A New Wood-Burning Stove
I know it’s a strange time of year to have the fire on but we had our new wood-burning stove fitted on Monday and it needed testing! It actually needs a few small fires lit in it before using it in anger so as to allow everything to gradually cure.
It looks good though. Despite being slightly bigger than our old stove it actually fits a little better. This is due to the fact that we bought a back box with it so that the flue comes out the back of the stove. This gave Sion the Sweep who fitted it for us a little more leeway with where he positioned it.
It does mean that it comes out into the room a little rather than sitting completely inside the fire-recess. This is probably better as it means the heat goes into the room where it is needed. Sion did think that we might need the hearth extending because of this. Fortunately I had 3 spare tiles that must have been sat outside the shed for the past 15 years. They weren’t need in the end though as there was plenty of room in front of the stove once it was fitted.
Better Dimensions
It’s also a little wider than the old one which means it has a nice big glass front – or ‘fire picture’ as Sion called it! This is due not only to the extra width but also the fact that it is a wood-burning stove and not a multi-fuel stove like our previous one. We’ve never burnt anything but wood in it so didn’t really need the multi-fuel aspect.
The fact that it is wood only means that it doens’t need an internal grate. Apparently wood burns better directly on the fire-bricks on the floor of the stove. This means more room in the stove, a larger glass front and best of all larger logs will fit into it. Getting logs small enough was always an issue with the old one. In fact, the very first log I put on it was one that had been sat next to the fire for a while simply because it wouldn’t fit into the old stove. It popped into the new one no problem at all.
Things should be nice and cosy this winter!
