Looking for some advice on a woodburner with a removable top lid

[Terrydxb]

Looking for some advice on a woodburner.

We're looking at buying a house with a woodburner already fitted. It's a little different from the woodburner we have now as there is a removeable lid (about 15 inches by 12inches) on the top surface - its just a simple plate, held in place by its own weight, that when removed, allows you to see the grate below. There is a rope seal in place but, I doubt this would be too effective in stopping smoke/gases leaking out.

Its easy to lift/remove the lid when its cold, but I can't see any way of lifting it when the fire is being used - I thought at first it was an easy way of 'throwing logs onto the fire' without having to open the doors, but now I'm not so sure that this makes sense. as I there can't be any sort of top baffle plate in position

I've been looking at online woodburner suppliers and I can't find any units that have such a lid on the top surface. At first glance, apart from this removable lid, the woodburner itself looks normal - 2 doors with valves at the top and bottom

The current owner says the burner was there when he bought the place, so he has no idea if was was fitted by a HETAS approved installer. Anyone with any idea what this lid might be for? Is it even legal?

 

[Stubby]

30 minutes ago, Terrydxb said:

Looking for some advice on a woodburner.

 

We're looking at buying a house with a woodburner already fitted. It's a little different from the woodburner we have now as there is a removeable lid (about 15 inches by 12inches) on the top surface - its just a simple plate, held in place by its own weight, that when removed, allows you to see the grate below. There is a rope seal in place but, I doubt this would be too effective in stopping smoke/gases leaking out.

 

Its easy to lift/remove the lid when its cold, but I can't see any way of lifting it when the fire is being used - I thought at first it was an easy way of 'throwing logs onto the fire' without having to open the doors, but now I'm not so sure that this makes sense. as I there can't be any sort of top baffle plate in position

 

I've been looking at online woodburner suppliers and I can't find any units that have such a lid on the top surface. At first glance, apart from this removable lid, the woodburner itself looks normal - 2 doors with valves at the top and bottom

 

The current owner says the burner was there when he bought the place, so he has no idea if was was fitted by a HETAS approved installer. Anyone with any idea what this lid might be for? Is it even legal?

 

 

 

Is it a hot plate for a kettle or pan ?

[trigger_andy]

Looking for some advice on a woodburner.

We're looking at buying a house with a woodburner already fitted. It's a little different from the woodburner we have now as there is a removeable lid (about 15 inches by 12inches) on the top surface - its just a simple plate, held in place by its own weight, that when removed, allows you to see the grate below. There is a rope seal in place but, I doubt this would be too effective in stopping smoke/gases leaking out.

Its easy to lift/remove the lid when its cold, but I can't see any way of lifting it when the fire is being used - I thought at first it was an easy way of 'throwing logs onto the fire' without having to open the doors, but now I'm not so sure that this makes sense. as I there can't be any sort of top baffle plate in position

I've been looking at online woodburner suppliers and I can't find any units that have such a lid on the top surface. At first glance, apart from this removable lid, the woodburner itself looks normal - 2 doors with valves at the top and bottom

The current owner says the burner was there when he bought the place, so he has no idea if was was fitted by a HETAS approved installer. Anyone with any idea what this lid might be for? Is it even legal?

 

Fire it up and see it it leaks? I’m sure fresh rope is more than able to keep the smoke/gasses from leaking but keep a carbon monoxide detector close by.

Unless you really like it I’d rip it out and replace with a modern Stove. You’ll make your money back in no time with fuel saved through efficiently.

[Terrydxb]

4 minutes ago, Stubby said:

Is it a hot plate for a kettle or pan ?

That's what I initially thought but, the more I look into it, the more it doesn't seem quite right.  For starters, it's not a good gas tight seal. Its not a tight fit and it would be easy to knock it out of position when it allow smoke/fumes to enter

the room

[Stubby]

1 minute ago, Terrydxb said:

That's what I initially thought but, the more I look into it, the more it doesn't seem quite right.  For starters, it's not a good gas tight seal. Its not a tight fit and it would be easy to knock it out of position when it allow smoke/fumes to enter

the room

As Trig says rip it out and put in a modern high efficiency stove , with a single door >

[Terrydxb]

3 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

Fire it up and see it it leaks? I’m sure fresh rope is more than able to keep the smoke/gasses from leaking but keep a carbon monoxide detector close by.

Unless you really like it I’d rip it out and replace with a modern Stove. You’ll make your money back in no time with fuel saved through efficiently.

It's not our house so we can't fire it up. Whatever happens, we want a woodburner, but with the expense of buying the house, we'd like this one to 'do for now'

 

Another issue, is that it is fitted with an external flue and where this exits the outside wall, there's a lot of damage. Easily fixable, but there's no collar/flexible seal, so rain can drip done the flue, into the wall. The current owner says this was present when he bought the place 5 years ago and he does not know if the whole thing was carried out a HETAS approved installer.

 

My real concerns are is this a legal woodburner and has it been properly installed - I guess we could insist on an insurance indemnity from the seller

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

 

 

 

[Paul in the woods]

I doubt the stove is HETAS installed, many aren't. No harm in asking the seller but if it's a sellers market they'll probably not want to bother with sorting out anything. You may also have trouble with house insurance if you use the stove without getting it inspected. It does sound like you need someone who knows what they are doing to sort it.

 

Going back to the stove, do you know the make or have a photo? On the old Rayburns etc they had a cover you could lift off the hot plate, that was for cleaning out the soot and access to the flu. Seems to be called a 'plug' on some old photos. Fairly common so I would hope yours could be sealed and signed off.

[AHPP]

I’ve got a front-and-top loader, a Vermont Intrepid. Not as efficient as a modern stove but the top loading works fine and doesn’t leak smoke into the room.

[trigger_andy]

56 minutes ago, Terrydxb said:

It's not our house so we can't fire it up.

Ask them if you can?

 

57 minutes ago, Terrydxb said:

Another issue, is that it is fitted with an external flue and where this exits the outside wall, there's a lot of damage. Easily fixable, but there's no collar/flexible seal, so rain can drip done the flue, into the wall. The current owner says this was present when he bought the place 5 years ago and he does not know if the whole thing was carried out a HETAS approved installer.

Sounds like a bodge If factor in fixing and replacing immediately. 

 

57 minutes ago, Terrydxb said:

he does not know if the whole thing was carried out a HETAS approved installer.

I doubt it was. Without paperwork it might as well not have been regardless if it was. 

 

58 minutes ago, Terrydxb said:

My real concerns are is this a legal woodburner and has it been properly installed - I guess we could insist on an insurance indemnity from the seller

 

If its not been inspected by a HETAS registered person, ie a Sweep within the last 12-24 months then even if it was legally installed its no longer 'legal' or better put no longer insured so if your house burns down because of it then you're liable. 

 

If a sweep inspected what you describe I'm quite sure it would get condemned anyway. 

 

Ask to get a HETAS registered Sweep in to have a look and that you'd pay for this. Im quite sure its going to end up with a big red sticker slapped on it and then its gonna put other buyers off and you're in a better bargaining position to negotiate a slightly better price.  

[Terrydxb]

34 minutes ago, Paul in the woods said:

Going back to the stove, do you know the make or have a photo? On the old Rayburns etc they had a cover you could lift off the hot plate, that was for cleaning out the soot and access to the flu. Seems to be called a 'plug' on some old photos. Fairly common so I would hope yours could be sealed and signed off.

Don't know the make - we were having a really good look around the house and I didn't think much of this at the time - I've spent ages looking though current suppliers and can't see any with this sort of lid. I doubt the fire is more than 10 years old. I think its worth paying for a local HETAS installer to take a look