County4x4
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Everything posted by County4x4
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Clearview are possibly one of the best stoves you can buy. Not a big fan of overnighting stoves myself. It can give me a hard time as a chimney sweep, give the customer a bigger bill for clearing it, as well as leading to problems, particularly in unlined chimneys, with tar and creosote creeping through upstairs walls and into bedrooms etc. It could also be argued that it's not doing the environment any favours having a stove smouldering all night, though obviously it doesn't bother everyone. With a decent stove and good wood you can have the fire away from scratch in the morning in the time it takes to make a brew. Andy
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Are they your only choices Tully? Out of those three I'd say the Charnwood. Many of Hunters designs are over 20 years old and they've not come on much since then. The Aarows are not bad, but my installer mate doesn't rate them particularly highly, and he installs hundreds of stoves a year (wet and dry) and knows his stuff. He's prototyping his own stove at the moment which will be competing with the likes of Clearview and so on at the top of the market - but the whole thing has been designed as a result of working with so many stoves and learning the good and bad points of each. The Aarows can also be a bit fussy about chimney height - I have a problem one with one of my own customers. Manual gives a minimum height which is a bit on the shy side, and when that doesn't work they say the minimum is "only a guide" and don't want to know!! Andy
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Done!
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^^ What they said! I will get round to getting some pictures of some of the crap that I got out of a completely blocked flue which had built up as a result of slightly damp wood and keeping the stove on a very low setting. Doesn't tend to do the chimney much good at all - especially with a modern stove where the heat and draught going up the flue is a fraction of that from an open fire - so it cools down even more when the stove is slumbering, and all that crap condenses out on the inside of the flue. It can be a real pig to sort too - most chimney sweeps - myself included, will charge extra if the flue is all full of crap. Also not a good idea to burn wood and smokeless or coal together - due to the fact you'll be producing sulphuric acid which is another thing that won't do your chimney any favours! Either is fine alone - but not together. Andy
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I know that a number of installers have actually refused to install stoves from that company as they are so poorly made. Mate of mine has actually backed down and done one recently - said it was possibly the worst piece of work he'd ever come across - he even made a video for youtube showing just how bad it was. A search of the moneysavingexpert forum will throw up some interesting stories about the company - who are not HETAS registered as their website may lead you to believe! Similar tales on most other forums dealing with stoves and so on - I'd say avoid them! Andy
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Can anyone help me find an old thread? A member had posted some very atmospheric black and white pics - several featuring isolated trees in bleak moorland settings. He didn't sound over confident about how good they were - but myself and everyone else seemed to think they were brilliant. Been trawling through old threads for an hour now - may not even be in the picture forum. Does anyone remember it? Andy
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Someone on another forum just posted this: Free Tree surgery Cut down and timber removed Hexham on eBay (end time 23-Feb-11 14:43:25 GMT) No mention of qualifications or insurance funnily enough! Andy
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Yes it will burn, but as with ANY wet wood, you're wasting energy and making a mess of your chimney. If I get chance, I'll post some pics of lumps of clinker I've removed from flues as a result of burning damp wood, which in some cases have entirely blocked the flue leaving the stove unable to be used, me with a big job clearing it, and the customer with a bigger bill for my time! Andy
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Liam, I didn't post in your thread with a view to advertising my own stuff. I posted because I was interested in yours - and still am. I was just pointing out that I've dealt with a lot of briquette manufacturers and there are some products, to be honest, that I wouldn't bother using again - that's all. Sorry if it came across the wrong way. I sell two types now, but am always interested in new products and new companies - that's why I asked for details about yours. Cheers, Andy
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Hi all, Mate of mine is looking at expanding his firewood/charcoal making operation a bit. Just looking for any recommendations for suppliers of firewood grade cordwood in North Lancashire/South Cumbria. He'd be looking at buying by the wagon load - mixed hardwoods or possibly larch, or both. Any links to suppliers would be great. Cheers, Andy
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Are you going to reply to the rest of us then Liam or do we need to pm you as well?! Just an observation - but if you want to be in business selling stuff to people it's a pretty good idea to et back to them when they enquire! Andy
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Morso Squirrel here too. Only burn hardwood briquettes, and a pallet load (100 packs) will last us all winter usually. Andy
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Building reclaim timber/firewood staffs/shrops border
County4x4 replied to lbulloc2's topic in Firewood forum
"....appearing soon on an auction site near you" no doubt!! That is NOT firewood mate, any more than bags full of mdf offcuts are. Get a waste disposal firm in. Andy -
Hello mate, I didn't is the quick answer! I did trial a few boxes here, and thought the heat output was pretty good. However, they are quite ashy, you can smell them if you store them in the house and they are harder to light than wood briquettes. In fairness the guy did mention they needed a lot more draught in a stove than you'd use for wood. Like you - I didn't want to commit to a container load for reasons of cost and storage amongst other things, and of course at the end of the day they're still imported, and though if they move production to Spain they won't be coming as far as some imported briquette fuels, it's still an issue for me. I did notice one Irish website covered in greenwash recently who were importing their stuff from China!! All very eco! So in summary - not a bad product, but for me at least - better used in the home market. I'll be sticking to my UK made wood based briquettes I think. Cheers, Andy
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Anyone heard from Liam yet???
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Liam, Could you post some more info regarding your briquettes, including where they are manufactured please? I don't deal with any imported briqquettes. Could you also let us know whether they are produced from hardwood or softwood waste? My current ones are oak, and most of my customers say they're a lot better than the cylindrical softwood varieties. Cheers, Andy
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I'd be interested in prices too mate, though in all fairness I've not found any yet that I think are as good as the ones I sell now. Please email to [email protected] Cheers, Andy PS = Gibby - sorry mate I've not sent you pictures yet - I'll try and sort something out for you tomorrow.
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If you get to the end of the freeheat video, a selection of other videos will appear - check the guy trying to burn what sounds like a very dry paper briquette in his chiminea.... Personally I wouldn't use them again and mine cost me nothing to make apart from a few quid for the press - which I used to stand on to get better compaction just out of interest. I certainly wouldn't even think about buying them - as stated already, they'll fill your stove with ash in no time and don't do a deal else while they're doing it! Andy
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What are you burning in your stove this winter 2010
County4x4 replied to firewoodman's topic in Firewood forum
Nice one - glad my kids aren't running round anywhere near the toxic crap coming out of your chimney! Andy -
Not a big fan of fibreglass handles myself - and a mate of mine in the firewood business broke a roughneck one in about a fortnight. Wood is much more "alive" feeling if that makes any sense at all?! I'd vote for Gransfors Bruks - cost a bit more but you'll get a properly made tool that will last a lifetime and be guaranteed for it as well. The initals of the blacksmith who forged the head are on every one, and they have a metal collar below the head as well. It's the sort of thing you could hand down to your kids in twenty years time. I don't personally think they're overpriced for something hand made at all. Cheapest I found when I bought mine was from the Ray Mears survival shop as it happens - but shop around anyway. Cheers, Andy
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I wouldn't touch those firelog things with a bargepole mate - full of all sorts of chemical muck to keep them going. Proper firewood briquettes contain nothing but wood, and don't need anything added to make them burn. A fair few people choose wood because of it's eco friendly credentials - the "light one end and retire" logs are anything but.... Andy PS - I know some people who have used sawdust etc as an added ingredient - but you still need the paper and water to make everything stick together - the compression you'll achieve with these is a few pounds per square inch - briquette machines operate at around 80 tons per square inch from memory - bit of a difference!
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Hello mate, Did you speak to Clearview themselves about this, or was it the dealer you bought from? I have a mate who installs several hundred stoves every year over York way and this sounds distinctly iffy to him, though he's not a dealer for Clearview - one of his mates is a Clearview dealer though so I'm sending him a message as well. Another contact on another forum I use has a Pioneer and can't slide anything through any of the seals anywhere - which model is it that you've got? To be honest it sounds like an odd answer - the seals on stove doors are to make them airtight - this is how they ensure that YOU are controlling the amount of air going through the stove, and the efficiency of the combustion. Leaking seals will generally lead to the stove getting through much more fuel than it needs. Anyway mate - we're on the case and should have some answers soon! Andy
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I'd give it a miss - sorry mate. They seem a really good idea on the face of it, but it's a real messy process, the "briquettes" take months to dry out properly and then do little more than smoulder on the fire and produce a ton of ash at the same time. Made a couple of batches a few years back and soon decided it was a complete waste of time and effort and haven't bothered again. Andy
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Have you got a straight edge you can put across it? Clearview are probably the most highly regarded manufacturer in the country - so I'd guess a call to them will soon have you sorted if it's a new stove, as long as it's not been over-fired or anything silly. Andy
