Best 7kw Multi fuel burner to buy ?

toonjohnny

Hi
We are looking at installing a multi fuel stove but could do with a bit advice on which to buy. The room is a knocked through kitchen and dinning room with a open plan conservatory, so i think i am right to think we will need a minimum of 7kw ? Don't want a cheap import but i am not familiar with the top brands (uk?). I want a multi fuel to enable us to supplement wood with coal etc. I also have a massive supply of clean paper so was going to look at making the brickettes, now i no these don't give off great heat etc but the kids will enjoy helping me to make them and they are free !!, my only worry is does burning paper (as a brickette) lead to any obvious problems (build up forming in flue)? i was intending to get the chimney swept twice a year but the other half is paranoid about chimney fires
Thanks in advance

suki1964

toonjohnny wrote: »

Hi
We are looking at installing a multi fuel stove but could do with a bit advice on which to buy. The room is a knocked through kitchen and dinning room with a open plan conservatory, so i think i am right to think we will need a minimum of 7kw ? Don't want a cheap import but i am not familiar with the top brands (uk?). I want a multi fuel to enable us to supplement wood with coal etc. I also have a massive supply of clean paper so was going to look at making the brickettes, now i no these don't give off great heat etc but the kids will enjoy helping me to make them and they are free !!, my only worry is does burning paper (as a brickette) lead to any obvious problems (build up forming in flue)? i was intending to get the chimney swept twice a year but the other half is paranoid about chimney fires
Thanks in advance

Start making your briquettes now and they may be dry enough to burn Easter. They don't cause a problem with the flu, but you will be removing buckets of ash from your stove every day

Seriously. We made hundreds of them one long winter. They are now used to prop up the car when hubby is working on it


Can't help with the stove but I'm very happy with my five year old cheap Chinese import. A Tiger+, it heats the whole of the top floor of my house without the need for ch.

toonjohnny

Thanks
The briquettes are just to mess around with, i understand there are more negatives then positives to them, certainly not going to be relaying on them as a continuing heat source more just a supplement, I have already starting with my log store so hopefully by next winter i should be ready :jas for this year, i think i will be buying my fuel !!
As for imports, we were told to avoid these when looking due to cheap metal being used, however i am sure most models will have an element of imported material in it somewhere or other

suki1964

There are a lot of problematic Chinese imports and you are also right that some " made in England" ones are just constructed here from parts made in China

However the Tiger+ does get good revues and has certainly out performed my mothers Stanley wenlock ( which she was assured was UK made )

There is also a lot of stove snobbery


You need to go around a good few showrooms and get to see the stoves for yourself ( preferably working models where possible). One shop will push one brand, another will say they are rubbish. Read up on the review sites as well

What made our mind up about our stove was not just cost, was the fact that the heating engineer that we bought it from stocked it along with the big names and didn't try to put us off. Even when I questioned the quality he assured us it would have the same guarantee as the others, any problems he would replace it

For us the biggest expense was the flue. As we had no chimney to use we had to have twin walled and that really doesn't come cheap


The briquettes are a fun thing. You need a big sheltered area for them to dry out outside. They stink when wet. Think paper mâch!

toonjohnny

We are lucky in the fact we have a friend who is hetas registered (although far to busy to help us at mates rates!!) so i will be doing most the work with him doing the overseeing and actual stove hook up etc.
I noticed the price difference in flue construction so was automatically going to get the thicker more expensive one ? We are lucky in the fact our chimney runs up the internal wall of our semi detached so we will probably get away without insulation etc. Fingers crossed with the self install option we should save a few pennies !!