Just a couple more thoughts on woodheaters.
If you mount it above the settee, make sure there is enough clearance above the top to the
deck. you really want to be able to easily fit a kettle or a pot on it and still have room. A reasonably straight flue is always going to
work better than a bent one. Damn things get hot, I've seen them glowing red hot before, so make sure your
insulation and surrounds are up to the heat.
Wood surroundings slowly dry out and change composition after a long time at high temperatures, so just because it hasn't caught on fire after a few years doesn't mean it wont suddenly spontaneously combust. Keep the
wood cool!
I mentioned insulating the flue. I think it would make a big difference, but havent tried it myself. It would be hard to keep any fibreglass tape dry, so probably best just to go with a twin wall stainless flue. It's also probably a good idea to twin wall at least the lower portion inside, as it often starts glowing when the fire is cranking.
for
insulation I have used cement sheeting with tiles glued on, and a small 2mm air gap behind it, but the best is a thin sheet of polished stainless with about a 10mm airgap, ideally withsomething noncombustible and insulating behind it like cement sheet . watch the cupboards around the fire place, they can get pretty warm.
I toyed with the idea of fitting an automatic damper system using a thermo sensing gas strut to drive the damper. So as the temperature rises the damper closes itself and starts to stave the fire for extra
safety. But a modicum of commonsense is all that's really needed.
Small is good, the things
pump out so much heat! my next one will probably be made from 3mm 150x150 RHS square section. And be top loading.
Nothing beats the smell of a tiny bit of woodsmoke, and the radiant heat is lovely. I find the woodstove much nicer to live with that a
diesel heater, though the
diesel is great once it's going, any backdrafting is absolutely horrible, and they lack the charm of real wood. Its also nice to be able to collect some small twigs of the beach and cook some soup in a self sufficient way.