A couple of questions around wood burners.

Stooby2

I'm thinking of getting a wood burner for our back room. The advice from several sources is for a 5-6kw version as the room isn't that big, and the chimney opening is fairly small - it's been bricked up inside to leave a small opening about 2 feet square and I'm not opening it all up again. It will have a chimney liner as our house was built in the 1930's and has suffered some liner damage (during the war). I don't want multi-fuel as there's plenty of wood here and I have no intention of buying coal. Just had the chimney swept.

It will mostly be used during the winter and having read stuff on here & elsewhere, I realise it will probably need a sweep every 3 months when in use. Does the stove need to come out to be swept or can it be swept through the stove - or is that dependent on the type?

Does the room need to be vented? At the moment it's fairly well sealed with double glazing and patio doors.

And lastly - anyone have or used a small stove they'd recommend?

Thanks.

alleycat`

A stove should not need to be moved to be swept.
In fact a lot of sweeps won't touch an install that needs to be messed with.

Depending on the stove it can either be swept through the stove (if certain bits can be removed), you can install a stove pipe with a sweeping hatch or you can install a soot box/trap in the chimney itself.

Stoves over 5KW require the room to have an airbrick (size of this varies as the stove gets larger).

As to the stove, you'll probably get a multitude of answers as everyone likes different things.

I'd imagine most right minded people will say you get what you pay for up to a point.

So on that basis avoid the extra cheap, never heard of it jobs but don't go bananas at the top end if you are only using it for additional heating.

Mine is a stovax stockton 5 and i like it well enough.
Due to my location i had to have a smoke control kit installed to make it defra compliant.
This may or may not apply to you.

As you've suggested for your intention intentions mine is an additional heat source for the late autumn, winter, early spring times.

One other thing to look out for is minimum clearances around the stove for air flow, and distance to "combustibles".

If you can find any localish stove places that have some on display, hopefully with a few working examples, you might be able to look at.

We chose ours based on having a play with a few and finding what suited the opening, room, ease of operation, budget and also what we liked the look of.

O and if you intend to only burn wood, consider the size of logs the stove can fit. If it only takes small amounts of wood you'll be forever filling it / fiddling with it (which you may or may not enjoy).

Greenfires

The majority of stoves can be swept through fairly easily - usually just a cse of removing the baffle plate. Some makers however - who really should know better - make stoves that have to be half dismantled to get the baffle plate out! Chimney sweeping frequency will be very much dependant on the moisture content of what you're burning, and how you're burning it. Stoves burning damp wood and running at slumber for long periods can muck up a chimney in no time! I'd suggest getting it done mid season, and seeing what the sweep thinks when he does it. Most of us tend to be honest chaps, and will advise you relating to what we find, rather than what "the official line" might say.

As alleycat said - avoid bargain basement stoves - most of them will not be a joy to share your house with!

suisidevw

How large is the room your planning to heat? Oour lounge is approx 4x4m and a 4.9kw stove is MORE than enough! I also don't need any outside venting.....

Not sure what you mean by 2x2 foot opening? Sounds like it needs to be opened back up to comply with distances from walls/combustibles etc... have you got a picture of it?>

Stooby2

The opening is two feet wide by two feet high by two feet deep (and obviously open to the flue inside). It's all brick and concrete so no wood or plasterboard. I have a fireplace / burner shop down the road to me and he's recommended a physical size for a burner that will provide adequate room around it - the Yeoman Exmoor for example.

According to various websites I've read, there is no distance to comply with regs with regards to non-combustible stuff, but 80mm is recommended for air flow around it.

He also advised that I need a hearth in front / under it at least 50mm thick and extending 25cm out. The plinth for the original hearth is there although flush with the floor. I have some ideas how to build that so that's not an issue (a concrete base with heatproof tiles probably).

alleycat`

guess it depends on the stove, mine recommends at least 6" clearance to either side and 2" clearance at the back.

minimum clearance at the front for most stoves (hearth wise is 9"), although 12" is preferred i think.

Greenfires

As far as I know, Yeoman say there should be at least 150mm clearance on each side of this stove.

Stooby2

Greenfires, thanks, just looked on their website and they supply the tech specs as a download, and you are correct. I might point the guy down the road in that direction.

I think that's the final nail in this coffin for now. I was evaluating getting a wood burner and for our circumstances at the moment, it's not worth it.

Thanks all for the advice.

alleycat`

With the space you were talking about an inset / cassette type stove might have worked but i don't know of many / any free standing stoves that only need 80mm clearance all around?

Always happy to be corrected

Leif

Stooby2 wrote: »

According to various websites I've read, there is no distance to comply with regs with regards to non-combustible stuff, but 80mm is recommended for air flow around it.

He also advised that I need a hearth in front / under it at least 50mm thick and extending 25cm out. The plinth for the original hearth is there although flush with the floor. I have some ideas how to build that so that's not an issue (a concrete base with heatproof tiles probably).

I am sure the stove has to be at least a set distance from combustibles. As for space around the stove, that is because the stove works by convection. The hot metal heats air, which carries the heat into the rest of the room. Reduced space means less convection so less efficient. I only have about 4" either side of mine, which is why I left it as bare brick rather than boarded or lime rendered. However, it does take the chill off the house when running. You can see from online photos that a lot of people leave only 3" to 4" at the side, no doubt because they use the standard builder's opening as I have done.

Regarding hearth, I found it hard to get concrete information, so I had a hearth fitted. However, granite tiles would work. I have a tile cutter and apparently that will cut granite.