Wood Fired Heating

[Godfather]

Can  anybody  assist  with   replacing  a  wood  burning  fire   in  the  kitchen  with  similar  that  would  also   supply  hot  water  and

heat  more  than  the  one  room.  The  existing  fire  looks  lovely  but  will  only  heat  the   kitchen   and  want  to  replace  it  with  something  more  functional  any  suggestions  for  manufacturer/model?  want  to  retain  the  wood   burning  aspect  if  poss.

[Ford Anglia]

I know you can get them in the UK, because we researched it. We DIDN'T go down this road, in the end, as we felt that,

a) a woodburner isn't controllable enough to do heating, and,

b) they were just too difficult to keep in all night.

The MANUFACTURERS we talked to as much as admitted both problems.

 

[cooperlola]

We ran five radiators from a woodburner back in the UK (Colebrookdale - part of the AGA group) but as F/A says, they can be a right pain, for the reasons he states.  Not worth the investment IMHO.  We now have the ordinary woodburner here, plus leccy central heating which costs about the same to run as the system we had in the UK.

[Gluestick]

If you don't mind my asking, JE, how big is the house and how much does it cost to run the electric heating?

We have partial electric heating, but is is very expensive and not very good.

What type of system are you using?

 

 

[Nicos]

We are just starting to look into this too although won't do anything for a couple of years.

You can buy multi-fuel burners which can be used with wood  most of the time, and then at night or if you are going out during the day will keep burning for up to 8 hrs if you use the solid fuel.

 I don't know if you can get them for heating radiators and water, but that would be great if someone actually manufactures them.

Let us know how you get on!

[cooperlola]

Gluey

It's tough to say how much the central heating bit costs really, as it's lumped in with all the leccy in the house, of course.  But our annual bill was around 1500 euros this year (just read).  Bare in mind, we are at home pretty much full time now, we have an imersion heater for the water, the cooker is electric, we run 2 computers, a VERY large TV and are gadget mad![:-))]  There are two heaters in the sejour, one in the sitting room, and one in each of two bedrooms.  However, the house is very well insulated.  But we're also chilly mortals so the thermostat is often set at 21/22 degrees in the winter evenings - but the 3 rads in the main rooms go off pdq when the woodburner is lit.  The rads were here when we moved in so I know little about them really; they are slim and modern and independent of one another, controlled by a remote thermostat which functions electronically.

In the UK our electricity monthly dd was £70 odd, and the fuel for the central heating (a mixture of wood and anthracite - the boiler was multi-fuel) cost about £80 a month for 5 or 6 months, on top of that.. House the same size.

JE

[Nicos]

Oooh Ahh   Coop...

My maths is not so good!! ( only just got A level maths!!!!![:-))])

Please can you compare English: French prices  per Kw????

I know it's asking a lot - but you really do have a lot of steet cred on this site!!! ( ooooops- really stuck as to which smiley to use here!!![B][;-)][:-))][Www]!!

[Dave&Olive]

hi

 ok we have wood/oil heating 5 rads plus hot water with one of these http://www.selfclimat.com/Morvan/Chaudieres_Morvan.htm

the AFX model  keeps us warm costs us about €300 a year for wood and I bought 1000lts of fuel 3 years ago and still have about 500 ltrs left , it`s a bit dusty if you change over from wood to oil without a good clean out , it`s a bit of a talking point with the locals as it burns "upside down " for a better word

               Dave

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Nicos"]

I know it's asking a lot - but you really do have a lot of steet cred on this site!!! ( ooooops- really stuck as to which smiley to use here!!![B][;-)][:-))][Www]!!
[/quote]Good of you to say so - but certainly not for my artithmetic![:-))]  I guess the best way to answer the question is to look on the French and UK websites and compare.  It all gets horribly complicated by off-peak costs etc. - and how long the heating is on etc etc.  I've heard others say they think leccy is pricey but I guess all I'm saying is that my electricity bill hasn't risen much (from around £840 to about £1100) and it now includes heating and hot water which it didn't before.

[Gluestick]

Many thanks, JE.

My problem is that the house is not well insulated: and with a solid (double Brique) wall itmeans either dry lining + bats which cuts down living space and makes the window appertures look yuk; or insulating the exterior, which is horrendously expensive and again makes the window apps look yuk! [:(]

So I fear it is going to have to be oil-fired CH with rads.

And a big bill!

 

 

[friend of stouby]

Godfather, serious wood heating boilers are made by Tarm plus others, here's a link to the USA website which explains about current ones   http://www.woodboilers.com/default.asp  . They are Danish I believe, very efficient and sold in France, plus often are for sale as used (I assume in most cases town gas arrives and all these systems are then obsolete).

Have friends in Lorraine where they know about cold weather, who bought a used very old German boiler but similar in function to Tarm and others. Last winter they would leave the boiler alight for about 3-4 hours a day to heat water for partial central heating and domestic hot water. It used very little in the way of wood to achieve that but looked as though it had come out of a  WW1 battleship.

In their sitting room they used a wood burning insert that appeared very efficient too and they didn't appear too pre-occupied with having to stoke either stove.

Just some alternative food for thought.

Jamie

 

 

[nimportequoi]

I have a Godin stove with a pump that is used to heat a 6 bedroom farmhouse. However, the rads upstairs never seem to get very hot and as everyone has pointed out, it won't last more than 3 or 4 hours without having to be re-lit (although mine does take coal instead which at a push will take you through 8 hours). When you have to pay around 180€ per corde of wood and in winter it is easy to get through at least 6 cordes, I'm sure there are cheaper forms of heating. I'm looking into changing the system.

[Gluestick]

The pellet burner is the cheapest to run (compared to wood/charbon) provided:

1.    That you have a huge barn to store the pellets!

2.    That you have a dealer for pellets in bulk near you;

3.    That you don't mind the large capital outlay for the boilers!

An autofeeding pellet with large hopper or conveyor belt will run for up to 30 hours: if it's a huge hopper!

I looked at it; evaluated it; discounted it. As I did with heat pumps and groundsource heating, since I didn't want to destroy 1.200 sq. M of old tiles! in order to put in underfloor heating: and the front end capital costs didn't compute.

I believe Steve Diesel also evaluated and discounted this system. (Pellets).

 

[Jo]

I have a big old (1970's) wood burning boiler in the outhouse, I haven't been here for a full winter yet, but certainly for some weeks of freezing weather! If I really stuffed it full before I went to bed it was still going in the morning, when I started it up, if I put it on a quick burn, the house was really toasty in about an hour. As to how much it used, I would need to be here for a full winter to know that, but I have been advised, on the info I gave them, that 600 euros worth would be more than enough to take me through an average winter. I didn't think that was bad compared to the £900 approx that I pay here to heat a smaller house with gas.

[retread]

Dear godfather.

Ever thought of cooking with wood also, Godin do several clever stoves with back boilers that should suit. mine runs on wood and coal/lignite.

As for some of the other posts. Insulate and draft proof wherever you can , a friend of mine halved his wood consumption when he put 300mm of fibreglass in the roof space, thinsulate is magic if you don't have the space. Never just increase you boiler capacity without updating your insulation.

Install venting INTO  the area beside your stove, a hole in the floor from your sous-sol or vide sanitaire, so you burn cold air from outside not your nice warm stuff and avoid drafts.

[Jonzjob]

Hi Retread, if you have a lovely warming stove in the kitchen for the winter. What is it like on a nice hot summer day? Or do you have another cooker for then?[8-)]

[retread]

Hole in one!!! beers on you. The wood burner is in the kitchen/breakfast room, we are fortunate enough to have room for a summer kitchen with a gas hob and electric oven. sort of posh utility room really but my SOH lives out there, I think.