Batten down the hatches winter storm chat 2011-12

[Channel Hopper]

And it's better to use a chimney sweeping brush kit than just a vacuum cleaner, as the brush will clear more soot than a vacuum cleaner would, heavy duty, industrial or otherwise...

You are right, but unless I can get the stove out (which I really dont want to do ), the only way to use the brush is top down, and I have a hunch that just beyond the point where the flue starts angling, there is a large amount of mortar lying on the slope, which would end up coming down into the living room. The vacuum cleaner hose just reaches beyond the visible part, so I am going to try an extension hose early next week to clear as much as I can first.

 

[2cvbloke]

You can actually send a chimney brush down aswell as up...

You just have to make sure you seal up around the fireplace with dustsheets & 3 inch duck tape just to reduce any need to do a deep clean afterwards... O-Ha

Or hire a professional, cos they're good at the job...

 

[Channel Hopper]

Or hire a professional, cos they're good at the job...

Thanks, but no thanks. They would also suggest taking out the stove before cleaning, and the usual callout round here is £70. For a singe chimney I would rather take the risk with the vacuum cleaner.

 

[2cvbloke]

Thanks, but no thanks. They would also suggest taking out the stove before cleaning, and the usual callout round here is £70. For a singe chimney I would rather take the risk with the vacuum cleaner.

£70???? Oh, yeah, you're in London, I forgot about that... !

Up here in the wild north, they'll do it for about £30-40, including pulling out the stove to get a clear path up the chimney, better to do that than poke a vacuum hose down the pot and risk causing a chimney fire, which would be extremely bad structurally given your description of the state of your chimney, from a pile of soot resting on the register plate that it missed, dislodged or cannot reach...

 

[Channel Hopper]

The register plate in this household is a cut down PC tower side panel (old style so it's about three times thicker than modern stuff)

 

[2cvbloke]

The register plate in this household is a cut down PC tower side panel (old style so it's about three times thicker than modern stuff)

I'm all for home made stuff, but, somehow, I don't think I'd be entirely comfortable with that, and I'm pretty sure any HETAS approved stove engineer would probably condemn the installation...

Personally I'd highly recommend not using the fire until it's been sorted out by a professional, cos, if you get something wrong with that, then the consequences could be fatal to anyone in the house, the smoky atmosphere is a sign something is wrong, and in all seriousness, you could be putting yourself in a lot of danger, as carbon monoxide poisoning is a real possibility if it seeps through the cracks...

I'd highly recommend you get a professional HETAS approved engineer in, I'm not just saying that cos it's a bit dodgy sounding, but because I am genuinely concerned, it may cost money, but that is better than costing lives...

 

[Analoguesat]

Think it'll catch on?

-http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/890194-swiss-man-replaces-cars-broken-heater-with-a-wood-burning-stove

 

[2cvbloke]

Think it'll catch on?

More "catch fire" than "catch on".......

A stove must be installed at least 30cms away from any combustible material, and that volvo is just full of combustables... O-Ha

 

[sonnetpete]

A stove must be installed at least 30cms away from any combustible material....

I take it that doesn't include the logs you put on the fire, as my logburner has a 'hopper' for storing the logs underneath the fire. Oh, and I have a large steel register plate which was tack welded into the chimney opening.

 

[2cvbloke]

I take it that doesn't include the logs you put on the fire, as my logburner has a 'hopper' for storing the logs underneath the fire. Oh, and I have a large steel register plate which was tack welded into the chimney opening.

Many people do that too, it's the top & sides that are the main sources of radiant and convected heat, underneath the stove is relatively cool in comparison due to there being an ashpan (usually) and cooler air being drawn up toward the stove body, so the wood is less likely to start burning outside the stove... O-Ha

I'm not even going to ask about the tack welding........

 

[sonnetpete]

I'm not even going to ask about the tack welding........

Well ok.......but I'm going to tell you anyway. The living room fireplace is very large as is the norm for Normandy farmhouses. The register plate is 1M 30cm X 50cm. Bob (the builder) found there was a steel reinforcing bar supporting the chimney breast. (A granite mantlepiece and two support columns had been added in front of the original). He fabricated two brackets and screwed them to the rear wall of the fireplace placed the steel register plate on them then welded the plate to the reinforcing bar and the brackets.

 

[2cvbloke]

Sounds like an ingenious solution, I'm guessing you have a lined flue going up the chimney too, so no need to remove the register for sweeping...

I really want a wood stove, I've been reading about other people's stoves for the past few years on many a forum, they're efficient, clean and look nice, and throw out more heat than the average open fire, but, all we have is just that, an open fireplace...

Looks nice when burning wood, but, the mother likes burning compressed coal briquette crap on it which is just nasty, this picture I took when we were still burning wood in there (and just after we finally got a fireguard so I didn't have to play ember tennis!!):

 

[Channel Hopper]

I'd highly recommend you get a professional HETAS approved engineer in, I'm not just saying that cos it's a bit dodgy sounding, but because I am genuinely concerned, it may cost money, but that is better than costing lives...

Nah, last time I had a profeshionul in (British Gas),told me the cooker door was faulty, and charged me £185 for the priviledge. When I got an independent in to replace the cooker he confirmed the leak of gas was at a junction between the stairs and the kitchen, requring a 2m new section of copper and bayonet fit, which he charged £85 all in (the cap at the meter mysteriously disappeared around the same time).

 

[2cvbloke]

Nah, last time I had a profeshionul in (British Gas),told me the cooker door was faulty, and charged me £185 for the priviledge. When I got an independent in to replace the cooker he confirmed the leak of gas was at a junction between the stairs and the kitchen, requring a 2m new section of copper and bayonet fit, which he charged £85 all in (the cap at the meter mysteriously disappeared around the same time).

I wouldn't consider anyone from British Gas a professional, they completely b*ggered up the heating system at the old house, and love telling porkies in their TV ads about "reducing prices" when the energy prices were dropping before they even touched them....

HETAS is a register and certification for independent stove engineers, I know a few via another forum, though they're up here in't north, they don't charge an arm and a leg for the jobs, one whose site I was looking at yesterday only charges £60+VAT for a sweep & service on a stove, dunno what the prices are like down your way, but look up the HETAS site and see if there's anyone local, getting plenty quotes in the process...

The site I was looking at is this one:
_http://www.fahrenheits.co.uk

which is a good example to look at...

 

[2cvbloke]

It's eerily warm out there, s'not normal I tells ya!!!

I bet in two weeks time though we'll all be under a foot of snow, so, best buy the wood & coal in now to keep warm while the roads are clear.... O-Ha

 

[Lazarus]

Nearly had to kick SWMBO out of bed last night as it was getting too hot.

Took the spare blankets off in the end.

Less grief.

 

[wod]

Yeah it's warm here too on way to work had to take my coat off.

going to have a look in town later and buy a lighter jacket to wear.

 

[rolfw]

Positively balmy here, 13 degrees at the moment.

 

[sonnetpete]

....going to have a look in town later and buy a lighter jacket to wear.

Hmmmm......'ne'er cast a clout till may be out'??....

 

[Lazarus]

Today is cool and it has been raining sheep and cows overnight - even the peasants are underwater.

Oddly, although it's six or seven Centigrade, the rain has turned to sleet/snow (As forecast, surprisingly!)