in the firebox glowing red enough that the firebricks are glowing as well and then close it down to keep it going for a few hours before topping up

welda

suki1964 wrote: »

they can not all be tarred with the same brush and my wee tigar is a belter.

Is this reference to yourself or stove suki? :whistle:

Greenfires

Sorry I didn't mean to say that every Chinese stove is rubbish. They are more than capable of making an extremely good product - the problem comes when importers here only want to pay them £30 or so per unit. So in those cases they build down to a price, and why not?! I've had quite a few customers with Tigers and they seem pretty pleased with them to be honest. I think it's probably fair to say that most of the problems people have with stoves are due to how they use it and what they put in it, rather than the stove itself.

It's the same with the Indian market for the old Lister diesel engines - copies of which are still built out there. The castings all come out of a handful of foundries, and are then purchased, machined and assembled by more than a dozen manufacturers. Some of these outfits have kids sitting in the street hand filing various components. Others, who want to get into the European and USA markets have invested in more modern machinery and are chucking out a better product, but at three times the price. It's still a fraction of what we'd have to pay if these engines were manufactured here though.

millsmum

A._Badger wrote: »

How big a fire are you making? Time and again we see posters here who think a couple of knobs of coal or two small logs will do the trick. You actually need to make quite a big fire to get sensible output from a stove.

hi I am putting quite a bit of fuel on the fire, the temp is running at efficient on the thermometer. which is on the flue

millsmum

highrisklowreturn wrote: »

Clearly, your stove is chinese, so as others will tell you, is crap to begin with, DO NOT add wood and coal together, this gives you sulphuric acid burning our your chimney, and clearly you are clueless as to ow to build a fire using so many ingredients and OMFG how dare your installer leave 2CMS at either side of the plate what a f er.

that might be the problem, we installed it ourselves!!

suki1964

The flu could be hot but that to my mind doesnt mean a lot.

If I could post you a picture right now of my stove you would see its a big red glow and Im kind of thinking bra and knicker time lol. Theres not actually a lot of fuel in the stove - a wee layer but its got a good burn and has heated the fireblocks which in turn means theres a lot of heating being released into the room. I only reload the stove when the firebricks dull


We have a self install as well. If its done properly to the building regulations there shouldn't be a problem