Mik the Miller

Yes I did, well spotted

There are loads in the communications industry and many (of the higher ranks) have excellent man management skills. None I have ever met would be called 'lazy' and most learn quickly and are as fit as ....

Not true ... paint will stick to a stainless steel. You do need to get the shine off first though which you can do with a 200grit emery paper or a pickling paste and then use an 'etch' primer or direct to metal topcoat (Hammerite for example)

Use a pickling paste on the pipe to remove any contaminates and provide a matt surface to which paint will then stick. Once this is done you can prime it with any primer/paint that will withstand temperatures up to 100C. Hammerite (for example) is good for 150C and most etch primers (or 'special metal primers') are good for 200C (Jenolite etch primer for example) which is similar to most enamel paints. There are some 'low temperature paints' out there (check the tin first) but even these are rated @ 93C and you double walled stove pipe shouldn't get above 90C unless you are really burning the stove hot.

Been offered a damaged (seller thinks the piston has a hole in it) Stihl 391. I was looking for a Meteor piston rings and pot ... but they don't seem to exist ??

Oak is my favourite. Yes it takes a while to season (2 years minimum here in Scotland) but it really is the best for my woodstove. Spliting is easy when fresh and I make up a stack of 30mm square pieces as well as the 100/150mm chunks. The smaller pieces are great for rejuvanating the fire and the bigger pieces for a long burn.

It's never that complex nor that precise. If your stove has a grate it is designed to burn coal and if often classified as 'multi-fuel'. You will find a way to light your stove efficiently in the first few weeks that will stay with you. This 'method' may change slightly with different coal batches and differing weather conditions. Try making a nest with a layer of coal on the base and a small section of kindling in the middle. Loosly roll some newspaper with a pile of sticks on top and coal around the edge with perhaps a lump on top. Light the newspaper, open all the airvents, close the door and go away for 15 mins. If you must put 1/2 a firelighter at the opposite edges of the nest, personaly I don't use them. Putting hydrocarbons in a sealed hot box give me the creeps, those wax covered wood shaving things are OK

I have a Stoxax too (Vogue Midi). I have the same (smoke) issue. Open the door and out pours smoke and ash particles. My take on this is that these are the new Eco/Clean Burn stoves which are designed to swirl the internal gasses so that they burn 'cleaner' and create less polution. In theory (and computer simulations) this probably works, but in reality the internal dynamics cause a downward (and forward) swirl of air, that when the door is open' ejects the internal gasses (air/smoke/ash) into the room. I've had wood/multi fuel stoves for years and they are fired up every day as we descend into and through the winter months. This Stovax is without doubt the worst stove I have had for filling the room with smoke and ash. Stovax aren't interested in my 'issues'. On the + side. The Stovax is more efficient than the my last stoves, it looks good too. Overall i use less wood and it burns/heats the room/house for longer. The stove is easy to control in that I can get my stove thermometer up to 150 to 200 C and hold it there or add a little more secondary air and take it up to 250C. What I can't do is open the stove when there are flames in the firebox or the indicated flue temperature is above 100C I have to let any fuel burn down to 'char' before I open the door (temp =100C or lower) and I have to add wood carefully and relatively quickly. If I dither or re-settle logs so they sit right, or get another one out the basket to add, then when I close the door, a fine rain of ash falls and you can feel the sharp smell of smoke in your nose. Opening the primary and secondary air the wood catches quickly and once I see the gasses being ignited I close down the air. I could go on as there are other 'issues' but needless to say I will NEVER reccommend or buy another Stovax.

Cat ?

They're shooting their guns over there.. not, there shooting there guns over there.

Whats a Diesel Jump Pack ?

A stove top fan will move the hot air out into the room ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/wood-moisture-tester/s?k=wood+moisture+tester

Yup, you need to burn (dry) wood efficiently or the glass will blacken. Wet wood and inneficiently low temperatures in the firebox will clog everything up. The Stovax Vogue Eco also suffers like Mudy42's Esse One for exactly the same reasons. I am thinking of adding an internal baffle extending the top (internal) lip lower into the firebox. The amount of ash I get in our living room with this new stove is silly, you just can't open the door without it pouring out.