Nick762

Been thinking about one of these ourselves, got a lovely Claygate fireplace that's just crying out to be used for something more than a parking area for the kids toys. I believe that a liner is only needed if the chimney is faulty in some way but a lined chimney is also easier to clean and less likely to trap debris that could present a fire hazard. Also some recent research suggested that wood burners give of harmful particulates which over time can cause respiratory problems, even cancer which with two young kids I don't fancy risking... However I also get the impression that this is in part due to the recent increase in popularity of wood burners which has led to a lot of cheap ones appearing on the market. I was advised only to consider stoves from reputable German and Scandanavian manufacturers for example which are obviously more expensive but burn much more cleanly and to use dry well seasoned timber not twigs and cut offs.

I guess how much it saves on your heating bill depends on the layout of the house and where the stove is located but speaking to a couple of local suppliers I don't think they save a lot. Probably take a full blown wood chip central heating system to do that and of course once they become viable and popular due to the increasing prices of other fuels the cost of wood chip goes up which sort of defeats the object.

I'm still interested in getting one but the juries out as yet.