Woodburners

[Lyn]

Dear all

We'll hopefully be moving into our first French (holiday) property towards the end of March - near Sourdeval. 

We are begining to think about heating etc - there is currently an open fire in the sitting room and electric heaters throughout.  We'd like to to put in a woodburner but if possible to create a more even spread of heating without having to use the electric heaters more than necesary.

I have seen that it's possible (in England at least) to buy a woodburning stove with a back boiler option - has anyone any experience of this and if so, do you know if it's possible to run any sort of radiators from this sort of system.  We're thinking really of just some extra heat spread around around, not necesarily a full central heating system as you'd imagine in England.

Also, has anyone had a ground source heat pump system installed - if so, how successful is it and can you give me a rough idea of installation costs?

Many thanks, and best regards

Lyn

 

 

[Dick Smith]

I don't know about Sourdeval, but we had our woodburner (not a back boiler) supplied and installed by the quincaillerie in Mortain - whose name I have forgotten - by Will, who (I think) used the same place - perhaps he knows more? Very helpful man (both of them).

[blackduff]

We installed an insert when we built the house. I wasn't smart enough to put the "Turbo" fan in the chamber and which flowed threw all of the house. A duct can be passed under the floors and could heat most of the bottom floors.

Stop at one of the fireplace shops and see if they have similar.

Blackduff

[5-element]

The (newish) house we moved into had a very inefficient open fireplace, so we had an insert installed (with Turbo). By carefully picking the wood we burn in it (oak only, and holm oak which is more dense and gives more heat - but it has to be at least 1 or 2 years dry), we manage to heat the whole house - we live there permanently. The turbo is effective enough, it does blow hot air.... but we might not have chosen this system if we had known that the turbo also makes a fair amount of noise when the thermostat starts  blowing the air. At first I felt it was like sitting on a plane before take-off (a bit of an exaggeration but nevertheless...). And of course, one does like to sit near the fire in the middle of winter.

It is pretty efficient though, our house has 4 smallish bedrooms upstairs, the downstairs is of course open plan and so is the staircase otherwise it wouldn't work. The heat seems to have some problems going around corners, though[:)]

Although we live in the South of France, nights can be very cold in the winter... minus 8oC for several days on the trot is not uncommon.

 

 

[Cassis]

What's a turbo in relation to woodburners, please?

[5-element]

Not being very technically-minded, I can only describe it as a fan (well, there are 2 on my SUPRA model) which is set in the woodburner (itself an insert, i.e. lodged into the open chimney) and when the temperature inside the woodburner reaches a certain stage (thermostat is pre-set and cannot be altered once it has left the factory we are told) starts blowing the hot air. Those 2 fans are situated on the top part of the woodburner. Does this make any sense?

[blackduff]

The insert normally has a chamber which has takes fresh air at the bottom of the chamber. The insert has a group of fins on the outside of the cast iron insert. As the fins get hot, the cooler air in the chamber starts to get hot. The heated air moves upward and vents out the top of the chamber.

With a turbo (fan), the air moves past across the fins faster than just convection. There is normally a group of ducts are passed from the chamber into other rooms. In my house it would have been under the floors (vide sanitaire) and the hot air will passed into the other places.

Certainly there are different variations of the inserts. If you pass through the catalogues at the fireplace shop, you'll see the various ways they work.

Without using a turbo, I heat up my main room but the heat doesn't pass into the other rooms. I have a large ceiling (high) and there's an arch into the next room. All of the heat gets trapped in the high ceiling. The turbo would have been a better program for my house.

Blackduff

[cooperlola]

We ran our entire central heating system in the UK from a "jacketed" woodburning stove.  Just standard water filled radiators - 5 in all plus the hot water tank.  It heated the place extremely well but don't forget, you have to keep it in - that is the biggest pain.  If you go away for a couple of days, you will come back to a cold house!  After living there for 15 years we finally installed 2 electric storage heaters (a small one in the hall, and a large one in the sitting room) to overcome this shortcoming.

[Cassis]

So in a woodburner with turbo there's a sort of heat exchanger, is that right?  Otherwise I guess the fan would blow smoke and fumes into the room if it was fanning through the burning chamber directly?

[Quillan]

[quote user="5-element"]

We might not have chosen this system if we had known that the turbo also makes a fair amount of noise when the thermostat starts  blowing the air. At first I felt it was like sitting on a plane before take-off (a bit of an exaggeration but nevertheless...). And of course, one does like to sit near the fire in the middle of winter.

[/quote]

You can get 'low volume' fans which don't go so fast and are a lot quieter. I don't personally have one but the guy next door has and you don't hear anything. It is mounted in one of the stone pillars either side of the fire between which you store your days worth of wood.

I have a thing about these fires, I think they really are very good and much better than UK log burners. The French have been using them for years and they are very efficient. Our model has the front that opens normally and also slides up so you can have a open fire if you wish. There is also a BBQ rack that fits it as well. We can't use the ducting system either because we have a vaulted roof but seeing as it push's out around 28/29 kw it's not a problem. My wife likes it hot so our lounge is normally 23/24 deg C even when it's minus 10 outside and we are talking about 80 odd sq metres of room space. We use an electronic parafin heater in a small area that is a cold spot and this circulates the air more than anything so I am going to experiment with a small fan instead.

[Beryl]

[:D]

I would like to put one in the centre of room when we start renovating an outbuilding, rather than against an outside wall.

We won't be starting this for a while so I have only been running a passing eye over the few woodburners we have seen in depots.

However, I haven't yet seen any that look good from the back, does such a beast exist?

[Cassis]

I've got bad taste in floor tiles but some of the stoves here look nice to me:

http://www.poele-a-bois.fr/

Some look as if they could go centre room.  Why not email them and ask which would be suitable?

[Wilko]

Hi Quillan

What make is your woodburner and the guys next door ?

Rgds Wilko

[Dick Smith]

We really fancy something like this:

http://www.camif.fr/wwwSurf/pages/multimedia/OffreDuJour.asp?REFERENCE=530049

[Quillan]

[quote user="Wilko"]

Hi Quillan

What make is your woodburner and the guys next door ?

Rgds Wilko

[/quote]

We both have René Brisach fires  When our French friends saw ours they all went ooooooh. I thought hello, we've been had but as it turns out they all said that these are the best money can buy in France. I don't have a clue if that is true but having moved it from one place in the room to another and being able to see the unit out of the surround it's very, very solid and well built out of cast iron. Ours is the biggest, the door is 98cm wide and it took six blokes to move it. The only negative thing is the size, nobody makes an 'off the shelf' surround that it fits other than René Brisach.

They make all shapes and sizes including ones that go in the middle of the room or in corners. Here is their website.:

http://www.brisach.com/brisach/fr/fr-fr/index.cfm

All I can say is I am very happy with mine.

 

[Wilko]

Hi Quillan

Thanks for that & the site address.

Rgds Wilkio

[blackduff]

The pelet furnaces haven't mentioned but they're quite nice too. They're supposed to comparitive to normal inserts. I liked the idea that you can program the fire for when you're not home. Big choice of them too.

 

Blackduff

[LESLEY LARGE]

Hi! I am looking for woodburners, and in my search have come across the type that pubs have, with doors on both sides. Think the company is Villager and they are called 'double fronted' stoves. Hope this helps

Lesley505[I]

[Dave&Olive]

hi

 ok hope this is ok to recomend some one who has done work for me

             http://www.woodburner-stoves.com/

                dave

[tetley]

Hello Lyn,

we have just (thank goodness!!) had phase one of our heating system installed.  We bought a Hunter stove (English) with built in waterjacket, and currently have 5 radiators running from it.  Today is the first full day we have had it running, and we are toasty, despite the snow outside.  The radiators are in the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs with one downstairs for something technical [:$] .  There is a pump installed, but we are not using it at the moment, the house is a really nice temperature, don't need to keep upstairs doors open to gain heat, am keeping them shut to keep the animals off the beds!! We tried to find a stove similar in france, but weren't able to unfortunately.  But, very, very pleased with the Hunter.

[Lyn]

Hi Tetley

Ah, how that sounds just the sort of thing I have in mind - warm and toasty for the times we visit in the winter, especially Christmas.

Would it be too cheeky to ask roughly how much the system cost to buy and install  - did you get the stove from France or were you able to buy it in France?

Many thnaks, and kind regards

Lyn

 

 

[tetley]

Hi Lyn, we bought the stove from a company in the UK (I can thoroughly recommend them, don't know if I can advertise them on here?).

To buy the stove,an electronic thermostat damper, delivery to france and longer legs (my husband felt that the stove was too small as it was, and size matters apparently!!) from memory it was about 1600 euros.  You cannot claim anything back as it isn't registered as flamme vert over here (although I have heard that they are trying to go through that process at the moment).  The installation to date (5 radiators and all pipework, pump, etc) is in the region of 1800 euros.  I don't know where you are, but again I can recommend a great plumber for installing such a system.  Not too much work left apparently, all the main pipework has been done. 

We had to open my daughters bedroom window for 10 minutes last night as it was too hot for her, you can turn the thermostat down on the rads, but as our system is not fully complete and we are learning how to run it at its most efficient, we are leaving things as they are.  It takes about an hour to get all the radiators hot.  This is definately one of the best purchases we have made, we were very cold last year, and we are very comfortable this year, just the rest of the renovations now!  I believe Villager stoves have a similar burner, but we wanted a flat top stove and villager only do the canopy style with the built in backboiler.  We haven't gone for the water heating option...yet.  We may invest in a water heater with an element in it ,so that we can switch it in spring/summer, but we will see.

Hope this helps?

[mint]

tetley

PLEASE give me all the details.  please email or pm.  we have just had a quote from a french electrician for radiators in our 3-bedroom home and it comes to, hold your breadth, in excess of 18 THOUSAND euros!

we have a property without any sort of heating though we do have a hot water tank.  we are in contact with edf to provide us with a "branchement" and the structure and location of our property is such that we are most likely to opt for an all-electric system.

will be eternally grateful to you

[tetley]

I have sent you an email, but don't know if it will be helpful to you, if you are looking for electric heating?  Anyway, good luck

 

[powerdesal]

[quote user="Cassis"]What's a turbo in relation to woodburners, please?

[/quote]

My question also.

The word 'turbo' is short for 'Turbocharger' vis "noun a supercharger driven by a turbine powered by the engine’s exhaust gases."

Exactly why and when did a simple "fan" become a "turbocharger" ?  [8-)]