Installing the new TT22S from TermaTech

Old, inefficient and cluttered!

We finally decided the old open fireplace had to go this winter as burning a whole stack of firewood over 4 or 5 hours would only lift the room temperature by a measly one degree. Mostly because it had to heat over half a ton of bricks and concrete first!

As much as we loved to look at the open fire, we really needed an enclosed wood stove which burns much less wood and provides much, much more heat.

Prices ranged from a few hundred pounds up to a few thousand but most were in the £1-2,000 range. The TT22S is close to the top of that range, (it’s a big stove with nice stone) but it was the only one that ‘spoke’ to us in the store. We had a couple of weeks to remove the old fireplace and get it all fixed up before it arrived from Denmark.

Taking out the old fireplace was no trouble, but it did surprise me just how much material there was; still, now I have enough bricks to build a pizza oven in the garden…

Old fireplace and hearth gone.

Connecting the new stove was simplicity itself, I built a special metal collar into the old hole in the flue because you should never build a solid flue pipe into a brick chimney as they need a little room to expand when hot.

Then it was just to cut the flue pipe to length and sliding it in. I packed the small gap with the special fibreglass ‘stoverope’ that came with the pipe and slid the pipe shield into place.

And here it is, producing a staggering amount of heat and using a miserly amount of logs. Bring it on winter, we can take it, we’re all toasty here!

New TT22S wood stove from TermaTech in Denmark.

 Lessons learned fitting a wood stove

• Measure your chimney height if the fireplace is in a single story part of your house, especially if you have a flat roof (take the measurement into the store).
• Don’t underestimate the mess involved in taking out an old fireplace. Best way to do it is to make a ‘tent’ around the area using polythene and adjustable props or lengths of thin timber. Overlap two pieces to make a self sealing ‘door’.
• Don’t expect the walls to be in great shape behind the old fireplace, it’s unlikely they were finished off when the house was built.
• Allow a few days for any wet plastering to dry out before firing up the stove or the heat will dry it too quickly and damage it.
• Be prepared for a little shrinkage of any woodwork around the new fireplace, it gets hot! It’s nothing that a little caulk won’t fix next time you decorate though.
• Be prepared for quite a strong odor from the new fireplace and pipework as the paintwork hardens off. This will happen the first few times you light up.
• Don’t be in too much of a hurry to close the door when lighting a fire, let the fire get quite established before closing the door, 10 minutes at least should do it.
• Do experiment with the air damper position, you’ll know when the burn rate is ideal as the fire will be clean and bright, with a little flame and great embers. Charred and blackened wood, too much smoke and a dirty glass means it’s burning too cold (assuming the wood is good and dry) and needs more air.
• Do bring your firewood into the room at least the day before burning to allow it to warm up to room temperature, it makes all the difference. Build a two section store that holds 3 or 4 days worth of firewood for perfect fires.
• Oh, and don’t forget to check your local building regulations, it’s certain you’ll need to notify them and arrange an inspection after installation.

Hope that helps you with your fireplace plans!

Stay well

Ian

p.s. I had occasion to email the guys at TermaTech with a couple of questions about my installation, (my chimney was a little under spec etc). I received great service by email and phone and now my TT22S is ticking along perfectly. Always nice to deal with a company that loves it’s products as much as you do!