Embers fireplaces are pleased to announce, that we are now the  authorised main Stockist for Charnwood stoves in North and Central London.

So whats so good about Charnwood? you might ask.

• Charnwood stoves are manufactured within the UK to a very high standard
• There is a large range of colours to choose from (not just the typical black box)
• The best multi-fuel riddling system on the market ( in our opinion)
• A very Large range of DEFRA exempt stoves for smoke control areas
• 10 years Casting and welding Warranty
• A double door range which fits neatly into fireplace chambers
• Robax Ceramic glass as standard
• Heat outputs to suit virtually any room

The Charnwood Island in almond

The Charnwood Cove 2 SR as seen on Grand Designs

It must be considered that a steel chimney system has to play several important roles. These are structure, gas tightness, fire protection, looks, insulation, corrosion resistance and compliance with the building regulations. A typical brick chimney has all of the structure, looks and insulation and in most cases relining the flue will tick the remaining boxes. Making the use of an existing flue much easier and cheaper. In essence a steel chimney must be able to replicate in use a well insulated, lined brick chimney.

Embers fireplace and stoves use steel flue systems from Schiedel and Tona.  The Schiedel offering has a   .5 millimeter internal stainless steel sleeve and is well suited to wood burning applications. This system comes with a manufacturers 10 year guarantee and is an excellent product. 

The Tona Ceramic Chimney System

On the occasion that a superior product will be necessary Embers recommend and use the Tona Ceramic system.  This system would be suitable for wood stoves, smokeless coal, Pellet systems, corn,  Wood chip, situations where a long guarantee would be required ( new builds etc) and for any discerning individual that simply wants the very best for their property. The specifications of the Tona ceramic system are detailed below;

This type of stove is well suited to any room that requires a large flame picture while maintaining minimalist room impact.

With such a vast range on the market we have settled on 1 manufacturer for our inset stoves. Scan Anderson. Scan manufacture their own stoves in Denmark where the responsibility for assembly for the stove lies with one person only. Typical of Danish stoves the Scan inset range are extremely durable, efficient and stylish. Many of these wood burners have been accredited with the Nordic eco-label.

We have recently installed a scan DSA 7-5 inset stove on display in our london showroom

the scan dsa 7-5 inset stove

Embers are pleased to announce that we have several exciting new lines. Thanks to anglia fireplaces we can now offer stoves and fireplaces from Hase, Exoos, Bodart & gonay, and Tonwerk.

Both Hase and Xeoos stoves are manufactured in germany to very high specifications.

The Xeoos  wood burning stove surpasses the German Din plus standard and is DEFRA exempt for burning wood in London. The Hase range of multi fuel and wood burning stoves are all extremely clean burning, being TUV approved as-well as being accredited to the German Din plus standards. Hase stoves have particulate emission levels which are amongst the lowest in the world. These superb appliances easily surpass the forthcoming particulate emission laws due to be rolled out in 2014.

Xeoos Stoves have 2 combustion chambers; the standard chamber is at the top and this burns like a standard stove however when a lever on the side is depressed then the flame direction is redirected downwards into the second firebox where very high temperatures can be achieved as well as being extremely efficient with almost no ash. XEOOS stoves are also Approved by DEFRA for burning wood in smoke control areas . We have a Xeoos pure model which will be on live display in our London showroom from September.

The Xeoos Twin-fire system diagram

The Tonwerk range of wood burning stoves are Swiss made  and are based on the heat storage stoves that have been used in Europe for hundreds of years. Using what is best of both old and new, these stoves are the pinnacle of wood burning technology with the ability to store and radiate heat for many hours after only one fueling.   Very beautiful lines and styling and perfectly suited to low energy homes.

the tonwerk eye heat storage wood stove

Hase stoves are and always have been the very best of German precision and quality. At Embers we are very happy to offer these superb wood burners. From the moment you touch the very tactile handle and open the door on a hase wood burning stove, you will know that it is not a typical mass produced item and hase design is often years ahead of its competitors.

Exceptional style and quality from hase stoves (hase bari pictured)

you might ask why? and by who?

Firstly the why?  

A stove is a powerful heat producing appliance that has to meet many differnt criteria. For instance the size of the room must be calculated along with existing heating, insulation, exterior walls,windows, location,wood storage, fuel type and suitability, chimney type and location, burning duration and KW output, the amount of available fuel, proximity to combustables, safety factors, along with who will be using the appliance  their criteria and finally what it will look like.

You can see that there is a lot to take into account. The biggest problem that industry experts face is customers searching to find an appliance that they like the look of and that suits their budget, then purchasing a stove  that is either too large or  not suitable for its location.   It is all too easy to buy a stove that is way too big. You wouldn`t put 5 radiators in a room that requires only 2, however there is a perception that with fire bigger is better?. In our opinion a more pragmatic approach must be adopted, similar to that of purchasing a central heating boiler. looks are and should be important but they must not be the primary criteria.

Ok so who?

Solid fuel heating is complex with the similar legal issues to gas or oil.   Your choice of company will determin wether or not the person undertaking your site survey is a commision based sales rep or an  unbiased engineer with the needed experience. 

Some advive that we can give is as follows.

• Ask to see the engineers credentials   `HETAS REGISTRATION` or `NAPIT REGISTRATION` is the bare minimum qualification. many people have attained HETAS certification this is not the same thing.  Only REGISTERED engineers have demonstrated competence and can self certify their work.
• Research the company: Use long standing businesses and ask to see their insurances, qualifications and talk to the person undertaking the survey if possible. It is unlikeley that a newly formed business will be able to back up a 10 or 25 year guarantee?
• ONLY deal with businesses that have a show room. This is common sense as if a problem does arise the very last thing that a good company wants is unhappy or complaining customers scaring away potention sales.  It is almost impossible to gain any type of satisfaction or fix problems looking at a computer screen.  Furthermore buying a stove should be a tactile experience and the hands on approach should be adopted. 

In our opinion a good site survey will simplify the entire process and bypass many of the shortfalls that can be associated with buying and installing a stove. 

Daniel Hodgson

MD Embers Fireplaces and Stoves LTD

1. Is it Legal to burn wood in london or smoke control areas?

2. Is wood readily available?

3. are logs expensive?

4. Is it really environmentally friendly?

To answer question 1. Burning wood in London or any other smokeless zone is only legal if it is to be burned in a DEFRA exempt appliance. It is not permitted to burn wood in an open fire or any appliance that does not have an EXEMPT status.  It is possible however to burn fuels that are EXEMPT such as smokeless coal although this is far from environmentally friendly.

It might be true that the smoke control areas are not heavily policed at present, but this will most certainly change as we continue to move towards cleaner air and lower particulate emissions.

2. There are several really good companies now delivering wood into central London. Our companies preferences are Certainly Wood and Jotul.  Both companies have grown sustainable forests, which would not exist without the demand for wood as fuel.  Certainly Wood is Based in Herefordshire, it has a fleet of low emission vehicles, utilises waste wood for its kilns and has won several accolades for sustainability and carbon neutrality.

3. This question is much harder to awnser as it has several possible awnsers.

i.  Wood can be purchased by the load or ton for very little money. However, this will have to be seasoned for 2 years before it can be burned cleanly and efficiently. ( a wood store or 2 are a must)

ii. Buying Kiln dried wood in bulk bags of 1 or 1.4  cubic metres  can be cost effective and would be the only sensible option for your first years fuel due to the seasoning time of hardwood. ( a wood store is a must)

iii. Buying wood by the bag can be more expensive and is not the most environmentally friendly option however when measured to fossil fuels any wood product typically has a much lower carbon impact by many multiples. We try to discoropuge the by the bag method at Embers, however it does have benefits for people that have a no bulk storage option.

iiii. If you want a really green and cheap option for fuel then burning wood that is destined for lanfil is the best option. This wood will be realeasing its carbon as it rots in the land fill site anyhow and  with no heat benefit? and best of all, in most cases it is FREE. (do not be tempted to burn painted,varnished or treated timber)

4.  Untreated dried wood is by far the most eco-friendly option for London homes.  This is only 100% true if the following criteria are met.

i,  Wood is burned with a moisture content of 20% of lower ( water does not burn and it lowers the combustion temperature, as the combustion energy is utilised to evaporate it)

ii. Wood must only be burned in a high efficiency appliance

iii. Trees must never be felled without replanting new saplings.

iiii. Reputable wood suppliers with a proven track record should be utilised

iiiii. The state of moderate flaming combustion should be achieved within the fire box. That is when the entire window is filled with fire but is not being exhausted up the chimney. This can be checked by the installation of a probe type thermometer and by checking the condition of the smoke issueing from the pot ( it should not be visible within the first 30 cm this should be steam, beyond 30 cm the smoke should be white or a light grey. If the smoke is black after the initially warming period then the wood is too wet or the way that the stove is being used is wrong.

In my expert opinion wood is not only a viable proposition but necessary too.  We simply do not have unlimited resources and as such even if you do not subscribe to the carbon issues, it cannot be denied that at some point we are going to face very large increases in demand for domestic gas and oil and as we all know demand is what sets the price. Wood is also the ONLY renewable fuel that is currently able to effectivly heat our draughty London homes.  Lets not forget the way it makes us feel when we watch it burn too.

I hope that this blog has been helpful. 

D Hodgson

A wood burning stove is a perfect start towards both reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering both heating bils and our impact on the planet.

The installation of a high efficiency biomass based appliance into a living room will switch the most energy dependent part of a house`s reliance from fossil fuels to a carbon neutral alternative, almost overnight. furthermore this can be achieved without the massive costs that can be associated with other renewables.

embers fireplaces and stoves have many years experience within the solid fuel market and are one of the most qualified companies in the UK in regards to biomass stoves and installation.  Anyone that has been to our London showroom will have seen our wall of qualification`s.

A good method to drastically reduce your fossil fuel consumption is to install a pellet and wood burning cooker. This will not only cook beautifully in the wood oven but also heat the room that it is sited making the radiators redundant. Embers have chosen the Lohberger range of cookers to accommodate this, hand crafted in Germany this range of contemporary wood cookers are one of the cleanest burning in the world. The amount of fuel used to generate the necessary heat is also very low due to the very clever technology used.

For most however this solution will still be too far and the easiest and most cost effective thing that can be done to reduce reliance on fossil fuels is simply to install a woodburning stove.  embers has a huge range of DEFRA exempt stoves on offer and are not tied in to any particular manufacturer. This means that we can give unbiased advice and you get a huge choice.

If you have interest in other renew-ables then please ask the specialist who attends your site survey and we can talk over how best to make the different technologies work together and what is best for your particular home.

A wood burning stove has several main advantages over an open fire.

• Open fires are very inefficient typically their efficiencies are less than 20% and in some cases are negative, whereas most of the wood burning stoves on the market today have efficiencies over 75%.  The reason for this is simple hot air rises and as an open fire is sat underneath a hole (chimney ) the hot air rises straight up and out. A wood stove contains these same gases in the fire box until the vast majority of heat has been radiated to the room. Higher combustion temperatures are also achieved as the combustion temperatures are not high enough to burn all of the gasas in the first instance. Inside a stove Oxygen, Heat and fuel are violently mixed together which results in much more of the volatile gases being burned. 
• Wood burners use much less fuel than there open fire counterparts
• within a stove fire is contained within a steel or cast iron box making wood-burning stoves very much safer
• the rate of combustion can be controlled on a stove, open fires always burn at 100% wood burners require a narrower diameter chimney or flue as less flue gases are emitted
• open fires require a huge additional permanent source of ventilation added to the room. Stoves require only minimal ventilation. This is due to combustion gas requirements and the rate at which fuel is consumed for example: a typical open fire will consume at least 200 m3 of air from the room per hour where a typical wood burning stove would require only 40 m3.
• The best and most important reason for choosing a stove is because they are very hot and can heat large areas or draughty london houses with ease. Oh and they look good too

the scan anderson 4-5 bestselling stove for embers 2009