# Stove to replace current open fire place.



## cavanMan (28 Dec 2020)

Hi there......we have a open fire place in sitting room and when not in use is plugged with a bag of insulation to keep the draight out.

So was thinking of a wood burning stove, nothing too big just to heat the room when needed and to keep the draught out.

Thoughts would be great.


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## PebbleBeach2020 (28 Dec 2020)

Sounds lovely. And it will warm the room nicely in winter time.


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## Green (28 Dec 2020)

We did this two years ago, one of the best decision we made. Great heat output and looks stylish too. Use a mix of wood (<20% moisture content) and smokeless coal.


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## Up Rovers (28 Dec 2020)

Hi,

We got a Henley 8kw stove for our sitting room and find it great for heating the room.

Make sure to check Google for reviews as we found some very bad reviews for certain brands.

As far as I can recall when we looked at the 6kw the internal part of the stove was too narrow and small.  We find the 8kw just right as if you go too big you will be roasted. 

Like an open fire though I hate cleaning it out.


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## Micks'r (29 Dec 2020)

When choosing the size of the stove, be careful not to oversize the stove especially if also undertaking other improvements to reduce the heat loss (e.g. sealing air leakages or adding insulation).


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## Mocame (29 Dec 2020)

I got a Waterford Stanley stove fitted a couple of years ago and it has really made the sitting room in my draughty old house much more comfortable.

My stove fitter advised me to go for a stove from a long established company which has been in business for a long time.  This is because a stove is a very long term fixture in your house and you need to be sure you can source parts in 10, 20 or even 30 years time.  I thought this was rather good advice.


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## cavanMan (29 Dec 2020)

Thanks for the replies guys!! 

What about in the future, is it possible the government could ban all burning of solid fuel and render the stove useless?


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## Green (30 Dec 2020)

cavanMan said:


> Thanks for the replies guys!!
> 
> What about in the future, is it possible the government could ban all burning of solid fuel and render the stove useless?


Theoretically yes they could but I dont think it will happen. A nationwide ban on smoky coal is more likely.


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## AlbacoreA (31 Dec 2020)

I'm kinda torn on this. Love an open fire, had one for years at home. But I see the impact of these fires and stoves on urban air quality. Currently use an electric fire, but just the light effect part. I'd like to redesign the fireplace and have fire effect of some sort. I'm not convinced they won't ban them. Might be like diesels though. Too many in situ to ban.


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## shweeney (31 Dec 2020)

AlbacoreA said:


> I'm kinda torn on this. Love an open fire, had one for years at home. But I see the impact of these fires and stoves on urban air quality. Currently use an electric fire, but just the light effect part. I'd like to redesign the fireplace and have fire effect of some sort. I'm not convinced they won't ban them. Might be like diesels though. Too many in situ to ban.



I'm the same - we have an open fire, I'd say we only light it < 20 times a year as it's just to make the living room cosy and we have gas central heating.
A stove would be better but frankly I don't want to light more fires as I feel guilty about the pollution aspect (even with wood or smokeless coal, you're still pumping out a lot of particulates). I don't see how they can ban solid fuel though, there's still a lot of houses that rely on fires and stoves for their heating.


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## lledlledlled (31 Dec 2020)

I would estimate burning any/all solid fuels will be banned in cities in the next 20yrs.

There's a great live air quality tool on air quality.ie which gives you the readings for your area. Try it on a cold but still night. Readings go crazy when there's no wind to carry away the smoke from these stoves.


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## Leo (4 Jan 2021)

Read this recently that would make me think twice...



> Wood burners triple the level of harmful pollution particles inside homes and should be sold with a health warning


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## roker (31 Jan 2021)

Leo said:


> Read this recently that would make me think twice...


with a closed front all of the fumes go up the chimney, it's just hot convection air coming from the stove,  I can sea the gases burning through the glass so I would think there is little polution going up the chimney


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## Zenith63 (1 Feb 2021)

roker said:


> with a closed front all of the fumes go up the chimney, it's just hot convection air coming from the stove,  I can sea the gases burning through the glass so I would think there is little polution going up the chimney


I think perhaps you didn't open the article?

The concern in your own home with stoves is when you open the door to refuel a few times a day it releases particulate matter into the room.

On your second point, the primary concern again is the particulate matter released into your neighbourhood from burning solid fuels.  The most concerning 'gas' coming off you burning solid fuel is CO2 and that does not burn, in-fact it's often used in fire extinguishers, so it is going up your chimney into the atmosphere for sure.


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## Zenith63 (1 Feb 2021)

Green said:


> Theoretically yes they could but I dont think it will happen. A nationwide ban on smoky coal is more likely.



There's a public consultation document due in the coming weeks on the topic.  The fact it is only at public consultation stage means it's not around the corner, but it's one step closer to reality.  The ban on even wet wood burning would have a bit of an impact on stoves; you'd need to start buying bags of certified dried wood which I'd guess is not cheap.



> Detailed proposals on the move, which will be introduced in phases, will be published by February. The fuels to be banned will include coal, peat briquettes, sod turf and lastly wet wood, following studies to determine the level of moisture in wood that may...
> 
> 20th December 2020
> 
> ...


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## Zenith63 (1 Feb 2021)

cavanMan said:


> Hi there......we have a open fire place in sitting room and when not in use is plugged with a bag of insulation to keep the draight out.
> 
> So was thinking of a wood burning stove, nothing too big just to heat the room when needed and to keep the draught out.
> 
> Thoughts would be great.


Would you consider just blocking up the fireplace altogether?  I live in a house that was built in the last 10 years, so does not have a fireplace.  When we moved in there was an electric fire and fireplace there to simulate the experience, but it was of course rubbish.  We removed it altogether and it has freed up a load of space in the living room to re-organise the furniture and not worry about the hearth or having things in-front of the fireplace.  I would never go back to having a fireplace, real or artificial, after the experience of not having one.


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## Leo (1 Feb 2021)

roker said:


> with a closed front all of the fumes go up the chimney, it's just hot convection air coming from the stove,  I can sea the gases burning through the glass so I would think there is little polution going up the chimney



As above, the study is clear that the issue is with opening the door to refuel. 

When you burn wood and coal, large volumes of pollutants are released, where do you think the pollutants go if you don't think they are not going up the chimney?


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## roker (1 Feb 2021)

Leo said:


> As above, the study is clear that the issue is with opening the door to refuel.
> 
> When you burn wood and coal, large volumes of pollutants are released, where do you think the pollutants go if you don't think they are not going up the chimney?


they are being incinerated in the fire


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## Leo (1 Feb 2021)

roker said:


> they are being incinerated in the fire



Are you actually being serious? They are a byproduct of the incineration of the fuel. Unless you're using some kind of complex gas traps to strip them from the gasses?

Why do you think that they use carbon dioxide in fire extinguishers if it simply burns?


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## RedOnion (1 Feb 2021)

Leo said:


> Are you actually being serious? They are a byproduct of the incineration of the fuel. Unless you're using some kind of complex gas traps to strip them from the gasses?


Yes, but what has science ever done for us?


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## roker (1 Feb 2021)

Leo said:


> Are you actually being serious? They are a byproduct of the incineration of the fuel. Unless you're using some kind of complex gas traps to strip them from the gasses?
> 
> Why do you think that they use carbon dioxide in fire extinguishers if it simply burns?


incineration is an industrial process done on a large scale, the  problem is if the temperature is too low dioxide is produced


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## random2011 (2 Feb 2021)

Seriously considering replacing our stove/range with a pellet burner. I hear good stories about these and their ease of use. Need to do some more research though. Drawing coal/storing coal/daily cleaning/ dirt and dust from coal burning/ environment not to mention the cost are some of the factors considered.


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## Leo (2 Feb 2021)

roker said:


> incineration is an industrial process done on a large scale, the problem is if the temperature is too low dioxide is produced



You said pollutants were being incinerated in your stove earlier! 

It is simply not possible to burn wood on any scale without producing carbon dioxide, burning wood is really:  C6H12O6 + 6 O2 = 6 CO2 + 6 H2O

In the context of that study, it should be noted that CO2 is only one of a myriad of pollutants that your stove is not burning!


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## lledlledlled (2 Feb 2021)

roker said:


> incineration is an industrial process done on a large scale, the  problem is if the temperature is too low dioxide is produced



Are you saying that domestic wood stoves incinerate the harmful gases or they don't?_ (Note, the answer is they don't!)_


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## lledlledlled (2 Feb 2021)

random2011 said:


> Seriously considering replacing our stove/range with a pellet burner. I hear good stories about these and their ease of use. Need to do some more research though. Drawing coal/storing coal/daily cleaning/ dirt and dust from coal burning/ environment not to mention the cost are some of the factors considered.



Have you heard positive stories from people in Ireland? Given our climate, keeping the pellets moisture-free might be an issue.


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## lledlledlled (2 Feb 2021)

Zenith63 said:


> Would you consider just blocking up the fireplace altogether?  I live in a house that was built in the last 10 years, so does not have a fireplace.  When we moved in there was an electric fire and fireplace there to simulate the experience, but it was of course rubbish.  We removed it altogether and it has freed up a load of space in the living room to re-organise the furniture and not worry about the hearth or having things in-front of the fireplace.  I would never go back to having a fireplace, real or artificial, after the experience of not having one.



+1 for blocking it up altogether. Future generations will find it hard to believe that we kept burning solid fuel despite the harm it was doing. Hopefully it will soon be taxed to oblivion.


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## Zenith63 (16 Feb 2021)

This article today reminded me of this thread. I was surprised wood burning is worse than diesel cars (in terms of gross particulate matter output), considering all the focus on the damage diesels are doing and the efforts being put into driving them out of existence.

Wood burning at home now biggest cause of UK particle pollution​Domestic wood burning has become the single biggest source of small particle air pollution in the UK, producing three times more than road traffic, government data shows.

Just 8% of the population cause this pollution by burning wood indoors, according to a separate government-commissioned report. It found almost half of those burning indoors were affluent and many chose a fire for aesthetic reasons, rather than heat.










						Wood burning at home now biggest cause of UK particle pollution
					

Fires used by just 8% of population but cause triple the particle pollution of traffic, data shows




					www.theguardian.com


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## EasilyAmused (17 Feb 2021)

OP, if you decide to install a stove, and I fully recommend you do, I advise you to use Astonish or a similar stove glass cleaner every day. It makes a huge difference to the hygge and ambience of the room when you can see the flames perfectly. 
All the more mesmerising.


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