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Choosing a Stove

Choosing a stove sounds so simple yet can become an expensive mistake if you overlook some key questions. At Clearview, our in-depth knowledge and love of stoves will make choosing your stove an easy and enjoyable experience.

Together we will take you through:

• your exact heating requirements
• the type of fuel you wish to burn
• your space requirements and proportions

Whatever your requirements, there is a Clearview stove that is the perfect solution - offering superior design and fuel burning efficiency at exceptional value for money.

The Clearview Stoves Range
Clearview 650	Clearview 750	Vision 500
Vision Inset	Pioneer 400	Pioneer Oven
Solution 400	Solution 500

Stoves Vs Open Fires

A pound of fuel will produce at least three times more heat when burned in a stove than when it is burned on an open fire.

In addition to this, a stove requires considerably less air in order to burn the fuel than does an open fire and so cold draughts are usually eliminated when a stove is fitted. An open fire will continue to suck warm air from the room as long as the room is warmer than air outside, and so all the heat produced by an evening fire is lost to the sky at night. Heat produced by other sources such as a night storage heater or radiators is also sucked up the chimney.

When these matters are taken into account, perhaps we can expect something like eight times more heat from a stove than an open fire. This means that not only can a stove heat the very largest rooms, the heat can also be expected to rise up stair wells and warm landings, travel through floors and take the chill off bedrooms. This heat will be absorbed into the walls which act as heat reservoirs.

In many cases a simple room-heating stove can go a long way to heating a whole cottage, or take a load off an existing central heating system in a sizeable house.

Heating with wood or solid fuel has few limitations; the limitations are our independence and how much we wish to reduce our reliance on the nuclear, oil and gas industries.

Fuel

Wood, whether hard or soft, is an excellent fuel and by far the cheapest commonly available. Ideally wood should be burned with a moisture content below 20%. A small stove will burn 3 to 4 tons, larger stoves 5 to 6 tons and central heating boilers (50,000 to 75,000 BTU) can burn 10-15 tons per season in average use. Wood, when burned in a modern stove, is clean, economical, good for the garden (the ashes) and above all it is a renewable resource.

Fuels such as peat, or compressed paper, straw, or wood waste can be burned in most wood-stoves. As they often have a very low moisture content, they burn very hot. They can be mixed with logs, but do not overfill the stove .

Coal or solid fuel could be considered as convenience fuels, in that they are compact and no storage is required. Though considerably more expensive than wood, its high density means a small stove can be operated on as little as a one cwt. bag full a week. This is far cheaper than economy 7 or bottled gas and there are no transmission losses, pipelines or nuclear waste.

Multi-Fuel Stoves

Traditionally wood-stoves have been long airtight boxes that burned wood on a bed of ash, using air from above the fire. Coal stoves had tall, cylindrical fireboxes with air travelling up through a grate and the fire. Two very different configurations.

The majority of stoves on the UK market have started life as either a wood-stove, to which a grate has later been added in order to call it a multi-fuel stove, or a coal stove that is large enough to burn wood reasonably well. Very much a compromise, especially when they may have not been particularly efficient originally.

Water Heating

The hotter wood or coal is burned, the more complete the combustion. The particularly high combustion temperatures reached in the Clearview firebox results in clean glass, cleaner chimneys and high efficiency. Whenever possible a stove should be allowed to heat an area by natural convection, or with the use of ducting, or fans. In some cases hot water or central heating may be an additional benefit. The unique modular construction of Clearview's stoves allows various boilers to be fitted at any time. It is rare to find stoves that have large boilers which can be fitted or replaced in the future. Fitting a boiler in any stove will increase sooting and tarring of the glass and a clear view of the glass may be impaired.

It is essential that a wood-stove is airtight, so good sealing round all doors is necessary. Gaskets or seals will compress after a short period of use. For most stoves this means air leaks. The rapid hinge and catch adjustment on a Clearview means air-tightness can be maintained. Clearview’s door catch can be adjusted in about five seconds without tools. Internal door catches, common on many stoves are prone to corrosion and breakage.

These are some of the features which we believe put Clearview in a class of its own.

Chimney and Flue Lining

A chimney is a passage from the place of combustion to the outside world. Warm flue gases should rise through this passage to the point of exit. For a chimney to operate satisfactorily it should be smooth, warm and as straight as possible. If a chimney is irregular and rough, or cold and damp, flue gases will move slowly. Cooler gases will mean inadequate chimney suction and poor flue gas speed.

We always advocate flue lining where possible for the following reasons:

• A flue liner will substantially decrease your chimney volume. Consequently, higher temperatures will be maintained and flue gases will travel faster, generating a greater and more consistent draft. When possible, flue liners should be insulated, increasing flue temperature. A warm flue will collect less deposit, cleaning will be much easier and condensation should not occur in the flue. It is possible to clean a lined flue well, leaving the liner almost as clean as new. It is rarely possible to remove all deposits that accumulate in unlined flues as there are always holes and corners a brush does not reach.
• The combination of a Clearview clean burning stove and a warm flue liner should mean chimney fires are a thing of the past. Chimney fires are a common and frightening occurrence in an unlined chimney and may cause substantial damage.
• A well installed stove should emit no smoke or fumes to the room. If a flue is damp and cold it will produce a poor draft, this poor draft may reduce further during slow burn periods as the flue cools. Chimneys are usually in much better condition externally than internally. Many years of sulphur attack may have eaten half way through brickwork and mortar. Internal feathers dividing one flue from another may have perforated or collapsed allowing flue gas to pass into redundant, uncleaned flues.

Clearview Stoves produce little smoke; some five times less than conventional stoves. They are tolerant and less demanding than other stoves and will operate in most unlined chimneys, however we advocate lining to avoid risks and long-term problems. When using a stove to heat radiators we would advise a well insulated flue liner is used without exception.