Lynne Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 We have a house in the Lot, but live in Wales. Would it be better to buy a stove here or in France? Any recommendations for a supplier who would deliver before we arrive in December?ThanksLynne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 It's a heavy thing to shift from Wales to France. I've bought our two stoves in France. They seem to be bigger here and there seems to be more choice. I went to local shops and ordered both (on two different occasions) with delivery that week as they were in stock.I realise that if you are in France for a limited time, it can be a bit hit and miss but there are generally lots in stock because there is more demand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynne Posted November 22, 2008 Author Share Posted November 22, 2008 Thanks Cathy,We've been trying to buy online to save us time, but haven't found anywhere near enough. Perhaps best to wait till we get there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 Being here and looking around is by far the best way.In France, well in my area, the most popular is the Insert type fire. These benefit from being able to use heated air pumped out in to other areas of the house. I guess the best description that us Brits would understand would be warm air central heating. It won't be enough to really heat other rooms but it will get them up to about 16 deg which means you don't have to use too much of another heat source to get the temp up to 20 deg. Some have fans underneath at the front to give an added boost to the room in which the fire is located. I know people bring wood burners over from the UK but my attitude is that many in the UK have them more for effect where as over here they are seriously used for primary heating and as such if you copy what the French do you won't go far wrong. After all they have been doing these type of fires for years. If you have it installed by a professional you may be eligible to quite a nice, big, tax rebate, if its a holiday home then I don't think you qualify.Whatever you buy make sure you can easily get a 50cm wide/long log in as that is the default size logs are cut to. Of course you can cut them shorter but then that's a lot of work. Alternatively you can get the wood guy to do it for you but then its quite expensive.You can quite often get special offers where you get the insert and the surround for an inclusive price. Our Mr Bricolage has some reasonably good offers at present. Castorama do deliver but their website is truly terrible and does not represent what they have in their shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigears Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 hiOver the last 6 years, I have bought two supra woodburners in france, mind looking at the prices of these models today, I would not repeat the exercise, one is now well over 1000 euros. The third stove I bought just this summer was a villager flatmate 8 kw, a quality low cost stove (I paid 450 pounds, delivered to the uk) and it included 1m of flue. Ok you have to transport it from the uk. Prices are high here in france for the equivalent quality of stove, I believe they anticipate that the tax credit for residents will offset the high cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 We bought a Hunter Herald high top a couple of years ago (maybe 3 or 4 time does fly by) from UK and it was delivered to France, the price was certainly very competitive at that time. Its an 11kw unit and is excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavegrand Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 Hi, I purchased a Hunter Herald 8 11kw from a shop advertising on ebay 9 months ago and paid £650.00 delivered to Kent and then took it out to France and installed it myself to manufactors specification. It is fantastic, its great to look at and the heat output is tremendous. I researched French alternatives and found they were either too expensive or the build quality was not as good in my opinion. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 We have a Rene Brisach insert which was installed in 1986 when the house was built. Apart from replacing the door seal once in the last 7 years its a good as new. The front door slides up so you can run it as an open fire if you wish. You can even BBQ on it if you want although I have never tried but we have all the kit that came with it. Total output 28kw but then we have a big lounge and it heats upstairs as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 It may be worth checking with a plumber about the suitability of your opening and flue if you are thinking of going the insert route. An insert has to have an opening with sufficient vertical height to position it above the base of your fireplace opening. Also, if your chimney is very large, an insert may not work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG MAC Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 I have a Quebb Master which I bought second hand 2 years ago and still havent fitted as I cant find detailed instructions for it anywhere. Unit has a back boiler and Quebb no longer exist so set up may be a bit hit and miss.....I don't like hit and miss. Anyone got a Quebb manual they are prepared to scan for a small consideration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keni Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 We are in the same quandry.We have spent nearly a year trying to find a wood burner - in France they are big or seem to be inserts and they do seem to be quite expensive. The C Low woodburner - 4/5kw (new flat top model) is now available at Countrywide Farmers for £419.00. Made by Villager/Hamlet (now same company).Also we have found the Chelsea Duo 4/5kw for around £499 at same place is a good deal. We have tried Brico, local quincallerie and many more including Machine Mart, but it does seem there are a shortage in Uk at present - Aarrow are quoting 20 weeks for delivery on Stoves r Us, as are Stoves on Line. If, like us you need one for Christmas, then it is better to track down what is in stock locally now or what can be delivered. Often you can get a goos deal for an in-store model. Although one on-line store does do a good discount and free metre of pipe, you will have this long wait.We also went to a guy in the Limousin and the same stoves in the UK are around £200 cheaper, but again his were too big for our fireplace. It is really just down to what you need and how quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave&Olive Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 hi OK there must be loads of little firms like this in your area http://www.woodburner-stoves.com/ Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzyfelt30 Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 We have just bought a Jotul from here: http://www.stovecentre.co.uk/They have a large range and their prices seem extremely competitive. As they are only an hour from us, we went to the showroom and spent an hour and half looking around and chatting to the salesman before deciding on the Jotul.Unfortunately, whilst they are happy to deliver to France, Jotul (and most other companies apparently) cannot keep up with demand at the moment, so ours wont arrive until the end of January!Obviously, by buying in UK, we wont benefit from the 50% tax rebate, but the price was nearly half that in France anyway!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee&Nik Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 hello all.does anyone here run heating radiators off their woodburners? i have been looking at UK websites and they have burners with back boilers wich will run up to 8 radiators!this must be the best use of a burner, like a turbo on a car, use the exhausted heat to reheat other parts of the house! win win surely? im thinking would the system need a pump or would the heated fluid move using thermo syphon action? and would that travel up stairs?? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Looking at French forums on woodburning stoves, it seems that Jotul is about the best around. But has anyone here any experience of them please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tancrède Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 [quote user="woolybanana"]Looking at French forums on woodburning stoves, it seems that Jotul is about the best around. But has anyone here any experience of them please?[/quote]Yes, for some 25 years. A huge one and various smaller ones. I cannot speak highly enough of them, and wish that I had one now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekJ Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 We've identified a Godin that we like... Godin? any good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 I have just been looking at them too and was not over impressed. French forums dont seem to rate them too highly either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Thanks for the feedback GP. I'll try to get one when I can find a dealer here, locally as he can do the installation and I will get the 40% reduction too then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Chris Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 We've been running a Jotul F600 since March last year, and are very pleased with it. It certainly pumps out a lot of heat! The only problem we have had with it is a sticky air control lever, which is an apparently common problem, but not serious.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 If anyone reads French, this forum might help:http://forums.futura-sciences.com/habitat-bioclimatique-isolation-chauffage/97805-poele-a-bois-jotul-godin-max-blank-stuv-moroso-dovre-bullerjan-autres.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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