Alycidon

I came across some oak sold cheaply to a new stove owner that I had delivered his stove tonight. Been felled 5 years !!, logged since mid summer, 20-22%, so to wet for best results. I have advised the customer to store it inside for another 12 months when it will be ideal, meanwhile have some of my nice dry soft !!. A

Stovax glass cleaner has been found on test at Morso to damage some of the black coloured glass coatings on their very new model stoves. Be careful where and how you use it. A

I was not familiar with the stove but have now had a look on Google, nice stove, looks like a dedicated wood burner in which case you only have a control which on a multi fuel stove is known as the secondary air control, ie an air curtain only. If that is getting dirty glass then I would be surprised, if it is then talk to the manufacturer or dealer/installer that you bought it through. Morso Squirrell, a pic would enable me to id the model but Morso dont chop and change models from one decade to the next. Assuming you have only one wheel on the lower door ( primary air) you also have a lever underneath the ash lip that moves left to right that controls the secondary air inlet then you have a 1430. 1410 and 1412 models both have 2 wheels, one at the top and one at the bottom. If none of that stack up and you are having issues with black glass pm me your phone number and I will give you a bell to discuss. It may be a very old model that did not have an air sweep, Morso stoves if looked after will last 40 years plus. A

STOP STOP STOP !!!!. The glass is getting dirty for one of two reasons assuming you are burning wood. The most likely is that you are using primary air UNDER the fire, wood burns from the top down, once the fire is established the ONLY air you want entering the stove is via the secondary air supply which comes down the inside of the glass. On the Herald 8 the primary air supply are the two slides in the lower part of the doors, the secondary air supply is the slide above the center of the two doors. Set your new fire on a bed of old ash, that protects the grate and makes it last longer. Start the fire with primary and secondary air fully open and even the doors slightly open for a few minutes. Once the sticks are going put smallish bits of wood on and close the doors, once they are going then on with full size logs and close the primary air supply slides, the fire is now managed with the secondary air supply slide above the door. The other reason for dirty glass is crerosote on the glass, always load your stove with the cut ends facing the side of your stove, thats where gases that contain the crerosote come out. If the cut face is just inside the glass the crerosote will get onto the glass before the fire can ignite it, again the fire will burn it off but it will take some time. Your fire when managed properly will burn off crap on the inside of the glass after an hour or two. You will get a small build up of smoke right along the bottom inch or so of the glass, this is because by the time the secondary air supply which forms a curtain between the glass and the fire gets down to the bottom it has all been pulled into the fire. A squirt with smoke remover from your local stove shop will shift it, Mr Muscle kitchin will also do an acceptable job. If you are burning smokeless fuel then leave the secondary open all the while and control using primary air supply, keep the grate clearish of ash when refulling. Smokeless fuel burns from the bottom up hence the different settings. I am surprised that your stove retailer did not either send you detailed instructions in addition to those supplied by the manufacturer or come and give you a hands on driving lesson. Maybe you bought it online. A happy xmas to you all. A

Agreed, bloody disgrace. The horses will be poking in as they will be hungry, electric fence is the only way. A

I dont act for Clearview so have no idea how they are put together but what you are saying is perfectly plausible. A

We all have that issue, problem is it will burn next winter !!. Its just a matter of it the guy has storage space. Strikes me that if he is prepared to sell for that amount processed you might be able to buy some cheap cord from him !!. A

Those crates are all imported from the Baltic or Russia. He is marketing quite hard both retail and through the stove trade. Had a stand at the annual stove show. Think the bags are filled here from the crates, at the end of the day the carriage in a pallet carrier is likely to be £40 so the price is about right in my book. A

When the door is open the whisting stops, sounds like a new door rope is needed, not a major job at all. Testing flue draght etc really comes back to the installer, in these high winds of late draught is considerably increased. I gave a new owner a driving lesson last night with her new stove, it was pulling like hell in the high wind, I had it almost shut right down to get a nice flame pattern. A

Next year I will process the lot straight into the bags so the problem will be sorted. I borrow a teleporter to do the donkey work, with only maybe 70 cube of bulk left to bag then its not worth laying out serious money just to save a bit of time. It took me an hour to load two bags the other night. 2 frames is something I had not considered, should be able to get another one made up pretty cheaply. A

I have a big bulk pile, all my customers seem to want bagged product. At present I am using a frame and a 2 cu m bucket to load, bloody long winded as I have to drop the bucket, put forks back on to move the bag from the frame then reverse the process. Nick posted the other day that he had a baggywiz bag filler, how do people that use them rate them?. Next year all my stuff will be in bags. A

That will increase the draw massively, that will cause problems elsewhere, ie there may be so much draw that the secondary air supply needs shutting right down, that will make the glass to black. I would suggest you go back to the installer ( or Clearview) and ask them to resolve the issue. If this is not possible then ring Eurocowl of Southampton and have a chat with their tech guy, he is pretty good, their products are available through most good stove outlets, . A

Ring Fuelwood of Warwick, they should be able to advise. Japa do not do a service manual or even many drawings, I finished with hand drawn sketches from Fuelwood when I had a problem with my 700. A

An add in classifieds would be the best idea stating location, turnover, profit ( loss) to date, any equipment included, premises etc etc. Value is what a willing buyer is prepared to pay. A

I have been amazed at how popular bags have been, this winter so far I have taken out less than 10% in bulk, the rest have mainly been in cu m bags with an odd barrow bag when space is tight, . A

Wet wood will lead to tars in the flue, excess soot and a probably chimney fire. Bigger diameter hardwood logs will help reduce the burn rate but the customer needs to be aware that if the temp within the stove/fire drops below a certain point then tars will form. A stove pipe thermometer if using a stove is a good idea. A

No idea, German building regs I suppose. A

From ACR Heat Products Ltd who are the UK importer for Nordpies stoves when I asked them what the bar was for as it impeded sweeping. A

Morso sell a decent one, never had any probs with them and I have sold plenty. A

That is exactly why they are fitted, in Germany it is illegal to sweep for below so the bar serves a dual purpose. Think Poland is another is the same situation. I have them on the Bergan from Nordpies. A

In some European countries you are not allowed to sweep from below., some stoves from European manufacturers now have a removable bar accross the flue outlet to prevent the introduction of a brush from below. I suspect the wire device is something for pulling a brush up a chimney, god knows how you would get the brush to the bottom in the first place with it. 10mm or so flexi rods are fine for what you want, Not heard of a flex hose to allows stove movement, I assume you have a lower blanking plate in place. Flue liner is flexible to a small degree but not enough to allow you to move the stove more than a few inches. 90 degree bends such as that you have are not recommended as they can become blocked by falling soot, a T is a far safer solution. A

Are you asking if we process customers wood into firewood on the customers site?, I think some here do. Or are you asking if we supply logs that have just been processed, ie green. Personally I cant see the point in selling green timber unless you have aquired it very cheap or as arisings. A

Your installation must be signed off, if not and you have a fire your insurer will invalidate your cover and you will be prosecuted for breech of building regs. In an existing chim then flex liner is fine although there is no legal requirement for a liner unless your chimney is known to leak smoke into the dwelling. DONT buy cheap and cheerfull on the net, chances are your supplier wont be around long enough to handle any probs. Ensure your supplier is an approved distributer for the stove you are interested in, most on line suppliers are not approved suppliers. Just check their post codes against the stove manufactuers dealer list or ring the stove maker and ask. Use your local approved distributer to supply and install the product. I am in the middle of Northants if it helps, my installer is though fully booked till late January at present. A

Talk to your insurer, the NFU may be the most helpfull in this situation. If they agree to insure your property with a home made stove inside that has not been signed off as safe to use then get that confirmed in writing and away you go. I would be very surprised indeed if any HETAS installer or building inspector would sign off a non CE marked stove as safe to use. By the time you have worked out cost of materials, time etc then I would be surprised if there is a lot to be saved. A

Its now been pulled, I thinks thats at least 3 of these cons on processors recently. A