Installing a wood burning stove

Post by **Squiggle** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:57 am

I've just won a French [Faunus] wood buring stove on ebay.....

Now the tricky bit.....installing it.

Have been getting such conflicting advice. And all are HETAS registered installers.

Some say the chimney has to be fully lined. But the house is 13yrs old and the fire brigade videoed it last year after a mini fire. They said it's sound.

I'm told lining it means any potential heat to the bedroom is reduced.

One guy said:
1. Place stove.
2. Attach flu and take it a short distance up the chimney.
3. Need a registration plate.
4. The area around the flu [above the registration plate] to be backfilled with mortar [or something] with a lip to guide any residue from the wood burning... down the chimney and back into the stove to dispose of it.

One HETAS engineer [who'd never heard of MICA for the stove windows] said that's impossible to do. He gave a rough quote to line the chimney: call out to quote £50+vat [to be refunded if they do the work] and around £400 for the installation.......OUCH

I don't own my house and it's important I get it done properly. But I'm working to a tight budget. Hence the need to reduce electricity usage regarding heating. Logs from local park.

Ought to be working on the car really

Post by **ASL642** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:02 am

Hi, I would also check with your Landlord that the fitting is acceptable to him. You don't want to pay and then have the heartache of having to rip it out again.

Post by **millerman** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:09 am

Play safe get the chimney lined!

Post by **Squiggle** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 12:20 pm

millerman wrote:Play safe get the chimney lined!

Noted your words Lou. Thanks.

But I understand lining chimney is big money.......

Thrilled that I got the stove for £47. The dealers must be on holiday!

Similar have sold for around £300.

Post by **dalebrignall** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 1:55 pm

we have got a woodburning stove.it heats all the rasd in the winter.get the chimney lined.dont burn green wood stuff thats just been cut or fallen over. you need to season the wood for about a year before you burn it because it tars up the chimney of you dont.when that happens you get chimney fires.you will also need to get the chimney swept twice a year i have no idea how much that is beacuse dad and i do it ourselves.

Post by **paulhumphries** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:05 pm

A friend has had wood burning stoves for maybe 30 years.
The last one needed replacing and the new one required a lot of work to install as the rules had changed over the years.
He ended up paying nearly £1000 over the intial cost of the stove to conform to current regs so £400 sound reasonable by comparison.

Paul Humphries

Post by **moggiemadman** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:31 pm

Ive got a wood burning stove,make sure when you fit it its away from any gas pipes ect,,, buy a chimly cleaning set and clean them before you put the stove in.make sure the flu is a good few inches up the chimly,make sure it is layed even and da darrrrrrrrrrrrr sorted ;)

Cheers
John

Post by **bmcecosse** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:10 pm

Surely you can just drop a flue liner down the chimney yourself - but really I don't see the need. If it's hot enough it surely won't condense in the chimney - when we had a fire (coal and wood) years ago - we just had a wee chimney fire twice a year to keep it clean! Quite dramatic with flames coming out the top! Used to be able to buy a powder (Chimney Imp ??) to put on the fire (I think may have been saltpetre based) which was supposed to clear away any residue.
Edit - I see you can buy 'Chimney Cleaning Log' now which seems to do the same job.

Post by **ASL642** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:12 pm

I know you've got the stove that you really want, but I'm worried it may cost you more than you've saved just to get it installed!

Have you got any friends who've had them installed and to can recommend the fitter/give you some idea of cost?

Post by **bmcecosse** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:38 pm

Have a look at this site - http://www.fluefactory.com/

Post by **paulhumphries** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 5:51 pm

There are regualtions in place that now state you must either have an installation fitted by a HETAS aproved installer otherwise Building Regulations are applicable and it must be inspact by Building Control Officer.
OK for your own house you can risk flouting the law but if in rented accomodation then probably be prepared to loose your deposit if you ever leave the property.

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/upload ... J_2002.pdf

Paul Humphries

Post by **RogerRust** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:25 pm

we don't have a a flue liner but my house was built in the later 60's.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:31 pm

And does your chimney regularly go up in flames ??

Post by **kennatt** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:21 am

been thinking about a wood burner myself ,I'm a bit confused as to why you need a liner up an allready constructed chimney.if the house was built years ago and had an open coal burning fire(mine has),why would you need a liner.What difference is a stove burning wood and an open fire burning wood

Post by **grumpygrandad** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:57 am

no liner in ours absolutly fine but you do need a sound chimney, grandad

Post by **bmcecosse** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:49 am

Exactly my point - if it's been burning coal - and probably sometimes logs - it should be fine ! Wood produces more resins/tars and I suppose these may condense in a cold chimney more than they will in a 6" diameter liner where they will be travelling faster - and the steel will quickly warm up to prevent the condensation. But either use the 'chimney log' - or have it swept, and it should be fine.

Post by **LouiseM** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:57 pm

Just buy a few more hot water bottles Chrissie. A lot less hassle.

Post by **dunketh** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:51 pm

I have one in my house. Chimney is unlined. Theres a metal reg plate fitted and the pipe from the burner goes into this and a few feet up into the chimney.
Theres no extra work done to the chimney, no mortar work, no lining..etc..etc..
I get it swept once a year and tend to burn a mix of coal and wood. Wood is usually recycled from pallets or DIY projects but I can also scavenge as much as I can use at the beach.

Mine has obviously gotton too hot in the past and has actually warped the grate inside. Other than that its fine.

Post by **grumpygrandad** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:01 pm

me and next door have the same set up and no flu liner we get no probs put it in and start with small fires , the best thing we have done regarding heat, we have central heating but dont use very often as wood burner gives a lot of heat we are out in the country no piped gas we have bulk tank but very expensive, only use central heating when grand children stay overnight, but to run on wood you do need a lotand regular supply,, get the saw out,,grandad

Post by **millerman** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 7:27 pm

You are all very lucky with the unlined chimneys.
We did have a log burner in a well built 1950's house and had a couple of chimney fires; it gets interesting when the bedroom wall is hot.
It depends on the dryness of your logs, well-seasoned dry logs won't leave a tar deposit in the chimney but if they are green and damp.............
An unlined conventional chimney doesn't get hot enough to prevent tar build up. I found that the tar build up couldn't be removed by conventional sweeping but should there be fire in a lined chimney it will burn itself out without, hopefully, any damage.
I am a fan of log burners but I believe they are best for rural dwellers who have access to plenty of wood AND know how to use a chain saw SAFELY

Sorry for the rant but been there done that.......