Log Burner purchase advice

[Fermit The Krog]

A shout out for pointers from anyone who has one already. We are looking to purchase a logburner for our front/ best room. It is 4.3 x 3.4 metres dimensions, and the suggestion has been that we ought to look for a circa 5kw model. Mum and dad have a Clearview, which they rate highly, but the gf isn't sold on the trad looks, I'm still working on that one. She is really keen on a model called the Rais Q-Tee (here - http://us.rais.com/stove/rais-q-tee.aspx) which I agree is also nice.
Has anyone any 'must have' model suggestions? We're prepared to spend up to £1500 for the right model, but with the many expenses our house needs currently it would be great to keep it down to around a grand. Oh, we're also in a designated smokeless area.
Thanks in advance.

[marmitemania]

Clearview and Arrow are both good makes, when picking a wood burner don't go for one that has over complicated controls, some of the one's myself and my brother in law have fitted, have been disastrous on the draw control, the simplest one's with the screw closed draw and air wash are the best. We fit lots of stoves and I can't pick a particularly bad one apart from a stove branded rockie, which was very poorly finished but the customer had already purchased it before they contacted us and had had it installed by someone else, we had to go and correct their potentially fatal mistakes. Which leads me to the best advise I can give, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE IT INSTALLED BY A HETAS REGISTERED ENGINEER.

[Fermit The Krog]

marmitemania said:

Clearview and Arrow are both good makes, when picking a wood burner don't go for one that has over complicated controls, some of the one's myself and my brother in law have fitted, have been disastrous on the draw control, the simplest one's with the screw closed draw and air wash are the best. We fit lots of stoves and I can't pick a particularly bad one apart from a stove branded rockie, which was very poorly finished but the customer had already purchased it before they contacted us and had had it installed by someone else, we had to go and correct their potentially fatal mistakes. Which leads me to the best advise I can give, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE IT INSTALLED BY A HETAS REGISTERED ENGINEER.

Good advice, many thanks. The girlfriends dad is a house builder of circa 30 years; we have planned to utilise him to install it. I've got a bit of a grasp of what HETAS is, but are there reasons we should consider a Hetas engineer, EG building regs, safety aspects?

[Rangeroverover]

I've just had one fitted, main reasons for using a HETAS person are insurance, sale of house, when selling the your house the purchaser will ask for an installation certificate.

If you get just under 5KW they are much simpler as they don't need an extra air intake thing. Also you need to have the chimney lined..........don't know anything about smoke free zones.........where in the country are you

[saaby93]

Those double burning ones are great for emissions where the smoke is recirculated through and somehow burnt again

[Fermit The Krog]

Rangeroverover said:

I've just had one fitted, main reasons for using a HETAS person are insurance, sale of house, when selling the your house the purchaser will ask for an installation certificate.

If you get just under 5KW they are much simpler as they don't need an extra air intake thing. Also you need to have the chimney lined..........don't know anything about smoke free zones.........where in the country are you

The point RE selling the house is v true actually. Not that we plan to sell it for many years mind, but inevitably the time shall come around. Outside we're needing new render, and the gf's dad is scaffolding the side of the house; at this point he will reline the chimney. We're near Bolsover on the Notts/ Derby border.

[Rangeroverover]

The point regarding relining the chimney is you need a steel liner plus register plate etc etc you can probably put most of the stuff in place then get a HETAS person to do the final fit, test it and sign it off, also have to have a carbon monoxide detector in the room.

I've just been through all this, paid about £600 for the log burner and about the same for installation. I'm an estate agent so I see sales being held up or lost because of woodburner certificates not being in place. If you did a diy installation the buyer will wonder what else was done in the house that wasn't "proper"

[shoestring7]

Have had a couple fitted; always chose a Jotul and loved them.

SS7

[mikal83]

Get as big a one as you can, a lot easier putting big logs in than chopping them up OR having to pay someone else to chop them up. You should get a decent Mulit fuel burner for 500. 1500.....way way way too much.

[Fermit The Krog]

Rangeroverover said:

The point regarding relining the chimney is you need a steel liner plus register plate etc etc you can probably put most of the stuff in place then get a HETAS person to do the final fit, test it and sign it off, also have to have a carbon monoxide detector in the room.

I've just been through all this, paid about £600 for the log burner and about the same for installation. I'm an estate agent so I see sales being held up or lost because of woodburner certificates not being in place. If you did a diy installation the buyer will wonder what else was done in the house that wasn't "proper"

The gf's dad is very exacting, and a perfectionist, so we have complete faith in him. A very good point RE a HETAS engineer signing all off, we'll chat to him RE this, he shall no doubt know how much he can do before leaving the remainder for such a person to sign off.

[Rosscow]

Fermit The Krog said:

Rangeroverover said:

The point regarding relining the chimney is you need a steel liner plus register plate etc etc you can probably put most of the stuff in place then get a HETAS person to do the final fit, test it and sign it off, also have to have a carbon monoxide detector in the room.

I've just been through all this, paid about £600 for the log burner and about the same for installation. I'm an estate agent so I see sales being held up or lost because of woodburner certificates not being in place. If you did a diy installation the buyer will wonder what else was done in the house that wasn't "proper"

The gf's dad is very exacting, and a perfectionist, so we have complete faith in him. A very good point RE a HETAS engineer signing all off, we'll chat to him RE this, he shall no doubt know how much he can do before leaving the remainder for such a person to sign off.

You don't need a HETAS engineer to sign it off - just download the regs, fit the stove as per these regs and you can then get your local building control to sign it off.

[Fermit The Krog]

Rosscow said:

You don't need a HETAS engineer to sign it off - just download the regs, fit the stove as per these regs and you can then get your local building control to sign it off.

Another very good pointer, thanks.

[mikeiow]

Intersting: the Rais is a modern design!
Is your house old or new?
We have a modern place (~25-30 years old), and are half considering replacing a coal-effect gas unit with a log burner, mostly for effect and cosiness.....wondering if anyone has any pics of a modern room with logburner

(not to derail the thread)

BTW, is this the main form of heating for you, or partly 'cosmetic/incidental' heating? Only ask as we are also considering a bioethanol unit - can be portable, movable etc....some quite nice looking options around (well, I've only seen pictures, but they look good!), but I don't think one would use them for "primary" or regular heating (unless someone wants to point out they do!)

Edited by mikeiow on Monday 21st March 13:45

[Mags43]

I was going to get a 5kw Clearview woodburner, but it required a flue size of 6 inches, and that much space wasn't available. The fitter said he could put it in, but as it required a 6 inch flue he wouldn't be able to give me the HETAS certificate. Although I have no plans to sell the house anytime soon, I will need that at some point, and so had to pick another woodburner that would work with the 5 inch flue. I have now got the Rais Q-Tee 5kw and I'm very happy with it. Very simple to use and keeps the room warm. I find it gets through one log every 30 mins on the middle of the 3 air intake settings. Of course, with the 5 inch flue I can only burn wood, (multi-fuel needs the wider flue) but that doesn't matter. Rais gets my vote.

[Fermit The Krog]

mikeiow said:

Intersting: the Rais is a modern design!
Is your house old or new?
We have a modern place (~25-30 years old), and are half considering replacing a coal-effect gas unit with a log burner, mostly for effect and cosiness.....wondering if anyone has any pics of a modern room with logburner

(not to derail the thread)

BTW, is this the main form of heating for you, or partly 'cosmetic/incidental' heating? Only ask as we are also considering a bioethanol unit - can be portable, movable etc....some quite nice looking options around (well, I've only seen pictures, but they look good!), but I don't think one would use them for "primary" or regular heating (unless someone wants to point out they do!)

Edited by mikeiow on Monday 21st March 13:45

Our house is 120 years old. It won't be the primary heating for us, when we get the central heating fitted soon that shall be. It's intention is for feel and ambience.

[Fermit The Krog]

Mags43 said:

I was going to get a 5kw Clearview woodburner, but it required a flue size of 6 inches, and that much space wasn't available. The fitter said he could put it in, but as it required a 6 inch flue he wouldn't be able to give me the HETAS certificate. Although I have no plans to sell the house anytime soon, I will need that at some point, and so had to pick another woodburner that would work with the 5 inch flue. I have now got the Rais Q-Tee 5kw and I'm very happy with it. Very simple to use and keeps the room warm. I find it gets through one log every 30 mins on the middle of the 3 air intake settings. Of course, with the 5 inch flue I can only burn wood, (multi-fuel needs the wider flue) but that doesn't matter. Rais gets my vote.

Good to know, thanks. The salesman at a local log burner store has a Rais, and he speaks very highly of them. One we have now also looked (as suggested by someone on this thread) at is an Aarrow i400f. Similar money (and appearance) to the Rais but it seems that it has an airwash system (to keep the door glass clean) as standard, which the gf says is a £200ish optiojn on the Rais; do you know anything about or have this?

The chimney breast that it's going in to is massive, so I foresee no problem with flue sizes!

[jep]

A Chilli Penguin "Woody" will, with any luck, be the one going in our front room. Recently DEFRA approved, 5kw multifuel, and looks good, so it ticks all my boxes.

Clicky

[princeperch]

can someone, in idiots language, explain to me what the defra stoves do that a bog standard one doesn't?

its obviously to do with emissions however if you burn wood with a non-defra burner and have a 5'' flue, would that 5'' flue get clogged up quickly if you burn wood?

I only ask because I have a non defra stove fitted and a 5'' flue. I only burn smokeless fuel. however someone at work said that as long as I swept the flue regularly I could (even though it wouldn't be right because im in a smoke control area) burn some wood on it - which naturally I wouldn't do

[monty999]

'CHESNEY'S' log burner, been excellent for the last 7 years. One door seal rope replacement only. They are British made and are good to use anywhere as they burn so clean. Check the brochure on line and find your local supplier. Simple control works to give excellent control.

[worsy]

Have a look at Stovax as well. We have a Riva 40.