I recently completed the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps 5 Year Refresher & Technical Update Course and have the certificate to prove it! It was a day long course completed online because of the Covid restrictions and there were 10 other sweeps undertaking the course along with myself. The course was packed with lots of interesting material and updates as a lot has changed in the five years since I undertook the chimney sweeping training course with the guild. Updates included advice about safe Covid working practices, risk assessments and procedures for customers who are currently shielding.

There were also a number of technical updates, providing useful information on recent changes. These included an update on the new DEFRA rated stoves and their installation, information on what should be done with old redundant back boilers. There was technical information on rear flued appliances and the differing ways they can be completed outside of Approved Document J (Technical bulletins BS EN 15287 & BS 8303). There was in addition a section on documentation that should be carried whilst working including how to complete a Method statement, COSHH Documentation and RIDDOR forms. A very useful and informative days training.

Now here is what I call a retro stove, the Morso 1125, this example is at an address in Sewards End where I swept recently. It is really a most unusual looking stove, part retro and dated and part space age and contemporary in style. They are now rather rare as Morso stopped making them in 1982 with many of them being sold in the USA, presumably because properties out there are much bigger and require a much larger Kw rating to heat them effectively. In fact, if parts are required for one of these big beasts then you would have to look to the US to buy them, at a very large cost. I had to replace the log retaining bar on this stove as it was broken, I therefore resorted to the blacksmith David Gowlett at Springwell Forge in Ugley who fashioned a replacement part at a very reasonable price. Although I very much like the look of this stove, the one draw back in my view is that it has no glass in the doors, so when it is in operation you can not actually see the fire in the firebox. I suppose the only answer to that is to operate the stove with the doors open, you might then be able to see the fire, but this would somewhat defeat the object of the stove, as it would not be working at optimum efficiency. All in all, a very attractive and unusual stove though!

Yes, it is that time of the year again when the Jackdaws are looking to build nests in chimneys and raise a family. I have had lots of calls since the beginning of March where Jackdaws have been posting twigs down chimneys. However, this week I had a call from one of my regular customers saying that she could hear a bird in the redundant chimney next to the Wood-Burning stove chimney I usually sweep. There had been a wire mesh across the open stack, but upon my arrival I could clearly see through my binoculars that the birds had pulled back the wire over the chimney. On entering the room with the chimney, I could clearly hear a bird flapping around on the register plate. After having closed all the doors and opened all the windows wide, I carefully removed the inspection hatch from the register plate. I had anticipated catching the bird in a large dust sheet, however the bird, a large male Jackdaw evaded my attempt to catch it and flew directly from the chimney out of the window. But to my amazement there was another bird still in the chimney, a smaller female with striking blue eyes. This bird had climbed up on to the brickwork in the inglenook void, and despite our best efforts to coax it out it stubbornly refused to comply. I then resorted to the step ladder from the van and went into the chimney void and simply picked the bird up off the brickwork. Surprisingly, the bird allowed me to do this and did not attempt to peck me at all. I then took it outside and let it fly away. Job done! I even managed to sweep the chimney whilst I was there!

Although I have been sweeping the flue to this Nordpeis Uno 1 Wood-Burning stove for the past few years now, I thought that it definitely falls into the category of unusual stoves. Surprisingly I do sweep a number of other examples of this model of stove and other models of Nordpeis stoves in the area. The Nordpeis Uno 1 does have a very definite space age appearance, a most contemporary type of stove. The stoves firebricks are ceramic and are prone to cracking and fit together inside the stove rather like a jigsaw. In this instance I had to replace the front firebrick which is held in place by a long metal clip at the front of the stove.

A Google search reveals that Nordpeis are based in Norway and were established 30 years ago.

https://www.nordpeis.co.uk/about/

It would appear that Nordpeis are sold in the UK are part of the Stovax Stove Company and are sold through approved retailers.

Stovax Limited,

Falcon Road,

Sowton,

Industrial Estate,

Exeter EX2 7LF

T: 01392 474000

Recently we swept all six of the showroom flues at Cut Maple Fires and Stoves in New England near Sturmer. We do the sweeping work for this excellent company and we are always pleased to work on their fantastic installations. Needless to say they are a highly respected and totally professional company in the area. They have an absolutely fantastic show room located just the other side of Sturmer going towards Wixoe on the A1017 – Their show room is in what used to be the Little Chef, but you wouldn’t recognize it as such now! They have a fantastic array of wood-burning stoves on display a number of which are actually burning at any one time (hence the need to have their flues swept annually). As I said we swept six flues attached to six different showroom stoves, in this blog I have include photos of three of the stoves we swept: Heta Inspire 45 wood-burning Stove, Dean Forge Hembury 5 Multi-Fuel Stove and Clock Blithfield 5 Multi-Fuel Stove.

The show room is also fantastic for ideas, for example they have some wonderfully modern metal log containers that are like artworks in themselves. They are also great for buying stove parts and accessories, these include heat resistant stove paint, ceramic rope of various dimensions and cement and fireboard for cutting bricks. As well as selling and installing stoves, they can install liners and cowls.

The show rooms are very attractive and well laid out and the staff are very helpful. There address and contact details are as follows:

Cut Maple Stove & Fire Company,

Sturmer Road,

New England,

Halstead CO9 4BB

Telephone: 01440 788788

Email: cutmaple@fireplacesetc.co.uk

Website: http://www.fireplacesetc.co.uk

Recently we swept all six of the showroom flues at Cut Maple Fires and Stoves in New England near Sturmer. We do the sweeping work for this excellent company and we are always pleased to work on their fantastic installations. Needless to say they are a highly respected and totally professional company in the area. They have an absolutely fantastic show room located just the other side of Sturmer going towards Wixoe on the A1017 – Their show room is in what used to be the Little Chef, but you wouldn’t recognize it as such now! They have a fantastic array of wood-burning stoves on display a number of which are actually burning at any one time (hence the need to have their flues swept annually). As I said we swept six flues attached to six different showroom stoves, in this blog I have include photos of three of the stoves we swept: Contura 556G & i5 wood-burning stoves, and Jotul F371 wood-burning Stove.

The show room is also fantastic for ideas, for example they have some wonderfully modern metal log containers that are like artworks in themselves. They are also great for buying stove parts and accessories, these include heat resistant stove paint, ceramic rope of various dimensions and cement and fireboard for cutting bricks. As well as selling and installing stoves, they can install liners and cowls.

The show rooms are very attractive and well laid out and the staff are very helpful. There address and contact details are as follows:

Cut Maple Stove & Fire Company,

Sturmer Road,

New England,

Halstead CO9 4BB

Telephone: 01440 788788

Email: cutmaple@fireplacesetc.co.uk

Website: http://www.fireplacesetc.co.uk

Continuing this week with the theme of unusual or rarely seen stoves. This week is about the Contura 450T Wood-Burning Stove. I had not seen this model of Contura stove, but have recently swept two at two different addresses in Haverhill. As you can see, they are a very large wood-burning stove, so I would think that they have quite a high Kw rating. Both customers told me that they push out a terrific amount of heat when they are in operation. Fortunately, both customers have them placed in rather large open plan rooms. The stoves themselves have a rather chunky, unique design, that definitely creates a presence in any room. Looking at Contura’s website it would appear that this distinctive model has now been discontinued and it no longer appears in the catalogue.

Contura Stoves are a Swedish company based in the town of Markaryd – Markaryd is a municipality in Kronoberg County at the southern tip of Sweden. Contura Stoves are known for their distinctive contemporary stove designs and the appliance of the most up to date stove technology.

Contura Stoves

Box 134

Skulptorvagen 10

285 23 Markaryd, Sweden

What a fantastic week of weather we have just had, lovely warm sunshine all week. Yes, spring has definitely been in the air and there are spring flowers everywhere, snow drops, crocuses and daffodils. With spring beginning to arrive I thought it was time to have another thatched animal in the blog. I saw this thatched pair on a roof in Stambourne when I was out that way sweeping. Not a village we advertise in, but one that we do a great deal of work in. Some of these jobs are for Cur Maple Stoves and Fireplaces and some of the others are our contract work for Eastlight Community Homes, but the majority of jobs are private customers who have come to us from word of mouth, the internet or just seeing our van around the village.

These two pheasants made me think of a Mexican standoff for some reason, to Western gunslingers facing each other off! Which one will be the quickest on the draw!

The internet tells us that pheasants are birds of several genera within the subfamily Phasianinae, of the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Though they can be found world over in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Asia.

Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly decorated with bright colours and adornments such as wattles. Males are usually larger than females and have longer tails. Males play no part in rearing the young.

Pheasants typically eat seeds and some insects.

The best-known is the common pheasant, which is widespread throughout the world, in introduced feral populations and in farm operations. Various other pheasant species are popular in aviaries, such as the golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus).

Interestingly, Pheasants are native to Asia, but were introduced into much of Europe by the Romans, possibly arriving in the UK with the Normans in the 11th century.

In line with my blogs about rare or unusual stoves, how about this Dik Guerts Odin Front Wood-Burning Stove recently swept in Bishops Stortford? I think that it certainly has the wow factor with its strikingly unusual and contemporary appearance? I can’t say that I have ever swept a chimney for such an unusual stove. Famously, the Norse God Odin only had one eye, and this stove looks rather like a large eye, hence I guess why the name Odin Front? Apparently, Odin He sacrificed his eye in Mimir’s well and he threw himself on his spear Gungnir in a kind of symbolic, ritual suicide. He then hanged himself in Yggdrasil, the tree of life, for nine days and nine nights in order to gain knowledge of other worlds and be able to understand the runes.

Dik Geurts stoves are a Dutch brand and have been manufactured in Holland since 1981. They are a household name in Holland for their distinctive products, although anyone wishing to purchase a stove hear has to go through a recommended UK stockiest. Dik Geurts are now a trade name of a larger company called DRU which has an even longer history in Holland, commencing operation as a new blast furnace on 17^th May 1754 under proprietor Johan Baptist van den Bergh and some local entrepreneurs. They furnace was in a small town called Ulft where the company is still located today. In full the company is called Koninklijke Diepenbrock en Reigers of Ulft, which is a proper mouthful I think you will agree, so they call themselves DRU for short.

This unusual stove was installed by the Cut Maple Stove Company. They are located just the other side of Sturmer going towards Wixoe on the A1017 – Their show room is in what used to be the Little Chef, but you wouldn’t recognize it as such now! They have a fantastic array of wood-burning stoves on display and importantly for me they sell all sorts of accessories to help with minor repairs. These include; heat resistant stove paint, ceramic rope of various dimensions and cement and fireboard for cutting bricks. As well as selling and installing stoves, they can install liners and cowls. The show rooms are very attractive and well laid out and the staff are very helpful. There address and contact details are as follows:

Cut Maple Stove & Fire Company,

Sturmer Road,

New England,

Halstead CO9 4BB

Telephone: 01440 788788

Email: cutmaple@fireplacesetc.co.uk

Website: http://www.fireplacesetc.co.uk

Continuing this week with the theme of unusual or rare stoves, I came across this Portway 1 Multi-Fuel Stove at an address in Thaxted recently. I had actually heard of Portway Stoves previously, but I had never come across on whilst out sweeping, so this places this stove in the category of rare as opposed to unusual. It was a tidy little stove though, and one that the customer is very satisfied with. Despite its diminutive size the customer reports that when it is in operation it pumps out the heat and warms what is a large room more than satisfactorily. The installation also could boast an impressive stainless-steel factory-made chimney with a number of 45 degree turns in it. I swept this using 10mm power sweeping rods.

Portway Stoves are not a local company, they are based up north in Stoke-On-Trent and have a long history dating back to the 1900’s. Portway multifuel and wood burning stoves began in the early 1800’s when the owner of an ironmongery store took inspiration from the very first enclosed metal stoves which first appeared in North America at the end of the 1700’s and custom built his own stove to heat his Halstead based store.

Charles Portway’s design proved to be so successful that a neighbouring shopkeeper asked Portway to build a stove to heat his store also. Soon afterwards Portway set up a small foundry manufacturing solid fuel stoves that were so successful they lasted up to the 1980’s almost without any change.

The beauty behind the success of Portway’s stoves was in their efficiency. The stoves burned so slowly that they extracted the maximum amount of heat from the fuel. The stoves were named ‘Tortoise’ stoves and proudly produced with the motto ‘Slow but Sure’ displayed on the front. It was the first heating appliance to offer fuel efficiency as a major selling point making its role in the development of our industry of great significance today. Robert Higgs, the chief executive of the Heating and Ventilating contractors association argues the Portway was the “founding father of energy efficiency”.

Portway’s stoves were used to heat churches and halls as well as homes and 19th Century stoves displaying the iconic ‘Tortoise’ trademark can still be found today, making it one of the oldest, most resilient products in the history of heating. Even today, at 80% efficiency, Portway stoves are amongst the most efficient multifuel stoves on the market. This means that you need to burn less fuel to get more heat compared to similar products on the market.

Portway multifuel stoves are capable of burning a wide range of natural and manufactured fuels. Wood is a renewable and carbon-neutral energy source since a tree will use up more carbon during the course of its lifetime than is produced when it is burned. Thus, making the use of wood the most environmentally friendly energy source available today. Both hard woods and soft woods can be used in our stoves. Portway stoves will also burn a number of other fuels such as, peat, straw, sawdust briquettes, anthracite, lignite and most natural and manufactured mineral fuels. Each stove is made from 96% easily recyclable material and all cast parts, such as doors and grates, are manufactured from 70% recycled iron. Every Portway stove carries independently tested CE Approval to standard EN13240 and are approved for use in smoke free zones when burning anthracite or any other authorized smokeless fuel. They can also be used in smoke free zones in the Republic of Ireland when burning wood or peat briquettes.

Portway Stoves

BFM Europe Ltd,

Gordon Banks Drive,

Trentham Lakes,

Staffordshire, ST4 4TJ

Tel: 01782 339000

Email via website

https://www.portwaystoves.com/