arrggh - rant about the mysteries of stove shopping

libbyc3

sorry justy need to let off steam !

we've'saved and saved and decided to take the plung and get a multi fule stove. off we trot to the stove shop taking measurements of room and existing fireplace - and even take pics on the mobile to show them.
they couldn't give us any sort of quote or estimate unitl we know what we want and what is needed.

OK here's are measurments we said, what would be available to us?

'what do you want?'

'what would fit in our chimney given these measurement?'

'what do you want to fit in your chimney?'

'we'd like a multi fuel stove, and this is our available space so we would like to know what our options are for that space?'

'well it depends on what you want'

is it just me!!!????? we walked out the shop none the wiser!
we just want some advice with a view to supply and installation of a b***** stove!

highrisklowreturn

Why didn't you tell him what you want?

welda

If this is the best your local supplier can offer, I'd tell them to ram it!!

Have a looke here http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/ there is a stove calculator, which will tell you KW required as per room dimensions, if possible, try to keep to a max 5kw output stove, over 5kw, you are required to install an air vent somewhere within room.

Order all you require online, then install yourself, this of course is assuming you have fair amount of various skills to do so, then inform building control, they will inspect completed work, then sign off.

Hope you get sorted soon?

Regards.....

A._Badger

I'm afraid that sounds pretty typical of stove shops! As stoves grow in popularity, retailers see them as an easy sale in a market where there is pretty rigid retail price control and a cosy little cartel for the installation side.

Welda's advice is good.

kats53

I totally know where your coming from. We too have been looking around now for weeks and still feel we are no further forward.
One company we went to seemed great when talking to the guy in the showroom but when anothe guy came out to give us a quote he was telling us a completely different thing because he was trying to push us to buy one of their own stoves.
We have been on the stovesonline website and it is a mine of information.
This is such an expensive item when you take into account the installation, any building work you might need and the cost of the stove...not to mention the accessories such as fuel store etc. You need to get as much information as you can and a few different quotes from different installers or builders.
Look at the reviews on whatstove and then take a look online, there are quite a few good suppliers on there selling at competitive rates.
Hope you get sorted soon.

Swipe

This is worst possible time to be arranging a stove purchase and installation. Wait until spring, I'm sure the response will be much better when business is slower.

suki1964

I would walk away from any stove shop like the one you went to. Theres way too many opening up having jumped on the band wagon - and they often know very little about stoves and the building regulations

Use the website mentioned and start learning so you can go to your next stove shop with an idea in your head of what it is you want from them

But I do agree with swipe - spend the rest of this winter learning and buy in the spring when installers are looking for work - unless of course you are going for a self install

libbyc3

thanks all. the sensible bit of me is being overidden by a)wanting it now! and b) my house is soooo cold we have looked forward to having a stove for so long!

I've visited stovesonline - will spend a while reading it before tackling the next place.
I've found someone that will come round and talk us through the options and what will be needed - if only self install was an option - me and OH are usless with anything DIYish let alone building work.

having read so much conflicting adivce regarding stoves and installation on hear whilst lurking it all just seems so confusing!

all i know is i currently have a v small open fireplace in a reasonably large room - so to get a stove in i will def need builing work to open the chimney up.

hey ho - will coninue reading the recommended website and may come back for more advice = many thanks

highrisklowreturn

It's simple.

Just put your room size into a heat calulator, add a bit on for heat loss / single glazing / no insulation, buy one at that kw that you like the look of, and have pre-arranged a separate quote from the installer to bung it in, making sure to already have had your chimney swept and inspected. If the clay flue lining is undamaged you do not need steel liner in, saving you a packet and reducing to circa 40-60 mins the installation time. Wait two days for cement to dry, then fire it up. There's little to no complexity, unless you intend to use the stove for central heating or water.

Eg. My room is 2.5 x 6m, with 3.5m depth. Heat calculator gave stove requirement of 3.4kw. I bought a 6kw for £370 (Chinese - works perfectly, good reviews). Installer charged £220 with no register plate (not even necessary). That's under £600 for stove and installation. My room is rectangular, and the stove sits in an inglenook on the other side of the room from where I'm typing and throws out - after a couple of hours with cheap smokeless anthracite - ample heat to keep the place warm. This in a house where last Winter I could still see my breath when oil central heating was on (when it hadn't broken down - something which a stove won't do).

I can now heat this one room over Winter with 1 tonne of coal, costing £200. With that and an emmersion I essentially no longer even need oil, or indeed central heating. It makes me slightly annoyed to think that society has moved away from solid fuels into oil and gas whenever it is so much more practical, efficient, cheap, delightful and cheery to bang a fire on every night. Oh and it stops damp.

smcqis

To be fair you need to do your own research and have a general idea of what you want, they arent mind readers

thozza

We have recently gone through the same experience, some of the things we discovered that we needed to consider:

If you live in a smokeless zone and want to burn wood, the stove will need to be DEFFRA certified, there is a list of the certified stoves for England (sorry can't post proper link)

smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/appliances.php?country=e

If the stove is under 5kw then no additional ventilation is needed in the room, above 5kw, additional permanent ventilation is required.

A permanent/fixed carbon monoxide detector needs to be sited close to the stove.

If the chimney is not in good condition, then a liner might be needed, this can be expensive particularly if a lot of vermiculite insulation is needed (as was the case for our chimney) to fill the void between the liner and the original chimney.

Calculation the size of stove is fairly straightforward based on the room size (as has been mentioned), after determining the size, next choice is the design/type and price range.

There is a good selection of reviews on the whatstove.co.uk/ which is part of stovesonline.co.uk/ which, as has been mentioned, is an excellent source of information.

We visited a couple of stores to look at stoves, but eventually bought ours online, as the saving was substantial. Fitting took most of the day (albeit with some travelling to make up the register plate) and included a new twin wall liner, but the results are well worth the effort.