Solid fuel stove flue

torrentum

I'm getting a solid fuel stove installed in the next few weeks, and I wondering if anyone here has any experience in buying the chimney flue?
I've rang around a few places (Chadwicks/Morris DIY) and all the prices are similar - The prices I'm being quoted are eg, Single wall flue - E42+VAT., twin walled flue - E75+VAT. Flashing - E85+VAT. Cowel - E50+VAT.
My question is - are these prices fairly typical? (I've no experience in dealing with stoves/flues so I haven a clue of prices). Are there places that sell these that I'm not thinking of, other than hardware stores and stove shops?
I'd appreciate any help at all on this.

Thanks

gsxr1

these guys where cheaper when I was getting it done
http://www.gings.ie/

paddles

Anyone had one of these installed - not necessarily that one but any insert stove? Apparently it fits into standard fireplace which is what I'm hoping to get. Do the shops that supply these stoves tend to install them or do you need to get your own fitter? Anyone know how much it's likely to set me back? Or are insert stoves a good idea? I want as little hassle and expense as possible. If I got a free standing stove at the fireplace, would I need to replace the old fireplace or the hearth?
Thanks

torrentum

paddles wrote: »

Anyone had one of these installed - not necessarily that one but any insert stove? Apparently it fits into standard fireplace which is what I'm hoping to get. Do the shops that supply these stoves tend to install them or do you need to get your own fitter? Anyone know how much it's likely to set me back? Or are insert stoves a good idea? I want as little hassle and expense as possible. If I got a free standing stove at the fireplace, would I need to replace the old fireplace or the hearth?
Thanks

Paddles - In my searching through the stores that sell these, I've asked a few of these questions. Yes, it's certainly possible to get ones that fit into the fireplace. Shops that supply these vary in fitting. Most don't do it and if asked about fitting would give you a contact card of a fitter. I've no idea of cost of fitting yet, though hope to find out within the week - I'll post the quote here if you want.
Are inset stoves a good idea - I asked this to a salesman in a shop and the reply was that while they look lovely, you're loosing a lot of heat up the chimney, unless it's plumbed to your heating system - and I presume you're not doing that as you mentioned you want it a cheap and hassle free as possible. If it's a free standing stove, the heat is radiated from the front, back, sides and top. You'd be loosing some of that with an inset stove. I also asked a shop salesman what you asked above - would I need to replace the hearth. The reply was, if your freestanding stove just fits on your hearth, then theres a chance of ash falling out onto your floor/carpet/rug during cleaning/fueling. I think he mentioned a regulation requirement of 8 or 12 inches of hearth in front of the doors of the stove, and he refuses to fit them in houses that have no hearth in front of the doors.
I'm no expert, and stand to be corrected on all of the above - I'm just repeating what was said to me in the shops.
Anybody else know a rough price on fitting stoves?

paddles

Thanks for that. Of course, nothing is ever straight forward with home improvement.:( I don't see the point in an insert stove if I still lose heat, the reason I want one is to increase fuel efficiency as open fires lose so much heat up the chinmey. A free standing currently wouldnt work then as there would prob not be enough hearth in front. I don't want the expense of replacing the whole fireplace and I presume that you cannot get JUST the hearth replaced with a deeper one...

Can someone tell me more about the back boiler method? I'd imagine that's pricey but is it worth it? Is that where you can get your rads heated by the fire? Or is it only heating water?

rpmcs

from my experience just to clear up a few things, inset stoves normally work with twin box, designed
to convect heat rather than free standing stove that radiates heat directly,
and as for heat, most open fires work at bout 30% effiiciency, where most modern stoves work at about 70-80%, and ones with back boiler will only work well as long as there big enough for load, number of rads and size of them!!
worse thing you can do is put in a stove with boiler too small, as temperature never gets up and results in poor burn fo stove and chimmney!!!
i work for stove and fireplace company and have a inset stove, no boiler and its brill!! little fuel and lots of heat!!
put in inset for parents and they were not too keen to start but once installed they love it, they burn peat and they say about 60% less fuel over winter season, i have not come across anyone yet who put inset in that would go back to open fire!
as for hearth, reg states to my knowledge that you need 9 inches min from front of stove, and just make sure it has expansion joint to take heat. but if you you have tiled floor, ie non combustible floor you need not worry about distance infront

rpmcs

just to give you idea but to point out im not a plumber but if you get boiler inset stove to suit your load, but if you have a lot of rads, what people do is zone your system, as just heat areas that stove can heat, to my knowledge most of the inset stoves with back boilers come with aprox 10 to 14kw boilers, and this would be too much just for hot water cylinder, but if you get plumber to load your system then you may have better idea!

Xennon

Also do run your flue liner to the top of the chimney regardless of the condition of your flue.

chelbi

rpmcs wrote: »

from my experience just to clear up a few things, inset stoves normally work with twin box, designed
to convect heat rather than free standing stove that radiates heat directly,
and as for heat, most open fires work at bout 30% effiiciency, where most modern stoves work at about 70-80%, and ones with back boiler will only work well as long as there big enough for load, number of rads and size of them!!
worse thing you can do is put in a stove with boiler too small, as temperature never gets up and results in poor burn fo stove and chimmney!!!
i work for stove and fireplace company and have a inset stove, no boiler and its brill!! little fuel and lots of heat!!
put in inset for parents and they were not too keen to start but once installed they love it, they burn peat and they say about 60% less fuel over winter season, i have not come across anyone yet who put inset in that would go back to open fire!
as for hearth, reg states to my knowledge that you need 9 inches min from front of stove, and just make sure it has expansion joint to take heat. but if you you have tiled floor, ie non combustible floor you need not worry about distance infront

I have been reading your posts with interest. I am looking for a good stove fitter, it is an inset without boiler, I did have a guy come and start it but he ran into problems not being able to reach up the pipe from inside to pack it with fire cement. There is no way to do this from the outside of the pipe while the stove is in place because you can not get your hands up and around the pipe, I should mention that the pipe going to the chimney is on a 15 degree angle because the stove needs to be flush with the hearth and the chimney pipes are set back a bit... is this something that you have ever come across before and would you have a solution and better still where are you based??

PeteHeat

chelbi wrote: »

I have been reading your posts with interest. I am looking for a good stove fitter, it is an inset without boiler, I did have a guy come and start it but he ran into problems not being able to reach up the pipe from inside to pack it with fire cement. There is no way to do this from the outside of the pipe while the stove is in place because you can not get your hands up and around the pipe, I should mention that the pipe going to the chimney is on a 15 degree angle because the stove needs to be flush with the hearth and the chimney pipes are set back a bit... is this something that you have ever come across before and would you have a solution and better still where are you based??

Hi,

Most inset stoves are not designed to be retro-fitted as it is almost impossible to install them properly as discovered by your installer.

One way is to use a flexible liner and fix it to the stove before it is finally pushed home (into the fire place opening) another is to open the chimney breast to allow the flue to be fixed to the top of the stove (a bit radical).

Another problem with a lot of inset stoves on the Irish and UK markets is they are designed for the much wider continental style chimneys where air intakes are fitted to front and sides below and above the stove allowing air to circulate around the body of the stove allowing the heat to dissipate to the room and not to be stored in the structure of the chimney where excess heat can do damage.

Considering my position it may surprise many when I say if you must use an inset stove then the cheaper type that can be installed and removed in minutes is possibly the most honest and likely to give the best value for money also the flue is easier to clean when sweeping the chimney.

Please do not stand stoves on the existing hearth without using some type of extension to protect the floor covering, in many cases it is possible to retro-fit a wider hearth (as posted by torrentum) a good guide is the hearth should be at least the width of the stove with the door fully open.

The biggest cause of call outs for our local fire service in the recent cold spells was badly installed stoves and chimneys that were not swept or not swept properly because the spigot off the stove was 125 > 150mm making the brush useless when it got past the flue adaptor (I can't post a link to a private conversation).

There are good guidelines in Part J of the building regulations, even better if combined with a little common sense because one document can not forsee all the different types and styles of stoves available.

Be safe with your stove installation and install a carbon monoxide alarm in the room where the stove is installed.

.