ULEB Wood Burners

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929 posts

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#1710769 27-Jan-2017 17:40

mattwnz:

Stan:

Thank you for the information. For those wondering about the price the Masport Mystique was the first NZ made ULEB and they came in at half the price of the others on the market (Masport Fires are actually a separate company to Masport lawn mowers etc). ULEBs are actually tested in real world conditions rather than with ultra dry very soft wood they are really a cool bit of engineering. My guess is over the next 10 years more and more counsels will require you to have one then we should start seeing more models coming out with a few more options :)

The new Ferva (made by woodsman in CHCH) is more powerful than the Masport and includes power generation built in so you do not have the issue of power failure (it also has a usb port on the front to charge your phone) I was going to go and see a live model in Christchurch this year but sadly due to time restraints I don't think I will be able to. But that is not to say the Masport is poor in comparison it puts out less emissions per kg of wood burnt and is around 5% more efficient.

Do you tend to get sooting on the glass? it looks fairly clean in the video.

The price and look is why I was attacted to the masport one, and it is a reasonably new way of doing wood burners in NZ. Plus Masport are a good well known brand, so getting parts in the future I hope isn't going to be as much of an issue. The issue with requiring power is one reason I was waiting for the next generation. Also I was told by the saleperson that hey would hope in the next gen that the ned to switch the dampener on and off would be automated. But I think the first gen model will be fine. The next model may also be an upgrade model, so priced higher. Although that is only speculation. I guess there will be a lot of other companies bringing out these types of fires too in the next few years, which will hopefully bring the price down.

Woodsman (Ferva) is around the similar price just abit more, to be fair they are the 2nd largest fire manufacturer in nz (second to masport) and have been around since 1887.

I don't think the price will come down by much if at all the two biggest have launched theirs (woodsman Ferva and masport) and the others don't generally tend to undercut them as both build there fires in house where as most others subcontract that out.

I have been getting the same thing from one of the engineers about requiring automation in the next generation ULEBs so I would say the salesperson is probably correct.

Stan

929 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1710771 27-Jan-2017 17:42

And yes Masport is generally excellent with keeping parts in stock for old fires.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1710773 27-Jan-2017 17:45

Wheelbarrow01:

Thanks for all the info. One big benefit of having a fire is it also creates an ambiance, which you don't get with heat pumps. You can't beat a burning fire in the winter for that. It can also be false economy going for a cheaper fire, if it isn't as efficient, as the savings in fuel with efficiency, plus less emissions and particulates into the neighbourhood has big benefits. Potentially a wood burner should also last a lot longer than a heat pump, which will have on going maintenance and replacement costs. I have a wood burner that was installed in the 80's and still almost as good as new.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1713045 31-Jan-2017 00:53

guttix:

Has anyone had any experience with these?

While a clean air fire would be fine in the new house (meets emissions), I'd probably pay a bit more for a clean-burning fire...as long as they do a decent job?

Some thing like the https://www.ferva.co.nz/

Or http://www.tropicair.co.nz/product/duo-uleb-by-tropicair/

Thanks

I was showing someone this fire and comparing it to other ULEBs, and they made the comment that they don't like how it is open at the bottom, as you have to get under it to clean the floor, which is a hassle. They preferred the ones that are sealed all the way to the ground. I concur with that.

Srtgumee

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1718910 12-Feb-2017 15:01

Hi Simon,

Thanks for posting the detailed report of the Masport Mystique, it seems to be the ONLY user review on the net!

I'm looking at installing a ULEB and are going through the pro vs cons on each available unit. My concern on the Masport (8-13kW) is it might be too hot for our house and noise from the fan which I haven't heard in real life.

You mentioned the Masport gets really hot and hard wood my help slow the burn down. Did you try to feed the fire less wood? or was it the case you fed the fire the minium amount before a entire re-light was needed?
Our main room is 6x9, is well insulated and heated by the sun, but on overcast or raining days 2 x 2.5Kw oil column heaters have been sufficient to heat the room (but not the rest of the house) to 22degs on wall mounted thermostats.
If the Masport can only run at 8-12KW/hr and not at say 3-5KW/hr (by feeding it less wood) then I feel it might be an over kill for what we need. Any thoughts on the Mastport's ability to run on a low heat output would be appreciated.

The noise you mentioned that was not really noticeable on low. Is it similar to a heat pump noise?

Wheelbarrow01

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#1718945 12-Feb-2017 17:09

Srtgumee:

Hi Simon,

Thanks for posting the detailed report of the Masport Mystique, it seems to be the ONLY user review on the net!

I'm looking at installing a ULEB and are going through the pro vs cons on each available unit. My concern on the Masport (8-13kW) is it might be too hot for our house and noise from the fan which I haven't heard in real life.

You mentioned the Masport gets really hot and hard wood my help slow the burn down. Did you try to feed the fire less wood? or was it the case you fed the fire the minium amount before a entire re-light was needed?
Our main room is 6x9, is well insulated and heated by the sun, but on overcast or raining days 2 x 2.5Kw oil column heaters have been sufficient to heat the room (but not the rest of the house) to 22degs on wall mounted thermostats.
If the Masport can only run at 8-12KW/hr and not at say 3-5KW/hr (by feeding it less wood) then I feel it might be an over kill for what we need. Any thoughts on the Mastport's ability to run on a low heat output would be appreciated.

The noise you mentioned that was not really noticeable on low. Is it similar to a heat pump noise?

The noise of the fan on low is very much like the noise from a typical heatpump - you can hear it if you are listening out for it, but with the tv on it disappears into the background and is a non-issue for me. I think I will only ever use the fan on the high setting in the depths of winter when I am trying to quickly heat the house from cold (say after coming home from work on a 5 degree day)

I have tried to feed less wood into the fire, but you are correct - this is difficult to achieve without the fire going out altogether. This is because it consumes the wood so completely, there is generally only a very small ember bed, and that burns down to nothing quite quickly, so I tend to need to add more wood just to keep the fire going, not necessarily because the room is cooling down. As previousy stated, this could be due to the type of wood I have been burning up until this point - non-treated pine timber offcuts. Coincidentally, today I bought a trailer-load of split Oregon logs which should burn a lot slower than the pine timber off-cuts I have been using, but due to the current weather it will still be a month or two at least before I have a chance to test this new fuel.

My lounge was originally about 4 x 6 metres, which in itself would have been too small to install the Mystique (I think). My solution was to remove part of the wall separating the lounge and dining room/kitchen which transformed it into a 7.5 x 6 open plan space (with cathedral ceiling throughout his area). This wall removal instantly and dramatically improved the warmth to the kitchen /dining space, and now allows the heat to radiate out more efficiently, so I will only need the heat transfer kit to supply the 3 bedrooms down the other end of the house. I also have an ace up my sleeve in the form of my conservatory coming off the lounge which is about 4 x 3 metres. On the odd night where the output of the fire has been too much (due to overzealous stoking earlier in the evening), I have simply opened the ranch-slider doors from the lounge to the conservatory, which lets cooler air in and allows some of the heat to escape through the single glazed conservatory windows - but it means I don't have to crack a door to the outside weather and actually let heat escape into the neighbourhood. It also means my conservatory becomes a usable space of the home in the winter months - something it has not been previously because of the cost of heating it.

I am confident that installing the heat transfer kit (when I finally get around to it!!) will greatly assist in balancing the temperature over the whole house, and will minimise any overheating in the lounge area.

Once I have had a chance to try the Oregon logs I am happy to report back in a few months. However on the face of it, I do think that maybe the Mystique might be too big for your lounge, especially with a standard flat 2.4m ceiling. You may be better off with a smaller unit - maybe something like the Envirosolve Bionic fire (www.envirosolve.co.nz)

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1719014 12-Feb-2017 17:30

I think if you are installing it in a smaller room, you definitely want some form of heat transfer system to remove some of the heat from the room if it gets too hot.

Did you have to have stays installed on your Flue?

Srtgumee

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1719122 12-Feb-2017 22:27

Thanks Simon for that information, I'm starting to get swayed towards the smaller, but more expensive bionic.

Getting back to the Masport though, do you recall how often you needed to put wood in it to keep it going? Your video showed 3 x small logs burning, any idea how long it took to burn these down?

jonherries

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#1719157 13-Feb-2017 03:19

Pardon my ignorance, do these types of fires allow connection to hot water or underfloor heating?

Jon

Wheelbarrow01

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#1719200 13-Feb-2017 08:14

Srtgumee:

Thanks Simon for that information, I'm starting to get swayed towards the smaller, but more expensive bionic.

Getting back to the Masport though, do you recall how often you needed to put wood in it to keep it going? Your video showed 3 x small logs burning, any idea how long it took to burn these down?

Hey mate,

The 3 'logs' in the video were in fact pieces of timber offcuts - very small in diameter when compared to an actual piece of split tree wood, and therefore more fast burning. The 3 pieces would last about half an hour or so, but I estimate a single decent sized oregon log (or 2 medium ones) would last at least an hour. However until I actually try it out with a proper log I won't know this for sure.

Having bought some proper split wood yesterday, I look forward to testing the burn time. Part of me hopes the Christchurch temperature plummets in the next few days so that I can test it and get back to you

Wheelbarrow01

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#1719201 13-Feb-2017 08:20

jonherries: Pardon my ignorance, do these types of fires allow connection to hot water or underfloor heating?

Jon

The Tropicair Duo has a wetback option but I am not sure about any of the others sorry. Unfortunately a wetback wasn't an option for me due to the distance of my hot water cylinder from the location of my fire.

Psilan

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1719862 14-Feb-2017 10:27

I installed a Masport Mystique in October last year also (Chch). It is awesome. It was re-rated to 16kW fyi.

2 issues though. The fan developed a horrible clicking, so the fan was replaced for me. The new fan is so quiet. I used to be able to hear it and now I can't hear anything at low. High speed used to sound like a hair dryer, but now high is fine(but the heat it produces isn't!).

The latch on the bottom was also replaced and it was a hazard. It now has a hook that clicks into place instead of just holding it. This is a safety concern for earthquakes.

Voyager referral - https://refer.voyager.nz/68QKJ8XKK

Wheelbarrow01

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#1719868 14-Feb-2017 10:40

Psilan:

I installed a Masport Mystique in October last year also (Chch). It is awesome. It was re-rated to 16kW fyi.

2 issues though. The fan developed a horrible clicking, so the fan was replaced for me. The new fan is so quiet. I used to be able to hear it and now I can't hear anything at low. High speed used to sound like a hair dryer, but now high is fine(but the heat it produces isn't!).

The latch on the bottom was also replaced and it was a hazard. It now has a hook that clicks into place instead of just holding it. This is a safety concern for earthquakes.

Interesting - who did you buy your one off? I actually raised the fan noise issue a few days after installation, as it seemed quite loud. I was told it would get quieter after a few uses, which it definitely did, but I can still hear it. I might raise this with them again - I wonder if they had a faulty batch?

The latch replacement you mention is also interesting. My lower chamber came open once while the fire was in use - you wouldn't believe the volume of smoke that billowed out as I scrambled to close it (without burning myself). This occured about an hour after I had just cleaned the ash out of that chamber, so I just assumed I had failed to close the latch properly. It does have a hook, but I wouldn't say it clicks into place as such. It would be nice to have some positive confirmation that it's actually locked so I don't do that again. I'll look into this also.....

Psilan

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1719871 14-Feb-2017 10:45

Wheelbarrow01

Interesting - who did you buy your one off? I actually raised the fan noise issue a few days after installation, as it seemed quite loud. I was told it would get quieter after a few uses, which it definitely did, but I can still hear it. I might raise this with them again - I wonder if they had a faulty batch?

The latch replacement you mention is also interesting. My lower chamber came open once while the fire was in use - you wouldn't believe the volume of smoke that billowed out as I scrambled to close it (without burning myself). This occured about an hour after I had just cleaned the ash out of that chamber, so I just assumed I had failed to close the latch properly. It does have a hook, but I wouldn't say it clicks into place as such. It would be nice to have some positive confirmation that it's actually locked so I don't do that again. I'll look into this also.....

Heatstore Christchurch was my supplier.

The fan was identical to the one it replaced.

I have 2 videos which demonstrate the problem

During operation: https://goo.gl/photos/PtLkrbgAGrsZmYjL9

Direct blower access: https://goo.gl/photos/nyuYjFzLJ2DRGY5g8

As for the latch;

The new bottom latch clicks the same way the top latch does. This was raised as a safety concern because some apparently flew open during earthquakes. It's definitely something you want swapped out and it's free. Amazing yours came open. That would be scary when operating at full blast! You'd fry your floor.

Voyager referral - https://refer.voyager.nz/68QKJ8XKK

trig42

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#1719874 14-Feb-2017 10:56

@Wheelbarrow01 - I know you got a Heat Transfer kit with your fire, but in a house with cathedral ceiling, a ceiling fan set to Winter is really effective at moving heat down hallways (and just down from the ceiling). They can be reversed in summer too for cooling.

Loved it when we had a fire coupled with a ceiling fan - made the bedroom down the (small) hallway nice and warm in winter.

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