Wood burning stoves...

Heres a question...

We have a wood burning stove positioned in our fireplace with a continuous steel flue pipe running up the centre of the chimney to the outside world where it emerges and clears the top of the old chimney outlet by about 18inches.

The flue pipe has a steel tent type cap on top to stop the rain gettiing in. The area around the original chimney outlet has been sealed in concrete to prevent drafts and rain getting in and hence directly to the living room.

When the stove door is closed and the damper and the ash pan tray is shut  this stove still tends to eat wood like the Flying Scotsman ate coal and most of the heat is ducted away straight up the fluepipe so its quite expensive to run.

The fire appears to be getting drafted via the ash pan tray but I cant see any way of reducing the airflow.

If I run the stove with the door open and hence balance out the below / above fire air pressure the stove burns much more sedately.

I am tempted to run the fire this way, closing the door only at the time of putting fuel on the fire to make sure that the resulting smoke goes up the chimney then opening the door once the wood is alight and burning. (Although even with the door open the smoke still goes up the flue pipe rather than into the room.)

The living room is well ventilated and we always have a window open when the fire is on anyway to prevent the room getting too stuffy.

Can anyone see any problem running the stove this way apart from the danger of sparks or bits of burning wood falling out of the fire?

I have a wiremesh sparkguard in position to prevent this from happening.

Any suggestions from other users of wood burning stoves would be appreciated.

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I have two wood burning stoves which I've had for 20 years.

Periodically you need to replace the fireproof rope than is used for sealing the doors and ashpan access.

Replacement rope (and glue) can be purchased on the internet or in some hardware stores.

If your ash pan door does not have any rope (and never had had) I would still suggest fitting some to get an air tight fit.

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PMilsom Hi

Many thanks for your prompt response, much appreciated.

We bought the stove new from a local ferretaria (hardware store) new about two years ago.

It never had any such material to ensure and airtight seal on either the ashpan or the door, plus the glass in the door doesnt have any sort of gasket material; it is simply held in place by sprung metal plates that are screwed to the frame.

I will go visit the shop again tomorrow and see if they carry stocks of the rope/glue/gasket material suitable for use with the stove.

Thanks again

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Hello Foxbat,

If you have clearance between the top pf your appliance and the structure of the house you can fit a flue restricter to the pipe.

Some stoves have these built in, they are simply flap valves that do not fully close.

Another option when suction or draw is excessive is a similar valve that allows air from the room into the flue pipe to leak or balance pressure. These are available as part of the flue kits sold.

You could however easily make your own version, e.g. by slitting a small section of pipe to place around the flue, cutting a hole in the flue and rotating the sleeve to cover the hole as necessary to balance the draw.

Hope that helps.

Regards

Norman

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Norman...Thanks for that; I will investigate further.

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Foxbat,

sorry, I should have mentioned that the manufactured kit version's flap valve is lightly spring loaded so that it automatically opens more when the draw is very high and vice-versa.

Regards

Norman

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 Hello,I seem to have got myself into a bit of a pickle.To clear the soot that had fallen from the chimney I removed the throat plate in my wood burner. I have previously done this and not had any difficulty with replacing it. . Now I can’t seem to get it back on it’s little shelves.I know there’s a bit of a knack but have forgotten how to do it. I’ve searched for videos on You Tube but not found anything that adequately explains how to do it. Can anyone help me with this wretched problem as I can’t light the fire until it’s fixed.It’s getting pretty cold again. Thank you.

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Hi Foxbat - sounds like it's drawing well already. They DO eat a lot of wood, and the advice l was given was simply to put less on! I got into the habit of putting a last big log on at around 10pm, then going to bed at 11pm. But l came out for a wee at about 2.30am and the living room was really hot still - so l learned that l could put less on AND stop loading it earlier. So that's the way to save on wood.

However mine has an exposed flue all the way up to the high ceiling, and an expert friend told me to keep the door shut because that uses less wood AND because it's actually the heat of the flue and the stove itself that heats the room. Would it be a colossal job to expose the flue? It seems a waste to be hearing the inside of a chimney.

Tough one, as for you opening the door slows down the fire. I can't see any problem with doing that as long as there's a fireguard. But unless hugely inconvenient, it might be worth thinking about exposing the flue in order to get more of the value of the heat into the room.

Good luck!

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Tamara Hi..

Could be wrong but I think the chimney breast forms part of the load bearing structure for the bedroom immediately above so opening up the chimney breast isnt an option.

At the moment I cant use the fire anyway because since we started taking in rescued dogs we have a large 3 dog crate in the living room and the only place for it is across the front of the fireplace!

When we did use the fire a lot, I used to use a mix of small logs and barbeque charcoal and firelighters to get te thing going then little and often with progressively larger logs as the evening wore on. Now if only I could find somewhere that sold proper coal and / or coke we'd be well away.

Wall mount the tv, shift the crate, relocate a couple of home made cupboards... just not enough space!

Half our stuff is up on the roof terrace in waterproof boxes under tarpaulins; every summer we make a resolution to have a major cull of acquired 'stuff' but it just never happens!

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Bet the dogs like their place in front of the fire!

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Well, you could get rid of the TV for starters...actually we have 2 woodburners and they function in a similar way: one is a very old, cast-iron traditional cube, no windows or fancy stuff, top-loading...but Steve created a snake-like flue with a 'damper' included to heat as much of the room as possible and it works superbly.  The other is steel and keeps is cosy in the winter.  It also has a damper and exposed sides, but we always keep the doors shut.  I light it with small sticks (no coal), then fill it right up, shut everything down once it's roaring, and let the heat permeate the room, the next room, us...we can even put a stew on inside the 'lid' to finish cooking.

With winter on its way, I would suggest that you get someone in to help you replace/fit the system properly, move the dogs (they generate a lot of heat for themselves don't they?), put in some high level shelves for your surplus stuff and hunker down.  Sawing wood is a good way to keep warm on a chilly afternoon too!  And don't forget that tot of whisky or some room temperature vino tinto...:)

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Hi foxbat,

I notice you live in Granada as we do. we have bought a fire that is not a woodburner but it burns pellets and the olive residue, and  now apparently they are using a substance from the harvesting of almonds for fuel. The fire is a strange looking contraption but it does the job being very warm and economical when in use. My friend had a woodburner and had to give it up because it was eating wood, plus the cost of purchase, proved too expensive.  You are obviously a caring person taking in dogs we have found it very hard not to as there are always stray dogs here in the village it is commonplace, however since last may we have been feeding and watering wild cats outside our home and slowly but surely they have blossomed and gone ther separate ways and we are now down to two that we feed in the hall that we named scrappy and blacky. We also now have a small sandy haired dog who comes down the hill every day so we are now feeding him.  I think he lives somewhere because his coat is clean and he looks as though he is being fed, but obviously lacking company and comfort as he crys like a baby until we fuss and stroke him. good luck with your fire.

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Hi

 

I asked the below elswhere but got no takers. As this thread already has people with woodburners I thought I would ask here. Anyone know the answer?

Hi

Anyone know the advised distances from roofs for smoke stacks/chimneys in Spain?

My neighbour has installed a metal chimney for a wood burning fire, it is well below the roof line and we are getting fumes especially when our windows are open and the wind is in our direction. I think they are following the roof line to us and the void between the flats.

In UK it would need to be 60cm above the roof line minimum.

Anyone know where I can get the advice/regs for Spanish installations?

Regards

Tteedd

 

 

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 Sadly, fumes don't care about regulations. The physical dynamics that effect wood stoves or any solid fuel appliance are the same all over the planet. In the UK, the regs are designed to minimise the effect of downdraught and the effect of smoke on people below the roofline! You can download section J of the UK building regs that cover this for free, but in brief, the important bits are: a solid fuel flue (chimney) must be a minimum of 600mm above the apex if the stack is within 1.8m of the apex. If the stack is more than 1.8m from the apex, it must be either 600mm above the apex or 1.8m above the roofline horizontally and vertically. It must be a minimum of 4.6m above ground level in any event, and no window or ventilation opening may be within 1m of the base of the stack in any direction. 

In Spain, it's my experience that regs either don't exist, or no one knows or cares what they are. I'm surprised that your neighbour isn't having a similar problem. Perhaps a friendly word would be the best start. 

As a chimney sweep in the UK and Spain, I find installs in Spain to be a whole new ball game and most would be condemned in the UK - including the one in my own new build!

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Hi

Thanks for your reply. I had found the UK regs elsewhere.

I started with a friendly word which had no response. I have also taken it up with the president of the community.

As the neighbour with the flue is very ill, he and his wife are now ignoring us and the warm weather is upon us (no fire) I have left matters as they are for the time being.

I have installation advice from Leroy Merlin that  says that the flue should be 8 meters from the vertical wall and the same 600cm above the apex as in the UK. I have also found discussion that says it should be 3.5 m above any solarium (it must be about waist level to theirs).

While I am back in the UK I will get my lawyer to find out the regs here and persue matters in the autumn if things have not changed.

I will let you know what the true distances are for Spain if there is any law.

I have also installed an extractor in my bathroom as the main point of ingress of the smoke was the bathroom window which had to be left open previously to control mould.

Thanks

 

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