Did you used to see the kind of shite we used to get all the time? Stoves installed touching wood walls, on top of a wood floor, wood used as a constructional medium in a fireplace, wood/plasterboard/plywood registerplates, Gas open fires in fireplaces so big they were venting monoxide into the room, architects who basically had no idea how to construct a fireplace (The record was one who designed fireplaces that were almost 20 times as big as they should have been), inspectors who didn't know the rules they were supposed to be enforcing....

I'm just glad not to have to deal with it professionally now.

As you say so rightly, do it right and you will have no problems.

Picked the tiniest, rustiest most unpromising looking little stove up today. Looked to be about half the size of the one in the image. Just like a large bucket really. But it outperforms the fireplace in our previous rented house!
So far we've just bodged it in (with a completely straight chimney bil)
The gap between the tubes we were given and the wider tube pre-fitted in our chimney I filled temporarily with scrunched up tinfoil. Then away!so far in several hours we've put 3 small pine logs in and a few cones. I guess we'll need to use oak over winter to keep it going round the clock. It goes like a little rocket and though primitive and scruffy has loads of different ways to add or dampen airflow. I like it! Already roasted the chestnuts we 'scrumped' on the way home, on the lid.
I know it'll be small for our needs this winter but it'll add a few degrees to the ambient temperature.
I forgot Bil's former life experience.. Just so's you know bil. The chimney is in 3 pieces. It just slots on and comes off for cleaning. "Simples"!

Watch out that rain can't get in at the top between the flue and the chimney it's in.

Also, remember that the pipes need to go in a certain way. Each pipe needs to have the female joint at the top, so that the male of the upper pipe drops down into the female of the pipe below it.

If you get thet wrong creosotes can leak out around the joint and will stink the place out.

If you get it wrong, you will be in good company. Most people seem to toss a coin as to which way they put them together.

Any questions, feel free to mail me.

I used to own a coal effect gas fire manufacturing company so being gas all fits were supposed to be done by CORGI fitters so generally they were safe, those end users who thought they could save a few quid by fitting some crap from B&Q themselves occaisionally paid dearly with their health or even their life.
Ive seen all the woodburning stove issues you mention , the 90 deg flues being one of the most stupid also putting a single skin flue through a wooden ceiling/floor

So true. Many a time I used to complain about fittings that were lethal, only to have the idiot builder tell the customer 'He's just a chimney sweep, what does he know?'

Idiots.

Is it really that cold up there already? You´re only about 50-55 km up from Ayamonte. I do admit that we´ve brought out the duvets.....

Great going on the woodburner!

We've been using the duvet for a couple of weeks.......

Yep, done all that. By accident;-) And our chimney is new, so barring severe side winds should be watertight.
Went into our local Brico and saw a stove like our teensy one...but twice as big, for under 100. Just might invest, Need to chop my logs up a bit small with the one we have. Now I know how good they are, the credit card might have to flex in the name of warmth..
Today is lovely and warm and I'm 'harvesting' warming sunlight (22 degrees) through the greenhouse effect of the front patio doors. By tonight though, it could be as low as 10 degrees. The biggest problem we have at the moment is the open plan nature of upstairs (our living area) We're still building and this winter we'll be partitioning off upstairs.
Lidl are selling electric underblankets, so we now have one on the back of our sofa! The rental house was much worse because of tatty construction. I'm now so glad we've been putting proper 'english' walls in instead of thin tabiques!

Oh. Just one question. the stove I've seen, does have a 90% flue joint from the back of the stove. What do you think of these bil, rotor?. The teeny rusty one has 45%.

Ensure the stove can be lifted out in the future if/when the flue needs cleaning ,ie dont build it into a fireplace that you cant access/move the stove out of.

That's certainly true, but I would add one more thing. There is real danger with either a 45 or a 90 that soot can build up in there (if the 45 simply voids into the stove, it's not such a risk. I would always advise fitting a T joint instead, so that falling debris can't block the flue so quickly. When we bought this place the guy assured me the stove worked well, which given that the stove was clagged up with tar, I knew wasn't true. Possibly once, but the last time they used it they must have smoked the place out.

I cut an access in the pipe as it was all welded in, (like Rotor says, duuuhhhh seriously dumb) and cleaned the bend from there. It got so bad that I had to clean the bend almost every other day.

Yes. Just from my limited experience and all you guys' advice I think a fireplace is probably a waste of time and heat. We'll put up with the ugly little stove, or it's slightly bigger brother for now, and when we get a new one make sure its beautiful, efficient and freestanding!

Wayyy before that we'll be looking at accumulator tanks to feed our lovely underfloor pipes. It all has to be done in the right order, and when the other half has work!

As you say, an open fireplace wees heat out into the outside world 24/7, and the bigger the fireplace, the more it throws out.

That's interesting - we're in Málaga region and I would love a woodburner this year as I'm starting to feel cold already (we just have an open log fire & calor gas heater at the moment) but we've not been able to afford one as yet, so 60% off could be good news. Will go and make some enquiries

.

We managed to get one that had an oven, which is nice for baking potatoes. Plus you can put a pot on the top for stews. We enjoy shoving something into Robinson* for a savoury treat later.



(* Creuset. Ahaha.)