# Wood Burning Stove



## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

I am just about to buy a wood burning stove but the one I like has the chimney exiting from the rear but my neighbour has told me that there is a carbon monoxide problem with this type. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Trubrit said:


> I am just about to buy a wood burning stove but the one I like has the chimney exiting from the rear but my neighbour has told me that there is a carbon monoxide problem with this type. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks


Back in England I used this type for years with no problem. If its well fitted, then there can't be a problem or they wouldn't be allowed to sell them!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> Back in England I used this type for years with no problem. If its well fitted, then there can't be a problem or they wouldn't be allowed to sell them!


That seems reasonable.
You could try googling the name of the stove + carbon monoxide and see if anyhting comes up.
Failing that, I believe there are some carbon monoxide detectors on the market.


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

I've had 2 wood burners - both with a rear entry chimney port - and never had any problems with either of them.

Unless you mate is a qualified safety officer I would take advice with a pinch


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## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Once they are properly installed and venting also properly sealed there should be no problem. A friend has two installed here and has used them a a ole form of eating and cooking in the UK for years without mishap.


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## country boy (Mar 10, 2010)

I am a great advocate of Jotul stoves; they are in my opinion the Rolls Royce of stoves. Most of their models come with an option of vertical or horizontal flue outlets. Your neighbour needs correcting, there is definitely no problem whatsoever!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

country boy said:


> I am a great advocate of Jotul stoves; they are in my opinion the Rolls Royce of stoves. Most of their models come with an option of vertical or horizontal flue outlets. Your neighbour needs correcting, there is definitely no problem whatsoever!


That's the make we have and my opinion is the same as yours - the Rolls Royce of stoves


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

Thanks everyone, great advice as usual. I will keep you all informed as to how many fingers I lose with the axe!!


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## tonyinspain (Jul 18, 2011)

Just to add 
Make sure you have sealed all the pipes to the chimney 
The less bends the better as soot and gunk blocks these very easily 
Use only 2/3 yrs old seasoned wood olive or almond are good 
Dont use newly cut wood as it will block your chimney and let fumes into your home not good
If you do check every 6wks for blockages and clear
Here in my town wood costs 75cents a kilo
150euros a ton and a bad winter you will use easily 3 tons
Hope this helps


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

tonyinspain said:


> Just to add
> Make sure you have sealed all the pipes to the chimney
> The less bends the better as soot and gunk blocks these very easily
> Use only 2/3 yrs old seasoned wood olive or almond are good
> ...


Thanks for that info, in the 6 months I have been in this house, summer included, I have used 1400e worth of propane so 3 tons of wood is cheap lol.


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Trubrit said:


> Thanks for that info, in the 6 months I have been in this house, summer included, I have used 1400e worth of propane so 3 tons of wood is cheap lol.


1400 Euros ? Are you heating a palace or something ?
- It sounds like you are running a central heating system - have you thought about just using a gas run estufa instead ?


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## tonyinspain (Jul 18, 2011)

1400 wow you must be heating a villa sorry us peasants have only small farmhouses so i think you might need 6 tons still cheaper though good luck any probs with your estufa post it ill try to help 
Tony


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

No, it's just a new build 3 bedroomed detached but is open plan and the place never gets warm. I think it is about 280 square metres and we have used 1500 liters of gas since June but the heating was only turned on in late October, talk about a money pit !!


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

we have a "free standing" wood stove with an exposed enamelled flue pipe, which means the whole surface of the stove and the flue pipe radiates heat into the room. The top of the stove has a compartment for cooking things... we filled it with firebricks and now it works like a storage heater. Even if the fire dies overnight, there is still some heat in the room in the morning


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Trubrit said:


> No, it's just a new build 3 bedroomed detached but is open plan and the place never gets warm. I think it is about 280 square metres and we have used 1500 liters of gas since June but the heating was only turned on in late October, talk about a money pit !!


That's about right . Gas C/H using large cyls. consumes them at the rate of 1 per 3 days ( at 63€'s a go ! ) , regardless of how economical you attempt to be. Everyone who has them around here has found the same & changed to wood. Oil is not much better !


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Trubrit said:


> No, it's just a new build 3 bedroomed detached but is open plan and the place never gets warm. I think it is about 280 square metres and we have used 1500 liters of gas since June but the heating was only turned on in late October, talk about a money pit !!


And we've had a really mild winter this year, at least in the Madrid area. Getting cold now though, isn't it? Snow predicted possibly next week. Last year we had snow from October to at least Feb, can't remember what happened around Easter.
If you can, I'd advise doing some work on the house from May onwards when the weather gets better, or moving! We had the outside walls of our house reinsulated (with shredded paper), the patio doors changed for good quality double glazing and the radiators changed for better quality and better distribution of heat. And we also have a Jotul stove in the living room.
What a difference!
Toasty warm now.


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

The radiators only get warm (never hot) half way down and I've bled them but no difference. I wonder if the boiler is big enough to cope? I have decided to order a Jotul stove today that punches out 15kw ( Why they call it kw baffles me) so the next time I write I suppose that I will be moaning that it's too hot (yeah, as if) and the propano that is left in the tank will just be used for hot water.


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Trubrit said:


> The radiators only get warm (never hot) half way down and I've bled them but no difference. I wonder if the boiler is big enough to cope? I have decided to order a Jotul stove today that punches out 15kw ( Why they call it kw baffles me) so the next time I write I suppose that I will be moaning that it's too hot (yeah, as if) and the propano that is left in the tank will just be used for hot water.


Lol, Good luck !

I look forward to your posts about what wood to burn and when, and how to clean your flue !


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

djfwells said:


> Lol, Good luck !
> 
> I look forward to your posts about what wood to burn and when, and how to clean your flue !


I'm lucky with wood as there is a small wood yard 200 metres from me and he has already told me to avoid pine as it burns too quickly and causes lots of creosote in the flue, that's all I know up till now.


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Trubrit said:


> I'm lucky with wood as there is a small wood yard 200 metres from me and he has already told me to avoid pine as it burns too quickly and causes lots of creosote in the flu, that's all I know up till now.


Yep, pine is ok after it has been left to mature for a couple of years, but a good rule of thumb for a newby is not to burn anything that hasn't stood for at least 1 to 2 years. Fortunately it's the kind of thing that you will pick up as you go along.
(For example I learned long ago to avoid falling off the roof and to ensure that the estufa doors were firmly shut before trying to force a length of semi-flexible water pipe down from the top of the chimney to clean it)


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

djfwells said:


> Yep, pine is ok after it has been left to mature for a couple of years, but a good rule of thumb for a newby is not to burn anything that hasn't stood for at least 1 to 2 years. Fortunately it's the kind of thing that you will pick up as you go along.
> (For example I learned long ago to avoid falling off the roof and to ensure that the estufa doors were firmly shut before trying to force a length of semi-flexible water pipe down from the top of the chimney to clean it)


you can burn pine after 1 year, but you have to mix it with other seasoned woods and twice a week, when the fire is hot,add a salt/soot burner( we use Pons anti holin, which we got from Vidal) Three scoops wrapped loosely in a sheet of newspaper, tossed on a hot red ember fire. When it burns with a blue/green flame... it's working


fresh cut pine...... NO, leave it until the bark falls away and cracks appear. Split it into workable sizes and leave to dry

Pine burns quickly, so mix it with olive/ almond/ walnut/oak/ fig wood

(fig tree wood has great smell, but it burns fast)


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info, all I have to do now is hope that they deliver when they are supposed to. They have promised it for FRIDAY but this is Spain and Friday's are the weekend so I won't hold my breath!!


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

*Still No Estufa*

Well it will soon be spring and my fire is still in it's box. I live in a new build elevated house so the ground level floor is just open space for storage or garage. The landlord insists that we have a chimney but the installer says that there is no need. A one metre flue pipe directly through the wall with a rotating cowl (is that how it's spelt?) on the end is sufficient and will cause fewer problems with creosote and soot but the landlord disagrees, who is right? and I will go with the majority decision on this site.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Trubrit said:


> Well it will soon be spring and my fire is still in it's box. I live in a new build elevated house so the ground level floor is just open space for storage or garage. The landlord insists that we have a chimney but the installer says that there is no need. A one metre flue pipe directly through the wall with a rotating cowl (is that how it's spelt?) on the end is sufficient and will cause fewer problems with creosote and soot but the landlord disagrees, who is right? and I will go with the majority decision on this site.


Have the two of them actually spoken to each other about this?


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

The landlord is always right Pesky if you know what I mean and he refuses to speak to the installer.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Trubrit said:


> The landlord is always right Pesky if you know what I mean and he refuses to speak to the installer.


Ahhhh, yes. 
Well, he *is* the landlord....
Sorry, I have no idea about the chimney, no chimney thing. But rest assured, somebody on here will have an opinion about it!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

to be honest, since the landlord owns the property & you are presumably wanting to knock a hole in the wall I suspect he'll have the last say no matter what!


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