New Stove - Morso Squirrel or what?

[Alycidon]

I just thought I'd mention one disadvantage with the Morso 1410, which also applies to the 1430 that we had in our last house. They're not dedicated wood burning stoves, but have a grate for burning solid fuel. Furthermore the primary lower air supply is delivered below the grate, and the stove doesn't burn properly with this supply fully closed or if the passage is blocked by build up of ash under the grate. You therefore have to empty the ash more often in comparison to stoves where the wood burns on a bed of ash.

 

Actually thinking about the grate, as second disadvantage is that the grate in the centre is actually higher than the surround, so if you use solid fuel the bits always want to roll away from the grate. I keep meaning to make some sort of fireclay inserts to resolve that.

 

Both these are just niggles, and my impulse is still to go with the devil I know.

 

 

1410 is mainly used on boats as the main source of heating, these tend to run 24/7 on solid fuel as wood wont hold in long enough over night.

 

Solid fuel burns from the bottom up so the air coming through the bottom of the door vent needs to be below the level of the fire to make it perform.

 

Ash should be removed daily, if you let it build up it wont do the grate any good.

 

When the stove is burning wood the lower air supply should only be open on lighting, when the stove is alight it should be closed. I do find that if burning wood that is wetter than ideal or burning Oak then a bit of primary (lower control) air is beneficial. For normal wood below 16% MC then it should not be needed. When burning solid fuel then have both supplies fully open as these require more air than wood does. Burning solid fuel keep the grate clear of Ash ( riddle from time to time), burning wood let ash build up on the grate as it acts as a thermal layer protecting the grate.

 

The center grate section sits roughly level with the top of the outer grate, cant ever recall seeing one where the center grate is above the surrounding outer grate. The center section does have some short male projections on it pointing upwards for effective riddling. If that is the case then maybe you have ash under the center section or maybe fire errosion on the outer grate.

 

Morso do sell what they call a coal saver insert set to do what you want re the last bits of fuel.

 

Even the new dedicated woodburning Morso's all have an ash pan and grate, people much prefer that way as they are easier to clean out.

 

I suspect that when you say the stove does not burn when the primary air is closed that may you have a flue problem, ie lack of pull. The 1410 has two air supply wheels, so no way do they get blocked. This could be caused by a number of things. But again it might be wet wood.

 

A

[Alycidon]

I have just installed a new fire and I have always wanted a morso badger and that is what I fully intended getting after owning a couple of cheap wood burners which were ok for the money, but not great.

After visiting a few stove shops I couldnt even get to see a badger let alone buy one so I ended up taking some advice and getting the burley Holywell.

I am very happy with it, it really throws out some heat and as mentioned the large glass door and swirling flames is mesmerising. They are very good quality stoves, built to last.

Not sure of the rrp, but I paid 850 for mine and it is worth every penny.

Please don't reply saying the only cost 500 everywhere else!

 

Should have found a Morso dealer, they are listed on the Morso UK web site, just put your post code or nearest town in and the nearest 6 dealers will come up. All should have Badger on display as its one of the top two sellers.

 

Many of the online sellers are selling grey import badgers, these are rated at 6.5kw and legally require outside air ventilation. There is also no UK supported warranty. Buy one from your local dealer, its a UK spec model with the full Morso UK warranty back up and it carries a 5kw plate, it is exactly the same stove but now in most cases does not require outside air ventilation.

 

A

[Woodworks]

Sorry, yes it is open planned.

It's to be used as a general DIY workshop and for flower processing/ floristry.... just looking to get it to a nice working temperature.

 

There is a mezzanine floor over half of the footprint (6m x 5m) so I'm guessing it might be best to put a woodburner in that section rather than the other side of the barn which is full height.

 

I've put 50mm of insulation in the roof and also with a vapour control layer in the roof.

The walls will have 100mm insulation and the floor will have 65mm.

 

Basically, ithe barn is designed to be used as a comfortable work area.

cheers, steve

 

Hi Steve

 

Our place is not dissimilar to what you describe. 4.5m to the ridge and 300m3 of space to heat. Insulation is probably above yours but not up to current regs but it is well sealed. We have 8km stove that can heat the whole place for most of the year. Yes you get a buildup of heat in the pitch but it's not excessive. When it was my workshop I used a large ceiling fan to push the heat back down to floor level and this worked really well.

[richardwale]

I have just installed a new fire and I have always wanted a morso badger and that is what I fully intended getting after owning a couple of cheap wood burners which were ok for the money, but not great.

After visiting a few stove shops I couldnt even get to see a badger let alone buy one so I ended up taking some advice and getting the burley Holywell.

I am very happy with it, it really throws out some heat and as mentioned the large glass door and swirling flames is mesmerising. They are very good quality stoves, built to last.

Not sure of the rrp, but I paid 850 for mine and it is worth every penny.

Please don't reply saying the only cost 500 everywhere else!

 

Got a Burley Wakerley a few years ago, what a stove, serious heat, very efficient. A few problems, had to make a new fire guard as the last one warped and a new handle was replaced by Burley FOC. Apart from that, superb.

[woodrascal]

There are lots of other decent quality UK and European stove brands to consider including in no particular order, Clearview, Charnwood, Dunsley, Contura, Chesneys, Jotul, Scan....

[mendiplogs]

There are lots of other decent quality UK and European stove brands to consider including in no particular order, Clearview, Charnwood, Dunsley, Contura, Chesneys, Jotul, Scan....

 

Hi wood I now someone with a JOTUL 30)35years old like new very well made stove thanks Jon

[aesmith]

Hi mate the baffle plate on my 4)5 years as new it is why does Morso burn out so fast thanks John

Could be stuff building up on top of the baffle, we used to get quite a lot collecting there at our old house, although not at the current place where the flue's in better condition.

[aesmith]

The center grate section sits roughly level with the top of the outer grate, cant ever recall seeing one where the center grate is above the surrounding outer grate. The center section does have some short male projections on it pointing upwards for effective riddling. If that is the case then maybe you have ash under the center section or maybe fire errosion on the outer grate.

You can see it on the exploded diagram. The grate itself is concave, but the flat plate that it sits on has a raised rim where the grate sits, the area of that plate outside the grate is lower than that rim.

 

I don't think we have a flue issue, the flue is just over 5m tall with a 6" liner. Also the behaviour was exactly the same with the 1430 at our last house (flue about 7.5m). In both cases you almost always need a reasonable amount of primary air to keep it going nicely. With the spinner fully closed it stains the glass more, showing (I think) that there's unburned stuff coming off the wood.

 

Wood is almost entirely Ash and Sycamore, with the odd bit of pallet or other joinery scraps.

[gensetsteve]

We have a hunter now 13 years old original un cracked bricks.

 

We have a small villager the bricks were cracked within weeks. Even so I think a better stove. More heat and more controllable and better made. Smaller and very efficient

[aesmith]

We have a small villager the bricks were cracked within weeks. Even so I think a better stove. More heat and more controllable and better made. Smaller and very efficient

The bricks in our Rayburn cracked within a very short time. The dealer helped us get a free set from Rayburn, he reckoned if they'd ever got damp in storage that might have shortened their life. How are your new firebricks lasting?