A good deal?

Leif

suisidevw wrote: »

Leif, I was tempted to go with the multi-fuel kit however held back in the end.... is this for a c-four or the country 4? Both lovely stoves IMO!

FWIW, I had some york stone available FOC so laid that myself and paid a plasterer £200 to fully plaster and render the fireplace breast/back, so probably very similar prices all in.

Yes, C-Four, not Country 4. A lovely stove. I really liked the clean modern looks. Apparently it is a best seller, in Charnwood terms anyway.

I spent ages deciding what hearth to get.

suisidevw

Yes, agree, as soon as I saw it online I thought 'I'm 'aving that'! Probably the best looking semi-contemporary stove on hte market IMO. And British made - lovely.

Leif

suisidevw wrote: »

And British made

To be honest that was a key reason for my buying a Charnwood stove. Some brands such as Stovax are British but they outsource a lot of the manufacturing to Eastern Europe and elsewhere. I am sure there is nothing wrong with the quality but why not favour British products when they are good.

Greenfires

904 liner isn't necessarily thicker than 316 - the difference is in the makeup of the steel - 904 has copper in it which makes it more resistant to acid corrosion such as you'd encounter with smokeless fuels.

There is definitely an element of getting what you pay for too. Some companies 316 will outlast anothers 904. One of my installer friends reckons that the stuff he uses is around twice the thickness of another well known brand. If you want the cheap stuff from him you'll need another fitter as he won't put his name to it as it reflects on him when it fails early.

Yep - you can find dirt cheap liner on ebay and the like - you can find Chinese stoves for £200 too - but I wouldn't have one in my house. I actually removed a Chinese stove from a rented property for a customer a few weeks back as I considered it unsafe. Complete lack of any seals between body parts, uncontrollable and with a flue designed to be impossible to sweep as well as being self blocking in use. Frightening.

Greenfires

suisidevw wrote: »

Also, the fact I only burn well seasoned wood will also help with regular personal sweeping.

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Might be worth checking the warranty conditions just out of interest - last guarantee I looked at for a customer said they had to have proof of having it swept by a sweep on a regular basis. They may not be all the same of course - but you know how companies like to leave themselves some wriggle room!!

hethmar

All the warranties now require sweep certificates to be retained. And make sure you get a decent sweep, not one that does it on the side or whatever. OH is actually out this morning trying to clear a blockage in a flue which has been "properly maintained and swept" for the last two years. Likelihood being the sweep's brushes didnt even touch the area blocked so you have a chimney fire just waiting to happen.

hethmar

sussexbaker wrote: »

He's given us a firm figure after coming out to see the house, price is now £1225 but that includes a chimney pot (and fitting) and flue thermometer. Not looking quite as good now, but does it still seem a good price?

The pot will probably be a standard one he can get for £25 and the thermometer we buy in small bulk lots for about £8

sussexbaker

In situ now, and happily eating it's way through all the kiln dried wood I can feed it! Couple of queries, shouldn't there be a little plate somewhere saying it was installed by a HETAS registered installer? Also the flue thermometer I have rarely gets above 100c and into the "best burn" range. However I have very little soot (if any) on the window. I know it's supposed to be a very efficient stove and the flue gases pass through pipes to scrub off heat, but is that right?

Greenfires

Looking good - but just keep an eye on those logs leaning on the side of the stove - bit close for comfort!

sussexbaker

I've moved those now after seeing how 'toasty' they were getting!