Selfsufficientish.com

I would certainly echo getting a flat top so that you can keep a kettle on it and heat your beans. In my old house it was invaluable as we had power cuts at least once a week.

I had a small stove as my only heating when the boiler was being replaced and it just about kept the cold off the upstairs bedrooms as well as heating the living room (the stairs come straight out of the living room which helps).

Zoe

we have two squirrels, one top exit and one rear exit, ones 15 years old and one is 12 years old and they have preformed magnificently, between them they've had one glass and a few grates and they've only needed the grates cos i've left the vent open with coal in i had to replace the back boiler in one of them when i converted it to oil (don't ask ) but that's because we have an open circuit hot water system. if i were to have only one i'd go for the rear entry as we do use the flat top alot for cooking.





good luck, paul

Thanks to everyone for the replies. Just come back to this thread, as we have decided to go the whole hog.
We are getting a Clearview Pioneer 400 with flue liner and chimney insulation. We are getting the whole lot done for £1800, which I think is a bargain.

Wood in our area is expensive though, £90 for 2 cubic metres. That's what partly what prompted the change though - our stove is very inefficient. We got through 2 cubic metres in December alone. The Clearview is very fuel efficient, and adding the liner and insulation will add to that. The other factor is that our present setup does not comply with regs, and I am worried we would be uninsured if there was a fire.

Here's a pic of our old stove. Am going to hang on to it for a patio heater - or maybe if we move somewhere bigger where we need two!

Thomzo wrote:I would certainly echo getting a flat top so that you can keep a kettle on it and heat your beans. In my old house it was invaluable as we had power cuts at least once a week.

I had a small stove as my only heating when the boiler was being replaced and it just about kept the cold off the upstairs bedrooms as well as heating the living room (the stairs come straight out of the living room which helps).

Zoe

Yes, I use the current setup for warming plates and simmering stock etc.

Our stove warms the central room of the house really well, and over time will do the whole house. It does need to be on for a while for that to work though.

We also have a squirrel in our lounge with air vents in the ceiling, to two of our bedrooms (had ours for about 15 years, love it).

I am also thinking of putting in a fan at ceiling hight, to transferee some of the heat into the dining room. Anybody done that with any success? While I am at it, anybody know of a quiet fan that would do the job.

Dave

Narrow boats have 12v dc so can use a computer fan probably too much of a bother in a house unless you have 12v from solar panel and battery system for some other reason. the stove top fans that work on the heat of the stove shift a fair bit of air and work ok at circulating heat round a boat but would need an open door to send heat to another room and i have never tried it in a house.maybe there are suitable fans available out of a redundant cooker hood but ours is a noisy brute.perhaps getting a quiet fan will be the hardest thing .any heating and ventilation engineers out there you could ask?

Thanks for that Tiggy.

I did a bit more research yesterday and came up with this

VORTICE PUNTO GHOST RANGE
■ Complies with the
requirements of Part F1 of
the Building Regulations
even when connected on
3m flexible aluminum duct
(with 2 x 90° bends).
Suitable for installation in
walls, ceilings/false
ceilings, lofts, internal
walls. These fans can be
used as temperature
blenders in adjacent rooms.
■ 10 models available with and
without timer ∅ 100-120-150 mm.
■ The timer is adjustable from 3 to
20 minutes.
■ IMQ data label ensures data and
performance is third party
certified.
■ Motor with shielded poles and ball
bearings (30.000 h guaranteed
continuous operation) with thermal
cut-out. Except codes (11110-
11111-11116-11117).
■ High airflow rate and low
operating noise level due to wingprofile
blades.
■ IPX4 splashproof protection on all
models.
■ Conforms to the following
standards: CEI EN 60335-2-80
(Part 2: Particular requirements for
fans) CEI EN 60529 (Code IP) and
CEI 107-53/1986.
Design: F. Trabucco & Associates

there web site is here

http://www.vortice.ltd.uk/product.aspx?id=9

You need to click on the technical button for more info

the above links are to save anybody else going through the same rigmarole

romany123 wrote:We also have a squirrel in our lounge with air vents in the ceiling, to two of our bedrooms (had ours for about 15 years, love it).

I am also thinking of putting in a fan at ceiling hight, to transferee some of the heat into the dining room. Anybody done that with any success? While I am at it, anybody know of a quiet fan that would do the job.

Dave

Dave, I'm currently trying to work out how to move air around too, do you know if there are any building regs issues with installing ceiling/floor vents? Any references?

Think there are issues with installing extractor fans in the same room as a stove (although I'd had some success with an inline fan) :-(

Cheers,

Tim.

I know I'm coming into this discussion at a very late stage but I thought you might be interested in my neighbours idea.

Firstly, I should point out that he has a tiny house, with a woodburner, on which he burns peat, in both the main areas.

However - the interesting part - he has wound a copper coil around the chimney of one of these stoves, immediately above the stove so it gets heated by the stove and the chimney. This coil is attached to a few radiators in the bathroom, loo and workshop and keeps them warm passively. The hot water circulates because it's higher up and the cold water returns from below. The system is as basic as you can get it, no moving parts, closed system (I think) and warms really quite efficiently. I suppose it would only work in a fairly small area, some brainbox could probably work out what that is.