A cautionary tale ... stove installation

Here’s a little thought, raised by a customer of ours, I hope someone has a better answer than the Insurance Companies.

I’ve just been called out to investigate the cause of a fire, from a newly installed wood burning stove. The cause was very simple to deduce - the fire started in the chimney, burning though a timber support that was incorrectly placed (too close to the flue pipe contravening Building Regulations). This then set fire to plaster board placed incorrectly to the stove (again Building Regulations) and finally the register plate collapsed, bringing combustible soot onto the top of the hot stove.

The stove was installed by a builder (a friend of the family). Unregistered with HETAS (the regulator body governing solid fuel installations, just as CORGI governs gas), and obviously incapable of installing such an appliance to governing regulatory standards.

The client is unwilling to name the builder as he had been "doing them a favour".

Whilst I was there the client had a phone call, from their insurers to discuss the fire and the damages. As I was writing my notes, trying not to listen to the client becoming more and more irate ... ...

The the conversation went something like this:

Client - "You’re HETAS registered aren’t you?"
Me - "Of course"
Client - (Demanding) "good, when you’ve checked the installation and reinstalled the stove, do I get a certificate?"
Me - "Of course, every one of our installations, or in fact REINSTALLATIONS to put right incorrect works, will be certified"
Client - "Good, you’ll backdate the certificate for me then, to, say a week or so BEFORE the fire!"
Me - "Sorry, but no."

The next is exactly what happened, no word of a lie, the client walked up to me, nose to nose, and shouted …..”You f****** moron, without a certificate I don’t have any insurance, what are you going to do about it????”

And me, the moron? My company is registered with HETAS, we follow Building Regulations. I personally know how to correctly install a stove - this is, after all, why I'm in in business.

At this stage you can imagine what advice I gave the Client.

Likewise image - what would happen if you unfortunately had a fire in your house with no accreditation for the stove or fire that you, a friend or any untrained and uncertified person has installed.

Be careful - it seems that No HETAS certificate, could possibly mean No INSURANCE.

Please check with your insurers before commencing any work yourself or with untrained "installers"

Delivery dates on multi-fuel stoves ...

At the end of October the various stove manufacturers were showing the following lead times from their factories:

Aga: 10 - 12 weeks
Aarrow: 20 weeks on boiler stoves and 18 weeks on dry stoves
Charnwood: 12 -14 weeks
Dovre: Usually 4 - 6 weeks
Dunsley: 16 weeks for their Highlander range, around 30 weeks on Yorkshire - very popular ranges ...
Esse: 10 weeks
Hunter: 19 weeks
Jotul: 4 - 6 weeks
Morso: 8 - 12 weeks
Stovax: 8 - 10 weeks
Tiger: 4 weeks
Villager: 14 - 16 weeks; and finally ...
Yeoman: 6 weeks

And now for the good news! We have - IN STOCK:

Morso Squirrel 1410

Morso Squirrel 1412

For more information - visit http://www.hwood.co.uk/ or call 01623 752097.

How to DIY install your solid fuel stove ...

How to install your solid fuel stove - simple answer – don’t do it yourself!!!!

Please let me explain why:

I have had two phone calls this week from customers seeking advice about why their newly installed stoves are causing concerns. In both cases they were installed by their partner, both were very similar, let me give you an indication of one:

First phone call:

Me ... "Morning, can I help?"
Client 1 ... "Yes, I hope you can. I’ve just had a stove fitted and I have smoke in my child’s bedroom above, is this normal?"
(Seriously!!! That was the exact conversation.)
Me ... "No ... how was the flue tested and who actually installed it?"
Client 1 ... "Erm ... my partner installed it last night and said since it burned OK, it was alright."
Me ... "OK, when did you notice the smoke?"
Client 1 ... "When my daughter came downstairs, probably a couple of hours after we lit it, she said her room was foggy - she was coughing quite a lot come to think about it."

Needless to say I informed the client that she was lucky her daughter was still alive!!!

Unfortunately, during my working life I have had three requests from the Police to investigate fume problems from solid fuel appliances that we later attributed to the deaths of the householders. In two cases I believe that these were self installed appliances.

As a side note a few hours later I had the very irate partner of the above client on the phone, he called me a few choice names for "causing concerns and upsetting his partner!!!"!

After he had finished his tirade I simply asked if he had ever seen a death attributed to asphyxiation? Unfortunately I have. I also informed him of the law regarding the installation of stoves and asked if he wanted ourselves to check the installation, as I had previously asked his partner.

I was told categorically that he did not, that I was just looking for work and that there was nothing wrong with how he had installed the stove.

Unfortunately his phone number was withheld. What can I do? No name, address or phone number.

Building regulations and hence the law are quite clear on the installation of ALL solid fuel (yes this includes multifuel and woodburning stoves). They MUST be installed by a certified professional person; usually HETAS registered.

Failing to do so requires planning permissions to be obtained and approved. When you come to sell your house, HIPS now requires all certificates for ALL appliances installed into the fabric of the house.

• Who is going to provide a certificate for a self installation?
• Worse still ... who brings back the family member who has died from a faulty installation?

Carbon monoxide poisoning

We just had a call for a boiler service from a lady who'd just watched ITV This Morning's piece on carbon monoxide poisoning. The piece told tragic story of 10 year old Dominic Rodgers who died 5 years ago as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Sadly a set of circumstances, including wind direction and architectural design, lead to the poisonous gas seeping into Dominic’s bedroom.

Often known as the silent killer the symptoms of CO poisoning are often likened to flu or a hangover - that goes away when you leave the house.

These are the things you should look out for:

• Sooting or staining on or around your appliance
• Excessive condensation in the room where the appliance is installed
• Lazy yellow or orange coloured flames

Carbon Monoxide can be present in smoke from gas, solid fuel or oil appliances.

PREVENTION

To reduce the risk posed by Carbon Monoxide and to keep yourself and your family are safe you must have all your fuel-burning appliances safety checked annually by a qualified/registered engineer for your fuel type - either a CORGI, HETAS or OFTEC registered installer.

• Ensure that rooms and heaters are well ventilated.
• Never block vents to stop draughts or to dry clothes.
• Have your chimneys and flues checked regularly.
• Get an audible Carbon Monoxide alarm for the house - the little dots that change colour are great, but they can't wake you at night. (Wilkinson sells one for about £20.)

To arrange for one of our engineers to check out your appliances call 01623 752097 or complete our Contact us form.

See the Carbon Monoxide Consumer Awareness Alliance website.

Check out our website Woods, Stoves & Fireplaces.

Multi fuel stoves ... in short supply

It has come to our attention here at Woods, Stoves & Fireplaces that multi fuel stoves are in very short supply - hardly surprising given the recent dramatic rises in conventional fuel costs.

Also that some unscrupulous internet retailers are taking monies for stoves, promising prompt delivery then not being able to deliver until January or February 2009 - NICE!

However, our excellent relationships with our suppliers (including MORSO) means that we have been able to secure some special deals ... check out our Stove supplies pages for details ...

Hoorah! we are Parkray Stoves accredited installers!

We are really chuffed to be taking in the Parkray range of stoves for display and we have been accredited as a Parkray Installer! Fab news this is a really terrific range of multi-fuel/wood burning stoves!

60 Minute Makeover

Yesterday ITV showed an episide of their 60 Minute Makeover programme that we were in!!

We fitted a lovely Burley Manton 738R.

60 minutes well ... ... ?!

See http://www.hwood.co.uk/60MM.html or http://www.fabulousfireplaces.co.uk/burley---manton-738-r---fireplace-suite---stone-effect-132-p.asp.

Just for fun!

Have a go our our Pairs game - it's a quick memory tester - all helps with the Brain training!

New website

Today we have a gorgeous new website ... take a look ... visit www.hwood.co.uk.

Stoves burn green

Like the rest of us ESSE stoves are looking to the future and developing stoves that will burn "green" and economically. A recent post on their website talks about their innovative, new Afterburn2 system (they have a patent pending on the system it's so new).

We will soon have a ESSE 505C woodburning stove on show in our showroom ... call 01623 752097 for more details.

say, say, SAEY ...

Wow! These SAEY multifuel stoves are gorgeous!

The SAEY Scope pictured here is absolutely fabulous - it's a contempory cast iron multifuel stove which burns coal and wood. It comes in anthracite and grey paint.

And - it'll heat a massive space - up to 195 m³.

For more information (sizes, prices, etc) see fabulousfireplaces.co.uk.

However, if you're after an even sharper looking round stove! Contrary I know! Then consider the SAEY Signum 20.

Again, more information (sizes, prices, etc) see fabulousfireplaces.co.uk.

Alternatively, call in at the Woods Stoves and Fireplaces showroom - 26 Church Street, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire NG17 8LE - MAP.

DIY Fireplaces

Many of our fire surrounds and fireplaces are suitable to DIY installation, as are some of our fires - HOWEVER - you need to know that a gas fire or a stove/open fire should be installed by the right person:

• Here in the UK a gas fire should be installed by a CORGI registered engineer (http://www.trustcorgi.com/);
• A solid fuel appliance should be installed by a HETAS registered installer (http://www.hetas.co.uk/).

Once the work has been done your installer will issue you with a certificate - this will form part of your Home Information Pack (HIP - http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/)should you choose to sell your house.

To service or not to service?

At a time when your wallet/purse strings are being tugged pretty hard should you have your central heating boiler serviced?

Well the answer is a resounding YES ... and of course we would say that, it's what we do - well I might add!

But what you should know is that a serviced boiler will run more efficiently than an unserviced one, that means you'll spend less money on burning gas that you don't need (Prices set to rise again - BBC).

At an annual boiler service we will carry out the following checks:

• Flue ways and terminals


• Ventilation


• Gas pressure and heat input


• All safety devices

We also check the following boiler components:

• Heat exchanger


• Burners


• Combustion fan


• Seals (gas and water)


• Ignition systems


• Performance test (on all boilers with a suitable test point or accessible flue terminal)


• All visible pipework and controls


• All radiators


• Expansion tank (and vessel) and associated components

And finally, we will give, where appropraite, advice on the use of your present controls more efficiently.

We can also help you consider the best options for your future heating requirements.

If you'd like to book a service give us a call on 01623 752097 to get a quote, or to arrange for an engineer to service your boiler.

Charnwood Stoves - hot property!

The new Charnwood Stoves on display in our new Stoves Showroom are proving to be very popular.

Used in conjunction with the Green Dragon biofuel fire briquettes they are proving to be an economical as well as beatiful installation for customers.

Stoves on Canal Boats (Narrowboats)

I've been working for a HETAS (www.hetas.co.uk) registered heating company for over 21 years now. HETAS are the regulatory body who govern, monitor and promote the installation and servicing of solid fuel appliances.
As with CORGI for gas, ALL solid fuel appliances installed within residential or business addresses within the UK, must be notified to the relevant authority (usually your local council) or certified as safe via a qualified engineer (HETAS engineer).
In previous blogs you will have seen that I have been bestowing their virtues of Green Dragon Fuels; a biomass fuel made from the co-products of biodiesel product. Completely green, completely renewable energy. Green Dragon Fuel is currently undergoing HETAS testing for their approval. We have tested it on a multitude of appliances and today we have fired and tested on an installation that really shouldn't work (More of this later).
Now, my Dad owns a Narrowboat. He loves his Narrowboat and having talked to a lot of "boaters", they all do! And I can't say I blame them. The ardent boaters, like my Dad, are out on their boats, rain or shine, wind or hail. Some may think them mad! I personally think it's a completely different lifestyle. You see parts of the world that motorways and dual carriageways thankfully haven't destroyed and at a leisurely 3-4 miles an hour travelling speed you have plenty of time to see the world gracefully pass by.
Many of these boats have heating stoves on board, fired by solid fuel, be-it wood or smokeless fuel.Which got me thinking, since we supply Green Dragon Fuel here, would it be a good idea to see if I can introduce it through chandelries throughout the UK to the inland waterway users?
This I have done, having had several very productive meetings with chandelries around ourselves, we have also contacted chandelries throughout Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire. If you happen to be reading this, and are a proud owner of a Narrowboat or any inland waterway craft that has a solid fuel stove, ask your local chandelry for Green Dragon Fuels. It will save you the postage costs and you'll be helping the environment.
But I digress, the point of this blog was to be stoves and Narrowboats.
To install a stove to regulation requirements usually requires a flue (chimney) of at least 4 mtrs high from the top of the stove to the terminal. The flue, where at all possible, if made of metal, should also be insulated.
There is every chance that if these factors aren't met, then the flue will "downdraught" i.e. smoke will come into the area where the stove is fitted.
All narrowboats that I have seen have an effective flue height of only 1.7mtr! More to the point they are uninsulated metallic flues as well.
In theory these flues will be problematic to say the least.
Yet, every narrowboat with solid fuel seems to work quite adequately.
So, I wondered how a stove would perform with reduced flue height and burn Green Dragon Fuel.
The video below shows this simply, "Heath Robinson" installation. It by no way complies with any regulations and was set up and monitored by qualified professional people. In other words DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!

You can see, not only is the flame picture wonderful with the Green Dragon Fuel, it is not smoking back through the door and more to the point, the flue terminal shows a lovely clean burn.

(I aplogise for the quality of the video, Mr. Spielberg I am not!)

So, although the installation does not comply with current HETAS residential regulations, it does work! More over, it works very well with Green Dragon Fuels.

Give it a try, I'm sure you will not be disappointed!!

Green Dragon fuel vs smokeless fuel vs hardwood logs

For those who don't know, Green Dragon fuel is a "bio" solid fuel, formed from the byproducts of rapeseed (RS) oil production. (Why, oh why can't we have a better name for this plant?!?)

The stems, ie. the left over bits, have a calorific value (they burn). When crushed and compressed they are formed into "logs".

Since RS is grown throughout the UK and is, by all accounts, a rapidly growing plant, the byproduct fuel; bio log, is a truely renewable fuel. Unlike traditional timber, it does not take years to form. Trees require at least 10 years (hardwood) before they reach harvestable girth. Most readily available pre-bagged logs are either too wet to burn correctly due to little knowledge on the forecourt of how to store them or of so poor a quality that they do not burn efficiently.

The best true timber will always come from a good tree surgeon; one who knows how to season and store timber. Even so, the seasoning process takes 18 months minimum.

The next commonly available fuel is prepacked smokeless fuel. The process to form smokeless fuel is basically processing coal; burning it under pressure. This removes the deposits and dirt and a lot of heavy carbon, but where does this "dirt" go to? The hint is in burning. Sometimes a chemical process may be used. But chemicals will eventually need disposing.

Thus, is processed smokeless fuel "good" for the environment?

So, we now have the question regarding what's best to burn, smokeless fuel, hardwood or Green Dragon Fuel.

I know what I burn regularly. One thing is sure, humans want to stay warm. Use an earth resource such as smokeless fuel formed from coal, hardwood which takes a long time to grow or a fuel that has its source effectively replenished within months; not years?

You can find full details of Green Dragon Fuels here, or email me and I'll willingly take you through it.

Better still, BUY SOME here. Try it, believe it, help save our precious planet and money!

Green Dragon Fuel

We are proud to announce that we will be stocking solid fuel manufactured from sustainable sources.

I'll let Green Dragon explain what and who they are. All copyright and source materials are used with permission from Green Dragon Fuels. All rights reserved.

What is Green Dragon Fuel?

Green Dragon Fuel is a totally new and unique solid ‘green’ fuel made from the by-product of Phoenix Fuel’s bio-diesel process. It can be used on boilers, stoves and open fires instead of wood or coal and burns three times longer than logs, giving off twice the heat!

• The solid ingots of the bio fuel are actually GREEN in colour as well as truly green in credentials.
• Formed from the remnants of Rapeseed which has been grown and harvested for it's oil, the stems and husks are processed to form a solid fuel block (ingot).
• This block is dried and contains a significant calorific value (it burns well!).
• Producing TWICE the heat of traditional wood, each 2.5Kg ingot can burn for up to 3 hours, drastically reducing the refuelling rate of your appliance.
• Each block is hexagonal in shape, each ingot can easily be split into four quadrants if you require a smaller "log".
• The shape of the ingot makes stacking of the product exceptionally easy, no more logs rolling off onto the floor!

There is the option of buying the ingots in 1.25kg (half ingot) form either individually or in box quantities. However, we suggest that you keep up your green credentials and buy the fuel loose; why have a box when you can simply carry the product in a re-usable bag?

Full details of Green dragon can be found here - http://www.greendragonfuel.co.uk/gdfuel.htm.

We are proud to announce that we are both a supplier and distributor of this wonderful new fuel. Our website http://www.hwood.co.uk/ will carry full details soon.

On a personal note I have tested this product fully at home, the video link here shows a 1/2 ingot burning ... in my humble opinion and I have burnt a full ingot ... 1/2 is more than enough for the average room!

My stove delivers 6kw at maximum burn. I do not have the tech to say what the stove is delivering when burning a 1/2 ingot, all I can tell you is that the heat is awesome ... way in excess of any wood burning or smokeless fuel burning that I have tried.

Living with a multifuel stove

They say a picture can say a thousand words. I'll set the scene, raining, dark, cold, central heating turned off.

Sounds miserable? Indeed it does.

Unless you have a multifuel or woodburning stove!

I'm lucky enough to have the fantastic Firebelly FB1 multifuel stove installed from our range of stoves. I installed it with my engineers (check out http://www.hwood.co.uk/).

I light it every night when I come in from work (5 ish), once lit and working (after 1/2hr ish) the living room is lovely and warm.

Our heating does not need to be on after that point... so for the rest of the evening the warmth from the stove permeates around my ground floor (some 720 square feet), it trickles upstairs ... the flue (chimney) naturally passes through my eldest daugthers room, this naturally warms the room.

So ... for the past four week since installing this stove I have not used my gas heating (high efficiency band A boiler) at all during the evenings.

We burn seasoned timber from managed sources and now ... well now, we have just found a fantastic supplier of biofuel logs form from the remenants of rapeseed oil production.

More about the biofuel in the next post.

The enclosed picture is untouched, enjoy :-)

Using wood for heating - Climate Change bill highlights this!

On the 14th November 2007, the House of Lords introduced the CLIMATE CHANGE BILL. This ensures that the Secretary of State has a duty to reduce the NET carbon emissions of the UK in 2050 to 60% of the "targeted" greenhouses gases measured in 1990.

PHEW!!!! Why, oh why, can't they use simple English?

Logically, it is now seen that wood based fuels (biomass, natural timbers) and hence wood burning appliances can be a major part of the reduction process.

Think of it this way, in an existing dwelling, usually pre 1950, you can normally find a traditional brick built chimney.

This chimney is sometimes utilised for an existing open flued, highly inefficient gas or smokeless fuel (solid fuel) appliance (PRIMARY HEATING). Upgrading this appliance to a NEW higher efficiency wood or wood pellet HEATING stove will both lower NETT carbon emissions, it is usually the EASIEST way to introduce RENEWABLE energy sources to the home and, with few exceptions, the picture from the firebox (flames) are a real heart warming sight!

If the chimney is utilised for a gas fire (SECONDARY HEATING), then testing and altering the installation to suit a wood or wood pellet NON HEATING stove can both aethestically improve the looks of the room in which it is situated and also, naturally lower the NETT carbon emission of the property.

Wood and timber is easily sourced for the majority of us. There are also a vast array of online suppliers of suitable fuels, should easy access to a local source not be available.. However, local sources are sometimes FREE, thus overall heating costs are also reduced.

Thus if wood or wood products are used, ALONGSIDE high efficiency gas (or oil) boilers and even possibly with other renewables such as AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMPS or SOLAR, the carbon footprint of the house can be dramatically reduced.

Our company specialises in SOLID FUEL, GAS and RENEWABLE installations. Just email me -

phil@ hwood.co.uk

I'll help wherever I can.

As a note I have an AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMP (ASHP) fitted at home, in tandem with a BAND A high efficiency gas boiler. I am also fitting a FIREBELLY wood burning stove to suppliment my heating. A further blog will be coming regarding the ASHP; it's installation and full running details.

Exciting new products - Firebelly stoves

We are currently in the process of upgrading our showroom and showhouse to accommodate two installations of fantastic designer stoves from the innovative GB company - FIREBELLY. These stoves are solid fuel fired, naturally suited for timber but multifuel options can be purchased.

We will be installing a FB stove in our showroom within a SHIRESTONE Large Wingfield Inglenook fireplace. This display will be a "standing display"; in other words it will not be working. None-the-less I think it will look fabulous!!

We will also be installing a FB1 (Hopefully, flue tests permitting) into our SHOWHOUSE. This will be installed in to a Fabulous Fireplaces custom built inglenook fireplace formed from Black Granite and pure white Agean marble. This will be a live display, demonstrating the heat output and operation of the FB1.

Photos of both installations will follow as soon as they are completed.

Watch this space.

A beautiful day & the Nottingham Eye

It's Sunday 10th February, a very, very balmy 14 degrees celcius. the sun is shining, people are out in Nottingahm shopping - albeit not in droves, car parks are once again half empty.

And what a site Nottingham is. A 60 metre high ferris wheel, the "Nottingham Eye" has been constructed in the centre of the market square, it literally is enormous!

Standing over the buildings like some silent leviathon, it is truely a site to see!

Nottingham, at any time, is a beautiful city, but today, in the sunshine, in the warmth, seeing the Nottingham Eye, turning slowly, what a day, what a sight.

Enjoy!

Fantastic new fireplace deals - nationwide delivery

We've just arranged a national delivery campaign for a fantastic range of hand crafted stone fireplaces.

A fireplace really is the focal point to a room; setting the nature and scene for the whole home in some cases.

Shirestone fireplaces exude quality; their very form is a credit to the artisans who produced them and what more, we can now deliver them anywhere in the mainland UK.

Take a look at our website -

http://www.hwood.co.uk/shirestone.html

This is the Bevoir, a superb example by any standard.

We are happy to deliver direct to your door, we will advise you on how to install this beautifully crafted fireplace, we will even install it for you! (At an agreed price of course!)

Wet rooms ...

Today we started work converting a classic 1970's bathroom into a classy 2008 wet room ... watch this space!


In due course the room will be tiled from floor to ceiling, have a luxury shower and top of the range fixtures and fittings.