I quite like the ‘modern lines’ look on stoves and this is the chesney salisbury we had fitted having its first burn test

This is the end result after redecorating, the chimney outside is massive and we could have done the whole inglenook look, but again we preferred the simple lines

Currently getting quotes for stoves/installation, but unsure whether to go for a wood only or a multifuel, what are the STW opinions on this?

You can go either, our installer did advise though that if you use other fuel it will knacker up your flu faster, so although ours is multi we are sticking with wood.

Stovey but I am biased as I design for them 🙂

if you use other fuel it will knacker up your flu

I’d go multifuel, but I prefer the way coal burns.

However.

coal contains sulfur – best burnt * by itself *
wet wood contains water and makes tarry crap

together they make sticky sulfuric acid gunk

i.e. avoid wet wood + coal.

wet wood is bad enough by itself

coal on its own is fine, especially anthracite (or smokeless at a push)

Multi is better because wood doesn’t burn brilliantly without a good bed of embers. You can form the bed of embers with smokeless fuel nuggets, which will sit and glow all day until you chuck on a log and open the vents and in seconds you’ll have a cheery fire.

As long as your wood is well seasoned and you get the chimbley swept regularly you don’t need to worry about tars.

On seasoning wood, here’s a pic I took in September of a freshly-cut piece of wood, which I weighed, left in a warm dry place then re-weighed on 21 February. As you can see it has lost 60% of its weight in water! Your storage and drying arrangements for wood are as important as your choice of stove.

This is our log store, made from pallets and an old plastic conservatory roof with some felt, it faces south and is in the windy gap between the house and the neighbour’s fence so ideal for drying:

Good idea weighing and marking some of the logs, will use that one!

Jeez I’d like mark my logs and weight um, I use a little moisture tester and it seems to work fine

BTW I’ve had a Firefox for a couple of years now and have no complaints

Woo who!! After some bidding on eBay and missing out (just) on a dovre 250 justa few miles away, almost driving to Daventry for a morso 1418, and an evening deciding if a £150kg clear view could be lifted into the boot of my car (I came to my senses), eBay came through! Made an offer on a ‘buy it now or best offer’ and now have a brand new stovax Stockton 5 multi fuel on its way to me. Better sort a flue liner. 🙂

£150kg clear view could be lifted into the boot of my car (I came to my senses),

Been there done that. On the suggestion of the stove pros on STW – stack of breezeblocks to jack it up with, plus some cardboard boxes in the boot for easy sliding.

When I googled for ideas I found a stw thread, may have been yours. I decided I didn’t want the hassle for a stove much larger then I really wanted and with a boiler I didn’t want. I took a day to come to they view though.

I apologise now for the questions about flues, hearths, wood piles, splitting mauls, chain saws and other stove related parifanalia which will come over the next few months.

First one, I’ll size the opening to take a stove fan so just looked up the sizes. There is a big spread in cost isn’t there? Calfire ecofans at nearly £150, down to what I imagine is a Chinese copy for £40. Is there a difference in quality? As an engineer I kinda fancy a Stirling engine powered fan like the Vulcan… Thing of beauty but, is it fragile and likely to wear out? I imagine a Peltier based fan has very little to ‘go wrong’, either through wear or being knocked, when compared to a mini Stirling engine. Also, does one can type do the job any better than the other?

I decided I didn’t want the hassle for a stove much larger then I really wanted and with a boiler I didn’t want.

good call

an oversized stove is an annoyance at best and practically unusable at worst