Best log burner for my circumstances?

[doobin]

Trust me, with the gaps around the front door and the like, I won't need an air vent! Just lit the open fire and had to put my boots on as the amount of air coming up from under the floorboards is unbelievable!

 

Any more ideas on models?

[County4x4]

Right - just a few points for starters!

 

Stoves always work better with a liner. You don't HAVE to have one unless the chimney is leaking - it's not a HETAS requirement. Many installers insist on them to avoid problems further down the line with tar leaching through the walls of the chimney into upstairs rooms. This is more likely to happen with a stove as there's far less draught in the chimney and less heat, so it's easier for tars and creosote in the smoke to condense inside the chimney.

 

If you fit without a liner, you must make sure the chimney can be accessed for sweeping - lined installations are usually swept through the stove, but we can't get big enough brushes for an open chimney through a stove pipe. So fit a register plate with an access hatch - or two if it's a wide fireplace. The sweep needs to get the soot out once he's swept the chimney, or it's all piling up just cooking nicely right above the stove, and waiting for an excuse to catch fire.

 

Stove installations are covered by the building regs (part J) - if you install it yourself, then you must have the job signed off by the local building control officer at the council. Otherwise, if there's a problem, YOU WILL be liable, and insurance us unlikely to pay out. It's also technically an illegal installation if not signed off. Enough people are already killed by faulty stove installations each year - and carbon monoxide from a stove will kill you just as well as fumes from a faulty gas fire.

 

An external air vent is required by the regs if the stove is over 5kW.

 

There is nothing at all in the building regs concerning the use of, or banning stove top fans. The ecofan is widely used and many owners swear by them. People who've never owned one and won't pay for one say they're rubbish!

 

Don't overdo the size of the stove. Check one of the online "woodstove calculators" to give you an idea of what you should be looking at, and then adjust a little maybe if you have a particularly cold or draughty place. It's much better and more efficient to run a small stove fairly hard than have a big one just ticking over. You'll have a cleaner chimney and use less fuel.

 

Make sure the chimney is swept properly before the stove goes in.

 

Bear in mind that a smoke test is often done wrong. If you're checking the chimney for soundness, the fireplace and chimney pot need to be sealed up when the smoke goes in. Just lighting a smoke pellet in the fireplace only tells you there's a draught up the chimney - it won't show up leaks unless they're gaping holes.

 

And just to make the point again - carbon monoxide from a stove can kill you without breaking a sweat - PLEASE make sure the job is done right, and get it signed off. You can download Part J online - have a read through it and then you'll know what's needed to comply.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

Edited to add - you may well find the place a lot less draughty once the stove is in - that open fireplace will be removing up to 5 cubic metres of air a minute from the room, and that air has to be replaced from somewhere - and "somewhere" is outside.

Edited October 22, 2011 by County4x4

[likeitorlumpit]

This is almost exactly what we found plus there is a hearth issue

We got our stove about 1.5kw too big and don't regret it. We leave the room door wide open- can get it really toasty even so plus the wood is theoretically free so efficiency isn't a huge issue.

The installers insisted on a liner and because they were HETAS registered they didn't need building control to sign it off- saved about £200 from memory

Obviously not as cheap as doing it DIY but don't forget the insurance issue- if the house burns down and is not insured then thats expensive DIY.- I'm being all sensible here I know.

Model is clearview- brilliant

[Paul Smith]

 

Stove installations are covered by the building regs (part J) - if you install it yourself, then you must have the job signed off by the local building control officer

 

There is nothing at all in the building regs concerning the use of, or banning stove top fans. The ecofan is widely used and many owners swear by them. People who've never owned one and won't pay for one say they're rubbish!

 

 

Look at 1.2C, if you had a ceiling fan in the room would you sign it off? What's the difference with a sterling fan?

[hazzygawa]

Good to read these threads

[D Mc]

Trust me, with the gaps around the front door and the like, I won't need an air vent! Just lit the open fire and had to put my boots on as the amount of air coming up from under the floorboards is unbelievable!

 

No, you are wrong. If you want to stay warm in a drafty house you must have an out side air delivery system attached to your stove. Almost any, modest size, air tight stove, will hold a fire for eight hours. But if it is sucking cold air into the room it won't matter. Give it a source of direct, and sealed outside air and all those fire caused drafts will stop.

 

Dave

[County4x4]

Look at 1.2C, if you had a ceiling fan in the room would you sign it off? What's the difference with a sterling fan?

 

Sorry - missed this bit before.

 

The section you're on about is regarding extraction fans - ie fans sucking air out of the room to the outside. Ceiling fans and any type of stove top fan are totally different - they're not extracting anything - just stirring the air in the room. So no problem with either type of fan running alongside a stove.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

[Paul Smith]

Sorry - missed this bit before.

 

The section you're on about is regarding extraction fans - ie fans sucking air out of the room to the outside. Ceiling fans and any type of stove top fan are totally different - they're not extracting anything - just stirring the air in the room. So no problem with either type of fan running alongside a stove.

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

Any fan can change the airflow in the room. I believe tumble dryers may also be coming onto the list.

[County4x4]

It can yes - but the type of fans the building regs cover are specifically extraction fans There's absolutely nothing in the regs saying you can't or shouldn't use stove top fans. The reason they suggest avoiding fitting a stove in the same room as an extractor fan is that if the draught in the chimney is poor, and the room is well sealed, then an extractor fan can actually pull the air DOWN the chimney and push it outside. Obviously if the stove is lit, then this can create a dangerous problem. Tumble dryers vented to the outside can have the same effect. A stove top fan is never going to be able to do this as it's just gently shifting air around in a room - not removing it or adding it, so it's never going to be a potential hazard.

 

Andy

[djbobbins]

For what it's worth - if you have already got some big curtains up and as quoted the problem is with cold air coming up through the floorboards, have you thought about getting a job lot of clear silicon and sealing the gaps between the boards?

 

My sister bought a Victorian house which had been done up as a "builder's refurb", having viewed it during the summer. Come the first winter, she found the nice shiny polished sawn edged floorboards (no T&G) meant huge draughts.

 

Think about it - if you've got a 12 by 12 room, that's 144 square feet. If for each 4 inch board there is a 2.5mm gap, that is three and a half square feet of "air leak" space.

 

You can get a dozen tubes of clear silicon from Screwfix for £18-odd.