Following the helpful replies to my earlier question, I’m now wondering - given how pellet prices have increased - whether a hybrid stove might offer the best of both worlds.
My instinct is that it’s going to be a more complicated device.
Has anyone got one?
No, but multi fuel sou ds like a hood idea. When we put in our wood burner ten years ago I wish we’d done something like that, if available then.
Actually pellet prices have come down quite a lot recently and might well fall lower still. Nevertheless a hybrid stove sounds interesting. .We have both and there are considerable differences.
If I was thinking of getting a hybrid, I’d want to know how the log burner mode compares with the output and efficiency of a modern poele a bois.
My second enquiry would be whether the outlet is more complicated than either single fuel stove, as I’m not sure our poele à granule’s inlet:outlet pipe would be suitable for a log burner.
Lastly, I’d want to know if the log burner mode can work without electricity.
We installed a Riko Paro hybrid stove in November last. It works very well, swaps to pellets automatically if you fail to put more logs on. It gives out a bit more heat at maximum on logs, using about 1 split 30cm long log per hour. On logs it does require tending, to add more before the temp falls on the previous one. It measures use of both fuels. On logs you are prompted to let it cool and perform maintenance every 3 days or so. It’s about 20 minutes brushing and wiping down. Much longer if on pellets only. I looked carefully at the competition (a grand tour ojf Bourgogne agents) before selecting Riko, probably the R Royce choice (Austria). I can post more on rationale and alternatives, but in a day or so… currently hammering vers Calais in a landrover.
Yes, agree on the investigations required to determine what would be best for a hybrid. Is anybody out there using a cuisiniere a bois (in effect a big wood burning range) for both cooking and heating. We have ‘inherited’ one with the house and it sits well in the kitchen looking very usable. With the price of electric and given it combines cooking with heating I am thinking this could be a very good alternative. I love long slow cooking over the winter, batch cooking to stock up the freezer so an attractive thought. What do you think?
My previous partner used a wood burner for cooking and heating, very romantic in an old farmhouse kitchen, but here are some disadvantages. Various aspects of temperature regulation being the main ones.
Even when burning well seasoned elm logs, it was impossible to get the oven above 250°F if there wasn’t any wind in the valley, By contrast, in the summer it was not used at all because it made the kitchen too warm (in chilly northern England) so she needed a back-up gas stove . Lastly if you like precise constant temperatures, they can be difficult to maintain.
OTOH cats like them!
I like them too. We have an electric cooker and gas hob for summer use so it would only be used in winter. I don’t think cooking temperatures need to be precise for me. I don’t do fancy baking which can require that but I’m more of an old fashioned cook, looking for long slow cooking so I can slam it in and forget about it for the day on very low whilst the range is warming the house, then a lovely dinner at night. We are in a very sheltered spot so I don’t think the wind would reduce our temperatures too much. An aspect to be explored this winter and if it doesn’t work, as we have wood, it really won’t matter too much. Our doggo loves to lie in a warm / hot place too during winter. But enjoys the bitter cold outside too - no accounting for it. What do you reckon, surely it has to be worth a go?
Perhaps I didn’t make my point about wind sufficiently clearly, it was impossible to get the oven hot if there wasn’t any wind. Nevertheless why not try it out and see if you like it, but do check if the chimney has been swept recently.
Aah, didnt get the gist there. Chimney was swept week before we moved in and have the invoice. Certainly going to give it a try. Will let you know how it goes in autumn. Thanks
Thats the issue when people say my stove does thos or its quick to light etc. The chimney draw is almost certainly different as would be the geographical placement of the building.
That is so very true. We have had wood burners and all sorts in france before. Good advice on draw
When we moved to our present hous it originally had a small Rayburn in the kitchen that also provided hot water, in which we burned slabwood offcuts from the local sawmill. That would get very hot in winter, often much too hot for a slow potroast and hot enough to make toast directly on the hob surface. As said, a lot will depend on fitting, draw etc. We also found different fuels could have a dramatic effect, so fast burning logs that evolved a lot of gas would make the oven section very hot, but some types of coal would barely heat the oven at all while simultaneously boiling the water in the water jacket.
Brits installed an “esse” for cooking/warming and it was magnificent. helped cut the oil-CH eating bills… suppose it was there around 10 years…
(edit: wonderful dishes… long and low… and the house was so welcoming…)
of course, the small electric/gas option for summer was a “must”…
as has been suggested, give yours a whirl and see over the colder months… most homes around here used a woodburner cooker over the generations… so there must be good reason.
NB: when the Brits sold, the new (non-Brit) owners frightened themselves by not lighting it correctly and subsequently sold it… relying on the “fallback” option. I’m sure their house is costing them more to heat that it did before…
I’d be interested in how you get on. We literally just bought, last Friday, a Godin Chatalaine. It has a back boiler so also runs central heating. We won’t have time to get it all installed for this winter as a internal door to the bathroom takes priority! I cooked a lot in the top of my poele last year and loved it so looking forward to using the Godin and having some CH.