Yes they can be installed with no chimney and no fireplace recess. The solution is a freestanding stove connected to a flue system called twin wall flue.
A twin wall flue system is cleverly designed to keep the flue gases warm. The flue contains a thick later of insulation, normally rockwool, sandwiched between two walls of stainless steel. This insulation ensures that the stove will draw sufficiently, making it easier to light a fire and keep that fire burning. It will also keep the outside of the flue system cooler than the inside, which means that the clearance required to combustible materials is less than that of single wall flue pipe.
A twin wall flue system is made up of a number of different components that slot together and secure with locking bands. The components required vary depending on how the system will be routed; one option is to exit the twin wall flue pipe through the wall from the stove, meaning the majority of the flue pipe runs up the outside of the building. The second option is to run the flue system internally through the ceilings of each floor and through the attic space to exit at the roofline, meaning very little flue can seen from the outside.
Generally twin wall flue comes in a stainless steel finish as standard, however some customers prefer a coloured finish; black or ivory being the most requested colours. This is achieved by powder coating the flue to provide a finish that is durable and resistant to heat and corrosion.
A cast iron stove is slower to warm up but will radiate heat much more evenly, often providing better control. They hold their heat for a long time after the fire has been extinguished. Originally stoves made of steel were less expensive and less sophisticated than those of cast iron. Today this is not really correct and many manufacturers are using a combination of materials to produce a high quality appliance which is both stylish and durable so the difference is really one of appearance; steel stoves tend to be of a more plain design and cast iron stoves tend to be heavier with more patterns in the design.
Most solid fuel stoves are approximately 40-50% more efficient than an open fire and allow the user to have control over the rate of burn and heat output to the room. Often a large percentage of the heat generated by central heating is lost from a room where an open fire is present (even when not in use). The installation of a stove will mean that the room is much warmer as the air flow is greatly reduced due to the installation of a register plate and the ability to close the air controls fitted on the appliance.
All wood burning stoves should be serviced and their flues swept at least once a year. The service would include the replacement of broken or damaged, rope seals, gaskets, firebricks, glass and fire cement seals. All moving parts should be checked in order that they are able to move freely when in operation.
If you live in a smoke controlled area and wish to burn wood then yes you do, otherwise you will be breaking the law.
This approval allows you to use the stove with dry wood only, or approved smokeless coal, in a smoke controlled area. These restrictions are usually placed in heavily populated urban areas, normally larger towns or cities.
Wood burning stoves have flat fuel beds because wood burns better on a flat bed of ash, with air for combustion coming from above. Multi fuel stoves are fitted with grates because coal and smokeless fuels need to burn on top of a grate, with air entering from beneath the fire and the remainder of the fuel falling through the bars. Multifuel stoves can burn wood too as they are also designed to allow you to build up a bed of ash upon which to burn logs should you wish.
