There are loads of web sites that can give you a lot of information regarding the subject of solid fuel fires etc. What I have done here is to pick a few areas that I feel are important or of interest to you as a potential customer. If you are after a solution to a particular problem, then please email us, and we shall do our best to find the correct answer.
Traditional open fires:
These are what most people think of when you talk about solid fuel fires; a 16" or 18" clay fireback with a grate and ashpan. They look lovely, they even sound great when the logs start crackling, but they are very inefficient, and need a lot of air to burn correctly. In a well sealed house, with double glazing and draught proofing, the building regulations could require air vents measuring 16500 sq mm or more. All that for an efficiency of around 37%. By installing a Convector insert fireplace, (a Rutland ) you can increase the efficiency to about 50%.
If you have a leaky chimney stack and it requires re-lining, then for an open fire such as this, you need to re-line with at least an 8" flue. In a pre 1965 house, with a 9" brick flue, it's not always going to be possible to get that size of flue liner down successfully. There are other options available as regards flue lining but they are not something we can undertake, requiring more specialist equipment as they do.
Multifuel Stoves / Woodburners
If you are looking for a higher level of efficiency and more control over the way the fire burns, then you will more than likely want to consider a stove. These are available in a large number of designs and outputs, from under 5Kw to over 15Kw. The choice is vast, as is the price range, but you'll be looking at starting around the £500 mark for a reasonable quality one. We are able to supply a range of stoves to suit most requirements. Call us for more details.
I mentioned air supply earlier, and this is one example of how stoves differ from open fires. If the output of your stove is less than 5Kw, and it doesn't have a draught stabiliser, then you don't need any additional air supply. This is , of course, dependant upon the individual installation circumstances, as there may be times when extra air is required for a small stove.
What size stove would I need?
For most situations a rough guide as to the output in kilowatts that you should be looking for, is 1Kw per 15 cubic meters of room. So, if your room measures 4m X 5m and is 2.5m high then you have 50 cubic meters to heat. 50 divided by 15 equals 3.33Kw. You'd be looking at a stove such as the Stovax Stockton 3 with a max output of 3.75 Kw. It is quite important not to go too big on your stove, as you'll find that you won't want it burning too hot, which means you'd let it idle for longer periods, which is not good for the stove or the flue. (see below) Its better to have a smaller stove working at maximum efficiency.
Does my chimney need re-lining?
A multi fuel chimney liner is a twin skinned flexible stainless steel tube which is used to reline existing masonry chimney stacks. So why would we want to reline a chimney?
The major reason to reline would be in situations where smoke and fumes from your fire are leaking from the masonry chimney stack into adjacent rooms. This is extremely dangerous and should be remedied immediately. What happens is that over time, the mortar between the bricks of the chimney stack can break down, and allow the escape of gases. The symptoms can sometimes be seen as dirty brown patches on the wall, although often there is no visible sign.
It's mostly on properties that were built prior to about 1965 where this can happen, as after this date, building regulations ensured that new chimney stacks were constructed using impervious clay pot liners. It would not generally be necessary to re-line such a flue.
I haven't got a chimney.
Then we'll need to come and have a look to see if it would be possible to fit a rigid chimney system. These are stainless steel, twin wall, insulated sections that fit together to make a new chimney. They can often be routed through the house, or, failing that, go out through a wall and up the outside of the house.
Burning wood?
The most common form of wood fuel at the moment is logs. These will usually come from us or other local sources and can be bought from a variety of outlets e.g. coal merchants, farmers, tree surgeons. It is very important that the logs are dry and well seasoned. Burning wet or unseasoned wood is less efficient and can cause a harmful build up of deposits in the chimney over a very short time. Thick coatings of creosote or resinous material can cause chimney fires, or prevent the chimney functioning properly. This can allow harmful fumes to escape into the dwelling. The photo below shows a 6" flue serving a solid fuel stove that had not been swept correctly for several years. The flue has been reduced to about 2". Needless to say, the stove was not working properly!
Chimney cleaning.
The best way to ensure that your chimney is clear of soot and obstructions is to have it swept. This is best done by an experienced sweep. We do offer a sweeping service but it is usually confined to being done in conjunction with the fitting of a liner or stove. We recommend Atlas Chimney Sweep Ltd of Hacheston (phone Richard Root on 01728 748200).
In addition to sweeping there is another way of helping to keep your flue in top condition, and that is by the burning of a Chimney Log. It is NOT a substitute for sweeping, merely a means of making the tar or creosote more easily removed by sweeping. They are very effective: the nearly blocked flue shown above was cleared by a combination of mechanical scraping, Chimney Log burning and conventional brush sweeping. Generally speaking, if you are burning wood then it is recommended that you burn a Chimney Log every 60 fires. We can supply them at £20.00 ea plus p&p.
