Multi Fuel Stoves a Beginners Guide
Firstly, Let me explain my initial involvement. One of my business partner had decided to purchase a farmhouse in Bulgaria and when he was kitting out the house with its furnishings he invited out. It was a lovely hot day when we arrived, but quickly the weather turned nasty, snow up to a meter deep! We finally struggled through the whited out countryside to a beautiful pink farmhouse heavy with snow. As I remember we walked the last 1/4 mile! We entered the living area and the very first thing we saw was what I in my stupidity, or cheap Bulgarian wine, believed to be a TV. After I realised it was a multi-fuel stove, my first thought was "why no gas, how are you going to heat your central heating" remember the snow? Well after 15 minutes we not only had a toasty room, but every radiator in the house was hot to the touch.
Now my past experience of wood stoves was like most peoples, you know a couple of old timers sitting around a pot bellied stove chewing tobacco in an old western on the telly, so the experience was an epiphany. What would be the outcome if we used the brand in his living room to develop an ethically based company around. In this article I wont divulge how we set the company up. Mainly because its a novel in its own right, but because what I what to do is give a little advice to people looking to lower those large nasty utilities bills, whilst helping good old mother earth. Another thing multi-fuel stoves are hypnotic , sitting in front of those flames is so relaxing, especially in these stressful times.
So lets start with the basics,
What is a stove? This may sound odd if you know, but, let me explain. I've been asked if its a cooker a boiler or even an open fire. What it is, is a sealed unit that can come in many shapes and sizes. From the pot bellied stove, as discussed above, to a Prity built in, that has three glass sides! It can be a stove that just heats one room, a cooker, a stand alone boiler or a combination of all three. Oh before I forget, the difference between a open fire or basket and multi-fuel stove is very straight forward. The open fire draws cold air in towards the fire, remember being at your grans and your fronts hot and your back is freezing? Well thats the back draft, the other problem is a large percentage of heat literally goes up in smoke! With wood stoves its sealed so its heating the air in the room, acting, if you like as a separate radiator.
Multi-fuel or multifuel, this is another term that can be a bit confusing to the novice, so here goes. Multi-fuel means that the stove can burn any of the following; wood, coke, coal, wood-coal, peat, brickets or biomass (that's stuff like pellets or even corn, another article I feel).
This brings me seamlessly on to an important part. Can you burn wood and/or coal in your multi-fuel stove. As a general rule of thumb if you live in a smokeless area, no. If you remember your history lessons, Britain was blighted by smog and chemicals in the air until the mid 1960's and if you live in a city you should only use a smokeless fuel, but who buys all the wood and coal for sale in the petrol stations in Manchester is beyond me, maybe outer towners from Cheshire?
Now using a multi-fuel stove with a built in boiler as part of your central heating. Now this is some thing that really will save you pounds over a year. Remember that gas bill that looked like you were paying Fred the shreads pension? Well this is how it works I'll use my business partners Prity built in as an example. Im not going to muddle your mind with Kw's and BTU's, this is a beginners guide after all. Simply put the stove has a built in water tank next to the fire, this heats up and flows via a connecting pipe in to your radiators.
In the summer when hopefully, hollow laugh, you wont need a roaring fire you switch back to your existing boiler. You can even get a gizmo that can have both systems working in unison. Its not something you should attempt unless of course your a fully qualified plumber think CORGI.
Finally a couple of words of caution, when you have your multi-fuel stove installed only use a HETAS trained fitter. This means that you pass all current building regulations including for insurance and HIPS. Have your flue pipes swept by a reputable chimney sweep on a regular basis. We have this information on our websites as do the majority of other reputable companies. With a nice bye for now, a lot of local authorities across the UK now offer a grant scheme for individuals looking to install multi-fuel stove, so check out your councils site. I hope this has been of some help and you feel ready to make the leap. Heating comfort with a green conscience!