How about wall tiling around the fireplace area so no peeling paint and easy to wipe clean.
Also only opening the doors to the fire when it is burning low should save the dust
Maybe have the chimney looked at by a central heating specialist?
I HATE the wood burning stove. Any alternatives please.
Moderator: Moderator
I have lived with woodburners for 30yrs, I now have a large open plan house (Manchester) with a Rayburn (on wood) at one end and an enclosed morso (woodburner) at the other. The interior house walls are painted white and I only repaint about every 7yrs.
Using a woodburner efficiently involves some experience and knowledge of fuel type, and dryness, when to open and close inlet flue and outlet flue, also humidity and dampness of atmosphere.
However everybody can learn over a period of a year or two.
Like Simon says (thats a good one) its important that the fire has adequate seals, but if you burn poor quality or unseasoned wood its also important to clean the chimmney at regular (3-4month) periods, it is also better to have a double skin(if its metal) chimney to avoid condensation running down. If its a brick chimney its also important to clean out debris from birds etc, and a turn in the chimney will prevent wind from blowing the outlet smoke back down.
Its possible to have a turn on top of the chimney that faces away from the prevailing winds, thus allowing dispersal of smoke and stopping the wind from creating a downblow. good luck to all.
Gyp
Its not necessary to have gaps under doors etc to create a draught, there will be sufficient oxygen in any room (unless its absolute airtight).
Its important to close the doors of the stove on lighting and when refreshing with new wood, best only to open the doors after the fire has been lit about an hour, and then when you do that, the outlet(a device that controls how much smoke is allowed through the chimney) should be completely open.
Using a woodburner efficiently involves some experience and knowledge of fuel type, and dryness, when to open and close inlet flue and outlet flue, also humidity and dampness of atmosphere.
However everybody can learn over a period of a year or two.
Like Simon says (thats a good one) its important that the fire has adequate seals, but if you burn poor quality or unseasoned wood its also important to clean the chimmney at regular (3-4month) periods, it is also better to have a double skin(if its metal) chimney to avoid condensation running down. If its a brick chimney its also important to clean out debris from birds etc, and a turn in the chimney will prevent wind from blowing the outlet smoke back down.
Its possible to have a turn on top of the chimney that faces away from the prevailing winds, thus allowing dispersal of smoke and stopping the wind from creating a downblow. good luck to all.
Gyp
Its not necessary to have gaps under doors etc to create a draught, there will be sufficient oxygen in any room (unless its absolute airtight).
Its important to close the doors of the stove on lighting and when refreshing with new wood, best only to open the doors after the fire has been lit about an hour, and then when you do that, the outlet(a device that controls how much smoke is allowed through the chimney) should be completely open.
My guess is that the black marks are just from dust in the air as it moves through the house towards the fire. You can see the same over central heating radiators where air is always moving up.
If you had a stove or fire that that took its air direct from the outside I guess you would not have to redecorate so often. It would also be safer.
If you had a stove or fire that that took its air direct from the outside I guess you would not have to redecorate so often. It would also be safer.
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SimonTrace
- Not 'so' Newbie!
- Posts: 33
- Location: North Wales
I am not into scaremongering, but I really hope you all have Carbon Monoxide detectors. It really is a silent/tasteless/odourless killer, and the main culprit is incorrectly fitted/poorly serviced appliances. None of the appliances described here sound particulaly healthy and would cause me concern if they were mine.
This may be of use.
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/woodburner.htm
This may be of use.
http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/woodburner.htm
Well, over two and a half years since this thread started (and finished) and not much has improved.
We haven’t repainted yet (this will be our fourth winter) and we’re either getting used to the conditions or the discolouration hasn’t got any worse. However, it is the negotiating for wood, the delivery and unloading, the cutting, the splitting, the stacking, the re-stacking somewhere else more convenient and then the further re-stacking in the house that is getting irksome. I think that there is probably more energy expended in getting a piece of wood from the tree to the fire than it generates.
As the title of the thread is “…..Any alternatives please”, has anyone installed gas central heating (without being on mains gas) and, if so, what did it entail with regard to, presumably, tank, regulations/planning permission, installation, retro-fitting existing central heating system if necessary, delivery, etc. ?
We haven’t repainted yet (this will be our fourth winter) and we’re either getting used to the conditions or the discolouration hasn’t got any worse. However, it is the negotiating for wood, the delivery and unloading, the cutting, the splitting, the stacking, the re-stacking somewhere else more convenient and then the further re-stacking in the house that is getting irksome. I think that there is probably more energy expended in getting a piece of wood from the tree to the fire than it generates.
As the title of the thread is “…..Any alternatives please”, has anyone installed gas central heating (without being on mains gas) and, if so, what did it entail with regard to, presumably, tank, regulations/planning permission, installation, retro-fitting existing central heating system if necessary, delivery, etc. ?
Does anyone use a combination of free standing wood burner and electric for other rooms perhaps on timers, people I know with wood burner central heating all seem to go through nigh on 20m3 wood per winter, not cheap!!
My neighbour was telling me about some new kind of aircon units that consume 1kw but output 3kw of heat, does that sound right??
My neighbour was telling me about some new kind of aircon units that consume 1kw but output 3kw of heat, does that sound right??
qwerty, In any system that does 'work' there will always be losses of one type or another, so the output will always be less than the input. It may be that one of the new units will be equivalent to 3 of the old, but you cannnot get something for nothing so to speak! Generally aircon units are not good at heating and are subject to all sorts of problems when used as heaters.
The key to using less fuel is in the insulation of the property and money spent on this will repay you quite quickly. Ceilings and windows are the first thing to insulate well. With regard to walls the common practice in BG is apply 50mm of foam sheets to the outside and then render.
The financial outlay for fuels such as gas, oil and solar is so much that it will require somewhere in the region of 25 years to recover that outlay with the cost savings on fuel not burnt, if indeed there are any. Note gas and oil prices will continue to rise rapidly, because they are running out and solar panels deteriorate with time and will need replacing at some stage.
If you are using radiators then siting of them is a critical factor in their efficiency. They must be able to produce a convection current that will affect the whole room and not just one end of it. Likewise with the wood burner. Siver foil at the back of radiators will help to reflect the heat into the room and not out through the wall.
In my opnion it is attention to the details that will reap the biggest rewards.
The key to using less fuel is in the insulation of the property and money spent on this will repay you quite quickly. Ceilings and windows are the first thing to insulate well. With regard to walls the common practice in BG is apply 50mm of foam sheets to the outside and then render.
The financial outlay for fuels such as gas, oil and solar is so much that it will require somewhere in the region of 25 years to recover that outlay with the cost savings on fuel not burnt, if indeed there are any. Note gas and oil prices will continue to rise rapidly, because they are running out and solar panels deteriorate with time and will need replacing at some stage.
If you are using radiators then siting of them is a critical factor in their efficiency. They must be able to produce a convection current that will affect the whole room and not just one end of it. Likewise with the wood burner. Siver foil at the back of radiators will help to reflect the heat into the room and not out through the wall.
In my opnion it is attention to the details that will reap the biggest rewards.
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mariainraduil
- Senior Member
- Posts: 58
- Location: raduil near borovets
We had gas central heating installed when we first moved here, which was seven years ago. We have radiators installed in every room (wish we had put them in the halls and corridors too), and we have a gas tank in the garden.
The tank has to be a certain distance from the house (I think it was 10 metres but I'm not sure), and it's fitting must be checked over by the chief of the fire department. After first inspection, the chief asked for 1 metre (then later 2 metre) walls on 2 sides of the tank (to prevent flood damage, as the river is at the end of the garden), a tin roof and a lightning protecting/earthing post.
We use very little gas during the summer, except to heat the water as we have a combi-boiler. We use the same company in Sofia and phone them a few days in advance to deliver more gas when needed. It's not cheap, but it's clean and easy. Our system is by Immergas. I hope this helps. Please PM if you need more.
Good luck
Maria
The tank has to be a certain distance from the house (I think it was 10 metres but I'm not sure), and it's fitting must be checked over by the chief of the fire department. After first inspection, the chief asked for 1 metre (then later 2 metre) walls on 2 sides of the tank (to prevent flood damage, as the river is at the end of the garden), a tin roof and a lightning protecting/earthing post.
We use very little gas during the summer, except to heat the water as we have a combi-boiler. We use the same company in Sofia and phone them a few days in advance to deliver more gas when needed. It's not cheap, but it's clean and easy. Our system is by Immergas. I hope this helps. Please PM if you need more.
Good luck
Maria
Maria. I would be interested, from a comparison point of view, to know how much it cost both to install and run annually ?
In the Uk you now have the choice to rent or buy the tank and some companies offer free tank if you commit to a long term contract (Premium on the gas of course).
The last time I looked into getting an LPG system installed in BG it was something crazy like 10,000lvs for the tank and install and about 1,000lvs a month to run in the winter.
Thanks
In the Uk you now have the choice to rent or buy the tank and some companies offer free tank if you commit to a long term contract (Premium on the gas of course).
The last time I looked into getting an LPG system installed in BG it was something crazy like 10,000lvs for the tank and install and about 1,000lvs a month to run in the winter.
Thanks
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