Inset DEFRA Stoves from Esse

Did you know the popular Esse 301 and 350 inset stoves are now DEFRA Approved for use in smokeless zones? These best-selling Esse stoves are suitable for both multi fuel and wood burning use. With outputs of 5kW and 7kW respectively, they are ideal for medium to large rooms.

Esse Convector Stoves

Esse pioneered convector stoves back in the 1920s, which heat the room by setting up convection currents of warm air as well as by radiating heat from the surface of the stove. Convector stoves are made by housing the firebox within an outer casing with a gap in between for air circulation. The stove draws in cool air from the room at it’s base, which is heated as it passes through the cavity before being released back into the room from the top of the stove.

Advantages of Esse Inset Stoves

The Esse 301 and 350 inset stoves will both fit into a standard fireplace with a 16″ x 22″ builders opening, making them ideal for converting inefficient open fireplaces into effective multi fuel stoves. Esse convector stoves are up to 400% more efficient than open fires, and come in a choice of traditional and modern finishes to suit any interior. In addition they come at an affordable price with the reassurance of warranty cover from one of the UK’s oldest stove manufacturers, so long as you buy from an authorised Esse stove retailer.

Esse Stove Installation in England and Wales

Here at Esse Stove Specialist, we have been working hard to expand our installation network into more areas of the UK. We now have extensive coverage, detailed below, throughout England and Wales for fitting of Esse solid fuel and gas stoves as well as flexible chimney liners and twinwall flue systems. We can also install Esse woodburning boiler stoves for central heating in some areas – please call our installation team on 01484 434327 for further information about availability of this service.

Installation of Esse Woodburners & Multi Fuel Stoves by HETAS Engineers

If you want an Esse woodburner or multi fuel stove installed, our network of HETAS qualified solid fuel fitters covers the following areas:

• B – Birmingham (B), Blackpool (FY), Bolton (BL), Bradford (BD), Brighton (BN), Burnley (BB)
• C – Canterbury (CT), Cardiff (CF), Chelmsford (CM), Chester (CH), Colchester (CO), Coventry (CV), Crewe (CW)
• D – Dartford (DA), Derby (DE), Doncaster (DN), Dudley (DY)
• G – Gloucester (GS), Guildford (GU)
• H – Halifax (HX), Harrogate (HG), Hereford (HR2, HR3, HR4, HR5, HR6), Huddersfield (HD), Hull (HU)
• I – Ilford (IG), Ipswich (IP)
• K – Kingston upon Thames (KT)
• L – Leeds (LS), Leicester (LE), Liverpool (L), Llandrindod (LD), Llandudno (LL17, LL18, LL19, LL35, LL36, LL37, LL38, LL39, LL40, LL42), London (E)
• M – Manchester (M)
• N – Newport (NP), Norwich (NR), Nottingham (NG)
• O – Oldham (OL)
• P – Preston (PR)
• R – Reading (RG), Redhill (RH), Rochester (ME), Romford (RM)
• S – Sheffield (S), Shrewsbury (SY), Slough (SL), Stockport (SK), Stoke (ST)
• T – Tonbridge (TN), Twickenham (TW)
• W – Wakefield (WF), Walsall (WS), Warrington (WA), Wigan (WN), Worcester (WR)
• Y – York (YO)

Installation of Esse Gas Stoves by Gas Safe Engineers

If you want an Esse gas stove installed, our network of Gas Safe fitters covers the following areas:

• B – Birmingham (B), Blackpool (FY), Bolton (BL), Bradford (BD), Burnley (BB)
• C – Cambridge (CB), Cardiff (CF), Chelmsford (CM), Chester (CH), Colchester (CO), Coventry (CV), Crewe (CW)
• D – Derby (DE), Doncaster (DN), Dudley (DY)
• E – Enfield (EN)
• G – Gloucester (GS)
• H – Halifax (HX), Harrogate (HG), Harrow (HA), Huddersfield (HD), Hull (HU)
• I – Ilford (IG)
• K – Kingston upon Thames (KT)
• L – Leeds (LE), Leicester (LE), Liverpool (L), Llandudno (LL17, LL18, LL19), London (E, N, NW, SE, SW, W)
• M – Manchester (M)
• N – Newport (NP), Nottingham (NG)
• O – Oldham (OL)
• P – Peterborough (PE), Preston (PR)
• R – Romford (RM)
• S – Sheffield (S), Stevenage (SG), Stockport (SK)
• T – Twickenham (TW)
• W – Wakefield (WF), Walsall (WS), Warrington (WA), Watford (WD), Wigan (WN), Worcester (WR)
• Y – York (YO)

If you would like to book a survey please call us on 01484 434327. An initial survey is necessary to make sure the Esse stove you want is suitable for your home and confirm the fitting costs. In most areas there is a charge of £25 for a survey, which is refundable from your installation bill.

Choosing a Chimney Cowl for an Esse Woodburner

The correct choice of chimney cowl can make a big difference to the performance of your new Esse wood burning stove, yet this installation accessory is often overlooked. There are too many varieties of chimney cowls and terminals for me to cover in a single post, so I am going to focus on the types most commonly used with Esse wood and multi fuel stoves. The cowls I am looking at are designed to be attached to a chimney pot, usually with strap or bolt fittings, but similar equivalents are available for use with flexible chimney liners or twinwall flue systems.

Bird Guard Chimney Cowls

If you have no other chimney cowl at all, I would recommend you install a bird guard. You would be surprised how many people come down to breakfast to find strange scratching noises coming from within their woodburner, to discover a distressed bird which has found its way down the chimney and become trapped in the stove! More importantly, you want to prevent birds from nesting within your chimney as this could result in the flue becoming blocked. Bird guards can be made from either wire or mesh, and will self-adjust to fit your chimney pot.

Rain Cap Chimney Cowls

Rain cap cowls are very straightforward, simply shielding the chimney opening to prevent rain running down the chimney cavity. Rain in the chimney isn’t normally a big issue during the colder months when a multi fuel stove is in regular use – the heat from the stove will simply cause it to evaporate. However at times when the stove isn’t used water can pool within the flue system or even find its way into the stove where it can cause rust problems. Rain caps are available with or without mesh sides to keep out birds.

Anti-downdraught Chimney Cowls

Anti-downdraught cowls are useful in areas where high winds often force smoke back down the chimney – as well as it being unpleasant to have smoke coming back into the room, downdraughts increase the risk of exposure to carbon monoxide in your living room. Anti-downdraught cowls generally incorporate a bird guard as well.

All-Purpose Chimney Cowls

All-purpose cowls combine the properties of several different types of chimney cowl to give some protection against downdrafts as well as keeping out rain and birds. As the name suggests, they are a general-purpose product rather than a remedial cowl – people with severe downdraught problems may be better off with a more specialised cowl.

Revolving Chimney Cowls

Rotating cowls are expensive, so sometimes people think they must be the best on the market. In fact rotating cowls were developed as a remedy for weak flue draught – as the fins rotate air is pulled up through the chimney. You should never fit a rotating cowl to a chimney that is drawing normally as this could cause your stove to overfire and become damaged. Rotating cowls are often seen in urban areas where close proximity of other buildings affects air pressure around the chimney terminal.

Problems with flue draught are not always evident at the time an Esse stove is installed, as they can vary according to weather conditions. Unless there is reason to believe you have a chimney problem Esse Stove Specialist recommend use of a general-purpose chimney cowl – remember you can always install a different cowl at a later date should the need arise.

New – Double Door Esse 100 Woodburner

The Esse 100 multi fuel stove has long been one of Esse’s most popular stoves, with the DEFRA Approved Esse 100SE wood burning stove also gaining favour with customers since it was introduced to meet demand for clean burning stoves for use in Smoke Control Areas. Now Esse have expanded the Esse 100 family further by introducing double-door versions of both the Esse 100 and Esse 100SE stoves.

The Esse 100 stove is broad in proportion to its depth, making it ideal for installation in rooms with limited hearth depths. It is also a good choice for small to medium rooms with large fireplaces – it makes a big impact but without the heat output being overwhelming. The Esse 100 is suitable for more modern installations, for example on a glass floor plate, as it has been tested and approved for use on a 12mm decorative or non-constructional hearth.

The Esse 100 is manufactured from high grade steel and cast iron, with timeless styling to suit any interior. It is equipped with Esse’s Afterburn™ system, which gives excellent control over the flames and heat output. The wide viewing window has always been one of the most popular features of the Esse 100. While the flame viewing area of the new double-door versions is slightly reduced due to the central division, we expect it to be popular with people who prefer the balanced aesthetic of double-door woodburners.

The multi fuel versions of the Esse 100 are capable of burning both wood and coal. However the DEFRA Approved Esse 100SE can only be used for burning wood. The Esse 100 stove has a maximum heat output of 4.7kW, so it generally doesn’t require an airbrick for ventilation. Currently there is no difference in price between the single and double door versions of the Esse 100 stove, although the DEFRA Approved woodburner costs a little more than the standard multi fuel stove.

United Nations Says Clean Burning Stoves Can Help Fight Global Warming

A recently released U.N. report outlines a range of 16 measures, including use of cleaner burning wood stoves, which can limit release of greenhouse gases such as “black carbon” into the atmosphere. This would help the world achieve the goal of limiting global warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial times which was agreed last year in Mexico by over 200 countries.

Black carbon is a greenhouse gas which contains soot, and it is associated with smog. One of the measures proposed by the U.N. is the improvement of wood burning stoves to reduce soot emissions from them. Soot is produced when carbon-based fuels such as wood and coal are burned incompletely.

In the UK demand from consumers for clean burning stoves has been increasing for several years now. A succession of increases in gas and oil prices has driven many customers to seek cheaper ways to heat their homes, driving increased sales of wood-fired central heating stoves and solid fuel room heaters.

As a large proportion of UK urban areas are designated Smoke Control Areas, customers in these zones are the main market for technologically advanced DEFRA Approved stoves, which burn wood so cleanly they can be legally used in smoke free areas. However DEFRA stoves are also understandably popular among people looking for environmentally friendly heating options.

Although DEFRA Approved woodburners were initially very expensive, prices are now beginning to drop as the scale of manufacture grows. All the major stove brands are developing DEFRA stoves, making clean burn technology affordable to a broader consumer base.

Esse have introduced DEFRA approved versions of their freestanding Esse 100 and Esse 125 stoves for use in urban areas. In addition Esse’s own Afterburn™ technology is used on many of their other wood burning stoves to increase efficiency and give a cleaner burn.

Clean burning stoves offer financial benefits to consumers as well as being better for the environment, as the increase in efficiency translates into lower fuel costs. Other measures suggested by the U.N. also combine financial and environmental benefits. You can find a more detailed article on this U.N report at Reuters.

Carbon Neutral Heating with Esse Wood Burning Stoves

Shopping for an Esse wood burning stove can be hard work. As well as practical, financial and aesthetic considerations, many people wonder about the impact of their choice of heating appliance on the environment. This post explains what a carbon footprint is, and how it can be reduced by using an Esse wood burning stove for all or part of your home heating.

What is a Carbon Footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused both directly and indirectly by a person, an organisation, an event or even a product. Six gases are classified as greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). It would be very complicated to evaluate and compare carbon footprints in terms of all types of greenhouse gases, so to make things simpler carbon footprints are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) released into the atmosphere.

How is a Carbon Footprint Made?

Greenhouse gas emissions are caused directly and indirectly by many activities including producing and using food, fuel, manufactured goods, building and services. An example of direct greenhouse gas emission would be the CO2 released when your car engine burns petrol while you drive to work. The same fuel you burn while commuting is also associated with indirect emissions such as powering the refinement process which converted crude oil to petrol and transporting the petrol to the garage forecourt where you bought it.

Does Wood Burning Affect Global Warming?

Greenhouse gases serve an important function in controlling the temperature of the Earths’s surface and lower atmosphere. Increased emissions of greenhouse gases are thought to cause global warming, with potentially devastating results. As a tree grows it absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, which is then released back into the air just months or years later when the wood is burned. Wood burning can therefore be described as a carbon neutral activity, because it doesn’t cause a net increase in greenhouse gas levels.

Release of CO2 From Wood and Fossil Fuels

As far as carbon footprints are concerned, the main difference between wood and fossil fuels is one of timescale. Fossils fuels such as coal were formed aeons ago from the slow decomposition of plant matter under pressure. Although fossil fuels contain CO2 which was absorbed from the atmosphere, this happened so long ago that release of the CO2 increases greenhouse gas levels. As the CO2 released by burning wood in an Esse stove was recently taken from the atmosphere by the growing tree, its release doesn’t cause an increase in CO2 levels.

How Does Using an Esse Wood Burning Stove Affect Your Carbon Footprint?

Heating your home with fossil fuels, whether you have a gas central heating system or use electricity generated by a coal-fired power station, causes CO2 to be released and increases your carbon footprint. Burning wood doesn’t directly reduce your carbon footprint, because it is a carbon neutral activity. However, If you use an Esse wood burning stove to fully or partially replace using fossils fuels for heating your home, you will cause less CO2 to be released into the atmosphere. Reducing dependence on fossil fuels is one of the most effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint.

Esse Stove Specialist are a leading UK supplier of Esse wood burning stoves. If you are considering changing to wood fuelled heating and need help or advice, you are welcome to call us on 01484 434325.

5 Reasons to Buy an Esse Stove in Summer

At the first sign of Autumn, the wood burning stove industry hits what we in our office affectionately call the “silly season”. Demand for Esse wood burning and multi fuel stoves suddenly increases, the phones ring non-stop all day and stock flies out of the warehouse. If you’re thinking about buying an Esse stove, this post gives 5 good reasons to buy during the summer months rather than in the peak season.

Easier to Get Advice

Many of our customers say an important reason they chose to buy an Esse wood burning stove from us rather than our competitors is that we were readily available on the phone to give them help and advice. As well as being confident they have bought the right Esse stove, these customers also know we will be there to help if they need aftercare. Even with loads of phone lines and an office full of people working non-stop to field calls, during winter it is harder for customers to get through due to the sheer volume of incoming calls.

Shorter Delivery Times

You are more likely to experience delays on an order for an Esse wood burning stove during Autumn or Winter than at any other time of year. Even when stoves are in stock at our warehouse, backlogs can build up of orders waiting to be picked, which slows down delivery. While temps can be used to help out in the warehouse at busy times, it is essential that wood burning stoves are picked and packed by staff who are familiar with the stock and who know how to handle it, to ensure that your Esse multi fuel stove arrives in good condition.

Easier to Get a Fitter

There are a limited number of HETAS qualified solid fuel fitters in the UK, and they are busiest during the Autumn and Winter. During the peak season solid fuel fitters get booked up weeks and sometimes months in advance, and have little incentive to travel to customers outside their local area. During spring and summer it is much easier to get a fitting date that is convenient for you, and fitters tend to be willing to travel to customers further afield.

If the Worst Happens, You Won’t Freeze!

We recommend waiting until your new Esse multi fuel stove has arrived and been checked to make sure it is in good condition before disconnecting an old appliance or confirming a fitting date. However, customers are often tempted to have their old stove or fire disconnected in readiness for the arrival of a new Esse wood burning stove. If you do this during winter and have the bad luck to receive damaged goods, you could find yourself without heating when you most need it. Although we get replacements for damaged goods out to people as quickly as we can, if a customer loses their fitting appointment it may be weeks before their fitter is next available to install the new Esse stove.

Esse Stove Specialist are a leading UK supplier of Esse stoves including log and multi fuel burners, delivering to customers throughout the UK.

How to Paint an Esse Wood Burning Stove

Repainting an Esse multi fuel or wood burning stove with heat resistant stove paint is part and parcel of routine stove maintenance. A complete re-spray every year or two will help keep your Esse stove looking pristine, and you should also touch up any scratches or rust spots as and when necessary. This post is for anyone who needs to repaint their Esse multi fuel stove with heat-resistant spray paint but isn’t really sure how to go about it.

How to Apply Heat Resistant Spray Paint

If this is the first time you have used spray paint, practice on a sheet of cardboard somewhere where you don’t need to worry about making a mess, for example the garage or garden. Wind and spray paint are not a good mix, so only work outside if it is a calm day or in a sheltered area. First shake the paint can for at least two minutes, then spray a little paint into some old newspaper or cloth to clear out any unmixed paint from the nozzle.

You cover an area with spray paint by working in lines. Experiment a little to find what pattern works best for you. You could try doing separate lines (eg spray left to right then stop and go back to spray left to right again) or a continuous line (across then down then across in the opposite direction). The idea is to keep the can moving at a steady speed as you spray from a distance of about 30cm.

You know you’ve got it right when you achieve even coverage without any runs. Runs will occur if you hold the can too close to the surface, move the can too slowly, or overlap the lines of paint too much. Make sure you keep the can upright as you spray! Once you have got the hang of it, then you’re ready to paint your multi fuel stove.

How to Paint Your Esse Wood Burning Stove

Make sure your Esse wood burning stove is completely cold before you begin. Use old sheets or cardboard to protect anything around the multi fuel stove that you don’t want to paint. If the stove has a window, mask it off to protect the glass. Remove or cover any handles or control knobs which you don’t want to end up the same colour as the stove. Make sure the surface of the wood burning stove is free of rust, dirt and grease as these can ruin the end result.

If you are just rejuvenating the existing finish of your Esse wood burning stove, a single coat is all you need. If you are painting bare metal build up the finish in several layers, allowing time for the paint to dry between coats.

What Not To Do

Don’t use ordinary spray paint! You should only ever use a specialist heat resistant stove paint on Esse wood burning and multi fuel stoves.

Don’t skimp on preparation! If you don’t clean the surface of your Esse multi fuel stove properly before applying the paint, don’t be surprised to see the paint come off in sheets later on. And don’t think you can just spray over rust – unless you remove rust properly it will just come through the paint.

Don’t overdo it! Stove paint has to flex as the metal expands and contracts with the heat from the fire. If the paint gets too thick it won’t be able to flex as it should and it may start to crack or flake off.

Esse Stove Specialist are a leading UK supplier of Esse multi fuel and wood burning stoves as well as stove maintenance products such as heat resistant stove paint.

Twinwall Flues for Esse Multi Fuel and Wood Burning Stoves

So what do you do if you want an Esse wood burning or multi fuel stove but you don’t have a conventional chimney? The answer is to use a twinwall flue system. We get a huge number of calls asking questions about twinwall flues, so I decided to write this post covering the basics of twinwall.

What is Twinwall Flue?

Twinwall flue consists of sections of double-skinned stainless steel pipe, with a thick layer of insulation between the inner and outer skins. Twinwall pipe is available in a wide range of straight and angled pieces, and you can also get terminals, adapters, support brackets, etc to suit your twinwall flue. A twinwall flue system is made up of whatever combination of straight and angled components is the best fit to the installation location.

Where Can I Use a Twinwall Flue System?

Twinwall flue can be used for both internal and external flue systems. A typical internal system would go straight up from the top of your Esse wood burning or multi fuel stove, going through any ceilings and out through the roof. A typical external system would go out through an external wall then run up the side of the building to roof level.

What Can’t I do With a Twinwall Flue System?

The number of turns and offsets in the flue system should be kept to a minimum to ensure the flue gases can flow smoothly. The internal bore of the twinwall pipe should never be smaller than the flue outlet of your Esse multi fuel / wood burning stove – in fact many manufacturers recommend an increase in diameter for the flue system. Also there some limits to how close the flue system can be placed to windows and regulations about the height at which the flue terminates.

How Does Twinwall Flue Connect to a Multi Fuel / Wood Burning Stove?

Twinwall flue can be connected directly to the flue outlet of the wood burning or multi fuel stove using an appliance adapter. Alternately an initial short run of standard single-wall stove pipe can be used before connecting to the twinwall pipe using a single-twinwall adapter.

Will Twinwall Flue Look Right in my Home?

Twinwall flue comes in a stainless steel finish as standard, and people are sometimes concerned that this will look too obtrusive, especially if they are using it in a period interior or with a traditional Esse multi fuel / wood burning stove. Some twinwall manufacturers can supply powder-coated pipes for an extra charge to give a more understated look.

Can I Add to an Existing Twinwall Flue System?

Twinwall pipes fit together very precisely, then the joint is sealed using locking bands. Each twinwall manufacturer uses their own locking system, so it is difficult to connect twinwall pipes made by different companies due to the connections being incompatible. While it is possible to get an adapter custom-made to connect two different brands of twinwall, this is expensive and you would have to first identify the brand of the existing flue system.

Esse Stove Specialist are a leading UK supplier of Esse multi fuel / wood burning stoves and flue systems, with nationwide delivery available. We also offer a free twinwall flue design service – to take advantage please provide a simple diagram with measurements (fax to 01484 773170 or email to fluedesign@stove-specialist.co.uk) showing where you want to site the stove and flue. One of our HETAS qualified technical advisors will then design and calculate the price of your flue system. Flue designs are usually completed within 24 hours, although a peak periods it may take a little longer.

Esse Wood Burners and Multi-fuel Stoves Cheaper to Run with Ecofan

You may or may not have heard of Ecofans – they have been on the market for a number of years now for use with wood burners and multi-fuel stoves as a way of distributing the heat from the stove more evenly throughout the room. Over the winter of 2010 research was conducted by the University of Waterloo in Canada which confirmed that use of an Ecofan can also reduce fuel costs.

What is an Ecofan?

An Ecofan is a freestanding fan which is positioned on top of your Esse wood burner or multi-fuel stove. As your stove heats up the Ecofan begins to turn, pushing a stream of warm air out into the room. In addition to distributing heat more evenly, Ecofan can be used as a humidifier. To do this you just place a tray of water on top of the stove in front of the Ecofan – as the water evaporates moisture is spread around the room along with the heat.

How Do Ecofans Work?

Ecofans can seem a little magical, as they work without any external power source. Ecofan uses something called the Seebeck Effect, which allows it to generate its own electricity using the heat from a wood burner or multi-fuel stove. This relies on the temperature difference between the base and top of the fan to generate power, so the fan begins to turn as your Esse stove heats up. The Seebeck Effect doesn’t generate much electricity, but it is enough to keep the Ecofan going.

How Can Ecofan Reduce Fuel Costs?

Heat from an Esse wood burner or multi-fuel stove spreads around the room through a mixture of radiation and convection. Radiant heat comes off the stove in straight lines, and then normal air circulation creates convection currents as well. The trouble is that hot air rises – if a large amount of the heat from your stove ends up above your head where you can’t feel it then you will merrily continue putting logs in the stove until you feel warm. Because Ecofan distributes heat around the room more evenly you don’t have to put as much fuel in the stove to feel the effect of the fire, resulting in a saving on your fuel expenses.

Research Findings

To research the effectiveness of Ecofan a double room was built. The inner room was kitted out like a normal lounge complete with wood burner, furniture and finished walls and floors. This inner room was enclosed within a temperature controlled outer room in order to mimic the heat loss from a typical house. A series of pairs of tests were conducted with comparable conditions and burn rates, using the wood burner with and without an Ecofan. As a result the University of Waterloo has verified that using an Ecofan with a wood burner or multi-fuel stove can result in savings of up to 14% on fuel costs.

Esse Stove Specialist are a leading UK supplier of Esse wood burners and multi-fuel stoves, offering a nationwide delivery service. We also supply a wide range of stove accessories including Ecofans.