This customer inherited a wood burning stove when she brought her house. The stove had been installed in a Victorian property without a liner and no access plate in the register plate.  This causes a problem because the sweep will happily send his brushes up the flue but the dislodged soot will fall back against the register plate which will then be a potential fire hazard. So whilst the customer had been “doing the right thing” the sweep hadn’t been thorough and she had no idea.  For those of you with wood burners we urge you to use reputable chimney sweeps, ideally they will be a member of NACS.  Stay safe.

Matt is racing this weekend at Brands Hatch, Kent in the Premier Stocks 600 so look out for no.64.

Good luck Matt

These stoves are well established in the stove industry and all are high quality build, they are not the Chinese imports that are currently flooding the stove market place, buy one of these stoves at your peril because once the boom has gone, spares will be sparse, let me take you on a journey…

Town & Country Stoves – Multi-fuel stoves

With its manufacturing roots firmly planted in Yorkshire, these UK built multi-fuel stoves are really lovely.  Town and Country Fires have been making stoves for many years and is our best seller. There are many stoves companies who have tried to copy the build of these stoves but in my opinion Town & Country Fires remain the “daddy”.

From the traditional Little Thurlow to the more contemporary Rosedale with its huge viewing window, there is a stove for most tastes and if you live in a smoke controlled area they can also offer DEFRA approved burners.  I have a Town & Country stove myself and I love it as do all the customers who have had one installed by us or just purchased one from us.

www.townandcountryfires.co.uk

RAIS -WOOD BURNING STOVES

If I was a cat and saw a RAIS stove it would make me purr. You really have to come and see the Q-Tee in glass or steel and actually feel quality the visually stunning VIVA 5kw wood burner.

The Danish should be patting themselves on the back with this contemporary stove brand;  each wood burner offers excellent controllability and air wash and do you remember the old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ , well look no further.

www.rais.com

AGA – Multi-fuel stoves

We all recognise the AGA name and it is synonymous with comfort and warmth through their  lovely range cookers but did you know that AGA also build multi-fuel stoves?

Made from cast iron, most of the stoves have the AGA name cast into the doors so it is easily recognisable.

Our best-selling AGA stove is the Little Wenlock Classic and my word it is a real powerhouse of a stove. Little in stature but fiery in nature this little stove will chug along at 4kw but given the opportunity will happily burn hotter. Customers are always a little surprised that such a small stove can deliver such heat.

AGA have also launched a more contemporary multi-fuel stove call the Ludlow, with its deep, wide grate this stove can easily take logs 320mm long, come along and see this stove on display, you won’t be disappointed.

www.aga-rayburn.co.uk

Take a look http://360.io/9UgFJp

We have all heard of Gas Safe (previously CORGI) and we wouldn’t dream of installing a gas boiler ourselves but would seek a Gas Safe Engineer to provide a safe installation. HETAS is the stove Installation regulatory body and the general public need to be made aware that their stove installation should to be carried out by a qualified HETAS Engineer the same way you would use a Gas Safe Engineer.

Unfortunately the general public are not aware of the dangers of self-installation and why would they be? The boom in wood burners has been relatively recent and there has not been too much information available about using qualified installers.  I don’t
know how many times I have been asked by a customer in my showroom “how hard can it be to install a stove, it’s only a box with a pipe coming off the top of it”.

There is more to it than that.

In November 2010 a homeowner in Loughborough tried installing a wood burner himself, with the end result being a burnt down bungalow – luckily he escaped unscathed. But, in addition to losing his home, he faced over £4,000 in fines for breaching building regulations. The flue was incorrectly fitted, directly contacting the timber and plastic eaves of the bungalow; he had failed to apply to the local council to carry out the work and generally failed to install the stove in a professional manner.

Fire-hazard is not the only risk with wood burners:  In May of the same year a 19 year old boy from Dorset died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning, due to a poorly fitted wood burner, installed by his father.  Blame was placed with the manufacturer’s  instructions, which didn’t include important details. There was no mention of carbon monoxide poisoning or need for ventilation.  A qualified HETAS Engineer would know about the hazards of carbon monoxide gas and would ensure there was the required
ventilation for the stove.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas that causes health defects in large quantities. It is produced during the wood-burning process and should be ventilated out through the flue. However, leaks in the system or improper combustion as a result of a poor installation results in carbon monoxide being produced in larger quantities  and seeping out throughout the home. Exposure leads to unconsciousness, and brain damage or death. As part of building regulations a CO alarm should always be installed when fitting a wood / multi-fuel stove.

Also, if a stove is installed without the required clearances to allow airflow around it then you also run the risk of overheating and damaging your stove and in extreme cases the stove can split, which again can lead to CO spillage.

Just these examples show why it is imperative you use a qualified engineer to install your stove, they have been trained and will issue a HETAS Certificate of Compliance for your peace of mind.

Thank you for reading, and I hope with the public being more aware of the dangers of self-installation we will not see any
fatalities this year.

As Morso dealers we will be displaying some of their new range and we have 3 new fireplaces being installed. We are also extending our inset stove range on display to show the Di Lusso and the Sirius 450.  But we are undecided on which other stoves to display….hhhmmmmm

We are going to put in 2 of the new electric fires from GAZCO, they are very smart looking fires which, when you see them, I am sure you will agree.

At the back of the new new showroom we will be displaying an XCEL  thermal store which is a very clever piece of equipment designed to link into solar panels, boiler stoves & boilers which allows all the heating appliances and hot water to be regulated and controlled from one source.

On a slightly different note, we have a Stovax Huntingdon 25 multi-fuel stove that is surplus to requirements and is taking up much needed space in our store room. This is a 4.9kw stove with the lovely gothic arch door and  is approved for smoke controlled areas (DEFRA). So take a look at the link below and if you would like more info please contact us.

Huntingdon stove link

http://www.stovax.com/stoves/traditionalstoves/wood__multi-fuel_stoves/huntingdon_stoves/huntingdon_25_stove.aspx

Morso stoves link

http://www.morsoe.co.uk/

Sirius 450 link

http://www.capitalfireplaces.co.uk/inset-stove/Sirius-450-Contemporary-Cleanburn-Black/cp337/

Gazco Electric fires link

http://www.stovax.com/builtintothewallfires/wallmountedfires/wall_mounted_electric_fires.aspx

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