CHOOSING THE CORRECT STOVE FOR A TINY SPACE

Any stove you choose must have been CE EN13240 (soon to be EN16510) safety tested so that you can rely on its heat output, safe distances to combustible materials, its effective room seal and its efficient performance. This is not always the case with cheap imports of, or example, cute looking pot belly stoves and similar stoves purchased from auction sites etc.

Since the space to be kept warm is likely to be significantly smaller than the average living room, say a third or a half the volume, then it is critical that the heat output of the stove should reflect this as best as possible. After you’ve calculated the space’s limited volume and equated this to the potential heat output of the stove you will quickly realise that the stove’s output will need to be surprisingly low and a lot less than your average 5kW stove used in most homes.

From our experience you’ll probably need to look for a stove with a heat output range starting at around 2kW to 3kW with a nominal heat output of around the 3kW to 4kW mark – unless it’s a particularly big space. There are a number of stoves with less than 3kW nominal output available but, in The Stove Yard’s opinion, they won’t give you the flexibility or controllability of one that’s a bit larger, especially if you plan to use your tiny space throughout the year. It’s worth noting that very small stoves generally don’t handle good sized logs either so they will offer you much shorter burn times and will constantly need filling. They do however, offer significantly reduced distances to combustible materials which may be an overriding consideration if the space is particularly tiny.

Traditional radiant stoves, because they are designed to get extremely hot to enable them to radiate sufficient heat which is why they are usually installed within a brick fireplace When used free-standing they will require much greater combustible distances than a typical convector stove with the same heat output. Convector stoves use vertical channels within their bodywork to draw cooler air in at the bottom of the channel, warm it as it passes upwards past the fire chamber and then disperse it around the living space from the top of the channels. This means that the bodywork of convector stoves can be significantly cooler than that of a radiant stove and the safe distances much reduced.

Unless you want to construct a building regulations’ compliant 125mm (5”) deep concrete or brick hearth, then the stove must be suitable for placing on a non-combustible decorative 12mm hearth. This will mean that the stove has been tested and has passed with a temperature significantly less than 100oC at the hearth. Most stoves with reasonably sized legs or log stores will pass this test but if the manufacturer can’t supply these details then it may be unsafe to select that particular stove.

Ideally our stove should also feature direct external air supply (DEAS) capability so that when in operation the it will not need to use any of the limited air available within the tiny space for combustion. DEAS will also create a safer closed combustion system and help reduce the risk of carbon monoxide escape.

If you plan to fit an extractor fan, for example to remove cooking odours, than DEAS is an essential stove feature, providing you carry out the BS8303 spillage tests below. If your stove doesn’t have DEAS then under no circumstances should you fit any type of mechanical air extraction anywhere in the tiny space. It’s also important to note that if your structure is located within a Smoke Control Area, even if it’s at the bottom of a large leafy garden far away from everything, then the proposed stove must still be Defra approved so that you can legally burn wood there.

Here's some suggestions...

There are great stove choices from Saltfire, Salamander, Charnwood and others that could offer you the low heat output ranges you’re looking for and some which will also deliver the flexibility of cooking options.

Charnwood Aire 3 & Heat Shield Pod – perfect one stop solution
The super efficient Charnwood Aire 3

The all-British Dean Stoves Foxworthy

The contemporary styled Dovre Sense 113

Yotkshire's belt and braces Dunsley Highlander 3

Ekol Apple Pie Range – the Swiss Army Knife of stoves

The legendary Morsø Squirrel

The tiny Salamander Hobbits

The versatile Saltfire Peanut 3

POSITIONING YOUR STOVE AND PROTECTING THE STRUCTURE FROM FIRE

Everything regarding the installation of your stove should be about ensuring that the structure doesn’t burn down and the inhabitants are protected from burning themselves on the stove as well as making sure they will never suffer from the dangerous effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Small spaces generally do not leave you much choice when it comes to siting your stove. However, try not to site your stove directly next to the only doorway into the space as this will also be the emergency exit. It sounds obvious but we’ve seen this so many times and it’s just asking for an accident to happen especially when there’s a possibility of children, the elderly or infirm accessing the space. Remember, stoves can stay hot enough to severely burn a person even after the fire has gone out. It is your legal responsibility to ensure that a suitable fireguard constructed to BS 8423 specifications is in place if children are to be present, therefore you must factor in space for this as well as for your stove.

In some countries their regulations state that a stove should never be installed in a bedroom or sleeping space (sadly, not in this country) so if you’re planning to sleep in your tiny space with the stove operating then we recommend that you think seriously about installing an alternative to a stove. This is because there could be a temptation to slumber burn the stove for long periods overnight which, with some stoves and installations, could produce the ideal conditions for incomplete combustion and potential carbon monoxide spillage.

 

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