Wood burner not heating up room?

victor2

FreeBear said:

Apodemus said: Did the installer add a fresh air vent, or is it simply relying on drawing air from within the house?

Unless this stove has an external air feed, a sizeable vent in the wall would be mandated by Building Regulations.

That's one reason why we had a 5KW burner installed - didn't need any extra ventilation. Regs say you need 500mm2 ventilation for each KW above 5. That works out at 3500mm2 for a 12KW burner. Not huge, as we are talking in millimetres, but still significant.
No idea if the other chimney counts. We just left our job up to the HETAS installer and got the relevant certificate.

JohnB47

I agree with all the earlier points about getting the stove up to heat and then having only a downdraft vent open slightly (to keep the glass window clear). The flames should be darkish red and lazy (once fully up to temperature). Excited and bright yellow flames means there's too much air getting in.

I've had my stove fitted so that it sits further out than yours, with the stove pipe coming horizontally out the back of the stove, then right angled up through the register plate. That way, the radiant heat from the stove and the stove pipe gets up and into the room reasonably unimpeded. I see far too many stoves fitted right into the recess like yours and it seems inefficient to me. However, doing that in your case would damage the TV, no question.

One other point - is the joint between stove pipe and register plate sealed? If the radiant heat is being buffered in the fireplace recess and there's a gap up there, the heat would just disappear. The installers haven't put some sort of vent in the register plate, have they?

victor2

@Peachypies12, a thermometer will cost less than a tenner on Amazon and is well worth it.
Two logs is nowhere near enough to get the burner up to temperature. I once bought a bag of logs from my big local supermarket and they had over 30% moisture, and burnt very slowly. I just use a reputable local supplier now and can guarantee they'll come in at under 20%.
That does mean it's cheaper to use the central heating and heat the whole house in an evening than use the log burner. It is nice to sit in front of the fire though!

Peachypies12

@JohnB47 Thanks for putting it in lehman's terms, I keep seeing 'lazy' flame but not sure what this is! My flames are definitely excited and bright yellow. I'm not sure if the joint is sealed actually between the stove pipe and register plate- I'll have a look tonight when I get home. Thank you!

comeandgo

I note you are buying logs from B & M.  I have used them in emergencies but they really are not good for long slow burning, they are cheap but see if you can get from a proper supplier.  They will be a lot more expensive but so much better.

Peachypies12

@comeandgo
 Duly noted! Thanks so much!

FreeBear

Peachypies12 said: I keep seeing 'lazy' flame but not sure what this is!

Lazy flames - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j3hPg0t5fo

greyteam1959

OP

Are you sure that is a 12kw stove ??
It really does not look like it to me.
If you really do start to kick out 12kw of heat that TV will not last 5 minutes.

SonnyLumiere

If you live in one of the “Smoke Control Areas” (most towns and cities), then it might not be worth throwing more money at the problem, in view of the government’s new Environmental Improvement Plan which is aiming to reduce air pollution by restricting the use of log burners.

theonlywayisup

SonnyLumiere said:

If you live in one of the “Smoke Control Areas” (most towns and cities), then it might not be worth throwing more money at the problem, in view of the government’s new Environmental Improvement Plan which is aiming to reduce air pollution by restricting the use of log burners.

Stop reading the Daily Mail. 

I'm with @greyteam1959 and wonder at the KW of your stove.  

Also, two logs is nowhere near enough to start a fire let alone having ticking over nicely.