Esse 1 Ecodesign Stove Feedback

[Muddy42]

Over the summer I had an Esse 1 woodburning Stove installed for a small room with a lined flue.  I have used it a few times now. The heat output of 5kw is tremendous, almost too much for a small room in October. Its a small stove that can only take small logs.

 

My only complaint is that it is hard to light and it lets smoke into the room at first.  I have tried the usual trick of giving it a real blast of burning newspaper and kindling, but it still isn't ideal. I also have a larger Clearview stove installed in a chimney of a similar length, which has never had this problem.

 

As an eco design stove, it promotes smoke re-circulation by the top rectangular baffle bricks only having a tiny gap for the smoke to escape out of, which I don't think is helping the situation.  I have some spare fireboard, so I might see if leaving a more normal sized gap at the front makes a difference.

 

In advance of the complaints from the stove installers, yes I appreciate that experimenting with a stove could invalidate my warranty, insurance etc.  Don't do this at home kids!

 

 

[Stere]

Sounds like abit of a design flaw .

 

Why not have an adjustable baffle/flue damper for use  whilst lighting?

 

 

I get the design logic for max % efficiency & its maybe that they think people can't be trusted to not leave it open.

[Mik the Miller]

My new (eco Stovax) stove is the same. I went from a cast iron box with a grate to a large glass doored, brick lined, designed steel box with secondary airwash and tertiary air thats much more efficient and fills the room with smoke and ash at every oppertunity.

 

I think these new stoves are designed by bright young university graduates with no experience or real clue on the practticality of how a fire actually works.

 

I've had two seasons and i'm just getting used to it now but compared to the old stove it's a bitch to light and (like yours) smokes.

My issue is not only is there a small gap for the smoke to evacuate but also the door goes to within 15mm of the top, so you open the door and the room fills with fine particles of ash. Topping up is a no-no, you basically have to wait until all the fuel has been used before adding more.

 

The old stove had a good 75mm 'lip' above the doors with air baffles at the top and below the grate, you could also leave the door slightly ajar to get the stove roaring, this new design may be more efficient but in practical usage it's crap.

[Muddy42]

42 minutes ago, Mik the Miller said:

My new (eco Stovax) stove is the same. I went from a cast iron box with a grate to a large glass doored, brick lined, designed steel box with secondary airwash and tertiary air thats much more efficient and fills the room with smoke and ash at every oppertunity.

 

I think these new stoves are designed by bright young university graduates with no experience or real clue on the practticality of how a fire actually works.

 

I've had two seasons and i'm just getting used to it now but compared to the old stove it's a bitch to light and (like yours) smokes.

My issue is not only is there a small gap for the smoke to evacuate but also the door goes to within 15mm of the top, so you open the door and the room fills with fine particles of ash. Topping up is a no-no, you basically have to wait until all the fuel has been used before adding more.

 

The old stove had a good 75mm 'lip' above the doors with air baffles at the top and below the grate, you could also leave the door slightly ajar to get the stove roaring, this new design may be more efficient but in practical usage it's crap.

 

Yes same here about the smoke exit being close to the door, I hadn't thought about that.

[openspaceman]

21 minutes ago, Muddy42 said:

 

Yes same here about the smoke exit being close to the door, I hadn't thought about that.

Within the constraints of what people expect of a stove I cannot see much other way, Ideally one would push new logs in from under the fire.

 

The reason the flue exit is such a narrow slit  adjacent to the air wash is that the air wash is  the major combustion gas, it is both primary and secondary air in a dedicated wood burner with no undergrate air. So the back edge of the air entering the fire mixes with the exiting flue gases to make sure any fuel gases have enough oxygen to burn out. The front part of the air continues down the glass preventing tars settling and then, as long as there is enough oxygen left, reacts with hot char to burn it out. This way any volatiles are burned off before the char.

 

This complicated way of gas mixing loses quite a bit of the depression caused by hot flue gases going up the chimney, so the draw is poorer than a traditional up draught fire where air enters at the bottom then continually rises.

 

It also means it is probably best not to reload while the are yellow flames  but until the flames are purple of the char burning and open the door very slowly.

[GarethM]

The not reloading thing is similar to the log gasification boilers, they want it burning hard and smoke free.

 

A 5kw stove burns what 1kg per hour approximately 

[Muddy42]

Its all very well that the stove produces less particles outside the house, but its a bit fruitless if it makes the indoor air quality worse by smoking. I'm sure its great for the stove installers though! All those extra sales of chimney liners, cowls (that'll require hire of a cherry picker sir) and a cold air vent direct to the stove.