Stoves - Gas or Wood?

[Lebigbanane]

Coming to the end of a renovation and trying to decide on a gas or wood burning stove for the open plan living/kitchen room.
It'll be small. Iny tips on which is better or cheaper to run? is my budget to buy and fit for approx £1200 realistic? The flue will go straight up and out of the flat roof above so nothing tricky there, I don't think. thoughts appreciated, thanks.

Our woodburning stove is the best thing that ever happened to me. It creates the most incredible atmosphere. But it did cost us at least £1000 for the chimes lining etc ( and we didn't have a complex job) and it was nearly £2000 for the stove.

Our stove is quite big. You can get a nice stove for less.

I am very fond of our Morso wood tenet during the summer months, when we don’t have it lot...then the winter hits and I remember that it’s a bit of a faff 😆

I don’t think I’d swap it though, even if I moan a bit about it - it helps heat the whole house (small house + fan on top of stove) and we’re lucky enough to get a lot of free wood. My only real grip is that it seems to create quite a bit of dust and I seem to be the only one who ever feels the need to clean it/around the hearth.

grip = gripe!

Also, I think we bought ours and had it fitted for about £1400, inc flue lining, but it’s relatively small.

I love the woodburner. It’s small. You do need somewhere to store the wood. I’ve got a log shed outside. It brings the house alive. ,

is the stove an ornament, or to heat the room?

Wood needs quite a lot of effort. It burns quickly and gives out little heat. If you get a clean-burn multifuel you can also burn a smokeless solid fuel which burns longer and gives out more heat. This can be useful if, for example, you are unwell and not able to go out to fetch or saw up timber, or run out. Wood brings in some interesting wildlife, even if it is in a shed.

Either way you will be carrying in dirty fuel every day, and cleaning out the ash. The chimney will need sweeping annually. If you are in a built-up area there may be difficulties with the smell of smoke and particle pollution, especially if the chimney is not very high.

During the renovation, the back room where it is (faces north) was insulated and has new double glazing. It won't be heating the room on its own, as there are two radiators, so its for a bit of heating and for visual effect. I have plenty of wood, but also wondered about a gas stove. Has anyone got one of these?

If you are burning wood it needs to be kiln dried or been seasoned for a long time.

Wood burning emits more noxious gases than gas fired.

i Don’t think you need this advice as it sounds like you’ve got a flue already, but if anyone needs a flue/chimney liner order it yourself from an internet supplier, we saved a lot of money by not getting it supplied by the fitter!

We took out a wood burner and replaced with a gas stove. Wood burner looked lovely but realistically I knew we wouldn't be arsed with sourcing/drying/storing/chopping wood, building up a fire/damping down a fire, sweeping ashes, the dust, the creept crawlies that come in with the wood...

I have a lovely authentic enough looking firefox gas stove with a remote control that comes on or off at the touch of a button, that I can control the temperature of and doesn't create any extra dust or hassle. About 1300 quid to clean/line chimney and fit, plus cost of stove.

I am really interested in the gas option - as we have just closed up our open fire chimney because we were too lazy to light it and clean it out after - not even sure if we did it Xmas day this year. But I do love flames and proper heat to snuggle around. So I know that I cant be bothered with the logs (lugging and cleaning) - spending £££££s on a log stove not to bother lighting it.

So will hi and look at gas ones to see how authentic they are.

I would also like one that could crank out a good bit of heat - what output should I be looking at?

Gas is cleaner - for you and your neighbours. Burning wood emits micro particles of soot which cause a range of health conditions. Check your neighbours don’t have respiratory problems such as asthma - wood smoke triggers asthma. We have a neighbour with a wood burning stove and whenever it’s lit, our house smells of their second hand smoke. It’s unpleasant. You can get gas stoves that look like wood burners, so you can get the visual effect.

Shop around and don't buy the cheapest. You get what you pay for. We have aCharnwood and are very pleased with it. We have had a multi fuel stove for 35 years. Love them but they are more work. I only detest going out in the snow and rain. We are going to build a second log store near the house this autumn.You do get a bit more dust. Make sure you don't leave the doors open although it is tempting and we do for toast and marshmallows occasionally. I have asthma and my kids did the stove never created problems for them. My son had more when he moved to a gas centrally heated house. He has re installed two fires recently. It is a different type of heat not as dry.

Go and look at fire shops find one where they know what they are talking about. If there isn't one near you have a trip up north where you will find a lot of knowledgeable people then it is personal choice.

I've had a wood burner for 30 years. It would be out like a shot if we had mains gas.
They are hard work and filthy and that out ways their charm. Mine is now mothballed and I have an ugly but functional electric fire which gives heat at the flick of a switch.

I have a wood burner installed where we used to have an open fire. We absolutely love it, it gives out a lot more heat than an open fire and is a doddle to light (Clearview, thoroughly recommend , worth the extra cost). It makes the sitting room super cosy and I love watching the flames. Gas isn't the same ime.

This is ours, firefox 8 gas stove
www.directstoves.com/firefox-8-coal-effect-gas-stove.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0OXCl5m_5AIVi7TtCh0lDgT4EAQYBSABEgJm9_D_BwE

5kw so kicks out quite a bit of heat. Its in the same carcass as their log burners and so looks effective (and are mega heavy!)
The coal ones look more realistic than the log ones imo. You can see videos of them switched on on you tube.