Multi-Fuel burner recommendation

[DerekSharpting1]

Hi to all,

 

I am currently looking for a new wood burner for my bungalow. We have quite a big open plan space having knocked down walls to the kitchen and dining room from the living room. I had a AGA Ludlow 6.5k in my last house which was a smaller space and was very happy with that. But this is a much bigger space and all the recommendations I am getting is go with a 5kw max (seems counter intuitive to do this considering I was at 6.5k in a smallish room previously).

 

My requirements are cast iron and a nice space to fit a big fat log in once the fire is going well. I have looked at a clock blithfield 5kw nominal which seems good but is not cast iron. 

 

Any advice please?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Derek

 

[Stubby]

On 06/12/2020 at 08:43, DerekSharpting1 said:

Hi to all,

 

I am currently looking for a new wood burner for my bungalow. We have quite a big open plan space having knocked down walls to the kitchen and dining room from the living room. I had a AGA Ludlow 6.5k in my last house which was a smaller space and was very happy with that. But this is a much bigger space and all the recommendations I am getting is go with a 5kw max (seems counter intuitive to do this considering I was at 6.5k in a smallish room previously).

 

My requirements are cast iron and a nice space to fit a big fat log in once the fire is going well. I have looked at a clock blithfield 5kw nominal which seems good but is not cast iron. 

 

Any advice please?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Derek

 

Has to be multi fuel ?  or can it be just a log burner ?  I have a Burley ( nominal out put of 5KW but punts out nearer 8 on full chat ) This is steel and heats my whole house if the doors to all the rooms are left open .

[Rob_the_Sparky]

Why cast iron?  I have a Clearview Pioneer and very happy with it.  It is a multi-fuel but I only burn wood on it so can't comment on how good it is with other fuels.

 

How big a burner will depend not only on the size of the house but also the insulation (or lack thereof).  Also whether you are also heating water and how much you plan on using it.  As I understand it they are more efficient when they are run hot so a smaller wood burner might make sense, but also might be due to the rules on external air if you exceed 5kW.  I've never understood the rules of drilling big holes in your nicely insulated walls to let in lots of cold air so you can use a big wood burner.  However, some larger burners can be equipped with a an intake from outside if you want a bigger one and avoid this issue.

 

Having said that ours is quite a big house but with good insulation and the one fire burnt all day meets most of our heating needs, CH only kicks in a bit even in this weather.

[Nopedigree]

The pioneer can be fitted with an external air supply kit although not something I've bothered with. I'm in an older house, insulated but far from airtight but I think older (20year plus) houses need to breath and the air the stove takes helps with this.

I also have a Franco Belge in the lounge which is cast iron but controlling the burn once going is an art, I'm sure the seal between the cast body and the top plate allows air in so when lit and upto temp I shut the slider fully and control the heat by the timing of stoking, number of logs and size. The other think I don't like is the top plate is not smooth so kettle and stove fan do not make the best contact for heat transfer. I will replace it sometime with a clearview 500.

 

NoPedigree

[roys]

I run two multifuel stoves but 99% of the time they burn wood because I get it and process it myself so it is free.

The main one is a Charwood 16kW, fantastic stove, good quality, good design been running it for about 15years now, very pleased with it.

The other one is a Flavel Rochester 7kW, it’s only ok there is a couple of very daft design flaws in it, for example where the glass sits there is a stupid ledge and the ash piles up on it so as soon as you open the door you get a fair amount of ash and embers landing on the hearth. The other thing about it is the grate stays open if it is on coal or wood, there is no way to close it, I was always thought wood on a closed grate so that it burnt on a bed of ash and coal on an open grate.

Both the supplier  and Flavel were not remotely interested when I complained about the ledge.

In summary Charnwood fab but expensive, Flavel flawed.

Edited December 7, 2020 by roys

[Exmoor Chris]

I know they are a little more, but woodwarm really are a class act. I watched mine being built in Cullompton Devon, they still make the parts for all their old Stoves, no need to chuck out if something breaks. 

[Commando]

Another thumbs up for Woodwarm[emoji106]

[DerekSharpting1]

Thank you all for the advice. I like cast iron as it will stay hot for longer when I stop loading it up. We only burned wood in our last one but even so the room would be warm the next morning when coming downstairs. The house is being renovated so is having 50mm rigid insulation on all external facing walls prior to plasterboard but the room it will go in is 8m X 8m and the plan would be to keep a set of double doors open to let heat go to the rest of the house including upstairs. 

[Ratman]

I rekon 5kw will be fine, i’m melting some nights in front of mine, 3 bed bungalow with upstairs room in apex, pretty well insulated. Stubby’s earlier suggestion sounds like nail on the head for your needs.

[Stubby]

1 hour ago, DerekSharpting1 said:

Thank you all for the advice. I like cast iron as it will stay hot for longer when I stop loading it up. We only burned wood in our last one but even so the room would be warm the next morning when coming downstairs. The house is being renovated so is having 50mm rigid insulation on all external facing walls prior to plasterboard but the room it will go in is 8m X 8m and the plan would be to keep a set of double doors open to let heat go to the rest of the house including upstairs. 

My steel stove is still warm in the morning . You can put your hand on the top but still warm . Remove some of the ash and there are the glowing embers . Bit of kindling and away it goes again .