OT: Multi fuel stoves

[VisionSet]

I'd like to make the right purchase but have no experience of burning solid fuel at all. I want one to connect to proper dual layer flue. 5 inch I guess for the sort of stove size I want. It will go in a 39" wide builders opening. I'd want to burn wood predominantly, and have the option of the door being left open. I'm told you can also get ones that burn smokelessly, even when burning wood. This is only to heat a single room no boiler required, but excess heat may occasoinally be useful for the rest of the house (doors open) to save the gas since I get free wood. I think I'm after a modern spin on a traditional look, chrome fittings that sort of thing. Pitfalls, options and target price appreciated...

TIA Mike W

[The Natural Philosopher]

Oh. Ive got something called a highlander - nice stove. There are bags of shops specializing in wood.coal burning stoves. Expect a nasty shock at the price and a nastier shock at the FLUE prices.

[Bill Taylor]

If you want to burn wood fairly cleanly you are better off with a stove that's designed to burn wood only. Multi-fuel stoves are a compromise design, as the requirements for burning coal are different from burning wood.

Minimising pollution is mainly down to the way the stove is operated. Wood needs to be dry, at least one year, preferably two, and you need to maintain a high temperature for the wood to burn without too much smoke. Adding lots of new wood to a fire and then closing the dampers is guaranteed to generate lots of pollution!

You need to think carefully about the size. If you have a reasonably well insulated room that's not too big, a small stove will be perfectly adequate. If you get one that's too big the room will soon turn into a furnace. Although you can control the output to some extent with the dampers, you can't reduce it that much without the fire temperature dropping and the pollution levels rising.

Bill

[VisionSet]

Thanks for that Bill. I've got a gas fire in a similar room which gives about 2KW output. So I think about twice that will be appropriate. I take it the ratings are output for solid fuel rather than input.

I quite like this

'm hoping that it will be smokeless enough with the 'cleanburn' system.

[dingbat]

I'd agree with both of these comments, and especially that of the Natural Philosopher regarding the price of flues being even more surprising than that of stoves.

IMHO, if you want an attractive stove have one custom made for you, from welded steel rather than cast iron. They're lighter to install and last longer too. You might even find that the price for a well-designed and attractive one-off beats that of the boring box.

[PeterK]

I just had a quick look at the operating instructions on the Stovax site and I couldn't tell if the "multi fuel grate" is just a standard solid fuel grate i.e. it won't burn wood correctly. Some manufacturers have a multi fuel grate that you "toggle" between "solid" and "slatted" see

for an example (you can do it with the stove burning). Swapping/removing the grate is something I would avoid Supporting Bill's post - look at the minimum heat output - AFAIK this is the lowest output you can get with the stove burning wood without depositing tar on your flue liner. It may be possible to get much lower outputs from anthracite - I did for years with a small Coalbrookdale but I never saw the inside of the unlined flue ! (My wife was also an expert at exceeding the maximun heat output (AKA cast iron grate smelting) - with an anthracie fire that's nearly out take a sheet of aluminium that covers the open door aperture less a couple of inches to allow air to get round the ash can and leave unattended for 30 mins )

PeterK

[The Natural Philosopher]

I've managed to crack two cast iron firebacks and melt three grates in an OPEN wood fire.

Stoves? yeah you can get a serious temp inside those allright.

[Jim Alexander]

I got a shock - the price for the 316 grade liner from these people seems reasonable (in comparison)

A