Solid Fuel Stove.

Hi guys,

interesting reading! Well i had an open fireplace until last October ish...usually id have to spend shed loads on coal just to keep the living room warmish, seemed all the heat went right up the chimney. I looked around at solid fuel stoves and as a single parent, thought i cant afford these yokes...I went on e bay and found one which had a 16kw output...for about 550 odd euro...almost half price considering some stores prices..so i bought it, cost 50 sterling to ship it over from scotland. I knocked down some of the old chimney surround and discussed with my local builders merchant that the existing chimney will be sound to use, so i installed the stove myself, very very heavy, but as i live alone had no choice, so alot of dragging and heaving and few mistakes installing it, mainly due to bad measuring by me..and realising that i should have rendered the behind instead of plastering it, huge crack now, but the heat that comes out of the stove is impressive, best thing i ever done, as i can burn anything in the fire and even when its down low, the iron remains hot for ages and is very cost effective...hope that helps somewhat, no way in the world could i afford the costly pipe stuff going up the chimney but ive checked the chimney when the stove was on and lots of smoke coming out of the top, so i guess its all ok...

Phil
 
"a few mistakes installing it, mainly due to bad measuring by me..and realising that i should have rendered the behind instead of plastering it, huge crack now"

I am just installing a stanley Oisin in the next few days, i took out a back boiler which was rubbish and fireplace and am inserting the stove - to finish off the fireplace/surround i was just going to put plasterboard on the old fireplace walls, skim over it and paint it (it will be about 10 inches from the stove) ....... would this be ok or would it crack also ?.

I was also going to put a timber beam/mantle piece over the stove - about 2 and 1/2feet - would this be ok also ?
 
hi there, not sure how far the gap between stove and walls should be, im sure you can google to get more advice on that, i have a 8 x 8 timber mantle above mine which is about 2 feet above the stove and had no probs with that at all, even though a friend of mine said it wud be too low, but is fine. Due to lack of space and not intending to pull the whole chimney breast down, is why my stove is so close to the wall, to get proper heat from all areas around the stove then a gap i guess is need at the back too from the wall. I was told that to render using more sand than cement i think a mix of 5 - 1 was mentioned to render wud be better to use than plaster due to heat. I am going to take my stove down again before winter and look at using heat resistant tiles behind the stove, nice small red ones i think wud look nice, but as i said im very limited to space, unless i want my stove in the middle of the room lol.. but reading some of the posts, to pay someone hundreds of pounds to install it is madness, i did it myself in a weekend, and its working fine, so why not DIY, i just need a course in measuring lol..

phil
 
Thanks for that ! ...... Stove will be in front of the fireplace (on old hearth), and I want to finish off old fireplace to look like the rest of the chimney breast (finished and painted ). I cant go much wider due to lentil and if i put blocks/bricks it will make to opening too small.
All that will be in there is a space - flue coming out the back of stove and up the chimney.
Someone said earlier that it was like a furnace in your front room so I'm a bit hesitant.

Also have some questions regarding the flue's (5" for an Oisin)- do i use cast iron ones or steel (or whatever the alternative) and where is the best place to get them?. If I get cast iron will what will support the weight as it has to come out back, 90 degree bend and another straight to reach chimney.
Then chimney is 8" or 9", all questions which I wouldnt ask only its related to fire !
 
i guess that you will be bricking up the old fireplace otherwise you will get a draught coming down the chimney, what i did was when i bricked up the old fireplace, i measured the height so that the outlet pipe from the stove going into the chimney was resting on a brick, so that supported the weight. You will need some fire cement to make sure the pipes are connected and sealed properly, i havent sealed mine with cement yet as i knew that i needed to take the fire out again. If you have a co-op stores near you, they sell all the cast iron pipes that you will need, just specify what size you need. Cast iron is expensive, i think one pipe, an extension to go into the chimney breast cost 70 odd euro, and was only 24 inches long, but the co-op says thay will take it back if u dont need it. I didnt use pipes up the chimney itself, i asked at the builders merchants and they said if the chimney is lined then it will be fine. and the smoke seems to come out fine, so i guess its working, i dont know how or when it will need cleaning, as in like the old fireplace wud need a sweep every now and again, but i swept mine myself before installing the stove.
 
I wasn't going to brick it up - I was going to seal around the flue once it went into the chimney to stop draft coming down - and then finish off the old fireplace / rectangle with plaster board, then skim and plaster it leaving it there.

Space would be left where old fireplace was and finished off the same as the chimney breast and all you could see was the flue going in and up inside the fireplace - hope I'm explaining this right. That is why I am asking about supporting the flue ? and the other option MD O'Shea said was steel and not as heavy as cast iron
 
NoviceDIY'er said:
I wasn't going to brick it up - I was going to seal around the flue once it went into the chimney to stop draft coming down - and then finish off the old fireplace / rectangle with plaster board, then skim and plaster it leaving it there.

Space would be left where old fireplace was and finished off the same as the chimney breast and all you could see was the flue going in and up inside the fireplace - hope I'm explaining this right. That is why I am asking about supporting the flue ? and the other option MD O'Shea said was steel and not as heavy as cast iron
Click to expand...


It's black hardened steel to cope with the high temperture from solid fuel. You could get a bracket.
 
Is that blackened hardened steel called "Vitreous Enamel" ? and is it alot cheaper and lighter than the cast iron ?, where do you get it - MD O'Shea's were a ridiculous price according to previous threads I read.

What keeps the 5" flue in the chimney ?, do you just pack around it with Rockwool or do you get an adapter ? (to expand 5" to 9" chimney pot ?
 
Vitreous enamel is a finish the flue comes in to match stove. The black steel is just that, black steel. you can go staright into the 9 inch flue and seal well. If you flue assembly has any elbows, be sure and fit one with a cleaning hatch.
 
Was going to put a 90 Degree T (instead of a bend) and put a cap on the bottom part so I could clean chimney through it and also let it act as a collector for soot.

So I just have to make sure it is steel and suitable for a multi-fuel stove ?

Regarding the wall/fireplace behind - is it ok to leave plasterboard and skim over it, is plasterboard fireproof and safe behind a stove ? , would it crack with heat ?
 
Just a quick post on the metal flue's, I have one out through the kitchen on a retro fitted solid fuel stove & in winter the flue gets cold, inhibiting the flow of gasses up the chimney, basically you end up with a plug of cold air in the flue that the warm air cant push up, this leads to a build up of carbon monoxide in the firebox.

Get a CO alarm, if your going to go down this route.
 
Hello

My dad recently got a local hanyman to install a Mulberry Yeats stove with a back boiler. Before that he had an open fire with a back boiler and now, for the 1st time ever, the house is actually comfortably warm and the water is hot too. It's a revelation and he's delighted.

So i am interested in doing something similar; except I have to work with an unsightly Baxi Bermuda back boiler conversion. Essentially it's a back bolier with a gas firefront.
Has anyone on AAM done this? I am conscious of cost, but I really don't like open gas fires or gas fires of any sort. Of course, if it saves me a few grand, then I will have to go for the gas fire option - probably an insert fire.
The Baxi Bermuda seems to have been very popular in the 80s - I am sure that someone has removed one. I am calling around and arranging appointements with professionals etc... but I use AAM alot for information and I hope that someone can give me some advice.
 
Re: Solid Fuel Oisin Stove ( boiler model)

Hi All

I have been reading this thread with a bit of interest.

I going to start a liitle refurb job on the house in 2 week's time and trying to figure out( or is it worth my while) how to install an oisin stove with boiler as I don't want to waste all that energy.

Anyways.. my plan is to chase the chimmney breast to install some data and power cabling, so was just wondering what I need in term of plumbing to get the boiler up and running.

Q) should i use 1" copper back or qualplex back to hotpress.

Q) do i need a particular size hotwater tank and any special fiittings

Q) the house is standard 3 bed semi with a total of 8 rads, so i don't think the oisin can drive that many but don't want to put a bigger stove in as the sitting room is only 3.5m X5.0 m and a bigger stove would be to warm for the room.. what are my options?.. will the rads only get luke warm??.

What do you think Davy?.

Maybe a list of pro and cons from somebody that already has one installed would be good,as i a bit of a novice on stoves with boiler's on how to get them working .

Hope my query makes since.

regards
L
 
Q)1 Has to be copper, it will have to be able to cope with extreme tempertures.
The loop between stove and cylinder has to be uninteruppted I.E No valves, etc.

Q)2 A dual coil cyliner, one coil for every heat source I.E one for stove, one for oil/gas boiler. Non returns valves will have to be fitted to both stove circuit (after cylinder) and boiler (oil or gas) this will prevent one heating the other when on. This is a huge waste of energy. EG when the boiler is on, you don't want it sending hot water through stove, treating it like a large radiator, all the heat would just go up the chimney. (if it is heating cylinder only, this won't be an issue)

Is your home zoned. I.E can you seperate upstairs heating from downstairs?
Do you have a sealed or vented system?

Seal system = gauge somewhere maybe on boiler and filling loop, auot filling valve, no small tank in attic.

Or

Vented systen = small tank in attic.

What you could do is just get a stove with a boiler large enough to heat the cylinder only.

Do you plan on doing it yourself?
 
Hi Davy

Thanks for the very prompt response

A part of my refurb, it is the plan to install 2 zones, currently GAS BAxi boiler is driving all the rads..so no zones at the moment. will 3/4 copper be big enough from fireplace to cylinder?

so to get the boiler working it's looks like i will have to replace my existing hot water tank with a dual coil cylinder.. this sounds expensive?? :-(.

I guess i have a sealed system as can't remember seen a small tank in the attic.

I'm interested to know what you mean by

"What you could do is just get a stove with a boiler large enough to heat the cylinder only".

Will the oisin not be stong enough to heat both water and rads at same time, as that was my main objective

I wishing i could do it myself, but as you might have gather by some of my questions (and even answers) my knowledge is limited to say the least.

thanks again
L
 
Good replies as usual from davy only thing i would add lamb is that if you put a small stove/boiler on to a big system it may not even get the rads lukewarm but more importantly it would mean the return water to your stove is quite cold and take the heat of the fire resulting in an ineffiecient burn and constant blacking of the glass on the stove.
Either have a zoned system where you can have 2-3 rads on at a time ( expensive to retrofit if not already done), have a big enough stove to do the whole house but possibly overheat the room, or just get your hot water and room heat with it.
 
You can't connect back boiler (stove) to sealed system. you can quite cheaply un seal it (vented system)

As fmc says, you could get a stove that just heats the space it is in and the cylinder full of water.

To allow for natural circulation, the pipe size will have to be atleast 1". It(the pipe) will have to rise continuously from top pipe of stove to top pipe of cylinder (flow pipe).

When we fit them in a house with zones, we bypass one zone control, as when the pipe stat activates the pump, it needs to have a free area to pump to, and if stats on those zones are not calling for heat they will be closed.

A stove would heat one zone, probably not two, this will be ok as zone two will be closed anyway. Sorry for probably making it sound complicated.

A dual coil cylinder is about €160 max depending on size.

I would advice against doing it your self, I have seen many plumbers get this wrong, a DIYer has little chance of success I'm afraid. It could be dangerous if not done correctly.
 
Hi Guys
You can get a stove to connect to a sealed heating system a Turbo Stove.
It is designed with a closed circuit which is stainless steel.
The stove is temperature controlled so this gives it a slow burn time with an efficiency of 87%.
It comes in a variety of sizes and is guaranteed to heat all your rads.
 
There are some solid fuel stoves and pellet stoves on the Kedco.com website and they have greta technical support as well as cheap prices, check them out. You are supposed to put in a flue, a 6m high one for an exisiting chimney was around 500 euro with all the connections etc..
 
Ye should check the flue is twin walled, it is supposed to be for all solid fuel stoves?
 
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