Devon Chimney Specialists, Elaine's Stoves and Flues, are experts in fitting traditional and contemporary stoves. Wood burning stoves are carbon neutral, making them more environmentally friendly than oil, gas and especially electricity. Because the carbon released when burning the wood is absorbed by new trees as the grow, there is no additional carbon in the atmosphere. Which is unlike the fossil fuels used in traditional heating.

Fitting a flue for a stove can be a bit of a project. The top of the flue must be more than 2.3m (around 8 ft) from any other buildings, something to be particularly aware of when installing a stove in an extension.

Many cities and towns in the UK are smoke control areas, however because of the advances in technology used in wood burning stoves there are many models which are exempt from this. Because a stove burns so much hotter than an open fire, the worst of the gases being released (which cause the smoke) are consumed. This means that they burn the wood cleanly. So with such low emissions they are officially approved for use in smoke control areas.

When using a wood burning stove, always used properly seasoned wood. Green, or unseasoned, wood contains high levels of moisture. This makes the stove inefficient. The energy used to boil off the water trapped in green wood reduces the amount of energy available for heat. This makes the stove burn cooler, producing less heat per weight of fuel.

Burning green wood in your stove also affects the efficiency of the flue. The gases are not as hot, so that they move more slowly, reducing the air flow through the stove. On top of this, the pollutants in the exhaust gas are not consumed as the stove doesn't burn hot enough. These pollutants not only escape into the atmosphere, but they coat the interior of the flue with creosote.

For a flue installation service from chimney specialists: Okehampton, Crediton, Exeter and Tiverton.