Wood burning stove legalities?

jojo2910

Hi,

We've moved into a house with an open fire, which works well. We are thinking of getting a stove, but complete novices. We are going to use it to supplement the heating in our bungalow.

Is it a case that you get what you pay for? We've seen the Clarke stoves on Machine Mart's site and wondered what they were like.

Do you have to get your chimney lined? Is this a legal/functional requirement? Could we just put a stove in the fireplace and would it work?

Finally, do you have to have a HETAS engineer install one?

Thanks all

muckybutt

From the start :

Yes you do get what you pay for, but having said that there are some great cheap n cheerful stoves out there, but if you are wanting it to last then get a decent make.

Hetas....hmmm some good some down right *rap ! your local council will always sign off an installation provided you follow the regs and its safe.

Liners are a bone of contention, some say you need them some dont. If your chimney is in good repair then you wont necessarily need one, I personally would always say go with one when installing a stove as it makes for a cleaner burn and is far easier to sweep a liner than it is a chimney.

Greenfires

I've actually got a job booked in to remove a Clarke stove from a rented house as I advised the landlady I'd be wary of using it in a garage - never mind a house! Very poor quality castings with visible gaps between several of them and no seals in the door at all, meaning the stove will be virtually uncontrollable, coupled with a flue outlet that seems to be designed specifically to block itself in use, and which is impossible to sweep through. As close to a death trap as I've seen.

I'd agree with muckybutt regarding liners - a stove will always work better with one, and they're so much easier to look after. Many installers will insist on fitting one as there are several other problems a liner can prevent too. If these problems show up a couple of years down the line, then it's usually the installer who gets it in the neck, even though it's not his fault. If the installer insists on a liner when the new stove owner obviously knows far better - the installer gets it in the neck as well! My personal advice would be to go for one.

Andy

jojo2910

Thanks both. Do you have to register it with the council? Is there any way for installing one to be illegal?

highrisklowreturn

Yes, you just install it and don't sign it off - do you imagine the council have a boy in a van driving round all day with a list of properties who have the certificate and those who don't?

If you get your chimney inspected, and it is made of clay and has no leaks or faults, it is good to be used.

Just employ common sense and allow adequate space on either side of the stove and above it, pop in the correctly sized peice of flue pipe up your chimney, with fire rope at its bottom bit, and fire cement at the bottom and top of the flue.

Cheers - that'll be the £1000 the installer would charge (for about £60 worth of material).

Then get yo' doubles on.

Swipe

jojo2910 wrote: »

Thanks both. Do you have to register it with the council? Is there any way for installing one to be illegal?

It amuses me when people use the term 'illegal'. You won't get arrested if you do it yourself and don't get it signed off. There's no actual law you are breaking. It just means that your house insurer might not pay out if your house burns down.

w50nky

I agree with Muckbutts post too.

If you do not have the installation signed off by building control you will most likely encounter problems if and when you sell your property. You may intend staying put, but you never know.
If you choose a stove over 5Kw output you will also need to have an air vent fitted to comply with regs. Also do not fit a stove with a heat output higher than your room size needs as it will be very uncomfortably hot when burning efficiently. You may then slumber your stove which may lead to flue blockages.

Good luck.

lisa701

No experience of the Clarke stoves but I was warned against buying one as a few people said the quality wasnt so good.

Personally I would prefer to get the installation signed off. For the sake of a few quid it could save you a lot more should the worst happen and you find your home insurance company won't cover you as its not been signed off.

Also, have you checked if you are in a smokeless zone? We had an open fireplace but the rules had changed since it was installed. It meant we had to choose between a regular stove/smokeless fuel or a clean burn stove/regular wood.

MrsCrafty

I bought a saltire stove cheaply and am on year three dispite being told that they were carp on here. I have reduced my gas/legacy bills from £150 to £76. I paid a hetas chap to fit and sourced the liner etc on eBay. We have an expensive Carbon monoxide detector though.

My installation with stove cost £1250 and I am saving up for another in our living room. I live in a Victorian terraced so it can get cold. Our stove which can burn both fuels was the best thing I ever did.

The downside; you have to look for wood sources. I have knocked on doors to ask for skip wood, run after the council tree felling van etc.

You can also have hot water all of the time for tea/coffee by keeping a lidded saucepan on top. You can slow cook on it.

Apparently you can fashion a small oven by using a biscuit tin for jackets?...the mind boggles but I will try it.

I love my wood burner.......can you tell

wrightk

have a look at charnwood stoves, very efficient, uk based. not the most flamboyant of stoves, well ours isnt anyway. but the efficiency of it far outweighs how it looks

suisidevw

It certainly depends which Charnwood.

I've just bought a C-Four and think it's one of the best looking stove on the market!

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