Multifuel stove

Hi All
Following on from a post I did on chimney liners, we have now decided to go for the installation after a reasonable quote from a registered installer.
He recommended either a EVA or Fire Fox both with 5/8kw output. The stove will be lit through most of the winter/ bad weather so are these up to the job!

So what have the STWers got fitted or have you any experience of the above?

Photos of your stoves would also be great or should I say GRATE!!

Plenty of reviews here from stove owners[/url]

I still haven't decided. Heart says Clearview but head says Morso.

I like our Euroheat Harmony 13 (5kW I think) – bit pricier than the others and contemporary-ish styling may not suit all houses, but it uses all the 'modern' technology (well, as modern as a metal box to burn stuff in gets) and has been faultless so far.

I fitted an EVA stove for my mum a couple of months ago. All was fine at first then then after a couple of weeks the thing started to smoke. To cut a long story short, I had to remove the baffle plate just below the flu pipe and make the air holes bigger in the stove top plate, after that it was fine.

The thing was that resticted that as soon as you got even a very light build up of soot it wouldn't burn / draw.

I'd also ignore the whole, what size for my room thing. Fit the biggest one you can (obviously it still has to look right) the output figures for all stoves are maximums. It won't be running at full that often, most of the time you'll find you're nearer half the stated output.

I'm not saying don't buy an EVA, it's very solid and well built but you might want to modify a few things before you fit it.

Stuart

My stove earlier… (A Morso and I love it so)

Didn't they have any smaller ones? 😉

It is only a small room so pointless having a huge one (and when it is stacked up with drying wood it all fits very nicely thank you very much) 🙂

The fireplace is huge because there used to be a range in there (unfortunately removed by the bloke who started renovating the place before we bought it from him and completed it).

I'd also ignore the whole, what size for my room thing. Fit the biggest one you can (obviously it still has to look right) the output figures for all stoves are maximums. It won't be running at full that often, most of the time you'll find you're nearer half the stated output.

This goes against all the advice you'll read everywhere.

Don't get a stove too big for your room as it will either be way too hot or you'll have to restrict it, which leads to the liner getting choked up and the wood not burning well, plus bigger stoves cost a lot more to buy so unless you're going to use it's capacity why waste your money?

That looks neat setup MF.

We have had a few quotes to fit one to our property, varied from £700 to £2500 fitted!

Insurance wise, been told by our insurance company (M&S) they need to be fitted professionally, and by a HETAS registered fitter.

Are all insurance companies the same?

As I here of loads of people fitting them themselves.

Not all the same then – mine (through Lloyds IIRC) didn't care…. but went the HETAS route all the same.

Oh and +1 to what Nick says ^^^

nice one BB, that could save me a bundle.

We have been looking at a Riva 40 insert or Morso, Mrs want the modern clean look of the insert, but I am hankering for a traditional Morso.

Just to be clear – you have to tell them, as it is a potential hazard that may be on their list of items/changes that affects the premium, but it will be up to the individual insurer as to whether it is a big risk and the premium goes up, or (in my case) not and the premium stays the same.

But, of course, you will tell any new insurer that you get a competitive quote from that you've just had a stove installed, right 😉

Wouldn't it be nice to have the option of more heat?

If the calculations say you need a 5kw stove that stove will produce 5kw when it's roaring. Instead, if you fit an 8kw stove it'll be producing nearer your required 5kw even when you've nipped out and it's died down.

You can light a small fire in a big box but not the other way round. If it's primary function is that of asthetics and it'll just back up the CH then it won't really matter 😉

Yes, bigger stoves do tend to cost more though.

But if you put a small fire in a big stove, the efficiency of the flue will be reduced, the liner/chimney won't get hot enough, it won't draw properly and the potential for condensates to deposit in the liner (or even in the firebox itself) are increased.

For the efficiency and life of the whole system it's better to run a small stove flat out than a big one at half power. I fully accept, though, that the absolute heating capacity is then limited by the size of the stove, which is why sizing it correctly in the first place (taking into account the size of the room/doors/windows and whether you like to be really hot or just nicely warm) is important.

Morso badger for us. It's excellent little fire but just had to have liner put in, seems the sweep I used turned out to be shite. Had to get the builder back in who found an awful lot of jackdaw nesting in the chimney. Got it lined while he was on even though it wasn't needed.

I'm just thankful we never had a chimney fire.

And yes get one that goes with the room, it'll do more than the room though, we never have any central heating on it heats the whole house grand.

Regarding running a big stove and choking it to reduce heat output etc…

On our stove (no idea what the rated output is BTW) we can light it at 6pm and put on about three or four logs all night and run it with the vent half closed so it nicely burns but not too violently. It gives a really good heat even like that. To have a bigger one in there would just mean choking it right back (and it would also take an age to heat up the casing).

Also we have lots of space to store logs whilst drying and to keep my Jelly Beans. 🙂

Drac – is your fireplace upside down? 😉

But SNAP! same stove as ours (ours just has the longer feet to fill the space up more) 🙂

Aye same one they're bloody great can't help but play with it now and then making it like a furnace makes a hell of a roar and melts your face off.

I've got a proper yorkshire stove. It's reet good.

Aye same one they're bloody great can't help but play with it now and then making it like a furnace makes a hell of a roar and melts your face off.

When we first got ours we (read 'I') got carried away one night and, with the lights turned down, got it proper roaring. We had a big stack of logs drying right up against the stove and the next thing I knew, they were actually smouldering. It was really rather hot 😆

Drac, how do you get on with the wooden mantlepiece that seems closer to the body of the stove than the 400mm stipulated by the building regs? Did you fit the stove?

We've got a wooden surround that would be about 250mm away from the body of the stove and I'm worried it might be an issue. I don't want to take it off though as it would involve a load of making good and redecorating.

No. Builder done our stove. It gets but is fine no smoulder marks on it the varnish doesn't even soften.

Interesting. How far from the stove is it?

Just measured it's 200mm but just because ours is fine don't mean yours will be.

"We have been looking at a Riva 40 insert or Morso, Mrs want the modern clean look of the insert, but I am hankering for a traditional Morso."

We looked at getting an ultra modern stove, and then quickly changed our minds as what looks 'modern' now will look old fashioned in 5 years. We eventually went for the Morso 04 which is similar to the Badgers above but with just slightly cleaner more contempory lines.

Personally I wouldn't get a bigger stove and run it cold. Your going to get a less efficient burn which will lead to more soot, which equals more cleaning!

Drac – all the Morso Badger stoves say a top clearence of 600mm

We haven't declared on our insurance that we have a stove do we need to do that?

Just measured it's 200mm but just because ours is fine don't mean yours will be.

Very true….. but interesting all the same. Cheers 🙂

Dunc – see above. I took the view that if there was, say, a chimney fire which I claimed against the insurance for repairs and I'd told them I had a stove – even if it made no difference to the premium/risk calculations – then they couldn't complain they didn't know there was a stove in the house (long sentence – sorry – does that make sense?!?)

The other option was not to tell them and – even it made not difference to the premium/risk calculations – see how the conversation went retrospectively……

I'm not saying 'run it cold' … it's not a bath. Just consider getting something with a little extra capacity. A well designed stove will still burn efficiently even when you've closed some of its air feed, that's what it's designed to do otherwise we'd all just have open fires. The thing will still get hot enough to burn off any initial condensation that forms within the flu or the fire itself … it only requires 100 degrees.

Your choice of fuel will have a big effect on how much soot build up you get and also how long the stove lasts before it 'burns out'.

Drac – all the Morso Badger stoves say a top clearence of 600mm

yup they do.

Portway 1 here, pretty good and heats the whole house up when it has been going for a while (trad terrace with 2 up 2 down and kitchen/bathroom on the back).