FAQ and General Notes sheet for Solid Fuel and Gas Stoves.
We hope that you love your new efficient home heating appliance and enjoy many years of trouble-free warmth. Woodburning can be as much an art as a science and as such it can be a learning curve. Over the years we have heard a lot of questions about heating appliances and below we try to address the most common.
There are many factors that can affect the running of your appliance and these can include (but are not limited to) chimney design, wind direction, air pressure, position of both the building and the chimney (2 apparently identical chimneys in the same property can have totally different characteristics) and the fuel used.
Please also refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for more detailed advice about your specific appliance.
On initial firing the appliance will probably give off a slightly unpleasant smell. This smell is produced by the paint curing. The nature of high temperature stove paint means that it can only be properly cured under high heat. This also applies to the glue that is used to stick rope seals to the door and the cement that is used to seal flue joints. On initial firing start with a gentle fire in the appliance (up to around 200°C) and gradually increase the heat to about 350°C. We would recommend opening all windows during the curing process, which can take up to 8 hours or more of continuous burning. If you cannot burn for this long in one hit then you may take longer to reach this point with occasional or light burning. The smell may linger for about a week.
Please ensure that you register your warranty as soon as possible after installation. In many cases this will entitle you to an extended warranty as you have bought your stove from an authorised dealer network shop. Please also make sure that you get your chimney swept at least annually and use a qualified and experienced sweep who can also carry out an annual service on your stove. Service records are essential to maintain your extended warranty.
Your stove, your fuel and the latest regulations (Jan 2023)
Under the latest regulations, which are designed to improve air quality, if you live in a smoke control area (Worcester, Kidderminster, Dudley amongst others):
“…there is a limit on how much smoke you can release from a chimney – in England, you may receive a £300 fine for releasing too much smoke in a Smoke Control Area, or up to £1000 for burning unauthorised fuel without an exempt appliance. Look for the Ready to Burn logo if burning wood – this mark helps you easily identify solid fuels that are legal to burn at home in compliance with air quality regulations.”
From Stovax Heating Group explains the UK Governments 2023 Environmental Plan.
Never burn painted or treated wood. Many paints on old timbers contain poisonous and carcinogenic lead and many treated timbers, when burnt, create highly toxic compounds (including arsenic) in both the smoke and the ash.
If you have an Eco Design stove that is DEFRA exempt then you already meet and exceed these targets.
“Key helpful tips to give the customer about burning right: Burn dry wood Poor quality/wet wood has a high moisture content, resulting in poor combustion and the production of harmful emissions. Look for wood between 14-20% moisture for optimum burning, and ensure it has the Ready to Burn logo. Keep stove door closed. When the stove is closed, the products of combustion almost exclusively exit through the chimney. Use an Ecodesign stove.”
From Stovax Heating Group explains the UK Governments 2023 Environmental Plan.
In all modern stoves it is essential that wood is well seasoned and dry with a minimum moisture content of 20%. If wet or green wood is used then it will not combust properly and will either go out, smoke excessively or cause
excessive tar. Soft woods are not advised for long-term burning because they too give off a lot of tar and generally short bursts of high heat. Green, high tar content, and wet wood will not burn properly, will clog your stove and chimney up and will invalidate your warranty. It is also recommended to run your stove hot. This involves getting the stove up to a good, high temperature and ensuring that there is a very solid heart to your fire before closing it down to a point where there are healthy rolling flames and the maximum amount of heat is being transferred out into the room.
Slumbering a fire or running it too low can be counterproductive and can stop efficient combustion which can lead to a build up of soot and tar in the stove and the chimney, which in turn can reduce the efficiency of both the appliance and the chimney causing a rapid spiral of decline and an increased chance of carbon monoxide emissions.
Avoid ash build up under grate; if the grate can’t ‘breathe’ then it is more susceptible to overheating and subsequent buckling.
Glass can be cleaned with a proprietary stove glass cleaner, make sure that it only goes on the glass though because it can cause white marks to develop on the stove and the hearth and can also react with the glue that holds the door seals in place. If you burn wood only then a damp cloth dipped in wood ash makes a very good glass cleaning paste.
If your fire runs perfectly most of the time but occasionally struggles keep a diary and record:
The prevailing wind direction and make a note in respect of the position of nearby trees, hills and the property.
The consistency of the moisture content in your wood.
The weather conditions.
All stoves are liable to struggle a bit on very low air pressure days, i.e. in dense fog or when there is no wind.
Q. My stove is smoking back into room.
A. When reloading: -
If this is when you reload the fire then you can wait until the fire in the stove has reduced to red hot embers and hold the door ajar to help the stove to equalise. When the door is closed the flue gases will be rolling around in the stove creating maximum combustion, when you open the door, you disturb the usual combustion channels so you need to allow the stove to equalise and adapt to the change in air intake. If you pull the door open too quickly then, rather like unsealing a vacuum, you are just pulling what is in the stove out.
On start up: -
Sometimes, but more usually with an external twin walled or insulated flue system, a cold pocket can develop in the chimney, especially if the stove has not been lit for a while. You need to punch through this cold pocket to recreate positive pressure and draw with a large heat source. Usually 4-6 sheets of newspaper, very lightly crumpled and set on fire with door slightly ajar will sort problem, you may need to slightly open an external door or window to further help with the draw. A modern solution to this is to light your fire upside down: Place two small logs on the base of the fire, with a kindling stack above and a fire lighter on the very top, this allows the firelighter to send warm air up the chimney and the flames of the firelighter should consume any smoke from below.
Occasionally there is a problem with downdraught in the chimney; either because the chimney is not quite long enough or because something locally is either causing the wind to roll down onto the chimney top (wind rolling over and down off a hill or adjacent chimney ridge) or because something locally is preventing flue gases from escaping easily (i.e. overhanging branches.) In these situations, you may need a different type of cowl. A standard cowl is suitable in 99% of installations, a standard anti downdraught cowl is suitable in 95% of situations where there is a problem, after this more specialist cowls or extra height on the chimney can solve most problems.
Q. What is the best way to light my fire?
A. Light stove with door slightly ajar and all vents open, when fire is going well, shut door, when there is a decent heart to the fire and temperature of stove has reached about 250° Centigrade, close primary air vent (if there is one.) Then control stove using secondary or air wash control. Try not to run too low and try to maintain temperature between 200° and 350° centigrade.
We would recommend starting a fire with ‘Flamers’ or similar natural firelighters and a kindling stack, followed by small logs, gently increasing to larger ones. The upside down, or Scandinavian, method (as explained above) is becoming increasingly popular and works very well.
Q. My stove has an air wash system but the glass blackens up.
A. The air wash system works best when it is opened right up. Control the stove using the air wash system but ensure that every now and then you run it fully open for a while to give it a chance to self-clean the glass. This is especially important if you have, for example, run the stove too low. It is highly recommended that you purchase a stove thermometer and a moisture meter to compliment your stove installation, ensuring the correct and efficient performance of your stove.
Q. I live in a smoke control area, can I burn wood?
A. Yes, you can burn wood and smokeless fuel in a smoke control area as long as the wood is dry and well-seasoned and you have a DEFRA approved stove. Most smoke control area exempt stoves have a slight modification to their air controls so that they cannot be shut down fully, this aids full combustion of flue gases and reduces the smoke emitted. If you have a non-exempt stove but want to reduce the amount of smoke produced you can do this by ensuring that you always burn ‘good wood’ and never fully close the stove down.
Q. What is the difference between grades of liner? Do I need a 904 liner for solid fuel?
A. Generally, if you are only going to burn good, dry, seasoned wood then a twin skinned 316 grade flexible liner will be acceptable (not to be confused with an insulated liner.)
If you have a low temperature appliance such as gas, oil or bio ethanol then a low temperature liner is suitable (this is a single skin version of the standard 316 liner.)
If you are going to burn smokeless solid fuel on your appliance then it is recommended that you fit a harder wearing 904 grade twin skinned flexible flue liner because this will be better suited to the harsher environment created by the emissions from these fuels.
High sulphur content fuels (which as a rule of thumb is most fuels that end in ‘..ite’) should be avoided wherever a stainless steel flue liner is present because the sulphur content, when combined with condensate can ‘eat’ the liner rapidly.
GAS APPLIANCES
Q. The remote control for my gas fire doesn’t seem to be working but I have changed the batteries.
A. If you have batteries in your remote then there is a very good chance that there is a battery powered receiver unit in or under the fire (or stove.) The receiver units often have to worked harder than the handheld remote controller because they have to mechanically operate the fire, their batteries often last less long than those in the handheld remote controller.
Q. I’ve got an LPG appliance and there doesn’t seem to be any gas getting through.
A. There could be several reasons for this.
Check that there is an adequate amount of gas in your bottles or tank and that the changeover valve is pointing to the correct bottle.
Check that the ‘UPSO’ valve on your regulator does not need resetting (unscrew clear cap on valve above bottles, lift the top of the nodule up to reopen the valve and screw cap down again.).
Bleed the gas through, try to light and hold knob in for 30 seconds then try again. It may take 4 or 5 attempts if there has been no gas to the appliance for a while.
If it is a boiler that has stopped working try turning it Off for 10 minutes to reset it and then back On, wait another 10 minutes for it to fire up.
N.B. Most manufacturers recommend leaving pilot lights on all the time when the gas appliance is not in use. Most of our non-service call outs to gas appliances are when pilots cannot be relit after a lengthy period of being off. If pilot lights are left off for long periods, then there may be a risk of condensation build up in the stove (which can rust or rot the interior) and with LPG you may struggle to bleed the gas back through.
N.B. If there is condensation on the inside of the glass on a gas stove or fire light on a small flame and increase steadily to gently remove the condensation, otherwise you risk ‘burning’ condensation deposits onto the stove.