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The Ultimate Buyer's Guide to Woodburning Stoves
Welcome to The Ultimate Buyer’s Guide to Woodburning Stoves. The purpose of this guide is to compile all the information, resources, downloads and articles you need when you’re buying a woodburning stove. We want to provide an extensive overview of all the key considerations when buying a woodburner, as well as answers to any questions you might have about buying woodburning stoves.
Without further ado, let’s begin the Ultimate Buyer’s Guide to Woodburning Stoves by starting at the very beginning…
What is a Woodburning Stove?
A woodburning stove is a heating appliance in which wood fuel (ideally well-seasoned logs) can be burned to provide warmth to your home. This is usually in the form of a steel or cast iron firebox, which draws in oxygen through air vents to encourage combustion. The gases are then drawn out of the firebox and up a flue pipe or chimney.
Woodburning stoves have been around for the past 400 years. If you’re interested in the story you can read about the history of the woodburning stove and the association between the woodburner and Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.
But this traditional form of heating has experienced a huge resurgence over the past 10 to 15 years. The trend for woodburning stoves has been driven by:
- A strong desire for a form of household heating that’s independent of rises in the global energy prices.
- The pleasing aesthetics of watching real flames dance around the firebox in your living room.
- The primal appeal of lighting and tending to a real fire, just as our ancestors have done for thousands of years.
- Vast improvements to the design, efficiency and environmental friendliness of woodburning stoves.
Types of Woodburning Stoves and Their Differences
Woodburning Stoves and Multi-Fuel Stoves
A woodburning stove is designed to burn solely logs and other wood fuels. As an alternative, you could opt for a multi-fuel stove, which can burn wood and smokeless coal.
Differences Between Woodburning Stoves and Multi-Fuel Stoves
The main difference between woodburning stoves and multi-fuel stoves is the aforementioned differences in which fuels can be burned on them. Due to the differences in how wood burns in comparison to smokeless fuels, multi-fuel stoves usually have a raised grate with an ashpan beneath. Woodburning stoves tend to have a flat grate. This is because wood burns down, whereas smokeless fuels burn best with an airflow beneath them.
Steel Or Cast Iron Body
Most woodburning stoves are constructed from either steel or cast iron. Traditionally, cast iron woodburning stoves were more durable than steel stoves. Steel was of poor quality and susceptible to warping from the high intensity of the heat, so cast iron was considered to be the best material for a woodburner. But improvements in the quality of steel and the build of steel woodburning stoves means these concerns are a thing of the past.
Differences Between Steel Woodburning Stoves and Cast Iron Woodburning Stoves
The main differences between steel woodburning stoves and cast iron woodburning stoves relate to the construction of the appliance. Cast iron woodburners are made out of panels joined together, while a steel woodburner is a sealed unit made of a single piece of steel, with the top welded on.
The differences in the construction also impact on the design. Cast iron woodburners tend to look more traditional (since this was the method of construction in years gone by). Steel woodburning stoves lend themselves to clean, contemporary design (a virtue of the single piece of metal in the construction), while cast iron woodburning stoves can have ornate, decorative detailing built into the mould.
Another difference is that steel woodburning stoves – made from sheets of steel – tend to heat up more quickly, while cast iron woodburning stoves – made from thick panels – take longer to heat up but retain their heat for longer.
Freestanding Stoves and Inset Stoves
Woodburning stoves will either be freestanding – in which case they will be standing on a hearth in what you might think of as a typical woodburning stove installation – or inset. Inset stoves can slot into an existing fireplace opening, delivering the efficiency savings of a woodburning stove in an installation style that’s closer to gas fires, electric fires and traditional open fires (albeit with a door on the front of the fire).
Differences Between Freestanding Woodburning Stoves and Inset Woodburning Stoves
Freestanding woodburning stoves are what will spring to mind when you think of a woodburner. They are designed to be seen from multiple angles because they will be standing unattached from anything other than the flue pipe with clear space around them. How much space to leave around a woodburning stove will depend on the manufacturer’s guidance as well as legal considerations about distances to combustible materials.
Inset stoves will usually differ in design from traditional woodburning stoves. Rather than being a metal box or cylinder in its shape, an inset stove will usually have a flat front (to sit more or less flush with the chimney breast or fire surround), with a tapered body that is designed to fit into a typical fireplace opening.
Inset stoves, which are sometimes called cassette stoves, recessed stoves or built-in stoves, will not usually have legs in the way that many freestanding fires do.They are instead designed to slide into the fireplace and sit on the hearth.
For properties that have an existing fireplace, a fundamental difference between a freestanding woodburning stove and an inset woodburning stove is that the freestanding stove might require construction work to open up the fireplace and create room for the installation. On the other hand, an inset stove can be installed far more easily and therefore the stove installation costs are likely to be lower.
What to Consider When Buying a Woodburning Stove
We’ve put together an exhaustive list of all the things you need to think about when buying a woodburner, but you should keep these key things to keep in mind when buying woodburning stoves:
Budget: How much do you want to spend on a woodburning stove? How much can you afford to spend?
Size: How much heat output do you need from your stove? Use our stove size calculator to make sure your woodburner will heat your room to a nice temperature without being overpowering.
Dimensions: You need to make sure the stove is going to fit into the space available. If you’re working with a confined space, you might like to consider one of these small woodburning stoves.
Legal restrictions: Will your planned woodburning stove installation comply with Document J of the Building Regulations? Do you live in a smoke control area (in which case you might need to get a DEFRA exempt stove)?
Fuel: As we discussed above, do you want a woodburning stove or a multi-fuel stove? What do you want to be able to burn?
What Are the Best Types of Woods to Burn and Why?
If you’ve decided to buy a woodburning stove, another key consideration is choosing the best type of wood to burn on your woodburner. In any case, the wood you burn should always be well-seasoned. Seasoned wood is chopped, cut and left to dry for at least six months. Ideally logs will be seasoned for two summers and one winter before being burned. This will:
- Maximise the efficiency of your burn.
- Save you money by making logs last longer.
- Minimise emissions, creosote deposits and damage to your stove system.
Another general rule to follow is burn hardwoods rather than softwoods. Hardwoods are more dense, which results in a longer, more efficient burn.
As for some of the best types of wood to burn on a woodburning stove, you won’t go wrong with any of these:
Ash: Ash is perhaps the best wood fuel. It gives off great heat and has a steady burn.
Oak: Oak burns slowly and creates a long-lasting heat.
Beech: Beech is not quite as efficient as ash, but offers a similar burn. to ash.
Hawthorn: Hawthorn boasts a very slow burn and gives off considerable heat along the way.
Blackthorn: Blackthorn is very similar to hawthorn, with a slow burn and plenty of heat.
Apple: Apple burns slowly and doesn’t spit. It comes with the added bonus of a lovely scent.
Pear: Pear burns much like apple, as you might expect.
Rowan: Rowan gives a nice, slow and efficient burn.
At the other end of the scale, we’d suggest not burning these woods on a woodburning stove.
What Are the Benefits of Woodburning Stoves?
There are lots of great reasons to install a woodburning stove in your home. Let’s look at a few woodburning stove benefits:
Energy Efficient Burn
With the most energy efficient woodburning stoves, more than 80% of the heat generated goes towards heating your room. With an open fire, this figure might be as low as 20%.
Money-Saving
Will a woodburning stove save you money? Many of our customers report that installing a woodburner has lowered their central heating bills. A woodburning stove also gives the flexibility to source your own fuel rather than always being reliant on global energy prices.
Environmentally Friendly
The carbon released when you burn wood is roughly equivalent to what it absorbed as a tree. Planting trees to replace those used as fuel is another reason why burning wood is more environmentally friendly than burning coal, oil or gas.
Stylish Aesthetics
Woodburning stoves are undoubtedly desirable items. That’s due in no small part to the stylish design of contemporary woodburning stoves and the opportunity to add a beautiful, practical focal point to your living room.
Homely Ambience
There’s nothing quite like a real fire to create a cosy atmosphere. Magical flames have been creating warmth and setting the mood since we were living in caves. The flames of a woodburning stove create a relaxing ambience in modern homes.
Effective Warmth
You can choose a woodburning stove with the right heat output for your room, so it’s warmed to perfection. Even the way a woodburner works makes for effective warmth. The flames are there to heat the metal stove body. The hot metal spreads warmth generously around your room.
Our Top 3 Recommended Woodburning Stoves
It’s not easy to pick out the best woodburning stoves. It’s even hard to pick out three recommendations.
Mazona Ripley 5 kW Ecodesign Ready Multi Fuel Wood Burning Stove
The Mazona Ripley was an easy choice to include for a few reasons. Firstly, look at that beautiful, minimal design. Then there’s the fact that it’s very reasonably priced. It’s also very efficient (86.5% efficient, in fact). And it’s built to Ecodesign standards. We’re also cheating slightly. The Mazona Ripley also comes in 4kW and 8kW heat output models, so we’re sneaking them in as recommended woodburners too. Take a closer look.
Arizona A07 7 kW Smoke Exempt Multi Fuel Wood Burning Stove
The Arizona A07 is another of our recommended woodburning stoves. It boasts a 7kW heat output, which will warm even larger living rooms. It’s another stove with a great modern look: straight lines and a clean design. The A07’s large viewing window gives spectacular views of the flames dancing within. Take a closer look.
Mazona Whitby 400 5 kW Ecodesign Ready Multi Fuel Wood Burning Inset Stove
Having picked out two freestanding woodburning stoves, let’s finished with a recommended inset stove. The Mazona Whitby is Ecodesign ready and offers 82.2% efficiency when burning wood. Its sleek, contemporary design includes an eye-catching black-glass door. It also boasts a stainless steel door handle, low-key air controls and a great view of the flames inside. Its 5kW heat output is ideal for most normal-sized living rooms. Take a closer look.
As we say, it was really difficult to pick out just 3 recommended woodburning stoves. Feel free to browse our full range of woodburning stoves.
Woodburning Stoves FAQs
Here are answers to some of the questions we’re most regularly asked about woodburning stoves.
Can You Have a Woodburning Stove With No Chimney?
Yes, installing a woodburning stove in a home with no chimney is possible. It is most commonly achieved through the out and up method. This entails taking a twin wall flue pipe out through a wall, then up the side of the property. We’ve put together a guide to twin wall flue design ideas, which you can download.
What Size Woodburning Stove Do I Need?
That depends on the size of room you need to heat. You can use our stove size calculator to work out what size of woodburning stove is best for your home.
Can You Burn Coal in a Woodburning Stove?
No, household coal should not be burned in any type of stove. If you have a multi-fuel stove, you can burn smokeless coal or anthracite. But you can’t burn coal of any kind in a woodburning stove.
Will a Woodburning Stove Heat the Whole House?
That depends on how big the whole house is and on the size of the stove’s heat output. Usually, people buy a woodburning stove with sufficient heat output to heat a specific room or open-plan space. If the heat output is great enough and the stove is in prolonged use, it may also add warmth to adjacent rooms. If you want your woodburning stove to heat the whole house, you could consider installing a boiler stove instead. A boiler stove is a woodburning stove with a boiler, so your stove can be plumbed into the central heating to heat the radiators and provide hot water.
Are Woodburning Stoves Illegal or Banned in the UK?
No, woodburning stoves are not illegal. Media coverage around the introduction of Ecodesign stoves and, separately, the UK Government’s wet wood ban seem to have created a sense that woodburning stoves are illegal. In fact, there is no impact on existing woodburning stoves and the only changes relate to future sales of woodburning stoves, which are required to reach new energy efficiency standards.
The only other sense in which woodburning stoves could be considered to be illegal is if you live in a smoke control area and don’t use either a DEFRA exempt stove or DEFRA exempt fuel.
How Does a Woodburning Stove Work?
A woodburning stove draws air in through its vents and up the flue. This flow of air provides the oxygen needed to help the fuel inside burn, and to remove smoke and gases from the firebox. The burning of the fuel heats the metal body of the woodburner, which in turn heats your room.
Is a Woodburning Stove Worth It?
We’re biased but we think so. Most people save a big chunk of money on their central heating bills when they install a woodburning stove, so that’s a big draw. Equally, the atmosphere and ambiance that comes from having a woodburning stove in your home is what makes a woodburning stove worth it for many households.
What Is the Best Woodburning Stove on the Market?
There’s lots of choice, but we’ve picked out 3 of what we consider to be the best woodburning stoves on the market above.
Can I Leave the Door of a Woodburning Stove Open?
No, only ajar during the lighting process. You should never leave the door of a woodburning stove open once the fire is going properly. Leaving the door open allows too much oxygen into the stove, which can cause overfiring and result in the stove being damaged.
Does a Woodburning Stove Increase Insurance?
Installing a woodburning stove shouldn’t have any noticeable impact on your home insurance premium.
Do Woodburning Stoves Emit Smoke Into the House?
When they are installed and operated correctly, woodburning stoves should not emit a notable amount of smoke into the house. Smoke coming into the house when lighting a woodburning stove suggests an air pocket is blocking the flue. Smoke coming into the house when the stove is in use suggests a poor draw or ventilation problems.
How Do You Maintain a Woodburning Stove?
The key to maintaining a woodburning stove is to:
- Operate it in accordance with the manufacturer’s advice.
- Only burn the correct type of fuel.
- Clean your woodburning stove regularly
- Give your woodburning stove a monthly check-up