Log burners, questions etc

[renewablejohn]

Hi John

It was an 8kw multifuel boiler stove, had it running 5 rads and it still used to take the best part of a day to get the system nicely hot on just wood ( seasoned logs checked with a meter), only thing it would work really well was pallets or coal, my hunch is they make better coal stoves than pure wood stoves. We had to put an extra flue damper in just to stop most of the heat going up the chimney and give the boiler a chance to get hot. And finally I'd have had more chance of a night with Kylie than of keeping that thing lit all night.

I have no axe to grind here just saying it how I found it.

Tucky

 

Tucky

 

I am not surprised the multifuel boilers are rated using coal so your 8 kw would only be giving approx 6 kw to the boiler on wood. You dont get that problem on the bigger Dunsley Yorkshire as the thermostatic air vent regulates the heat output.

[richardwale]

Our 12kw Burley. Haven't used central heating once in the day or evening, only on one hour early morning cos of kids.

[White Noise]

My 5kw Burley

 

Burley are they a steel burner ? Do they hold there heat for long when finished burning ? Looks nice

[Stubby]

Burley are they a steel burner ? Do they hold there heat for long when finished burning ? Looks nice

 

Yep steel but chunky not thin . Most mornings I can put my hand on it but its still warm . Move the ash of the embers pop a bit of small stuff on and away it goes . What I like about them is the big picture window ( see the 12kw above ! ) and the simple controls . One air slide and a door .....

[White Noise]

Yep steel but chunky not thin . Most mornings I can put my hand on it but its still warm . Move the ash of the embers pop a bit of small stuff on and away it goes . What I like about them is the big picture window ( see the 12kw above ! ) and the simple controls . One air slide and a door .....

 

Quite fancy an 8kw for the kitchen . Cheers for the reply . Are these the stoves that the tank drive's over in that infamous you tube commercial ?

[bikewoo]

Firefox 8, lots of heat, cheap to buy, will lake a 15inch log. Had ours 2 years great stove. Just heat no water but with a fan to move the heat keeps the whole house warm. Stays lit for over half the year.

[richardwale]

Yep there the ones. It's the fact that the Burley are really efficient, plus the flame picture is superb. In my opinion, a really top stove for not top money.

[Stubby]

Quite fancy an 8kw for the kitchen . Cheers for the reply . Are these the stoves that the tank drive's over in that infamous you tube commercial ?

 

Just a word of caution I think that mine at least is rated at 5kw nominal . Realistically it punts out more than that . It heats the whole house not just the room its in . The back room and up the stairs . I used the formula for the size of room and it came out at just under 4kw required but went for the 5kw coz of the back room having no door on it but it does heat much more than I thought . I think it better to have a smaller stove burning properly than a big stove ticking over all the time ( in terms of chimney cleanliness and glass staying clear . Also sitting around in your shreddies mid winter seems wrong !

[pycoed]

Dunsley Highlander 7 here (no boiler - have a Trianco gravity feed for that). Very happy with it, can keep it in all night if needed (very rare 'cos of Trianco) just on wood.

Have only ever run wood in it, but it saves us 2 tons of anthracite a year, which is around £480, so it paid for itself in a year basically!.

[wrsni]

Another vote here for Burley if you just want room heat. We got ours going about mid December and couldn't be happier with it, very easy to look after, all the pleasure of an open fire but so much more heat from the same amount of wood. Haven't had the central heating on since it was installed as it's fairly centrally located in the house allowing the heat to spread.

 

A few points, as Stubby says have no concerns about the plate steel stoves ability to retain heat, it does and very well too! Also, we decided to fit it with the original built chimney knowing we could retro fit a flexible flue liner if required but there's been no problems whatsoever. Now that might not always be the case but some people will try to say that you MUST ALWAYS fit a flue liner and that is plainly not correct. Finally, if you have quite an air tight house definitely give serious consideration to a stove that will allow a room seal kit. Not much point having a nice warm stove only to have to cut a hole in the wall and essentially allow cold air in to the room to allow it to burn. Far more sensible to bring the cold air directly in to the stove and keep the warm air in the room.

 

Good luck with your search but before getting too hung up with brands or types, have a long think about what you actually need first. Your two big decisions are multi-fuel or wood only and boiler or non-boiler. Once you've sorted that out your search will become a lot simpler.