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What size Wood burner should I have ?
This is a very important question as you don’t want a stove that heats the room so much that it becomes unbearable hot, neither do you want a stove that struggles to radiate sufficient heat on a cold day. The standard home needs 1 kW of heat per 14 cubic metres of space. To work out your requirements multiply your room width and length measured in metres by your room height in metres then divide by 14. This will provide the relevant kW output required. E.g 5m x 7m =35 x 2.5m = 87.5 divide by 14 = 6kW. This is only a rough guide as you need to take into account whether you have either a vaulted ceiling or stairwell in the room, double glazing, cavity wall insulation and whether you have a boiler fitted to the stove. What is the difference between a Wood burner and a Multi-fuel Stove ? To state the obvious a wood burning stove should only burn wood, dry seasoned hardwood or compressed firelogs. You must not burn any other material as it will damage your wood burner and negate the manufacturer’s warranty. A multi-fuel stove can burn wood as well as smokeless coal but never house coal as this burns too hot and will severely damage your stove. Some multi-fuel stoves can burn peat but most are designed to burn smokeless coal or wood. Why have a boiler fitted to your stove ? This is a valuable option which enables the heat generated in the stove not only to heat your room but also contribute to heating your domestic hot water supply and in some case your central heating. This can be done by linking the boiler in your stove to a Thermal Store tank, which can also be heated by your existing central heating boiler and by the sun via solar panels fitted to south facing roof. This can increase the overall efficiency and reduce your fossil fuel costs for heating hot water in winter and if you have solar panels also in summer. We have fitted a number of stove boilers linked to solar hot water systems in conjuction with Solar Energy Installers and would be pleased to discuss a bespoke system for you. The amount of hot water gained is dependent on the size and kW output of your stove, either a modest contribution or lashings of hot water for all the family without recourse to any other heating source. Generally speaking Stoves with a boiler option are in the Traditional style as opposed to Contemporary. Manufacturers of boiler stoves include Woodwarm, Mulberry, Hunter or Dunsley who also offer stoves powerful enough to run a number of radiators as well as heating your domestic hot water tank. The only potential drawback to having a stove with a boiler is that the boiler will reduce the heat output into the room. It can also make lighting the stove a little slower as the firebox with a boiler initially being full of cold water takes longer to heat up. It can also reduce the overall efficiency of the stove, however manufacturers are working very hard to overcome this. Why use a HETAS Registered Installer ? In England and Wales, there are only two routes to legally install a domestic solid fuel, wood or biomass burning appliance. You can either:
Failure to notify the work through the registration scheme (in this case HETAS) or directly to the local authority can lead to enforcement. It can also cause problems for future house sales if there is no official record of a compliant installation. What is Soapstone and why is it fitted to some stoves ? Soapstone is a beautiful natural semi soft stone (it feels like soap hence the name) that has been used for centuries for decorating and engraving. It also has the natural propensity to accumulate and retain heat and then radiate this heat back out for many hours even after the original heat source (a stove or sun) has ceased. A stove surrounded or indeed built entirely from soapstone can continue to radiate worthwhile heat depending on the stove model for over six hours. This can significantly increase the overall heating efficiency of the stove allowing you to use less wood. We can supply a range of stoves with soapstone and we have some on display in our showroom. What Wood can I use with a Wood burner ? The simple answer is fully seasoned dry split logs. Do Not try to burn unseasoned wet or green wood. It will smoke, burn inefficiently and coat tar on to your glass door and chimney. Do not use driftwood as it contains salt that can destroy both the stove and the chimney. Continual use of any wet wood i.e high moisture content will degrade the performance of your stove. On multi-fuel stoves you can burn smokeless coal ONLY. Ordinary house coal will burn too hot and will severely damage your stove and nullify the manufacturers’ warranty. Fully Seasoned Kiln Dried Wood All our wood is British hardwood carbon neutral fuel, cut, split, and barn dried then finished off in a kiln drying machine. Bags available from our showroom.
Blaze Away Firelogs These are available in plastic bags (5 per bag) which will need breaking into two or three as when hot they expand width ways and could damage the firebricks of a small stove. They burn slowly and for a long time as they have a very low moisture content of no more than 10%. They are produced from pure compressed woodchip from sustainable British woodlands with no additives. Each stove may behave differently due to numerous variable conditions ranging from weather conditions, the type of wood to be burnt, the dryness of the wood, and the chimney/flue configuration/temperature which can affect the draw. Generally speaking it is a good idea to keep an insulating layer of ashes from earlier fires in the bottom of the stove.
Place two pieces of split wood in the bottom of the firebox. Put kindling wood on top of this and fire starters between the two layers of wood. Finally put another piece of split wood on the top and light the fire starters. Then leave the door ajar in order to ensure an optimal draught. After 0-20 minutes, the heat will provide a draught through the chimney, and you can close the door completely and adjust the valves to the desired level of heat. Please note that the weather plays an important part during the lighting of the stove. On a clear day, it might not be necessary to add air in the lighting phase; on a day with bad weather, it might take longer before the stove and the chimney have reached optimal working conditions. If lighting a fire is proving a struggle be patient! It is often a matter of trial and error, for any further advice ring us. Please note that kindling and fire starters as well as dry wood supplies are available for sale from our showroom. |