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Posts Tagged ‘wood burning stoves’

Why the French adore French wood burning stoves

21 Apr

France, the land of ooh la la and l’amour is also the land of the wood burning stove. In fact, it was a Frenchman, Francois Cuvilliés, who first constructed the forerunner of the modern woodburner the Castrol Stove way back in 1735. And Rene Descartes, the founder of modern philosophy, was said to have come up with his famous dictum ‘I think, therefore I am’ when warming himself by a wood stove.

Invicta Chamane

In fact, for the thrifty French, whose homeland is covered in vast swathes of woodland, it makes sense to heat domestic homes using this cheap and readily available fuel. Wood biomass is affordable, ecologically friendly and guarantees thermal comfort throughout the house.

A short history of French wood burning stoves

Some of the most beautiful France wood burning stoves date from the beginning of the 20th century and are heavily influenced by art nouveau and art deco. More works of art than simply functional stoves, these stoves come in a range of enamel colours rather than the black we’re more familiar with today.

These stoves, many produced in the iron foundries of the Ardennes region of Northern France, where the abundant forests provided plenty of fuel for the smelters, are still highly sought after today. Whatever your style, we stock a range of French wood burning stoves to suit every budget from companies like Fonte Flamme, Franco Belge and Invicta which carry the flamme verte energy performance seal of approval.

Why choose French wood burning stoves for your home?

If you’re in France, and you choose to have a flamme verte approved stove installed in your home, then you’ll be eligible for a range of tax credits and grants that make switching to a woodburner worthwhile.

But the real reason the French love their wood burning stoves is what they represent about the French way of life – a sense of bonhomie and a warm welcome into your home.

At Stove Sellers, we ensure all installation work is conducted to French ‘normes’ or building regulations and carries a 10-year decennial guarantee. We can install everything from a single woodburner to an entire off-grid heating and cooking solution. Whether you’re newly arrived in France and are looking for a cheap heating solution or you’re an old hand who already appreciates the benefits of a woodburning stove contact us and we’ll be happy to help you select the right stove for you.

 
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Top tips for using the best wood stoves for cooking

05 Jun

Whether you’re looking to be more self-sufficient or you just want to create a unique experience, installing a wood burning cooker brings a whole new element to the kitchen and gives a different flavour to your cooking. Many homeowners might be unsure about how to use a wood burning appliance, but once you get to grips with the features, they are remarkably straight forward to use.

If you’ve taken the decision to buy one or are just researching the best wood stoves that are available, how can you make the best use of one when cooking?

How to Cook On The Best Wood Stoves

Best Wood Stoves

One of the most important points to remember when using a wood burning cooker is that it requires a bit more forward planning than a standard oven. You can’t just expect it to be ready for use when you switch it on and you’ll need to get the fire going beforehand to ensure that it’s hot enough.

The heat you require from the fire will depend on the type of cooking you’ll be doing. For instance, if you need a high heat, such as for boiling or frying, the fire will require nice hot coals; however, for slow cooking or simmering, the fire needs to be burning low and steady for a long time. When you’re cooking on the best wood stoves, you have to keep an eye on the food to ensure that the heat is just right throughout.

Cooking on the Best Wood Stoves Needs Pactise

As when you’re using any new appliance, you can’t expect to be cooking perfect meals straight away and there is a certain element of trial and error when learning to cook on a wood burning stove. The best way to learn is to begin with something simple, such as boiling water, and once you’ve mastered how hot the fire needs to be for this, you can move on.

There’s also more cleaning required with this type of stove, including cleaning out the ashes, fetching more wood and maintaining the fire, but the effort is definitely worth it when you get to taste the delicious food you’ve cooked. Understanding the unique features and individuality of a wood burning stove is all part of the fun and you’re unlikely to want to go back once you’ve made the switch.

 
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Wood Burning Stove Accessories

29 Feb

Wood burning stoves accessories are simply one of life’s real pleasures – how many people come into a room with a blazing fire and the comforting smell of woodsmoke and don’t comment on how lovely it is? They are always a talking point, always wonderful to snuggle up in front of and they always look good too – a way of instantly bringing character into any room. If you are still deciding what type of wood burning stove to go for then here is a great selection.

Once you have chosen your stove, then you will need some accessories to go with it – some are functional and some can be used to complete the look!

Fuel Makes Great Wood Burning Stove Accessories

wood burning stove accessoriesFirst you will need fuel – large piles of logs are beautiful wood burning stove accessories, and you could consider buying some that are purely ornamental to sit among your fuel pile to enhance the look. Depending how many logs you store at a time you might want to consider a log basket. Wicker is the traditional choice and is a timeless classic, but if you have a more contemporary setting you could opt for a metal one – aluminium looks good.

You will also need firelighters and matches. These should be stored away, not only because they look a bit inelegant and spoil the illusion, but also for safety reasons! Find a pretty storage box that can sit alongside your wood burning stove to keep all the unsightly accessories neatly out of the way, but have them ready when you need them (this will also save you hunting through the drawers when you are trying to find the matches on a chilly afternoon!).

Consider whether you’d like a firescreen or guard. If you have young children then they are an important safety consideration, and the screens are also good for making sure that any sparks your fire spits out don’t come into the room or onto your carpet. There are plenty of sizes and styles available so whatever the décor of your room, there will be one to fit.

Fireside tools are practical wood burning stove accessories and look good at the same time! A poker is essential for stirring up those dying embers to get just a bit more warmth, and a set of tongs for moving burning logs is also a good idea. Many sets will also come with a brush and pan for sweeping up the ash, although the more modern technique is simply to use a vacuum cleaner – and if this seems like a messy job for something you use around the rest of your home, there are plenty of dedicated ash vacuum cleaners on the market!

Your stove should enhance the warmth and comfort of your living space, and once you have decided on the style and size you can have more fun shopping for the accessories to make the space truly yours.

 
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