Thinking of buying one of these

We installed a Jotul multi-fuel stove (like the one in the pic) ten years ago, one of the best additions to our house we have ever made. It burns coal and wood equally well, keeps the glass clean etc. Not sure I can specifically see that the Clearview ones are anything so different although they look good quality. Jotul is a respected manufacturer I think, they also make some strikingly modern ones. The B+O of stoves?!

You have probably already realised this but crucial to sort out any chimney issues first. get some advice on that and also ensure if you live in a modern house that you can get a good enough draught, especially if you have double glazing. Also remember that they give out a heck of a lot of heat. Don't buy one too big.

Having the fires lit is one of the pleasures of winter.


Bruce

Bluenowz,

We installed this Stovax 4kW model in our dining room last year, and it works really well. Although it is multi-fuel, if you use house coal expect to spend a lot of time cleaning the glass. No problems with wood or smokeless fuel though.

Compared to the open fires I use around the house, it is incredibly frugal with fuel.

Regards

Nic

Nic,
is there no problems with smokeless zones and all that?

Regards

Diccus

I think a fire puts 80% up the chimney and 20% into the room. A stove can swap those figures around.

I would suggest that it very much depends on for what and how you intend to use the stove. The first Jotul I ever saw (35 years ago) was bought by a forester and heated the central core of a large house in Gloucestershire. A proper stove will run low all night and you should be able to keep it burning for as long as you need it - with easy removal of ash and ability to accept a convenient length of log.

For such uses a decent thermal mass is useful and the ability to completely control combustion is essential. If, as many do, you want a closable fire and may well allow it to die down often with only occasional use - then your choice is wider. For either use I would try to avoid the rubbish model of stove that friends had in Bath and I now find again here in France. Tin can body, draughty doors, useless vents and pretty well impossible to remove the ash without killing the fire. Nice flames though and the doors concertina back.

Diccus,

Technically yes, where I live is smokeless zone, but it is not exactly like the days of the big smogs!

Most people have central heating and very few have open fires. Having said that, this is the view behind my computer seat. As the wife always says, coal has a nicer flame than smokeless.



Regards

Nic

Adam,

Here is a fireplace from a gite that we stayed in this August. The place had 14 acres of grounds, of which 9 or 10 were woodland.

They could not keep up with cutting up the windfalls, and we were welcome to use as much wood as we required. Whilst you are quite correct with your figures regarding efficiency, there are certain places where it is frankly superfluous.



Regards

Nic

quote:

Originally posted by nicnaim:
Whilst you are quite correct with your figures regarding efficiency, there are certain places where it is frankly superfluous.

I have probably lived the majority of my life without central heating. When you rely on old fashioned means it can be instructive to research the cutting-edge from those times.

An oil lamp is flicker free and steady when it incorporates an asbestos mantle and, even in a sea of wood, a properly designed stove maximises heat and minimises trips (through bad weather) out to the log store. If you want quick heat in the morning and the ability to leave unattended - a stove beats a damped-down open fire.

I have also lived with properly designed fireplaces - different for wood or coal. A good wood fireplace throws radiant heat out into the room far more than the usual flat-backed ones.

Adam,

You are quite right, I stand admonished for my flippant comment. My only excuse was that it was made following rather too many beers after playing five aside. I think what I was trying to say was that there was a plentiful supply of wood there. Beer does funny things to your brain though.

Regards

Nic

quote:

Originally posted by nicnaim:
I stand admonished for my flippant comment.

I hope I would never be so hypocritical as to admonish anyone for flippancy. My point was not moral - just motivated by bone idleness and a subprimitive lifestyle.