Opinions on Multi Fuel Burners

[gazza1960]

I know this is a shot in the dark and will only spark any thoughts if you have one I guess.....

We will be moving to a different home soon and the guy has one fitted in the lounge,its only 2 years old and according to him kicks out between 5 to 10 KW of heat using seasoned logs which he says heats the whole Bungalow.....sounds a better solution than just turning on the central heating.

I have to say I have not had a "live fire" since mid 60,s,a Rayburn we had used to kick out enormous heat I recall the moggies luvved to lay in front of it.

anyway,I guess todays Q was more to do with any negatives you may have experienced ....smoke throughout rooms....sooty smells if any....or any issues that negate having one.

We will be using it this winter I guess to answer all these questions but just wondered if any of you have thoughts..??

Cheers

Gazza

[gazza1960]

[okra]

Negative - Cleaning out the stove becomes a bit of a chore but soon becomes part of a daily routine Positive - the ashes are useful in the garden.
Positive -  if you can locate a free source of wood it's cheaper than gas or electric and greener
Positive - you can even cook on top and save more fuel
Positive -  great exercise chopping wood
Positive - looks good and enjoyable to watch

The positives far outweigh the negatives

[goodlife]

We've got one too  Best thing we ever decided to invest. It was about...uh, about 7 years ago when we had to have our central heating upgraded and while having to rip lot of pipe work out we got rid of gas fire too.
I think of it as very personal thing if one likes them or not. I don't think anybody would deny that flames doesn't look and 'feel' nice, but to look after one is another thing. I really don't mind.
Ours is small one and it is used daily..as primary source of heat and during cold spells it is backed up with blast from central heating.
We live in 3 bedroom terraced house and that little burner, on its own, will keep us in comfortable  most of the year..though we don't like keeping house that warm anyway...18-20'C is plenty enough.
Only things I can see as 'negative' getting wood..we are lucky in that 'department' for not having to buy any in...and then you need to have room to store and chop them.
There is some cleaning involve...cleaning ashes, glass etc..but that will become daily routine. Smoke is not issue if it works correctly, yes, little will escape but it doesn't linger and make your house smell..one thing is that you won't need any fancy air fresheners ...when you start fire that will make house smell lovely, adding that your cooking smells... ...very homely!
Then there is that 'proper' cleaning...sweeping...that will add to your cost.. that is only thing that I don't look forward to. As we use ours stove so much..we like to keep chimney liner and stove swept and cleaned very frequently..every other month or so..and because using sweepers services can be quite costly, we invested appropriate  equipment and do the sweeping ourselves..and that is 'big' job..it doesn't make your house dirty (if done correctly) but involve bit of hassle for having to do so much preparation before and after the actual sweep.
We burn mainly wood in ours, but some coal is used during winter too and that kicks out totally different amount of heat..and coal burning coal can make some different 'smell'..again depend the quality of coal as there is big differences between 'smoke free' =approved type of coals.
'Logging' has become obsession and hobby for hubby..he is 'messing' about with his logs every other day and we are having log involved conversations daily When ever he sees tree being felled in neighbourhood he goes and ask 'what they are doing with logs?' And when you seasoning your own logs it takes room, lot of time with chopping and stacking...and then you need decent axes or machinery to do it..either way it is physical and both will cost money, but they are not worth of skimping with or you pay with your aching or injured body. Hubby sees it as way of doing something useful and 'gym' training all-in-one job 
Oh well..he is happy with his 'toys' and logs..we all have our own 'obsessions'...but many other we know who have stoves have turned into 'loggers' too
We've looked into buying logs..just for satisfying our curiosity..and find them expensive unless bought in bulk and you still have to stack and store them. It is not 'job' for the idle...
Oh..and then you need somewhere to store small amounts inside..we tend to have 2 days worth in all the time..one lot to burn that day and other warming and 'drying' off from damp outdoor air..ready for following day, they will light up and burn much better that way.
All in all..I find very little negatives weighing against the benefits...and I can see the main benefit in our gas bill  ..and yes..when the fire is on..our dog will take over the best place in house until her bed time..
Edit to add..just saw Okra's reply.. YES..cooking...now that is another story..but stews are sooooo much better when not done in hurry on top of stove..and..and....and....and... different experience with cooking altogether 

[okra]

10 uses for the wood ash produced

http://cyprusgardener.blogspot.com/search?q=wood+ash

[Paulines7]

Gazza, we had a multi-fuel stove installed in our lounge last year.  We have no regrets and are very pleased with it.  There is no smoke and no sooty smells. 

We decided to get one as we had accumulated many logs over the years especially when we had about some very tall conifers cut down about 12 years ago.  We kept the wood as we always had intentions of getting some sort of wood burning stove.  The one we chose was multi fuel, so we had the option of burning other types of solid fuel and save on our oil fired central heating. 

The logs we had accumulated only lasted for a couple of months or so and we ended up buying coal products.  We found Taybrite to be best for our stove (about £11+ a bag).

We made a note of what we spent on the solid fuel and what we had saved on the oil.  There was very little difference between the two.  We still needed the central heating on sometimes when it was very cold but we have a fairly large house, not a bungalow. 

What we are doing now is lighting the fire of an evening if it is chilly but not banking it up and keeping it in all night.  We then have the central heating on for one hour twice a day.  We are burning free logs again as we accumulated some last Spring by cutting down dead trees and branches in our very large garden.  I love having the fire alight during the evenings as it is so comforting. 

I hope this has been some help to you Gazza.  Good luck with your move.  Where are you moving to and is it town or country? 

[gazza1960]

Well im stunned,I didn't realise I would have so much feedback.

It would appear they are more user friendly than we may have anticipated,because we have my mum coming with us to..................Three Legged Cross,Wimborne Dorset I wanted the property to be "simple" so that should Jude and I be out working mum would not have to tend ...open fires albeit behind a glass door,hense we did consider removing it and installing a gas fire so she can just "flick a switch",still she will have a bedroom that we are converting to a day room for her so she can always put on the C heating in there...all pros and cons of making mum happy ..early doors...you know what I mean.

Yep we are going to be in quite a rural setting with a huge area tree laden area right behind us ....the guy who lives there has used loads of windfall timbers and has them chopped up in his log store in the garden,also my mate lives in the New Forest and fells trees on private estates and he has tonnes of it and has offered the use of his trailor so I can pinch a few
when needed,so fueling it wont hopefully be an issue.

It was really the day to day upkeep but you folks have convinced me that providing Jude and I maintain it and just leave mum to sit and enjoy watching the flickering embers we,ll be sorted......

so I/We appreciate your input as Jude has just come home and read your replies and "like me" is happy that we will
enjoy its warmth throughout the cold winters.....

GazNjude

[Paulines7]

Gazza, logs need to be added every 1-2 hours, so if you and Jude are going to be out all day, you may need the central heating on for your Mum, unless she is happy to put more logs on.  Solid fuel, however, lasts a lot longer, so if heaped on in the morning, would not need topping up until the evening, but then you would have to pay for it.   Glad to hear you are able to get free logs. 

You are moving to a really beautiful part of the world with so many lovely places to visit nearby.  The delights of Poole Harbour, Hengistbury Head, Mudeford (pronounced muddy ford), the New Forest, Swanage and Purbeck will all be within easy reach. 

Where are you moving from?  It sounds as though you could know the area reasonably well if you have a mate in the New Forest.     

[gazza1960]

Yes I guess we will have to source some as the seller is leaving his coal bunker,plus I think he knows all the local suppliers
for such things.....but thanks for the headsup re "consumption" of logs compaired to coal fuel....you know what Pauline im so excited with the prospect of the house move,judes the only one keeping her feelings in check incase things go belly up.

re ...the area we are "Old Hands" in Dorset me having visited Lulworth as a 16 year old (1976) when dad would let me drive his van around the country lanes with L plates on,then we,d weekend in the caravans at Durdle door many a time and had some brilliant hols down there.

Judes a "NEWBY really ,only visiting the Dorset area with me the last 27 years....and yes you could say its bitten us hense
wanting to move there.

Yep,all the venues you've mentioned have been trodden on by yours truly as of course me being a sea angler I enjoy
visiting Milford,Mudeford,Southbourne,Swanage,Portland and all points west along Chesil beach.......

I had these 3 2lb Bass from Southbourne beach recently................



and had a quick dabble along Chesil and caught some tasty Whiting............



This was the result.....Moroccan Spiced Whiting Wraps ...they were bluddy awesome....forgive me,I get excited when a recipe comes together.....the main thing is Jude liked em so job done..!!!!!!!!!...sorry about previous fish recipes...I just enjoy cooking fish "I guess"...

yep,we Luv all things Dorset,we were down last weekend and found a beautiful area called Holt Heath which is very similar to the New Forest heathland  6miles square and only 10 mins cycle from our door,weve just gotta get mum back in the saddle ...walking wise... as shes not the best surefooted other than concrete pathways ..the last thing I wish is for mum to be stuck in the bungalow when there is so much walking areas locally for her/us to enjoy together.....ok...shes a bit shuffle of the feet but im sure dads stick will support her when were out....leastways she has a bit of dad with her.

Gazza

[ancellsfarmer]

I try not to mix business with pleasure but offer the following tips:
If there is to be a smoke stain issue, look to see if its already there?
Ensure that your soliciitor gets the obligatory paperwork relating to the install- this will be either a Building Control certificate from the council to whom you will pay the Council tax, or a HETAS certificate from the installer.
Ask about the chimney sweep your vendor has used, book him to sweep the flue and clean the stove interior passages. If he is a HETAS sweep, that would be an advantage. Ask for a Sweeps Certificate each time.
Repeat at least annually, or more often if the stove is used alot.
You can buy a ASH CLEAN attachment for an industrial (Henry) type vac to remove ash from a (cold!) stove.
If there is not already one fitted in that room, buy a "compliant Carbon Monoxide detector" This will be a "sealed for life" battery device with a 7 year guarantee. If you can replace the battery, its not "compliant"
Any further questions... Pm welcome.

Learn (from the sweep) how to light, control, clean and fuel the stove

[goodlife]

Very good advise from ancellfarmer...
I have forgotten most of the paperwork stuff..and the carbon monoxide detector is 'must'!
I you know what brand the stove is..look if there is operation manual available on line or if they supply another copy of you don't have one already available. Each stove has its own adjustments for efficient and safe burn..it makes your and 'stove's life easier in long run when you don't have to deal with issues later on of what badly burning stove and wrong adjustments can cause..

[artichoke]

Our small stove (a Morsø "Squirrel") was fitted by idiots while we were away (we were obliged to use the building firm who were renovating our house). They ignored all the advice from the suppliers of the Squirrel, though I had asked them to visit them just down the road. They put the flu in upside down and omitted the sealing ring and ignored regulations about safety distances from wooden beams. We had 7 years of misery (smoking, leaking black liquid, ruined paintwork, not burning properly and smelling awful) and therefore hardly used it.

At last I was allowed (OH very unkeen on doing anything about it as he had not wanted it in the first place) to ask for advice from the suppliers, who were shocked at the incompetence of our builders, and got their expert to put everything right and make it legal. It is absolute bliss to run now.

I don't run it often because OH does not like it, but I'd like to make a point that has not been mentioned yet, I think: I used to live in a remote-ish farmhouse that suffered many power cuts, and vowed that I would never live in a house that had no open fire to fall back on if electricity and/or gas failed (and I always have hundreds of candles). This stove gives me peace of mind, because whatever happens we can stay warm, and heat up soup etc on its small surface.

(We had a powercut after the recent storm, but I was not at home or I would gleefully have lit it).

I have also lived with Agas and a Rayburn, plus open fires, and I rather like looking after fires, but those who don't may find the constant attention needed rather stressful, plus the dust and heavy work with logs or hods of solid fuel.

[vjm63]

Just read through this and wanted to add a little bit.

The previous owners of our house had a couple of multifuel burners installed  - the kitchen one feeds the hot water and underfloor heating, plus I use it for cooking, and the main room one is a lot smaller and really is just for heating that room.  We are still learning optimum settings and use, but I know I am using less coal than last year because I am getting the hang of it. We use wood (bought or self chopped) Blazers fuel logs, and anthracite, plus have some allegedly-for-the-barbeque bags of loose charcoal in reserve in case we run out of anthracite - I tend to be belt and braces and do not want to run out of fuel in the middle of winter! I cannot be sure but I am fairly sure we are spending less on fuel than we did in a semi with both gas and electric, for a slightly bigger house,and of course the coal/wood/etc is in effect used for cooking at the same time as heating room, heating water...

The main room one is rarely used - usually only when it is very cold outside and/or we want the psychological joy of watching a fire from the sofa, or once memorably when we had a four hour power cut and I heated up a stew on the top for us to eat! 

We have got our own sweeps' brushes which OH uses - his brother has been a chimney sweep for over ten years so knew the right ones to get us.

The kitchen Wamsler is on most days and I use it for cooking (definitely improved on that management) although I still get more variation/unsteadiness with oven temperature than of course happens with gas and electric ovens. Still, as Goodlife says, cooking is fun with it - stews and casseroles, bread, cakes, as well as the usual pies and veg and everything - and chutneys/jams work too just sitting on the top. I really like the extra large surface so I can have six pans/pots on it at once, just moving them around to get the right ones up to boiling or just simmering.

We like them. 

[gazza1960]

Many thanks for the continued opinions and or advice,I have copied and pasted some of ancellsfarmers comments re the fire as its comforting to get  "well informed" advice...and yes I will contact the vendors via our solicitors to check on your suggestions....they do have regular cleaners so im sure all that info will be made aware for us.

As for the model type or  number I have no idea,I did have a cursory look around but have not found one that looks identical,all I know is it is just a standard unit that does not have a back boiler which is a pity as my mate has a spare back boiler going spare....

below is the link to the property and we didn't see any smoke staining above the fireplace but then whilst its been up for sale I guess the vendors didn't use it....who knows..!!!!!

http://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/29367434?featured=1

I think the most important observation has been that "nobody" has wished to de install their fire and go back to gas or elec,....secretly Im looking forward to cooking something in a small pot,on top of it.....or something in it..ok I know its in the lounge but I think weve all experienced days as kids ....well for me that was the mid 60,s when the power would go out and we would foil cook potatoes, and fish on the embers in our Rayburn with mum then putting an old pot on the fire and we,d have hot water to drink and or wash before getting ready for Skool......are the good Ol days.....I miss them somethimes...and the candles would be flickering earily around the walls of our Old Cottage ....and me dad would make spoooke noises   to frighten me and me sis.....no wonder I grew up hiding behind the couch when Dr Who was on the TV....

Gazza

[ACE]

A few houses ago I installed a franco belge multifuel  kitchen range which ran the hot water, central heating and all the cooking. Wood was not a problem as it was about the time of the hurricane and being the council cemeteries/garden foreman, lorry loads of logs were delivered whenever I needed them. But I still needed a couple of those huge precast coal bunkers to store it in. It ran a dozen big double radiators and if we needed a tank of hot water the cental heating pump was switched off until the hot tank rumbled usually after 20 minutes.

Cooking was something else. You had to move the pots around the hotspots and there was two ovens, one with a shutter to control the heat and the small one where you could leave a stew of the toughest beef for a couple of days and it came out really tender. Being surrounded by water I am also a keen angler. After dark you can always count on a few pout to take home. I could put them in the slow oven and forget about them. when you ate them the bones had turned to chalk like bones in tinned salmon. Just eat the lot.

It was a chore to sweep the chimney, so it was only done once a year but a packet of fire witch tipped on a roaring fire every couple of months kept it clean.

[pumkinlover]

We love our multi fuel stoves. We find that the one we only burn wood on does stay cleaner than the other. ( Both are clearview) Make sure everything is dry and you will not have any problems.  Each stove has it's peculiarities, you will get to know it and love it. Great for cooking especially casseroles, curries even joints of meat and home made Christmas pud sits and steams on it for hours.
Kettle and a couple of flasks and the washing up water for the next day is heated up every night!

[Golach]

I've also got a multifuel stove in my living room.  Can't for the life of me remember the make except it's British made.  It's an inset one but looks like a stove rather than a fire behind glass if you see what I mean.  It's brilliant.  It's quite a small one but boy, does it kick out the heat.  There is no smell of smoke and when it's been on a few days the chimney breast heats up and acts like a giant storage heater so really don't need to use the central heating in the bedrooms.  I'm quite lucky as my house backs onto woodland and there are always fallen branches just waiting to be cut up.  Chainsaw and protective clothing is a must.  Mine's an electric one.

I haven't lit mine yet this year as it hasn't really been that cold but when it does get cold...on it goes 

[Paulines7]

Just a word about cleaning the glass on a stove.  Ours is a clearview stove and the installer told us to clean the glass with a piece of damp kitchenroll dipped into a little of the ash.  It works!  If done every other day, it's only a 2 minute job.

[telboy]

Hi gazza,
I can't agree more about multifuel stoves. If you could post a pic. we could identify the make. Does your stove have a stainless liner? I ask 'cos it makes sweeping a doddle. I only ever burn wood on my Clearview. I bought my own brush set and it's paid for in two sweeps, the chimney ash falls like black sand so there's no mess as the ash falls into the stove. 
I wish I'd bought one years ago, as I had a free wood supply then!
Good luck!

[goodlife]

Just a word about cleaning the glass on a stove.  Ours is a clearview stove and the installer told us to clean the glass with a piece of damp kitchenroll dipped into a little of the ash.  It works!  If done every other day, it's only a 2 minute job.

I've never used ash for it...I shall try that!
I usually use clear vinegar on kitchen roll.. that works well too.

[gazza1960]

If you go back a couple of posts Telboy there is a Zoopla link to the property and a picky of the fire in the Lounge mate.

Gazza