Which woodburning stove is the best? 18 January 2012 at 2:05PM in LPG, heating oil, solid & other fuels 196 replies 354.9K views

muckybutt

Smells very much like bovine excrement to me !

Ive seen and read about it before and still think the same about it now.

dogbeard

Clearview used to be the market leader because of the clever airwash system nowadays however almost all british stoves have this system and are far better priced, for a nice traditional looking stove try a hunter we got ours from thestoveandcookercentre.co.uk and found them very helpful and impartial.

reeac

tee-bee wrote: »

Hi there,

The size of our living room & dinning (where the fireplace sits) is 8.8 long and 3.33 wide.

We were wondering if a 5kw wood burner be sufficient?

Ideally we would like a 8kw (Clearview Vision 500) but been told from the Hetas engineer that it will involve having did up the walls for a ventilation vent (5") for more air/oxygen to circulate in the room for the stove to be more efficient...

As we are trying to minimise use of LPG bottled cylinder for our main source of CH & DWH, would a 5kw Clearview Pioneer 400 (5kw) be sufficient to heat up the downstairs?

We are based in Berkshire.

Thanks

We have a Clearview Pioneer 400 set at one end of a lounge plus dining room which total about 12m. by 5m. [average] . The heat output is adequate but temperature distribution around the rooms is uneven. We've had the stove since 1997 and find its performance to be excellent - easy to light and rapid heating up due to the very controllable draft. We had it installed when the bungalow was built so we have the pukkah pumice block chimney rather than a liner and an underfloor draught. The stove is intended as a back up in case electricity fails and oil c.h. won't work so we don't use it very often

Mojisola

reeac wrote: »

We have a Clearview Pioneer 400 set at one end of a lounge plus dining room which total about 12m. by 5m. [average] .

The stove is intended as a back up in case electricity fails and oil c.h. won't work so we don't use it very often

We've got the Pioneer Oven. We put it in as part of a house revamp, also thinking it would be a back up if gas or electricity were out but it is so easy to use and makes the room so comfortable, we have it on a lot. Being able to slow cook your dinner while the house is kept snug is an added bonus.

Skulls

Just an update on my Burley Holywell. Bought a 1000kg of heatlogs back in November and I'm finally down to my last 2 logs(2.5kg) So I've had a warm house for just over 5 months for a total cost of £290. I've only emptied the ashes 5 times in all of that time and this is the only form of heating I have in the house.

bxboards

Skulls wrote: »

Just an update on my Burley Holywell. Bought a 1000kg of heatlogs back in November and I'm finally down to my last 2 logs(2.5kg) So I've had a warm house for just over 5 months for a total cost of £290. I've only emptied the ashes 5 times in all of that time and this is the only form of heating I have in the house.

Thanks for the post - which brand of heatlogs did you use? There seem to be several variations, and a fair spread pricewise once delivery is taken into account.

Gloomendoom

Skulls wrote: »

Just an update on my Burley Holywell. Bought a 1000kg of heatlogs back in November and I'm finally down to my last 2 logs(2.5kg) So I've had a warm house for just over 5 months for a total cost of £290. I've only emptied the ashes 5 times in all of that time and this is the only form of heating I have in the house.

By my reckoning you must have used 4800-5000 kwh worth of heat logs.

The average 3 bedroom house uses 25000 kwh per year to heat (source.) Heating the same house (including water) to the same level using heat logs would cost £1450. The same energy using mains gas would have cost around £1150 depending on the tariff.
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Skulls

I used the UK Heatlogs.

I'm surprised I've only used one fifth of the average family home! My house is a 2 bedroom bungalow type house, 200 years old this August.

I'm going to get a few bags of normal logs to keep me going through the warmer months. For next winter I'll most probably try some of Greenfires heat logs.

I may even put a chimney lining in during the summer.

Forgot to say no gas available.

By the way Gloomendoom, your source of heating use also say a 3 bed bungalow uses less electric than a one bedroom bungalow???

Gloomendoom

Skulls wrote: »

I used the UK Heatlogs.

I'm surprised I've only used one fifth of the average family home! My house is a 2 bedroom bungalow type house, 200 years old this August.

I'm going to get a few bags of normal logs to keep me going through the warmer months. For next winter I'll most probably try some of Greenfires heat logs.

I may even put a chimney lining in during the summer.

Forgot to say no gas available.

By the way Gloomendoom, your source of heating use also say a 3 bed bungalow uses less electric than a one bedroom bungalow???

I know. Daft isn't it.

We live in a gas heated 3 bed semi built 250-300 years ago and use far less (gas) to heat the place than those average figures suggest is necessary. I think it all comes down to level of heat you find comfortable. We are happy to wear sweaters indoors whereas I know people who only regard a house as warm enough if they can lounge around in shorts and tee shirts.

I was actually quite impressed by the cost of the heat logs compared to gas. The difference was a lot less than I was expecting.

Skulls

I am one of those! As soon as I get in I'm into my shorts and short sleeved rugby top! One thing you have to bare in mind the last 6 months have been the coldest 6 month period I can remember and it cost me £290 to get through, I must admit had I still had my Villager fire in, I would have used quite a bit more.

Logs would work out about two thirds the cost but, with the heatlogs I can stack them 17 boxes high in the bedroom and they look 'fairly' tidy.