Multifuel stove advice please

HSH

We have a Stovax multifuel stove installed, but have found that when using coal the glass doors blacken. They have also now got crazing in the glass. Is there a better fuel to use that will give a high heat output, but will prevent the blackening and crazing when we replace the glass panels?

Roebuck_2

http://www.bridgebrooke.co.uk/hotties-heatlogs.html

Ectophile

Are you using the right sort of coal for your stove? The instructions for my Stovax specifically tell me not to use standard house coal, only smokeless briquettes.

Greenfires

If you want to try a few packs of the Hotties before committing to a pallet order, then give us a shout. We sell them at less than RRP and will be happy to arrange a bulk order later on if you wish.

"Coal" as in housecoal is not suitable for use in stoves - if you want to burn fossil fuels then stick with smokeless!

wrightk

couple of other points to mention...

coal burning and blackened glass in inevitable but you can do a couple of things to reduce it.

Make sure you are burning at the correct temperature, get yourself a fluepipe thermometer. If you aren't burning the stove hot enough it will tar up the glass (and your chimney/lining). Make sure you use the airwash feature or top vent if your stove has one, this will ensure a clean supply of air to be drawn around the glass. If you are going to be slumbering the fire overnight, lower temperatures and therefore tar on the glass is inevitable. When i come down in the morning i pinch a couple of the kids wet wipes, wipe the glass over and dry it with a rag. Leaving it will harden the tar. When you light the stove make sure the stove is up to temperature before you fully close the doors.

cheers

alleycat`

We have a stovax stockton and, as i've mentioned on another thread, certain smokeless fuels do cause the glass to darken. I've not, however, had anything on there that makes it go totally "black".

What model do you have?

I've found that some other smokeless fuels don't cause the same issue.

The rule i'm currently following is that the "larger" the ovoid/egg the more of a problem it is.

Also our user manual specifically states not to use any form of "house coal" or "petro coke".

What exactly are you using? Does it have a brand name?

Other bits:-

I'd recommend a stove thermometer if you don't have one.

I've used the hotties that greenfires mentioned and they are very good heat wise.

They don't quite stack up price wise on smokeless but i do like the idea of them more (in a renewable sense).
I also found i couldn't use them as described in the destructions as, perversely, they actually got my stove "too hot".

HSH

Thanks for the useful replies, the stove is a Stovax 8 and we are using a mixture of 2 types of oval smokeless fuel - sorry, don't know the names. However, we are having a couple of bags of another type delivered tomorrow which have been recommended by our coal merchant to be suitable - we will see.
I am wondering if we are running the stove hot enough - our chimney is approx 45-50ft tall with a liner fitted (3 storey farmhouse with tall chimney on top!) and the draw is immense. Consequently if we open the top airwash fully, we can hardly hear anyone else in the room for the noise and the stove just eats fuel without giving any heat into the room. Would it help to have a damper fitted into the flue pipe so that we could regulate the draw from there, but have the airwash fully open?
Also, does anyone know why the glass is 'crazing'? We clean it every time we light it (normally every evening) and have been using mainly a damp piece of kitchen paper, but we do use Astonish if it is really hard to clean - this is fine to use on my Aga enamel, so it is obviously not abrasive.

alleycat`

Possibly a chemical reaction with something drying out in the chemical cleaner when you heat it up?
It might be etching the "glass" in some way.

I tend to use either a bit of water or, if it is starting to look really grotty, a little bit of vinegar.

After i've cleaned it i tend to leave the door ajar for a couple of hours before lighting the stove.

I've no idea if any of the above is the right thing to do but it currently works for me.

muckybutt

Glass crazing probelms are an overfiring problem ie fire too hot, glass cleaning products can etch the glass but they wont crack it.