How to light your Stove
How to choose Good Firewood
Q&A’s BEFORE
Why should I buy a stove from Esher Fireplaces?
Stoves are an enormous amount of fun. That being said there is a sense of reality one has to have when owning a stove. Stoves are a very hands on and an experimental appliance. An appliance that does have it’s do’s and don’ts.
As an independent retailer, we will discuss your individual requirements both technical (such as sizing the heat output to your room and advising on your flue type) and design; and ensure that you select the most appropriate product for your home. We will also be able to advise on, or assist with, the installation process as well as help provide any after-sales support and servicing your appliance may require in the future. A service that isn’t always offered when purchasing online.
Most manufacturers do not believe suitable levels of customer care and satisfaction can be obtained from purchasing a product only online and we would strongly recommend that you consider this when undertaking your research and making a purchasing decision. Further, please be aware that we do not offer technical support to products bought via nationwide online sales, where this support would normally be offered by one of our qualified sales and installation team.
When choosing your stove;
Below are key points to consider before selecting the right stove for your home:
- Style/aesthetics you desire
- Heat output appropriate for the room/space you want to heat
- Fuel type – wood burning only or multi-fuel
- Are Cleanburn, Airwash and efficiency important to you?
- Do you wish to burn wood in a Smoke Control Area?
All these aspects should be carefully considered before you make your investment but we will be able to lead you through the options to ensure you choose a stove that will not only be a welcoming and warming feature in your home but a real asset to your heating system.
Style & Aesthetics
With style it really is a question of “which one do I think looks the nicest?”. You can choose from a range of Traditional or Modern stoves, Freestanding or Inset stoves. For inspiration on a wide range of stoves please take a look at our Stove collection.
Heat Output
One of your first steps is to decide what size of stove is right. As a guide, we suggest that for every 14 cubic metres of space, you will need 1kW (approximately) of heat output in order to achieve a room temperature of 21 degrees. However, this figure will give only a rough guide and does not take into account a number of other important factors such as the age of your home and how well insulated it is; how many rooms are to be heated or whether or not your living space is open plan.
Woodburning or Multifuel?
Wood burns best on a bed of ash with its combustion air coming from above, so wood burning only versions of stoves have a flat fuel bed and no ashpan.
Multi-fuel stoves usually have a riddling grate for the effective combustion of solid mineral fuels but also have Airwash so they can effectively burn wood as well. The riddling grate allows the ash and cinders from smokeless fuels, anthracite or peat/turf briquettes to be riddled into an ashpan, maintaining the primary airflow through the fuel bed and, hence, creating the optimum conditions for efficient combustion of those particular fuels.
According to the model, a multi-fuel stove may have either an internal or externally controlled system for riddling the grate.
Most existing chimneys are suitable for solid fuel burners. This is of course dependant on the condition/integrity of your chimney. This can be assessed via a Chimney Sweep. Even if a chimney breast/flue has been removed in part or is blocked – we can almost always find a solution.
Not necessarily, if you do not have an existing chimney, you will need a twin wall, insulated flue system. This will come off the top or the back of your stove and run either up an outside wall to the apex of the roof or it can run up through your house and out through the roof. Provided clearances can be met this is a service we can provide. A survey visit from our HETAS engineers will be necessary to quote accurately for this work.
Not necessarily. It all comes down to your flues integrity as well as the individual specification . To find this out a Chimney Sweep will need to assess your flue, if there’s a leak or breach in the flue it will allow Carbon Monoxide (A highly poisonous, odourless and invisible gas) back into the house. So long as your your chimney is no larger than 9” square or 10” in diameter and is gas tight your stove can be connected to the base of your existing flue using the appropriate stove fixing kit. The base of the existing flue must be completely sealed and a means for effective flue cleaning is also installed. In short so long as a Chimney Sweeps gives your flue the thumbs up Flue Lining isn’t essential.
However all manufacturers as well as ourselves do recommend lining as;
- It prevents leakage of smoke if there are cracks or gaps in the existing flue.
- It reduces the time taken for gases to pass through the flue because of the smaller diameter and has smoother inner surfaces. This reduces the likelihood of condensation in the flue.
- Aluminium is a much better heat conductor than bricked flues, meaning you wait even less time for your flue to heat up.
The draw you receive is much more efficient and likewise your stove becomes much more efficient not needing to use up as much fuel to keep the flue hot.
Free standing stoves in fireplaces need a gap around them of at least 100mm to the sides and 150mm at the top but ideally there should be 150+mm clearance to each side and 250+mm to the lintel. Some
Often it comes down to the age of your house how big your chamber will be. Some chambers were built to a substantial size and bricked in as the means of heating homes changed over the years. It is possible to return a Chamber to its original brickwork and this may give you more room than anticipated. Alternatively we do have a selection of freestanding and inset stoves that will fit into all Class 1 openings. Please do Contact Us for more details.
All stoves have a quoted minimum distance requirements to combustible materials including wooden fireplace surrounds, timber beams, plaster-board and wallpaper. These distances must be maintained in order to comply with UK Building Regulations.
The stove does need to sit on a non-combustible hearth. This material choice can range from slate, granite or concrete and need to be a required thickness depending on the stove type and material chosen. An existing hearth can be reused provided it is the required dimensions as well as compatible with solid fuel as a solid piece of natural material can crack if exposed to the heat generated by a solid fuel stove.
If the stove is over 5kw (Kilowatt) in output, a permanently opened air vent is required. This is usually a vent put in a suspended floor or through an external wall. Homes built post 2007 require an air vent regardless of the heat output from the stove; this is due to the new process of better insulating the homes built post 2007. Depending on the fireplace position and stove type it may be possible to connect a vent directly to the stove.
Q&As AFTER
A fire can be started rapidly by using a natural firelighter or scrunching a few sheets of lighter paper and placing them beside a small log then covering this with a large handful of small dry kindling. Prop the kindling against the log to stop it collapsing. Include a few thin pieces of wood in the kindling which will catch fire easily and help the fire to build.
The first time you light the stove the paint on the stove will undergo a curing process. This process produces a thin haze of smoke and a hot smell. It is best to keep the fire small for this initial burn and it’s also worth opening a window to allow more smoke to escape. Do not touch or wipe the paint surfaces while this curing process is taking place.
This is either due to not establishing your fire before adding a larger log or that your wood is not seasoned enough. To establish your fire, at the lighting stage open all the air slides/spin-wheels according to the stove’s instruction manual. Light the fire lighter and wait for the initial quantity of kindling to blaze. Add a good handful of kindling sticks/small logs and allow these to set alight fully. At this stage you should be able to close the primary air supply and then control the burn-rate of the secondary air supply for the remainder of your fire. We suggest that you build the size of the fire steadily until a good operating temperature has been achieved then slightly close the secondary air supply until a steady burn rate is established. It will take some time to get to know your stove but you will soon learn what air slide positions work best. A fire allowed to build gradually will bring the stove to the correct operation temperature and will burn efficiently and larger logs can then be added – a couple/few at a time is fine. Your wood should be under 18% moisture content.
This is can be due to the moisture content in your wood being above 18% or that your stove is not hot enough to allow a good draw. This is easy to clean using a specific Stove Glass cleaner. However the quality of your fuel and the way you’re using your stove should be checked.
Make sure you have read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully and that you know which position is closed for the air controls. Check that the stove rope is intact and creating a seal around your stove door and glass. When the air vents are closed the fire will take some time to burn through the existing fuel. This may take several minutes depending on the quality of fuel and how much fuel is in the stove during the cool down period.
At least once per year, twice per year if you are burning coal. If you have your chimney lined it is recommended to have it swept once a year if it’s in frequent use.
If burning just wood and not coal allow a bed of ash to build up on the grate and maintain it at a manageable depth (3-5cm) wood burns better when it’s in a bed of ash. When starting a new fire rake it back down to the manageable depth then make a small hole through the ash-bed in the centre of the grate. If you are burning wood in a multifuel stove this allow will air from the primary air supply to draw up from under the grate and provide as much air to the fire-lighting stage as possible. If you’re burning coal, riddle all the ash from the grate. Empty the ash pan when full.
This is called “downdraft” or “reversal” and indicates that the air in your flue is cold and heavy and it happens in very cold still weather, if your stove has not been used for a long time or in warmer weather. It is an atmospheric condition and does not mean there is anything wrong with your stove or flue. You know if your flue is in reversal if you can feel cold air when you put your hand inside your stove. To avoid smoke coming into your room, you will need to warm the flue. We recommend burning firelighters on their own. Then light the fire using kindling to coax the airflow.
