Buyers Guide - Selecting your Stove.

A very common thing we hear is 'I have a huge fireplace and want to fill the space with a large stove'.

But please don't determine the size of stove you need by the size of the fireplace you have. One calculates the size of stove according to the size (volume) of the space you need to heat. This then gives the heat output required from your stove and from the selection of those stoves you can then choose which colour, size, make and model that will suit your taste, fireplace, décor etc.

All stoves, but particularly those intended to burn wood, have some very clever and effective design to make the best use of the fuel and make efficient use of the technology designed into the stove structure.

An over sized stove, that is one with too great in heat output, will mean that the room will be over-heated (and more full used than necessary) or that the stove will be burned at too low a temperature. Burning the stove too low and not allowing its technology to work which can result in residues being left in the chimney flue, stains on the door glass and inefficient use of the fuel.

The Airwash will not keep the glass clean, the tertiary burn will not perform correctly, the stove and chimney will tar up making it a fire hazard and the whole performance of the stove will be affected leading to you being very disappointed with the appliance.

Too small a stove can have similar consequences. You will struggle to heat the space to the correct temperature resulting to you over loading the stove, with maximum air intake on full at all times resulting in over-firing the appliance. This damages the door rope, the glass and the stove itself and you will be using far too much precious fuel, wasting your money and time. You are also in danger of causing a chimney fire.

You need to ask yourself several questions about what you want out of your stove:

• What fuel do I wish to use?
• Do I need a room heater only or one that does hot water/central heating too?
• Is it my only source of heat or back up heat?
• Do I want to keep it lit through out the whole season or just for evenings and weekends?
• What aesthetically do you want from your stove?
• Do you want to cook on it?

The answers to these questions will help guide you and our surveyor make a selection of stoves that will suit your requirements. From this short-list you can choose a stove that will fit your home and lifestyle knowing that it will be making the best of the fuel you use.

This is why we always send a surveyor out to see where you want your stove to go and what you require from it.

Visit our 'home surveys' page for further information on surveys.

Learn more about

• Selecting your stove
• Where a stove can go

Instant Answers.

More Instant Answers.