Stove Installation Warning

steamsey

I just had an insert stove installed and wanted to tell people about my experience, in the hope that it’s of help to anyone thinking of getting a stove installed, specifically an insert.

I bought a Boru 400i from a salesman in Dublin who seemed to know what he was talking about. In fairness, it seems to be a great stove and is working well now.

The salesman explained the installation process and I verified most of what he was saying online, so I was happy to go with the installer he was providing. The installer came to our house with another guy and straight away I found them to be a little too laid back and casual. They were there for about an hour tops. The insert went into an existing, unused fireplace. I was a bit surprised at how quickly they got it in. As they were leaving, I noticed that the frame of the stove wasn’t flush to the wall on one side, and I was told that the wall was a little skewed.

Anyway, I lit it the next day after the fire cement had set etc and after burning a load of wood, there was very little heat in the room. We tried it again for a few nights, trying wood, stove coal, good turf – but never got much heat out of it. After a few nights we noticed that the chimney breast was incredibly hot, and figured that the heat was all going up the chimney.

I emailed the installer to say that something wasn’t right, and that we were going to give it a last go with a big fire and if we weren’t happy, something would need to be done. I got a really good fire going. Same as before – no heat to the room but a blazing hot chimney breast and this time, a strange smell.

We did not get a flue as the chimney was clay lined, and in perfect condition – so they fitted a 5” to 8” adapter from the stove to the chimney. I emailed Boru to see how the stove should be fitted. They told me some of the basic installation requirements. To be honest, I was totally clueless about stove installation. They told me two things – first, the stove has to be very well insulated all around. They said if the chimney breast was hot, I should check the top of the stove for insulation. They also said that you never put the 5” – 8” adapter straight into the top of the stove spigot. You have to have 150mm of pipe from the top of the stove and then the adapter goes into this. So, I took the frame / edging off the stove to take a look. There was virtually no insulation around the stove. There was some loose insulation at the bottom, a tiny bit at the sides - a pitiful amount really and none whatsoever at the top. I also noted that the adapter was going straight into the top of the stove. I emailed the salesman who said that he spoke to the installer and they told him it was properly insulated etc, which it was not. Even how it was raised up from the floor, was badly done, on bits of bricks. It was a terrible installation job. I’d rest most of the blame with the installer but at the end of the day, I paid the salesman to do the job, not the installer.

The salesman offered to send the installer back out but at this point I was pretty angry. I told him not to send the same guy out but to send out someone who actually knows how to fit a stove. Another installer came and this one talked me through it and knew what he was talking about. He was surprised at the job that had been done. At this point, he showed me why there was smell in the house. The chimney breast had previously been dri-lined with about 65mm Kingspan insulation. The first installer had not cut this insulation back from the edge of the a stove. The insulation was burning slowly, but thankfully is not very combustible. The point is – first, we thought it was just a poor installation job from an efficiency point of view, but now we realised that we had a fire hazard and that the installer clearly did not a clue what he was doing. Apart from the clear personal risk, house insurance would not pay out in the event of a fire from an improperly installed stove.

The new installer pulled the stove out, insulated everything, cut back the existing chimney breast insulation to keep it away from the stove and properly raised it off the ground. I also got him to put in a twin lined flue and to insulate this within the chimney breast. The stove is working really well now and the difference is night and day from what we first had. It’s safe and working efficiently.

So, beware. If you are buying a stove, contact the manufacturer and ask how it should be installed. Ask salesmen / installers exactly how they plan to install it and check what they say against manufacturer and building regulations (Part L & J I think) requirements. Probably a good idea to get a flue, even if your chimney is in good condition.

The first installer has installed other stoves around Dublin– and I hate to think that there are people out there with badly installed stoves, or worse, fire hazards like ours was. If you have a stove, or if you are getting one, do the research. I hardly found the only cowboy installer in Ireland so be careful who you let into your home. I take part of the blame for being so clueless, so educate yourself if you need to.