Once a year is the norm but this depends on how often you use your stove.

Smokeless cubed fuel known as Anthracite

Branded glass cleaners can be used or a little tip is to dampen a cloth with water or vinegar and then use a little ash from the pan as the abrasive …works a treat!

Many stoves have the option of a back boiler; this can provide hot water or link into a central heating circuit to distribute the heat around the house. There are a lot of safety implications with this sort of system and it is very important to use a good plumber or heating engineer with experience in this form of heating.

Yes, but you will need to install an insulated twin wall chimney system.   There are generally two options for this:

1. The easiest and less expensive option is to take the flue pipe from the top of the stove through the outside wall then up the side of the house to a metre above the gutter.
2. From the top of the stove the flue system will go vertically up through the ceiling then carried on up through bedroom and attic above and out through the roof

No!   New government regulations are coming into force in  2022  which  mean that only very efficient stoves (Eco Design ready stoves) will be allowed to be fitted.  These stoves are 55% more efficient than the current DEFRA stoves.  Surrey Woodburners are already installing stoves that meet the new guidelines.   If you already have a stove fitted which is not 2022 compliant you will NOT be required to replace it.

Wood only stoves are designed to burn only wood, whilst multi-fuel stoves can burn both wood and smokeless fuels such as anthracite at the same. The advantage of burning anthracite is that it burns hotter and longer than wood.

There are several stove manufacturers now producing stoves which can burn both wood or wood and coal.  They have a grate (and ash pan) which is usual for a multi fuel stove but this can be closed providing the perfect solid base to burn just logs.

A manufacturer will always recommend that, for efficiency, a liner is fitted with their stove. A stainless-steel liner heats up quickly producing a draw which is needed to get the stove started and to keep the stove alight. You will use far less fuel warming up a stainless-steel chimney than you would an unlined brick chimney.  It is very difficult to sweep a chimney without a liner.  A liner will also prevent smoke leakage which is often a problem in older homes.

Yes.  Currently a Defra Approved stove, or to give it the correct name, a Defra Smoke Exempt Appliance, is a wood burning stove which has been tested and passed the UK Government’s Department criteria for emission levels.

New regulations however come into force in 2022.   Ecodesign is the European-wide programme to lower emissions. It is due to come into force for stoves in the UK in 2022. SIA Ecodesign Ready stoves will meet the Ecodesign requirements and are available now. The PM emissions limit for Ecodesign is 55% lower than for DEFRA exempt stoves.

There isn’t really a difference in heat output between a steel stove and a cast iron stove, just how it gives heat out – a cast iron stove will give out heat for longer after the fire has died down, although it will take longer to heat up.  A good cast iron is generally more expensive to buy but can be more decorative as each panel is cast separately.

These stoves are becoming very popular especially in the free standing environments. A convection stove has a double layer built on each side which naturally allows the hot air to rise and escape into the room. The other great advantage of this double layer is that it means the distance to combustibles (ie the distance behind the stove) is greatly reduced to 100 – 150mm.