Wood Burning Stoves Top Tips

When looking at buying your multi-fuel stove you will be told it gives out this many KWs or so many BTUs. This can be a bit confusing. What you need is to measure your room height,length and width multiply this figure. This gives you your squared room size. Then its just a straight forward conversion. So if youve got a straight stove it works out around 4m2 per KG. If you are interested in a multifuel stove with a boiler 7.2m2 per KG is your guide. This is a rough working system,because youll have variables like your room being north facing,your insulation and double glazing. But its close enough. Lots of websites offer free down loads for working out the amount of radiators and their sizes to get the maximum from your stove. So youve got your lovely new stove what next? Well hopefully youve got a HETAS fitter. HETAS are the governing body for all things wood burner fitting in the UK. So firstly my advice, you can attempt to fit it yourself, but remember a couple of things. Your stove should have at least 12 inches (30 cm) from the wall or walls. Your Multi-fuel stove should sit on a construction hearth this can be either the newer metal versions or the more traditional concrete base This will protect your floor boards from the heat. Next your flue should connect to a registration plate, this increases the draught and protects you and yours from anything that drops down the chimney. Now some people might not have a chimney or want their stove in another area. If this is the case, use a double lined flue as it passes through the wall. Your flue pipe should have at least a metre clearance above your roof base,this insures against getting smoke in your upstairs rooms and and also allows the natural power of wind to assist the wood burners draught. A little bit more on Chimneys, they are classed the same as a flue which means its a class1 flue.Personally Id fit a flexi-liner within the chimney, but its not always necessary. To top it off, pun intended, fix a flue cowl in place, this protects the inside of the flue from the elements and debris & helps with the air flow. which will maximise your draught. So youve installed your wood burning stove, what to do now? Make sure that you get a HETAS fitter to check your master work. This will usually cost you around £50,why? I hear you ask. Well, with the current building regulations you must or when you come to sell you multifuel warmed home your HIPS will not pass it! Harsh but true. With a stove with a boiler, please use a fully certified plumber, its a wonderful thought that the log burner is also heating your entire home.So you need to make sure its correctly integrated with a pump so that you can use your existing gas or electric system on those chilly summer nights, whilst saving your multifuel stove with a boiler for the other 11 months, well it feels like winter lasts that long. Seriously, use a CORGI fitter because you have a potential bomb in your home if the connections arent carried out correctly. Bomb I hear you cry! Let me explain, if the boiler runs dry you will get a build up of heat which will expand in the chamber then BANG! Stoves with a boiler are great for your pocket and the planet,but should be fully respected for their potential dangers. Your stove is in place, its correctly fitted,so what do you do now? Light a big glorious fire and watch the flames. Sorry no, well not yet. To get a longer lifespan from your wood burning stove and to make sure that the coating is properly absorbed my top tip is this. Make a small fire in your multi-fuel stove,let it burn for an hour or so,then let the unit cool,repeat process. Some stoves will give off smoke, this is harmless its just the coating embedding its self to the metal. Now your good to go. Maintenace of a stove is very straight forward. Youll be offered stove glass cleaner,you dont need it, just take a damp cloth wipe the glass when cool.Then get a piece of newspaper and rub the glass. Sparkling clean. Empty your ash pan once a week, if youve got a garden put it in your soil, its a great fertiliser. Once every 18 months have a chimney sweep come round and clean any build up out of your flue pipes Now have many happy warm years with your wood burning stove and remember keep the home fires burning Eamonn Horgan Company MD What What What Ltd