Muddy42

Over the summer I had an Esse 1 woodburning Stove installed for a small room with a lined flue. I have used it a few times now. The heat output of 5kw is tremendous, almost too much for a small room in October. Its a small stove that can only take small logs. My only complaint is that it is hard to light and it lets smoke into the room at first. I have tried the usual trick of giving it a real blast of burning newspaper and kindling, but it still isn't ideal. I also have a larger Clearview stove installed in a chimney of a similar length, which has never had this problem. As an eco design stove, it promotes smoke re-circulation by the top rectangular baffle bricks only having a tiny gap for the smoke to escape out of, which I don't think is helping the situation. I have some spare fireboard, so I might see if leaving a more normal sized gap at the front makes a difference. In advance of the complaints from the stove installers, yes I appreciate that experimenting with a stove could invalidate my warranty, insurance etc. Don't do this at home kids!

I like old saws too, including a Stihl 028. I've tried the new automatic tuning ones and just don't like them. Yes things break, but generally they are much easier to work on than new saws. If you have more than one saw it never slows you down. Old saws >=50cc are worth keeping going, it takes a LOT of use before loss of compression becomes an issue.

I'm sure the experts will be along to comment. Have you changed the spark plug/cleaned the air filter, that fixes a lot of issues for me? Has someone messed with the tuning H screw badly or are they at the default setting? Or it could be a crack in a fuel or air line somewhere, giving the wrong mix

Yup, wholesale costs have risen a lot. That's my understanding, yes. In the UK we have one wholesale price, some countries have more than one due to bottlenecks in infrastructure or production.

Remember there are two different markets here - Energy Supply and Energy Production (some companies are linked though). Energy Producers dig it out of the ground, burn stuff or harness wind and solar to make energy. Energy Suppliers rent space on the various grids to supply it to the end customer. In the above diagram, running costs includes the cost of renting the pipes and wires from national grid. There are six massive energy suppliers that compete by trying to lower their price for customers. Yes I suppose they could be price setting, but this is illegal and they risk the companies being shut down and jail sentences for the executives. I seriously doubt that (any) incompetent government could run these companies more efficiently. We haven't really had nationalized industry since the 1960s, the government and civil service simply don't have the skills or capability anymore. It would be a mess. Energy Production is a different matter. The Energy Producers, BT/Shell etc. or Equinor (owned by the Norwegian government) are making a fortune because their is a European shortage of gas and prices have been driven high by market forces. European countries are bidding up the price of gas as they all want to boost their reserves of gas. Maybe Equinor can be persuaded to give up profits and supply gas at the cost of production? The UK government will probably impose a windfall tax on BT/Shell. This is not that simple because not all of their operations are in the UK, plus business hate sudden changes in tax and they could simply relocate operations elsewhere.

No idea. Last year we occasionally used electric heaters, this year they are under lock and key! For heating this winter it'll be wood only plus some left over coal. The belts are being severely tightened!

No disrespect to your neighbours, but whether it meets regs or not (or specifically when it was installed) is none of their business. If affects you alone, maybe your home insurers and maybe the people you sell the house on to. But its not good news if any installation sets of a a CO alarm. That is a serious warning sign. You should get that resolved before using it again. Ontop of the flue, I would also get the stove checked out. The stove or the flue could have a leak somewhere or the setup is insufficiently vented.

I sit the cut boards on pallets. I put spacers down, evenly every 18 inches. Then a ratchet strap ontop of each spacer. I think it is important that all the spacers are lined up and on top of each other, so that the force of the ratchet is transmitted through the spacers. I tighten every couple of months. Works OK, but I still get the odd surprising bendy one. I have no idea if this is right or could be improved. No two boards are the same and you can only dry them once!

Ah OK. I hope you get it resolved. Id be tempted to try it in two stages, some form of cowl or flue cube then if that doesn't help extend the flue. A high non-central flue doesn't look very nice and can need supports which are not good for a roof and its waterproofness. In the meantime, a trick I use for getting stubborn flues to draw is to prime the flue with a old electric heater for 5 minutes or so before lighting it. This warms the flue and gets a column of hot air moving upwards. I have to say I've never done this with a stove, but I can't see why not. When you do light it, go over-kill on the newspaper and kindling and wood, so it can have a right old flare up without you needing to open the door again until its properly hot.

Sorry what exactly do you mean by "blowback" and when "the wind is in the wrong direction etc"? Does the stove not draw or smoke return to the room? In my experience, because the stove box has a sealed door and is very hot, I find they just work. Use tinder dry wood and get the thing roaring hot for the first 10 minutes or so. If its just the neighbours complaining about the smell of smoke, a taller flue might help it blow away, but the smoke won't stop completely!

I have a large eco angus boiler and heat store tank and would recommend it to anyone who recognises the work involved. it burns a lot of logs, naturally dry and well seasoned. Its best to have a system for seasoning and moving them close to the boiler. Loader and IBC cages or bags. I load ours twice a day in the winter. Its quite flexible regarding when you load it (because of the buffer tank) but its best to let it burn right down before reloading.

Totally agree, you wouldn't expect the state to subsidise bananas if the price went up would you? Don't get me wrong this is a serious issue but it should be dealt with as a wider issue of POVERTY, that the welfare system has been designed to deal with for 70 years. Its also important to differentiate between energy suppliers (that buy their energy in bulk on the wholesale market and supply it to us) and energy producers (that dig oil and gas out of the ground). Although some have common ownership, they are NOT the same thing. Don't take out your anger on energy suppliers that buy from the wholesale market, its not their fault prices are so high. Blame Putin for that. Ofgem can only set the maximum price that energy suppliers can charge customers. The price cap already reflects a price that leaves energy suppliers with zero profit and there is a real risk that more energy suppliers will go bust this winter. Taxing energy producers (BP, Shell etc.) is a different topic that can only be addressed by governments. A windfall tax on UK based energy producers is not something to do lightly. These companies are globally mobile and they could just move elsewhere unless the action is coordinated with other governments. Sudden changes in taxation also makes the UK seem an unpredictable place to do business and could affect inward investment in the future. However it is pretty certain that the next prime minister will introduce such a windfall tax, so this debate is a bit late.

Yup this is what the online manual shows, shocking level of detail, no way you can tell which way round the support flange goes. I apologise if that is what you were getting at in your post. Anyway got there in the end. Maybe someone at Husqvarna will read this and post a video on youtube or something.

Exactly like a Bellville washer. Totally not your fault, annoyed with myself and Husqvarna. The manual wasn't very helpful. There was an argument for the other way round as the collar fitted into the blade and this might have promoted concentricity.

Right I have spoken to Husqvarna and my local dealer. They say assembly should be: 1. drive disc 2. metal cup (so far the same for any attachment) 3. grass blade 4. support flange (but with the base of the dome against the blade, the opposite way from my pic above) 5. support cup and nut Apparently a small gap between the support cup and the blade is OK. The support cup is simply there as a bump protector, to protect the thread and nut. I guess it might have a minor role as a spacer washer in the stack. So I had the support flange the wrong way round. I hope I haven't done any long term damage. In my defense, the support flange does fit inside the blade when inserted this way round, but I guess it doesn't provide as much clamping force. If anyone from Husqvarna is reading this, your instructions are rubbish and the assembly picture is too small!

Is this too rustic and basic? In European larch, storm Arwen damage. Shame I’m 320 miles away from Chepstow. I have more slabs like it. If I was to do another, the back would be higher.

Alkylate for everything apart from the strimmer (because it uses so blooming much!). I put 4l of fuel measured from the pump into a reused Alkylate can and add the 2stroke oil immediately. I do three at a time. That way I know my petrol cans are for straight petrol only. There remains enough space in the Alkylate bottle to shake vigorously.

Yes and no grease on the drive. I don't think I will ever get used to reverse thread. Even if I do lots of strimming, all it takes it to turn something forwards (like a spark plug, same spanner) and the familiarity is lost. Thanks everyone for the help, I have what I need now, I'll make the stack wider somehow and replace the support up.

this guy appears to put the support flange on, the other way round from me. I’ll investigate this.

Its the stock grass blade that the machine came with. I tried it this evening with two extra washers from my workshop and the blade stayed tight, centered and spinning well. I have also ordered a replacement support cup.

You can collect and freeze pretty much any apple - the rotten and dodgier the better. Once defrosted they are all mushy and make amazing apple juice.

This is what is shown in the manual, which I believe I have followed exactly (as shown above). It still feels like the stack is too short.

Thanks, very helpful, glad it sounds like I am on the right track. There is no spacer or washer in the box nor any mention that it is required in the manual. However I have some washers that will fit. thanks again.

Hi, I have had some issues fitting the grass blade to my 555RXT. The nut reaches the end of its thread, without applying enough clamping pressure on the blade and it comes lose. Its almost like it could do with an extra washer somewhere to make the stack wider. I have ended up knackering the Support Cup. The instruction diagram that came with the machine is tiny and useless. The online instructions are different and slightly clearer. I have tried to show the steps that I follow in order. Any help appreciated, before I put a new support cup on and break it too. Thanks.