wood burners

[Martin]

thanks for that - I've seen the error of my ways!
From now on I shall tell people to go and buy the cheapest woodburner they can find off Fleabay, totally ignore the nonsense about double-walled flues to make it maintain correct flue temperatures - what a load of old tosh!
Register plates...........nahhh, few old bricks, sand and cement bish bosh bash, job done!
Smoke test'll tell you all you need to know - just don't believe that crap about it being a "silent and invisible killer" - all rubbish!
"Hetas" and their ilk - evil moneygrabbing b*stards, just out to rob you blind.......recommendations on flue sizes/materials - all an evil plot to cost us money.......
Victorian flue? - bloody wonderful, been there 100 years, of course it's safe.....
Building control - just bung 'em a few quid!

Seldom have I heard such dangerous bollocks spouted by erstwhile adults - you should be deeply ashamed - I just hope to God there's noone stupid enough to believe it!

[red]

[contadino]

"Amateurs encouraged"? I think not.

I'm certainly not ashamed of myself. The only fault on this thread is you preying on paranoia to generate sales.

[Martin]

not if it has the slightest likelihoood of killing them or their kids - no!
You seem to think it's a bloody joke - it isn't! You can question my motives all you like, but you and others have given atrociously dangerous advice! There are some things you just don't f*** about with, and this is one of them!

[red]

oh... I mentioned my last house.. had woodburner fitted by qualified installer.. and they said my chimney was fine, and did not need lining? house was about 100 years old.

I had that woodburner for several years,, didn't die! and the qualified chimney sweep we had come every year said it was doing just fine.

same chimney sweep advised we do get current house chimney lined (which we did) as he did a smoke test, which it failed (smoke coming out of two pots). for good luck I use a CO detector.

I daresay you can get the chimney inspected by someone qualifed, yet do the work yourself, if you are a capable person. It's a matter of being sensible really. You cannot make sweeping judgements on certain houses, either way; you have to treat each one individually.

We did opt to have the installers put in our woodburner last year, mostly because putting in the liner would involve getting on the roof and neither of us do heights! but also because it suited us.

[baldowrie]

Red

You cannot make sweeping judgements on certain houses, either way; you have to treat each one individually

exactly!

[Martin]

and very few amateurs have that ability - end of..................

[contadino]

not if it has the slightest likelihoood of killing them or their kids - no!

There you go with that paranoia again.

It's very simple. Check on the woodburner restrictions in your area. If you can have one, plan your installation in accordance with the appropriate building regs., buy a woodburner from a reputable source. Read the instructions with the stove. If you're unclear about anything resort to a HETAS engineer. Get a smoke/CO alarm.

Stoves are really simple appliances - simpler in many respects to open fires. It's a dreadful shame that so many so-called professionals try to complicate things to earn a fast buck.

[Millymollymandy]

Can someone please explain to me - what kind of gas would a wood burner be emitting?????

And what do people mean by a chimney LINER? Is that another word for the FLUE?

[contadina]

Carbon monoxide - a lethal killer, so it is important to follow building requirements when installing a stove.

And a flue is a chimney liner.

[Millymollymandy]

I don't understand. If burning wood gave out that gas, then how come we don't get gassed with an open fire?

[Millymollymandy]

OMG I have just Googled. I had no idea.

We had our chimney swept recently because ever since the bloke who did it last time cleaned it, it had been smoking into the room. The recent blokes said the flue was half blocked up the top (the previous bloke had been alone and hadn't gone up on the roof to sweep from the top).

Haven't had any symptoms of C02 poisoning that I know of though, because I always fall asleep in front of the fire/telly in the evening!

Bit of a shock though.

[baldowrie]

did you not read while back about grapho on ACL having CO2 poisoning due to a faulty boiler, and bad service via her landlord? So it's not just stoves and open fires. It's also gas and oil central heating boilers that can give it off, and those ones really are the silent killers as you often see no warnings, smoke in the room etc.

[red]

which is why it is a good idea to have your boiler (rayburn etc) serviced every year, your chimney swept etc. and a CO detector.. like a smoke detector is not a bad thing. and perhaps why getting your flue/woodburner installed professionally could help.


MMM - a liner used in a chimney is often flexible - like a giant vacuum cleaner hose, and the point is your chimney can be fairly rubbish, with gaps galore, but if lined, it does not matter. also a liner, if its done well, can mean less soot build up etc, so less chances of chimney fires etc.


edited ..as per possom... meant CO not CO2..

[possum]

I doubt anyone is going to get poisoned from CO2 (carbon dioxide) :)

Being pedantic, a flue and chimney liner are not exactly the same. You can have a flue without a chimney (we do as it is a modern house without a chimney). The chimney liner tends to be a flexible piece and is shoved up and existing chimney as over the years chimneys in old houses can start to leak through into the rooms. The flue we have is a solid metal bit covered by a metal grill to dissipate the warmth from the flue back into the room