Owning an Esse Ironheart Wood Burning Stove One Year on.

Last November (2018) I bought an Esse Ironheart wood burning stove to cook on, heat my water, warm my house and dry my washing.

I use logs as a fuel, mostly ash and oak. I don't burn coal. I have the stove on all year round but not twenty-four seven hours a day. What is it like to own and run one a year later? I try to answer those questions and demonstrate how I use the Ironheart.

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[colinshaw]

Hi Richard, I have had an ESSE Ironheart for the last 5 years in my cottage in France and have a few suggestions for you. The ESSE Ironheart is a multifuel stove ie coal or wood, however if you only burn wood ESSE sell a woodburning box that does away with the grate which should only be used with solid fuel. When using the woodburning box resist cleaning the stove out, wood burns best on a bed of wood ash, I usually take one shovel of wood ash a week plus any of the wood ash clinker that builds up at the front of the stove. The ESSE Ironheart has 4 air controls, the primary air control at the bottom of the stove, the secondary or airwash control, the oven damper and the flue damper. ESSE recommends when lighting the stove only the oven damper is shut and once the fire is established the primary air control should be shut as wood needs combustion air from above not below. Once the fire is burning strong and you need to use the oven you should open the oven damper. I usually leave the flue damper fully open at all times. Using this method, I burn well seasoned hardwood, oak and beech, predominantly to heat the whole of my house, but not water, on about 6-7 cubic metres of wood for a winter. The glass on my stove remains clear and clean, only requiring cleaning every 2 months or so. Using a woodfired rangecooker takes sometime to master but if you are continually having to clean the glass it is telling you that the fire is burning inefficiently and you may have a problem with your firewood, not seasoned, not dry enough or the wrong type, not all wood is good to burn in a woodburning range cooker, some is even extremely toxic such as Yew, or there is problem with your flue, insufficient draw! Remember that a woodburning range cooker or stove main purpose is not to burn wood, a bonfire will do that! It is to cleanly and efficiently convert wood into controllable heat for your home! Good luck

[carolcordell]

Carol Cordell, here, have written you a message recently. Am originally from Alaska, and now here in Eastern Tennessee, have lived on wood stove heat for total of 23 years, most of these years doing wood stove heat as a single person. I got to be really good at fire starting even from a very cold house. Have never used an Esse, but last stove was an Englander, I think. In this stove, it was suggested to leave the ash in the stove, and make an indentation in the middle of ash, front to back to allow the air to the bottom of the fire. I always use a larger log in the back of stove, and build my fire against the log. I had the smallest Englander; it kept the house warm over night, and had a warm house in the morning, that did save me money. My wood for almost all 6 years was free, by tree cutters bring me their wood that would have gone into trash. What I really liked about wood heat was a warm house when we lost power for many hours. But I could also heat soup, re -heat coffee, and other foods just needing to be warmed up. I REALLY LIKED the wood stove life style, cause it's like living with the elements, and like a partial life style, like the Alaskan colonist, many decades back. Then late at night it was very comforting, relaxing, to sit about 6 feet from stove and just sit, look at the flames, and relax. Many times in Alaska the power would go out, and the wood stove saved the day. That; and a lantern. Yes, a very Good Deal!

[MartyLJ]

Never put your ash into your bin. Embers may seem cold down but all it take one to get the whole thing going. My son was a Volunteer Fireman and houses have been lost to ash reigniting

[glenhoff]

Great to have this 'off grid' type heating when it all goes wrong...thank you WEF!

[alistairmciver]

Hi Richard, really enjoy your videos here in NZ. Must say we have a wood burner fire which gives off a great heat. We actually are warmed by our firewood wood 4 times, firstly cutting up the logs with a chainsaw, then splitting with an axe, next carting them to the woodshed and finally burning them.

[IngramCars]

I'd love one. When staying at my friends cottage in the Outer Hebrides last Christmas, we enjoyed the use of his wood burning stove. We loved collecting logs and lighting the fire, and while it was cold and raining outside we we indoors warm and cosy.

[randomx]

Richard... Always a pleasure to see what you`re up to.

[jesuscordoba]

Hello from Canada. Great video about esse. We are buying a home and they have this cookstove. I was a bit intimidated but now feel excited to have it.

[julheaps]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. We have found it difficult to find a review of someone who has owned this stove longer than a year. We are very close to purchasing an ESSE.

[darlenebradley]

I love your 'unfitted' kitchen. I live in the states, and will be having to renovate my kitchen in the near future and am currently considering the wood vs gas option for cooking. I'm thinking I will probably go with a gas range for the kitchen and install a small wood burning stove downstairs in the family room, where I can utilize the chimney of my wood burning fireplace. If I could, I would build a house with a 'walk-in' cooking fireplace like what the Early Americans used. Thank you for sharing this...even if I am a little late to the party!

[CCCwatch]

I love this, Richard! Glad I found this video - definitely on my wish list now!

[johnnohobear]

Excellent video presentation. I appreciated your honest talking points on the good and bad points of owning a wood burning stove. Not for everybody, and quite old fashioned, but I agree with you Richard. There's something ancient, primeval, and "human" about keeping a fire for warmth and cooking. Something very much in short supply in our modern, pushbutton, technology driven world. I'm approaching retirement and have been considering simplifying my life and getting a yurt, which would necessitate a wood burning stove. The Esse Ironheart would be one of my top choices. Thank you.

[annosborne]

In our last house we had an open fire in the living room, there is something magical watching the flickering flames, very comforting. Used to enjoy making the fire, we had a pair of bellows were often used. Must say it wasn’t very nice having to get the coal in the rain, when it was dry used to fill up plastic buckets with coal and put them in the cupboard under the stairs. We now have gas central heating . Enjoyed your video Richard, it was a good one.

[foggypatchfarm]

Great video! I live in a small rental and use an induction like your son, but I have a rocket stove outdoors. I hope to have an indoor wood stove once I build my own home. Thanks for this video! It's inspiring. I like the work and extra details too. It's a lifestyle, yes.

[richardmack]

You should leave a good layer of ash in the burner area as it helps the wood burn better and last longer and gives out more heat.

[robinengland]

Just got rid of my Jotel woodstove, made in Norway! Awesome glass fronted wood stove! Loved it, replaced it with a natural gas stove! It is also nice but I miss cutting wood! Here in North Carolina, USA we hAve access to all the wood you feel like cutting, I miss that! I love to split wood with a Swedish maul! Hope you continue to enjoy your stove!

[ramibu]

There is something primeval about a good fire! I love to watch it - your lucky to have one w/ a window. I miss my wood burning stove at my last home!!! (Even if they did bring a bit of extra work) They sure cut down on the heating bills in the Winter & I was always able to keep a kettle on for a cup of tea!

Could get a bucket & save all that wood ash to throw on top of Julia's huge mulch pile whenever you go over to her house. It's best to let it work through w/ other kitchen scraps & yard debris so they can all breakdown together to make a nice rich & balanced soul. Dumping it straight on your garden bed can cause your soil to become too acidic & hazardous to certain plants.

[elliworld]

Greetings from Galicia Northern Spain the land of rain and sun, green but as well cold and damped, thank you for nice video and a view in your kitchen ;-) .My tip to clean your window glass with less chemicals is using Frog Lemon Scouring Milk, it doesn't stink, works perfectly and is environment friendly. Put it on a wet Microfiber cloth, let it sit for two minutes on the glass and so we clean. Beechwood is great for heating not as good as oak but better than ash wood (what becomes slowly but steady an endangered specie in Europe through some type of micro fungus and and insects. Beech is growing very fast and eco-friendly when bought from a sustainable woodland farmer. Nevertheless you should try much more to find the "perfect" the air circulation for your burning chamber. I still dream to put a coal briquette covered in a wet newspaper on the hot Wood embers to preserve the heat up to the next morning like my grandparents did in Germany 50 years ago (not available in Spain). PS. I never had a tumble dryer but for the continent usual the "laundry rack", so in winter I do laundry only in the evening and before going to bed the humid laundry is moved in front of the stove and the morning it is surprising me with dry socks and T-shirts sometimes even warm. Greetings stay save and warm.

[clovermark]

I have a wood burning stove and the Esse looks great. Would love one of those. I don’t clear the ash out every day as it burns too quick. Maybe every 4 to 6 days. It lights well and is very comforting.

[MilesV]

Great video and good to see your experience of using it, thanks for sharing. My father in law has the same Esse stove in his kitchen. It is excellent but it takes some getting use to cook/ bake with it! I'd love to have a stove like yours in our kitchen. We only have a multi-fuel stove in our living/dining room which we use a lot.
My sister lives in Austria has a custom built tiled and brick stove in her kitchen. It's an absolutely beauty and works superbly well. It also uses surprisingly little wood and stores heat for at least 12 hours. But it cost a small fortune (about £10k).

I would recommend a moisture meter for your logs. I have one and it makes a difference to check it (should be less than 20% moisture).
The beauty of burning wood is that keeps you warm three times. When you stack it, when you split it and when you burn it.