Wood Burning Stove Anyone?

[Loafer]

I am was wondering if anyone out there has a wood burning stove in their home? I keep reading how they are the most efficient way of heating and am looking for pro's and con's of fitting one.

The Loafer

[changilass]

They are great.

We got one with a back boiler this time so during the winter it heats the water too.

Don't be decieved into getting one that is too big or you will have to sit out in the garden cos they give off so much heat.

[Loafer]

Thanks for that Changilass. Did you have it fitted by a local company?

The Loafer

[mr do dar]

My friend has on in her home and she does everything on it from cooking hearting the full house drying cloths round it . plus it will burn almost anything she put coal and dross on it on a night and that keeps it going till morning . the down side of it is the cleaning it out everyday and getting coal or logs from outside in the winter .

[changilass]

A relative came up from south and fitted it.

The last one we had didn't have the back boiler so was standard to fit and we did it ourselves.

[Kathy@watten]

Hi we had one fitted recently ( went for waterford erin) due to rising oil prices it is quite large and is a focal feature in my living room, it has wrap round boiler on it and it really lovely! it also heats all the heaters up stairs and all the hot water for main bathroom, takes large logs sourced locally and is realy efficient and hardly ever needs ash taken off it as we only burn wood. We had Forss engineering fit this system for us and they were very good and left no mess! Apart from being a useful thing it also beautiful and the envy of all my friends as it is really cosy and makes the room homely.

[teenybash]

A denifite advantage is....you can't go wrong. Great heat..even during power cuts!! You won't need to worry about those anymore.....go for it. :Razz

[Bad Manners]

hi there are many good points to having a woodburning stove.
1. Cheap to run
2. Will burn most things wood,coal. even anthracite.
3. If you connect it to your heating you get hot water and heat for little cost.
4. you get a good day out finding good timber to burn from local forrest walks to old pallets (all with the owners permission).

Bad points
a. you have to clean the damm thing out.

but thats nothing compares to the warm glow you will feel.

Just go for it you know it makes sence

[Kevin Milkins]

For sure solid fuel is somthing we may need to consider with all the alternatives going sky high.
Some years ago I bought from an auction a Scandinavian coal burner that was round and stood just under six feet tall.
It was made of cast iron and I did some reserch on it and found out it was 112 years old when I bought it.
It was without a doubt the most fuel efficiant and delightfull bit of kit I owned.
When I sold my house I think it was the deal clincher.
The modern wood or multi fuel burners are very controlable and fuel efficiant . Whats a bit of dust when you have the pleasure of sitting by a real fire on a wet and cold winters day?

[Errogie]

The most efficient way to burn wood is very hotly. If you don't and if the wood is not well dried you get a lot of tar deposits and the fuel exhausts most of its energy drying itself out. There is also a huge difference in types of wood. Generally slowly grown hard woods give the best heat but in Caithness its likely to be lodgepole pine and sitka spruce but you've also got peat and that would make a lot of sense. Whatever it is it must be well dried and that's best with a simple shed open on as many sides as possible.

Recent literature reports that a back boiler can bleed too much heat from the stove resulting in lower tempreatures in the stove and less efficient combustion. There are at least two heats in wood, the first is in cutting and gathering it. Good Luck!

Alex Sutherland

[Rheghead]

They are absolutely rubbish and I wouldn't have an other. I've had one for the last 5 years and they don't heat the house at all and I need a wee gas burner to supplement the heating needs of the hoose. There is nothing like a real coal or gas fire to keep the house warm.

[BRIE]

Ive had one for the last 6 yrs that runs the heating etc & their great.If you run it right it vary rarely needs cleaning or relighting.Only disadvantage is you cant turn the heat down!

[Errogie]

Rheghead, the main difference as I said is in what you put into it and unless your wood can be dried and split and kept under cover for at least 6 months after felling you're not likely to get a good result particularly if its spruce and lodgepole pine. The other kind of important fact is the design of your house and where you put the stove but the alternative cost threshold at which the minor inconveniences and wood lot management kick in is a very personal decision at the end of the day.

I've burnt my way through half a forest over the last 36 years and the stuff just keeps on replacing itself!

[percy toboggan]

I'd love one...and I'm investigating the possibilities...sadly we don't have a flue/chimney ! Which needn't be an obstacle if we chuck enough money at it.

I'd never ever, buy another house wi' no chimney.

[Dog-eared]

You can get flue kits that go through the room ceiling ,loft and roof tiles.
Try Bonk & Co in Inverness for advice.

[percy toboggan]

You can get flue kits that go through the room ceiling ,loft and roof tiles.
Try Bonk & Co in Inverness for advice.

Thanks dog-eared...unless yer 'avin' a laff?? 'BONK & CO??' :lol:
they might be reasonable but the travelling costs would cripple 'em!:)

[teenybash]

If you google you should find something closer at hand...............

[Dog-eared]

Bonk & Co are the most experienced in my experience and are very helpful. They're in yellow pages under fireplaces. 01463 233968.

Other information here - http://www.backwoodsman-stoves.co.uk/index.html

[changilass]

Our dirst stove and all the fittings came from Bonk and Co, the one we have now was bought from the internet, there are some great deals out there.

[teenybash]

If you want a look at good quality, fair priced wood burners try Ebay Tam Bagan wood burning stoves.....he has a great selection and you will pay far less. Got mine from him and cannot fault service and price was great!!!!!!:Razz

[teenybash]

stores,ebay.co.uk/CountryKilnStoveShop (http://forum.caithness.org/stores,ebay.co.uk/CountryKilnStoveShop)

Take a look folks and compare with high street prices.

[r.rackstraw]

We have an Esse woodburning cooker that cooks our food, heats our water and runs a radiator. Very little dust or mess - only needs cleaning/de-ashing every 2 or 3 months.
Woodburners are well worth considering but you have to be willing to spend time getting wood, cutting, splitting and storing it. You can buy wood ready split and seasoned but it is expensive. You really need space to have a year's supply under cover

[craggy island]

theyre great. ours does the hot water and radiators for all the house (3 bed). cosy in winter too. :)

[janemac]

we have just got a Villager Berkeley multifuel stove from stovesdirect.com and it has a built in boiler so is heating our radiators and hot water.

we opted for a multifuel so we can use wood and coal and it will keep in all night (once you get used to controlling it)
our house is toasty warm and the oil boiler and tank are redundant!

we bought enough wood and coal from T Hunter in Thurso to see us through winter and the cost of that wouldn't have paid for 500litres of oil so much cheaper
can also get scavangers permits from forestry for local forests and get the wood cheaper still

hope this helps!