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

keano25 wrote: »

How hard is it to add a back boiler stove into current central heating system in a bungalow? Work will obviously done by professionals but wondering how much is involved (old house renovation so no problem pulling/digging floors etc.)

Similar question but not in a house with major renovations planned.

Was thinking of putting the stove on a wall in an existing single storey extension with the chimney going straight up & out the roof.

On the other side of the wall is the utility room where the gas boiler for the central heating resides.
Was thinking I could run pipes through this wall & have the back boiler in the utility room.
Can I connect it to the existing pipes in the utility room or does it need to be connected to the hot press upstairs?

All work will be done by professionals but I'm just looking at the logistics right now.

Thanks.

Skippy21 wrote: »

Hi,

Just enquiring about a double sided stove and any reviews on them?? Currently we are living in an old style cottage which has been done up but the heating is still quiet poor and we are thinking of installing a stove with a back boiler. The kitchen and living room are side by side with a thick stone wall between them.. both rooms have a small stove. We are thinking of removing both stoves and replacing them with a double sided stove or just replacing one of the stoves and putting in one with a back boiler that needs to heat up to 18 radiators.

Thanks for any replies!!!

Hi Skippy,
One would think if two stoves can't keep the house warm,then it may be an insulation issue rather than a heating issue...
However if it is not,the following is some info.
A double sided boiler i would never advise.
18 single radiators will require approx 20kw to the water so you are looking at a 25kw boiler stove.
A new product I saw last week may be something to think about. It's not a boiler stove but a storage heater stove. It is called an "Ecco Stove". Not the prettiest piece of kit but a great idea. It will emit heat slowly to up to 12 rooms in a house while using very small amounts of fuel. You would have to see it in operation to appreciate it.

Hello, really hoping someone can help me with this! I'm looking for a double sided stove with external air supply suitable for use in a house with heat recovery ventilation. Its a new build, not passive but hoping to be as airtight as we can afford. I have contacted numerous stove suppliers and opinions seem to vary from one sales person to the next - especially in relation to having a wall vent in the rooms a stove may be installed in - why have HRV if this is the case. As it stands I have been unable to find a double sided stove with external air going directly to the fire box. Does anyone have experience on this, any and all advice greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Yes a good few stoves have external air direct pipes in back to feed stove.
But by building regs you have to have a permanent open Vent in room the appliance is located.
Mechanical vent are not counted.
But many tend to ignore this and say heat recovery systems are good enough!
Reasons ...
Power cuts....
Regulation of amount of air being fed into room versus amount needed for stove combustion.

Hi all,
We have a wamsler 900 range in the kitchen of our new house with back boiler( it was here when we moved in) Im trying to figure out how to use it properly, If i have it on with coal and wood all day it doesnt heat the rads, not even luke warm, it heats the water up nicely but not the rads. there is a thermostat and pump to the left of the range about 2 feet away and I have tried this on several different settings but doesnt change anything. Could this be plumbed just to heat the water? seems a bit of a waste if it is.
Thanks in advance:)

Looking for advice on an insert stove. Non-boiler. With external air supply.

It's for a sittingroom, abt 15ft x 11ft 8in. There's a kitchen off this connected through a opening that's sometimes closed off by a curtain. Would be nice if the stove warmed the kitchen a bit also.

There's an existing old fireplace. House was built about 1930, so removing the fireplace to insert the stove behind it, is probably not an option. It was originally an open fire, then there was an oil fired fire for a couple of years and now an electric fire. The original grate and fire surround with tiles were removed some years ago to accommodate the other fires.

One stove shop I went to (and based on photos I showed them) said the granite hearth would have to be replaced with a hearth that has expansion joints as the granite would crack. I'm Ok with the granite cracking. A bit of character.

The other issue is that the current opening is too large for standard insert stoves. So something would be needed to fill that space. Or would it? Went to Hurst in Castlebar today. The suggestion there was to use a large insert stove that would fill the space. For example the Henley Faro 600 or Henley Seville 600, but then this is more Kw than I imagine I need.

The mantelpiece is 152cm wide x 122cm high. The opening is 66.5cm wide x 64xm high. The current depth with granite slab at the back is 26.3cm. I'm not sure how much further back it goes. That granite could be broken out. Photos attached.

Would love any suggestions/advice. Thanks.

currants wrote: »

That's a beautiful fireplace-is that Connemara Marble on the insets down the sides? Ask if your newer polished granite hearth can be taken up and expansion joints cut. Mine is exactly the same except the stone is cut in 4 equal parts, the middle 2 parts are cut into 4 tile shapes about 6 inches out from the stove, the rest is left in large squares.
Shops will try to sell you new granite. It would be a simple job with the proper cutting tool. If you leave as is it will split irregularly, I don't think that would look good with polished granite and I'm a fan of character too. You could get another bit of polished granite to fit the insert into if you cant fill the gap with a stove, its quite a large gap.
Watch out if you have an extractor fan in the connected kitchen, you're not supposed to have one in the same room as a stove, it will affect the draw and leave you with no air supply!

No afraid it's not Connemara marble. It's not real stone/marble. I think it's some kind of resin and the marble design is applied on top. It's from the 1930s. Quite realistic. So much so that my neighbour (who has similar fireplaces in her downstairs rooms) tried cleaning hers with something like Vim and the design came off.

There is an extractor fan in the connected kitchen but I don't use it very often. But definitely something to be aware of.

I presume the granite slab can't be cut while in place. That it would have to be taken out to cut it? ... with danger of breaking it in the process.

As the opening is too large for a regular size insert like the Cara, can the space around it just be blocked off with a custom piece of granite? Would the space behind that have to be packed out with something?

jaffa20 wrote: »

Would a high kw room stove be capable of heating a terraced house? I was thinking of getting one installed in the kitchen fireplace where the stairs run up to the bedrooms and it's next to bathroom. Currently only have electric heating and tiny fireplace in living room. I think the cost would be pretty high that maybe it would be better investing in getting oil or gas heating installed but like the idea of a stove in the heart of the house.

Not really. To generate enough heat in the centre of the house to heat other rooms upstairs etc the heat is going to be pretty unbearable in that room !
Pellet stove with ducting option might be a solution

Leck

Really interested in any replies or advice as it appears we have a very similar fireplace also in a 1930's house that we are also looking at putting an inset stove into at the moment.

The builders have pulled off the some of the side panels when taking out the floors but have assured us they can reinstate them!

IMG_6994.JPG

IMG_6995.JPG

MeAuldSegotia wrote: »

Leck

Really interested in any replies or advice as it appears we have a very similar fireplace also in a 1930's house that we are also looking at putting an inset stove into at the moment.

The builders have pulled off the some of the side panels when taking out the floors but have assured us they can reinstate them!

IMG_6994.JPG

IMG_6995.JPG

That looks very similar. Went into my neighbour's house today to measure the depth of hers as she still has the original fireboxes in hers. It's barely 12" deep from the surround to the back.

Her finish is different again to mine. In her equivalent room, her fireplace has the marble effect on the entire piece, and contrasting effect in the panels. She replaced the ceramic tiles a few years ago, but would have been quite similar to what she has now. The brass hood is original. Pictures of her fireplace attached.