How Will We Keep Warm This Winter?

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Let us know if you have any clues about the airwash system on the wood burner, or the oil tank leak. Would be great to get a few outside perspectives! If anyone is curious the wood burner is a Clearview Vision 500 :)

[@MyGardenAcademy]

Clearview Stoves are the best. From the last shot you have both air sources shut. Open the bottom one slightly - once the fire is lit I have mine open slightly all the time. Pull the lever out. Make sure that your wood is dry enough as well. The temperature guage should go on the flue pipe. Hope this helps.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Thank you! Seems like there's a lot of love in the comments for the Clearview Stoves, amazing the design hasn't changed in so many years! Popped the thermometer on the flue for the last burning and made sure to get the fire up to a good temperature too. seemed to work perfectly!

[@sally-anneshotter9174]

Hi, have had a Clearview stove for 10 years now, the trick I have is fire it up, get it really going and then turn it right down and it still gives off huge amounts of heat. We normally put last log on 1.5hrs before we leave the room for the night as there is enough residual heat being kicked out once wood has burnt down. Also don’t riddle too much, they burn well on a bed of ash

[@susanbell4528]

I have a Clearview stove too. In fact, I’ve had mine for over 20 years. Totally agree with you, Sally-anne

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Excellent advice, we're just getting to know the stove really, and having done plenty of research they seem like super solid life long stoves. This one must have been in the property for about 20 years plus and it was no issue getting any of the parts I might have needed.

[@dorothyeaston3393]

You need an Apollo or Watchman oil tank gauge. Also there should be a dipstick already in the tank. It is a large black screw lid.

[@markhedger6378]

Hi top tip, ,if you refurbish the outside of the stove with blacking paste mix in some pure turpentine (not white spirit)so it is very liquid ,its much easier to apply with an old paint brush and to buff up after, also the heating is not so smelly.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Interesting, I'll give that a try on the other stove I have to fix up.

[@stevoone342]

Good vid and hi from north lakes. I love my wood burner and find my central heating doesn’t need to kick in as much bar really cold days or in the morning. Ive also replaced most my old rads, bar 3 to the new type which has made them way more efficient. I’ll probably replace the remaining 3 next summer. I get my local sweep to brush out the chimney once a year. But ther is always things needing to be done with properties. Looks like tour rads need a flush.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

The radiators absolutely need some attention, some of them are just single sides and some are too small for the rooms. One of the first things I did was to remove all the radiators and give each one a flush, really tiring work but when you see what comes out you know you've done the right thing.

[@t2thex21]

I have the same wood burner, you need to put ypur stove thermometer on the highest part of your stove pipe, I'd move that green rug as this might be restricting air flow to the lower vent and making your glass soot up. Make sure its at the correct burning temperature before you close the dampers down, this could also be causing the soot on the glass and lastly get a good carbon monoxide detector and put it somewhere in the room at head hight as carbon monoxide rises

[@helenstewart2085]

Kindling can be prunings from trees, willow, birch or pine are goos.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

We've been meaning to get out to a local wood and do some gathering but time has been against us sadly. Hopefully one dry day soon we will be able to do this.

[@jonathanclarke9263]

I use pallet wood chopped up for kindling,my burner is a multi fuel.i burn everything in it and the glass always gets black and sometimes the fire itself burns the black off.I strip it down once a week to clean the whole burner.Every spring when I stop using I sweep the flue.Gumtree is a good source for free logs and timber.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

This sounds very smart, I'll be looking out for pallets to burn over the winter.

[@gabrielletanner5339]

Wow....what a great job..

[@lindawilding5516]

If you replace your stove ever, go for a multifuel fire you can burn smokeless fuel, much more economical than wood. Main thing is you have the choice. KZbin has a great video on how to use a stove with wood, really good.

[@EastRiverHomestead]

Found you tonight. Subscribed. You taught me a lot. I should take my channel more serious. They way you film and narrate is done well. Thank you.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Thank you! Glad you like it here :)

[@sylviabradley7355]

Wood burner looks great💥

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

It was so worth doing, really looks nice now. Just need to do some decorating of the rest of the space now.

[@Highpries]

Sooty glass can also be because of you not burning the stove hot enough, if the wood isn't seasoned enough it can cause this, but I'm not an expert just going on my own experience.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

I think the issue was that I'd turn it down before it got up to a proper heat. Now I have the thermometer in the right place I can see when it's fully heated and time to turn it down. Every day is a school day as they say.

[@sandracuthbert1217]

As good as new😊

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

The final effect is great isn't it!

[@simonrees8049]

have you had the chimney swept? judging from the state of the stove, the chimney should be swept asap as it could be a real fire hazard.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Yes, this was one of the first things we got done, didn't want to invest time in the stove if the chimneys weren't in good order first.

[@Adamace1972]

Just saw your video, great watch really enjoyed it, I have had a multifuel stove fitted and I noticed the one you have is fitted tight up against the back wall, I'm no expert but they should have air circulation all around them including the back, when the fitters put ours in we had to have a bend pipe on the stove that then fits into the flue pipe that goes up the chimney, not having no air round the back can cause problems,

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

The location of the stove right next to the back wall has been a concern for me too! I had a look into it and the back of our fire place has metal sheets pinned to the wall which I think is meant to act as a heat shield, stopping the excess heat going straight into the bricks and mortar, but radiating it out at the same time. Saying that I still didn't find much on the fact our stove is right against that metal sheeting.

[@The-Good-Life-Off-Grid]

Get a fan to Sit on top of the fire to help the heat go round the room quicker and better. Also I noticed when you did the video that you didn’t clean the flu out it’s probably bunged up with suit needs to be cleaned out by the sounds of it that’s why you’ve got issues

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

I picked up one of those fans online and it's pretty good, really shifts the air around! We got that chimney cleaned before I started work on the stove as I wanted to be sure it would be possible to use the stove at all in that situ.

[@bealtainecottage]

Great information! I must set about cleaning out my sitting room stove!

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

To be honest this was a really easy and super effective refurbishment of the stove, just took a little time, but very satisfying. By the way, Stina LOVES your homely house and "maximalism".

[@karenbirch7681]

All Clearview stoves have double glazed doors so the inner one has probably been broken and removed, which accounts for the glass being loose. The double glazing keeps the glass very hot to help prevent deposits building up. This is in addition to the air wash system which feeds a curtain of hot air down from the long slot above the door opening. The air is taken in from underneath the stove and is preheated within the framework before it comes down between the fire and the glass. It is important to use this air intake, regulated by the rod at the bottom to provide the main air supply. The spin wheel is there to give under-draught when lighting the stove and should be closed once the stove is burning vigorously when burning wood, or left open a small amount, to supplement the air governed by the rod, if burning coal. If the stove is regulated using the spin-wheel only the glass will blacken in minutes. Temperature of the stove is important to burn the stove cleanly, 250°C is recommended, measured on the front face of the stove above the door. As well as keeping the stove clean, the flue/chimney will stay much cleaner too.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

All excellent info and very on the point for what I managed to research. The location of the thermometer was one thing I was unsure of. Re the glazing, I did read that it was meant double glazed but didn't find much else, like it's that 2 pieces of glass or like one unit that is double glazed. I think my mistake had been burning it too cool. I'll give all this a try.

[@karenbirch7681]

​@@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead It is dangerous to stash logs at the sides of the stove. A stove fitter is required to allow 450mm between this stove and any combustible material for safety reasons! If you need to clean the glass and are burning wood only, wood ash on a damp cloth should do the trick, no need to waste money on cleaning products. Coal ash is too gritty and is likely to scratch the glass.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

@@karenbirch7681 the logs are already moved 👍

[@jamesmagee890]

Hi good luck to you both. Take care

[@agnesgosling3347]

Well done apologies I have no knowledge of wood burners or oil heating.👍👍👍

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Your comment is appreciated though :)

[@tim0r0h]

I don't run a clearview, but I know our airwash is generally less effective if: - wood isn't dry (sub 20% moisture, sub 15% is even better: a moisture meter can be handy!) - the fire is turned down before really hot/up to temp (no coals to help the fire on low) Some fires can't be fully turned down, but ours on low can run all night with dry wood, with minimal soot. All the best! Love the channel - new subscriber :)

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Hi! Thanks for the tips! We have a moisture reader (we got it to see where was damp in the cottage), the wood is dry as snuff so I would guess that I wasn't getting it up to a decent heat before turning it down (which rings true). I need to try out a few of the ideas here to see what we can achieve with the fire.

[@karenvalentine9406]

Pallet wood is good for kindling. Personally i think the green rug is to close to the wood burner

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

I'll be looking out for pallet wood for sure. We tend to move the rug back from the fire when it's lit (just in case)

[@saeedandalusi7579]

Nice idea,just the weather br,how about Portugal 😎

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Portugal is nice, went and saw the caretos once, very cool festival

[@gridlock67]

My experience of wood burners is that if you close the lower round vent you need to keep the air wash vent open. Only close it when the fire is dying down.The air wash is the one that the knob was missing on. I assume the one to the left side is the grate mover?

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Thanks for that, I seem to have a lot to learn still, but I'm going to get the chance this winter lol. Yes the knob on the left is for the riddle.

[@sparkyhobo3844]

Did your boiler engineer check the pressure in the expansion vessel when he serviced it? The missing water could be simply filling it up ( had it in the past). You should have 1 bar in there ( check with a standard gauge @ the schreder valve located on bottom). Re-inflate with a bike pump etc. IF water comes out of the air valve, the bag inside has perished, and its around £100 for a new one.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Ooooh, that definitely sounds worth a look. Might even have perished since servicing when the weather turned cold as it the boiler was idle for something like a year before we moved in and now we're suddenly giving it workouts. Thanks! - Stina

[@jimh4072]

Those copper pipes on the oil tank are (I think) usually 10mm or sometimes 8mm if you are not experienced in plumbing I would leave it until you get a plumber. I had to work with them last year as I had a leak in my living room radiator and found them much more awkward than the 15mm.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

I've done a fair bit of plumbing around the place but with it being oil I'm just a tiny bit wary, it's probably off to the internet I go to do the research.

[@gabrielletanner5339]

I had a leak iin my heating system...it was a nail through a pipe in downstairs loo..

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Easily done really, we're hoping to have found the issue, but it needs a closer look.

[@LifeOnTheCroft]

I wish we could offer some great advice about the oil system but honestly we're still confused and a little afraid of our own! 😂We book an annual service about 3 months in advance as the oil engineers are so busy around here. We've got a watchman oil tank monitor and find it works well. Good luck!

[@debs4264]

Weve got a watchman too, works really well. totally agree with booking a service early. All oil or wood heating in our area and they get booked up quickly

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

We need to look into a Watchman, I think we probably need a new lock on the tank too lol. Boiler service was high on our list so we got that in almost as soon as we moved in (because of the long waits) and got it serviced in early September, almost 2 months after booking. it's hard to get people round here.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Thankfully we got in fast with this soon after we moved in, both a sweep and boiler service had a 2 month waiting time, shocking really.

[@mick.Walker]

When burning wood it draws the air from the top, I open my top vent light the stove, leave the door open slightly until it is roaring and the flue is hot, then close the door keep the bottom vent closed and the top open, to adjust, open and close the top vent only, if burning coal it's the opposite, top closed bottom open, hope that helps

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Thanks for the tips! Will be giving this a try.

[@michaelgoulding6609]

i have an open fire range in my house, & to protect the side,s in the fire, i use 2 piece,s of half inch thick steel plate, on the right side of the fire is a hole where the heat is drawn in to heat the oven, & i would need to lift the half inch piece of steel plate out if i ever wanted to use the oven which i rarely do, & i dont have a piece at the back cos the fire has the boiler at the back for the domestic hot water, i just happend to find a piece of half inch thick steel plate that was about 2ftx2ft sqaure & i cut piece.s of it with an angle grinder when-ever i need a new piece for my fire, but the first one,s that i cut are still in the fire & they,ve been there for atleast 10 to 12 year,s, so it lasts far better than any fire bricks would, the steel plate has to be atleast half inch thick otherwise if it was any thinner it will bend & buckle with the heat, i.ve had some really fierce fire,s going over the year,s & the steel has never allterd in shape in any way, any scrap yard or a blacksmiths or a steel fabricator place etc would sell you some bits & maybe even cut them to size to fit in front of the fire bricks. & it would pay off cos you,d never need to replace the fire bricks again.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

That sounds like hard work, but great that you've made it work. We'll probably stick to firebricks as they're so easy to replace and still last a good amount of time.

[@brianmccabe3026]

Sooty glass generally means not enough air washing down the glass. It’s a question of trial and error to get the setting right. It will depend on type of wood, how seasoned it is, how much draught there is, etc - the permutations are endless. If the glass does get sooty or burnt on, get a Spontex Washup or similar, wet it, dip in wood ash, scrub the glass and watch the muck miraculously disappear. Wipe with a wet cloth then polish with a sheet of newspaper. Bingo! Clean glass! Takes about 5 minutes.

[@Egggatherer]

Straight ammonia also works for cleaning the glass. Wet a paper towel with the ammonia and wipe away. Works well especially if you don't want to use wood ashes. (Smells a little strong so we laugh that it also clears out our sinuses.)

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Excellent advice! I'll be giving this a try. The trial and error part is totally true, I need to test a few theories.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

I bet it almost burns the nose hairs off lol.

[@susanbell4528]

@@brianmccabe3026 all of the above

[@R.a.p.h.a.e.l.a]

I've done this. I just use a bit of damp kitchen roll to dip in the wood ash -- you want the very lightweight, flaky white stuff. It takes the soot RIGHT off and you don't even have to apply much pressure. Absolutely miraculous.

[@dorothyeaston3393]

You should get a proper engineer to service you oil boiler. They can give off fumes if not serviced annually. I don't think DIY is the way to go.

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

No problem, the boiler was serviced soon after we moved in. It's just small issues I'd have a go at fixing myself.

[@CynthiaEvans-i2f]

[@SP-zo9pw]

Please don’t keep your logs next to your stove, it’s a fire hazard

[@BrambleCottageMiniHomestead]

Already sorted, any wood in the area is now at least 50cm from the stove.