STOVES questions and answers here(see mod note in post 1)

limnam

We have 2 adjacent rooms each has a fireplace/heart/chimney


I was looking to take out both fireplaces/hearts and replace with a single stove that can heat both rooms.


We were looking at soap stone stoves.


Anyone any experience with them and know if they would suit this setup?


Any ideas on the cost to install into a setup like this?

joeyhh

Hi, we are in the early stages of a new build. Open plan living/dining separated by a double sided stove. A2W heat system with underfloor heating. We have been told numerous times that the stove will be for show and will rarely be lit. We understand this but still like the idea of the fuel burning stove (we were thinking the Stanley Solis I80).

However we were told recently that the electric double sided stove (Evoflame e1030ds) are becoming much more popular and practical for new builds. I can see the benefits, not looking at an empty stove majority of the year, no hassle sourcing solid fuel, no issues with room being too warm when stove lit etc.

Despite all this I'm still drawn to the Solis I80, probably for nostalgia reasons and having a source of heat during power cuts.

Has anyone experience of the double sided electric stoves and would they recommend these over the solid fuel options??? Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

clfy39tzve8njq

Does anybody on here have any experience with, or know anything about hota insert stoves ?

JohnBoy

Got a moisture meter and my timber is all mid-high teens, so confirms what I thought.

I took the stove apart last night to see if I could at least understand it and everything looks mechanically ok in there at least. Tonight I'm really struggling with it so I did something bold and peeled off some of the seal rope from the bottom of the door and the fire is twice the size instantly.


It's just choked for air. I think I need to contact arada and see what I can do

Mickeroo

JohnBoy wrote: »

Got a moisture meter and my timber is all mid-high teens, so confirms what I thought.

I took the stove apart last night to see if I could at least understand it and everything looks mechanically ok in there at least. Tonight I'm really struggling with it so I did something bold and peeled off some of the seal rope from the bottom of the door and the fire is twice the size instantly.


It's just choked for air. I think I need to contact arada and see what I can do

If you do contact them let me know how you get on. there's definitely no issue with air getting into mine and our wood generally comes up as under 10% on the moisture meter but the inside of the firebox is still all black and shiny.

JohnBoy

This stove should have a 150mm flue liner according to Arada, I was sold it with a 125.

being an inset stove it's encased in half a ton of limestone now

amytomjerry

I have the Henley 21kW blanket stove installed but the glass in door is very loose..it rattles when fire is lit...plus even with all controls shut, the fire never dampens down so too much air getting in...end result I go through fuel like a mad woman...what can I do to help rectify??

seamus

Sounds like your rope seal has degraded and needs to be replaced. This is a self-maintenance replacement you can do yourself (it's in the manual), but any stove supplier, or even Henley themselves, should be able to arrange someone to do it for you.

Mickeroo

JohnBoy wrote: »

This stove should have a 150mm flue liner according to Arada, I was sold it with a 125.

being an inset stove it's encased in half a ton of limestone now

Had a look at the manual for mine and it eems the same happened to me. Draw and heat seems perfect on mine but there is a lot of creosote in the fire box. I'd imagine the place I bought from sold 125mm to just about everyone else who bought the same stove off them too.

mcd121

Hey lads

Looking for advise, im replacing my stove because the current one in it is there since 2001 and is not providing enough heat.

The room itself is fairly small, (4.5 x 4m) but opens out into the kitchen about 6.5m x 5m, but has a vaulted celing. The sitting room also opens up to the upstairs, there is the stairs in this room.
The house is stone with internal insulation, its a warm area with the rads on but never too hot.

We have our own supply of firewood so its free fuel.

The options that im thinking are -
1) Get in a stove that will heat as much as possible, i.e a 16/21kw running in the sitting room to try and let heat upstairs and the kitchen from the one stove, and reduce the cost of oil to the rads
2) Get 2 smaller stoves in 1 in Kitchen 1 in Sitting room.

And I was looking at Nestor Martin stoves at the weekend, they are expensive, anyone know if they are worth it? Big difference in the price in comparison to a Henley?
Any advise on good value stoves that are good quality?

Any advise would be appreciated, thanks

The Megaphone

Might be a stupid question, but for Insert Stoves, does the existing fireback need to be intact? The old fireback is cracked so wondering would I need to get this replaced also?

clfy39tzve8njq

The Megaphone wrote:

Might be a stupid question, but for Insert Stoves, does the existing fireback need to be intact? The old fireback is cracked so wondering would I need to get this replaced also?

Must come out for most if not all inserts.

geo88

geo88 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

After reading a couple of threads, playing with a number of heating calculators as well as some browsing on WhatStove I've decided to ask for help here.

I have an open fireplace which I'd like to replace with a stove, but have little idea of what options would be cost effective as well as how much more expensive some of the others would be.

I'm looking at an open area of about 30 sqm with a regular height of 2.5m. According to online calculators, given low to average insulation (but hopefully to be improved in the future), I should be looking at 5-6 kW stoves.

When it comes to style, I really like the aspect of the Hunter Parkray Aspect stoves (very small bezels, e.g. for the Aspect 5), though a Jetmaster 18i also wouldn't look too bad to me.

Currently the open fireplace is a very big source of draught when it's windy outside.
My main source of heating is oil heating (though will change to gas at some point in the future).
Also, I really like the look/effect of wood burning (not into burning coal/peat).
Location: Dublin.

What I'm wondering about:

1. What size is my opening considered to be? Do I take those 2'' metal edges into account or not? E.g.: 20'' x 24'' or 16'' x 22'' ?
2. Previously, many years ago, a back boiler used to be connected, however, that seems to have been disconnected for a long time now. Regular heating pipes would still run at the very left side of the chimney buildout and accessible through a small trapdoor on the left wall. Would this limit my options in any way?
3. Given the dimensions, am I limited to inset/insert stoves or would standalones also be an option?
4. What type of stove would be the most cost effective option to install and what can I expect price wise?
5. How much extra would it be if I wanted some sort of standalone, given that it would need some clearance on the sides and on top? What if I'd also want some space to store logs at the bottom?

Cheers!

Any thoughts on the above?

cruizer101

I recently moved into a new house with a stove with back boiler. It looks fairly old but I can't be sure how old. Its a Parkray but no model number or that.
First off wondering if anyone recognizes the model as might be easier to find out more if I know the model, I've attached a few images.

IMG_20181220_201315.jpg

IMG_20181220_201252.jpg

IMG_20181220_201234.jpg

IMG_20181220_201220.jpg

The other thing I was looking for was recommendations for someone to inspect it and check it is alright to use, at minimum it needs few new grate bars. But would like it to have a good look over before using.

funkey_monkey

Hi, does anyone on here have recommendations for draught free air vents?
Currently sitting in living room and freezing due to the draught coming in the air vent.

I've seen some on internet, and on Dragons Den. They seem to have all the necessary stamps.

snor

I have the same problem. Somebody was telling me you can get air vent covers in Woodies etc that you can open and close - mine is particularly bad if wind is coming from a certain direction so can close over if needs be.

Wearb

snor wrote: »

I have the same problem. Somebody was telling me you can get air vent covers in Woodies etc that you can open and close - mine is particularly bad if wind is coming from a certain direction so can close over if needs be.

For those interested, regs state that the vents cannot be closeable. It’s too dangerous and can cause a leak back of invisible/odourless carbon monoxide into the room.

snor

Wearb wrote: »

For those interested, regs state that the vents cannot be closeable. It’s too dangerous and can cause a leak back of invisible/odourless carbon monoxide into the room.

Thanks for that info Wearb - didn’t know that about the regulations. Any way around the draft problem - it’s an interconnecting room where the issue is - semi d house so no option of moving to another wall. Thanks.

Wearb

snor wrote: »

Thanks for that info Wearb - didn’t know that about the regulations. Any way around the draft problem - it’s an interconnecting room where the issue is - semi d house so no option of moving to another wall. Thanks.

A possible solution is to have vent as close a possible to air intake of the stove.

Mickeroo

snor wrote: »

Thanks for that info Wearb - didn’t know that about the regulations. Any way around the draft problem - it’s an interconnecting room where the issue is - semi d house so no option of moving to another wall. Thanks.

There are anti draught wall vents you can get, I've been thinking of getting some too as we have similar issues to you with ours. Something like this:



I have no experience of them myself though so I don't know how effective they actually are.

Muahahaha

Can anyone advise on flue lining- so far Ive spoken to 3 different stove installers who say they install it as standard for safety reasons. However none of them have actually surveyed the chimney.

Then I spoke to a stove salesman (who doesnt install) who said that flue lining is not always necessary and it depends on the condition of the chimney- said the best way to go is to get an independent chimney sweep to assess it and if it is in good condition then flue lining is not necessary. Any guidance here on who to believe and the best way to proceed? Im not against flue lining but at the same time wary of being sold something that is not actually needed.

rpmcs

If you are to take the building reg exactly. Then you have to line as adaptor is technically an upside down joint as you normally put claypot adaptor up inside flue. But down to installer what he wants to stand over.

funkey_monkey

I was thinking of these vents, but would prefer them in brown as it would tie in better with the rest of the house. Says you can paint them, but at that price I'd expect my choice of colour. Also, not sure if they have an insect trap/guard.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/DR21-Anti-Draft-Black-Pieces/dp/B077TW188S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1546184959&sr=8-3&keywords=anti+draught+vent


They were on Dragons Den and the product did look impressive.

upupup

Muahahaha wrote: »

Can anyone advise on flue lining- so far Ive spoken to 3 different stove installers who say they install it as standard for safety reasons. However none of them have actually surveyed the chimney.

Then I spoke to a stove salesman (who doesnt install) who said that flue lining is not always necessary and it depends on the condition of the chimney- said the best way to go is to get an independent chimney sweep to assess it and if it is in good condition then flue lining is not necessary. Any guidance here on who to believe and the best way to proceed? Im not against flue lining but at the same time wary of being sold something that is not actually needed.

The chimney may be in perfect condition but without lining it,there is a risk of cresote buildup if not cleaned regularly which can result in a fire that damages the chimney making it not so perfect anymore.
Lining the chimney reduces the risk of a chimney fire.

Muahahaha

upupup wrote: »

The chimney may be in perfect condition but without lining it,there is a risk of cresote buildup if not cleaned regularly which can result in a fire that damages the chimney making it not so perfect anymore.
Lining the chimney reduces the risk of a chimney fire.

Cheers thanks for the info. How regularly should a chimney be swept, is once a year typically adequate for a fire that is used daily for 3-4hrs throughout the heating season, say 5 months. Or should it be more frequently?

upupup

Muahahaha wrote: »

Cheers thanks for the info. How regularly should a chimney be swept, is once a year typically adequate for a fire that is used daily for 3-4hrs throughout the heating season, say 5 months. Or should it be more frequently?

It depends on what you are burning,how long you are burning and the position of the chimney in your house will determine the cold chimney temperature which is a factor in creosote buildup.

3-4 hours for five months is not a lot so one clean a year is enough.When you get it cleaned use a good chimney cleaner,someone with a camera and find out if there was any creosote buildup...if there was a lot,then it would be safer to fit a liner or clean twice a year

Any chimney connected to a stove without a liner should be watched and checked for ever.Fitting a liner is the safe thing to do

Muahahaha

upupup wrote: »

Any chimney connected to a stove without a liner should be watched and checked for ever.Fitting a liner is the safe thing to do

Cheers thanks for the info, flue lining it defintely the way to go. When its lined though how does it work with creosote? Is creosote eliminated entirely or just lessened over having a non-lined flue? Does lining it mean it wouldnt typically need to be swept once a year or is doing it annually still best practice?

Mickeroo

Muahahaha wrote: »

Cheers thanks for the info, flue lining it defintely the way to go. When its lined though how does it work with creosote? Is creosote eliminated entirely or just lessened over having a non-lined flue? Does lining it mean it wouldnt typically need to be swept once a year or is doing it annually still best practice?

You still need to get it cleaned at least once a year (twice if you're burning wood really).

Creosote will be lessened if it's lined as a metal liner will stay warm compared to a clay liner. It won't eliminate it entirely.

upupup

Muahahaha wrote: »

Cheers thanks for the info, flue lining it defintely the way to go. When its lined though how does it work with creosote? Is creosote eliminated entirely or just lessened over having a non-lined flue? Does lining it mean it wouldnt typically need to be swept once a year or is doing it annually still best practice?

I installed my stove and fitted a flexi flue liner.I burn dirty coal about 8 hours a day and longer at weekends from nov to april.
I clean it myself once a year and all i get is a lot of soot,Iv never had creosote.There is a lot of soot so I really should clean it twice a year.

A friend of mine put in a stove at the same time without the liner and he had a lot of work to clean his chimney of the creosote,he was surprised as he had never heard of creosote before.

sadie9

Hi, we have a Stanley Oisin stove (non boiler) standing into our fireplace. Over the past few months, since the last cleaning the stove has moved sideways - likely from it being pushed slightly into the right side of the fireplace when closing the door.
So the stove is sitting crooked now. Is it safe to just straighten it up, or should we wait til we get it cleaned again?
It didn't happen after our usual chimney cleaner did it.
But we got another chimney sweeper last time, who actually took out the whole stove then re-inserted it and renewed the fire clay.