Almost no heat from new multi fuel stove

Elizabeth_T_2

Great, that's what I wanted to hear! We have decided to have a proper chimney built instead of a flue, am awaiting quotes at the moment. Thank you

A._Badger

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................

Clearly, some stoves are better than others but unless you buy one of the dodgy Chinese ones (e-Bayers beware!) you shouldn't go too far wrong.

I think your question almost answers itself, meanwhile. A lot of the problems people post about are due to a lack of experience or not having been shown how to run their stoves by the installers.

Certainly, if you are sold a 5kw stove when you need a 15kw one, you won't get sufficient heat, but any competent installer should be able to get that right and, frankly, they have a vested interest in selling you a stove that's too big, as they are more expenisve and thus more profitable to sell!

Lighting and keeping them running overnight are the two biggest issues, in my experience, The first is easily solved by buying an electric lighter (I use a Grenadier). Some people say they are expensive - but surely not if you have already spent over £1,500 buying and installing a stove? Then factor in the cost of firelighters or kindling... I know my Grenadier is one of the best buys I've made and I wish I'd done it years ago!

Keeping a stove burning overnight , however, can tricky in some situations (where I am now, for example, it's proving quite difficult to achieve) and this can call for a lot of patience until you find the method and the fuel that suit your stove and location (it's mostly due to draught, or lack thereof).

The one area where I do think people go badly wrong with stoves is having unrealistic expectations - particularly regarding the costs. They sometimes seem to expect stoves to be a lot cheaper to run than they are. Unless you own a wood, getting enough fuel for free is a pipedream - particularly as it needs storing for at east a year before it's fit to burn.

If you need to buy it, wood can be expensive and (again in my experience) often isn't properly seasoned, which can cause all sorts of problems. Coal and smokeless fuel are also very expensive these days, so anyone who thinks buying a stove will save them a fortune is, I suspect, wrong: particularly when they include purchase and installation costs of the stove itself.

On the positive side (and it's a big one), the heat given out by a stove is wonderfully comforting, homely and more controllable than that from an open fire (though, hand on heart, I actually prefer open fires, aesthetically). It make a sterile room come alive and your cat or dog will love you all the more for it!

Buy the right one one for the right reasons, learn to run it and I really doubt you'd be disappointed, but choose a good supplier who will help you get it in and running properly. Find a good sweep and a reliable source of fuel and you'll have found a new friend!