Almost no heat from new multi fuel stove

A._Badger

As well as the other advice you've been given, have a look at the thread about Eco fans. I have a stove sitting in a large inglenook, which gets warm long before my room does, and having read about these fans I'm now seriously thinking of investing in one.

sdavies_2

Wood can out burn coal etc its just a matter of getting the right wood, last time i looked at a bag from the garden centre it was all birch and pine, which is great for lighting a fire but beyond that a waste of time. Youneed to get wood a year in advance, split and stack it. Make sure the majority is hardwood, oak, ash, beech, hazel hawthorn and perhaps some cherry or apple.
My own stove runs on nothing but wood, it need filling every 5 to 6 hours and keeps the house very warm (4 bed) . It will run 'damped down' for 12 hours

hethmar

Ash is the best wood of the lot.

But Im a bit worried about people on here saying they are using smokeless fuel as thats the kiss of death to any stainless steel linings.

Im also surprised that people who are disappointed with their stoves arent going back to the supplier and asking them to check it out for them?

TBeckett100

still getting no joy with the stove.

I am burning wood like it is going out of fashion. even damped down, the stove will be empty and stone cold 7 hours later. using a bit of coal on there now

lotus_elan

hi
we burn mainly pallets i got 100 pallets that were destined for a bonfire the place i get them burns 100 per year yes theres an effort in cutting them up but i seems that looking in the shed theres still enough for several months we suplement with logs and also coal this christmas is the first ever we have ever had to have windows open.

hethmar

T Beckett, have you spoken to the supplier? What is the make of the stove? Have you had the chimney lined and insulated?

Snow_Dog

lotus_elan wrote: »

hi
we burn mainly pallets i got 100 pallets that were destined for a bonfire the place i get them burns 100 per year yes theres an effort in cutting them up but i seems that looking in the shed theres still enough for several months we suplement with logs and also coal this christmas is the first ever we have ever had to have windows open.

Circular saw makes the job really easy, when I started breaking pallets years ago I tried breaking them properly using crowbars etc. Now its very quick with the circular saw.

Snow_Dog

TBeckett100 wrote: »

still getting no joy with the stove.

I am burning wood like it is going out of fashion. even damped down, the stove will be empty and stone cold 7 hours later. using a bit of coal on there now

We have an arrow that gets going in minutes, and within 10 minutes you can feel the difference in most of the downstairs (lounge 20 x 15, dining room 15 x 12, etc).

Not tried it but you could probably boil a kettle on it within 15 minutes of firing it up.

Was told by the father-in-law (who is a chimney sweep) that you should set the fire such that it heats everything up as quickly as possible to avoid condensation problems.

We use a bed of newspaper, bit of kindling, layer of coal and 1 log, all vents open, about 15 minutes later this is all going nice, dump more cola on and a couple of logs and thats it then, top up through the evening as necessary.

As for retaining heat, even without banking it up, there are still glowing embers in the morning often, in fact cleaning it out saturday at about 11:00am found a couple of burning embers starting to burn the newspaper I was using for the ash!

I think using the coal makes a nice bed for chucking logs on every so often through the evening, without the coal theres a lot more topping up.

Elizabeth_T_2

We are thinking of getting a stove, and while I'm not exactly put off by some of the problems here, I would love to know if they have been sorted! Is it just a question of getting used to lighting and using a stove, or are some stoves better than others? It's a lot of money to spend if it wont be efficient, please can I have some answers................

rhiwfield

Elizabeth_T wrote: »

We are thinking of getting a stove, and while I'm not exactly put off by some of the problems here, I would love to know if they have been sorted! Is it just a question of getting used to lighting and using a stove, or are some stoves better than others? It's a lot of money to spend if it wont be efficient, please can I have some answers................

We installed a Little Thurlow 5kw multifuel last July. Multifuel to give us the option tho we intended to burn wood, Little Thurlow because it fitted neatly into our fireplace with enough room for a good airflow to get heat into room. The other reason was because it had a large glass front that allowed us to see fire fully. We'd stopped using the open fire because it was too much hassle, inefficient and sparked onto the rug/carpet.

7 months on and we both think that its the best thing since sliced bread. It generates so much heat (prob more than 5 kw) that it is an alternative to CH in shoulder months. Cost was £1700 inc new liner for chimney. Also built log store for £100 as you get thru a fair bit of wood. Best of all it gives the feel of an open fire but with greater efficiency and controllability. Unlike some others we dont try to keep fire in o/n but relight when needed. Not saying we've got burn 100% but it's lit first time every time and you learn not to let it smoulder/burn too slowly, the idea is to get a good blaze going and then reduce airflow once wood is largely burnt thru to retain heat (others will no doubt disagree, a test is to ensure that chimney is not smoking too much). We light the stove most days and let the heat permeate thru the house.

Disadvantages are that it is a bit dusty and you do need lots of wood (its no cheaper than oil CH at present unless youve got a supply of free wood). This particular stove (like several others) is efficient enough to be used in a smoke control zone