ULEB Wood Burners

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856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1792441 31-May-2017 16:17

mattwnz:

Hibino:

How come it only come with 5 years warranty while the other Masport are 10 years.

You may want to look at this one if you aren't in an area that require a ULEB. http://www.masportheating.co.nz/products-1/akaroa-freestanding-radiant-wood-burner-with-ash-pan

Comes with a 10 year Masport warranty, doesn't require power for the fan, as it doesn't need a fan, and believe you can adjust it from high to low setting, which I believe you can't do with the mystique. The fire company I went to didn't recommend the mystique for these reasons, and because if you have a powercut for an extended period of time, eg after an earthquake, you then may not be able to use the fire

I did ask masport when they were coming out with a new model of the Mystique, as other brands seem to have a generator built in that powers the fan, but they never got back to me.

They say you can use the fire for days without the fan. Doesn't sound like a big deal to the installers.

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

Stan

929 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1793387 1-Jun-2017 23:44

New just come out Firenzo have released there ULEB

Check out that boiler 12kw of hotwater :O

https://www.firenzo.co.nz/product/details/fusion

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1793389 1-Jun-2017 23:49

Interesting, but butt ugly IMO. I like my fire to look great, with a modern design.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#1793482 2-Jun-2017 10:00

They don't look too bad installed - friends of ours have one in a modern new beachfront house.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course. We installed the fire below (ECan clean air approved - but not ULE) a couple of years ago, thought a red box was better than a black box. My theory is to not try to disguise design to pretend that something is other than what it is - so go the other way a bit instead and accentuate the industrial look. It's very efficient - worlds away from the older log-burner it replaced, but with insulation upgrade including full reclad, despite being single-glazed, it's overkill most of the time - heating a 220m2 house. We'd been using it on cooler nights (Chch) in April, then finding that we'd be opening doors and windows to cool down - or not lighting the fire despite feeling a bit cold - easier to go find an old David Bain design jumper. So I got two heat pumps installed a few weeks ago. Same cost to install two heat pumps (total capacity about 8.5KW) as the log burner - once consents etc were paid for.

Hibino

166 posts

Master Geek

#1794380 3-Jun-2017 23:27

I have a 20+ year old Masport LE5000 with 2 speed fan but I just feel it is not working as it is supposed to. It can get the fire burning very well inside it but just after the door is closed you don't feel much heat coming out from it. I check few friend's houses and they only have a small fireplace maybe just 1/2 or 2/3 size as mine but when their fire is going big you can't even get too close to the fireplace and you feel there is a lot of heat pushing you backward. I thought it might because the baffle is cracked(still in place but just cracked) so I have them all replace and had the flue cleaned, but it is still the same, when the door is open, it feels like my friend's fireplace a lot of heat pushing you backward, and after the door closed, feels nothing, like all the fire inside has been sealed in a realm, I can just watch them burning crazy but all the heat just gone missing.

I was quite interested to get a new one but after talked to the fireplace company where I bought my baffle they told me it is not just replacing the old fireplace with a new one, I'll have to pay for all the installation and apply for new consent form and it won't be any cheaper than installing a new one from scratch, which will be few thousand dollars. So I guess I'll have to stick with the old fireplace for a while and see if there will be any more models coming out in the next few years :-(

Psilan

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1794383 3-Jun-2017 23:34

My friend is in the same situation with his permit expiring. It'll be a full install and it will also have to move slightly.

My Mystique is so hot my fire glove smokes if I stoke the fire for too long.

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

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1794388 4-Jun-2017 00:24

Hibino:

I have a 20+ year old Masport LE5000 with 2 speed fan but I just feel it is not working as it is supposed to. It can get the fire burning very well inside it but just after the door is closed you don't feel much heat coming out from it. I check few friend's houses and they only have a small fireplace maybe just 1/2 or 2/3 size as mine but when their fire is going big you can't even get too close to the fireplace and you feel there is a lot of heat pushing you backward. I thought it might because the baffle is cracked(still in place but just cracked) so I have them all replace and had the flue cleaned, but it is still the same, when the door is open, it feels like my friend's fireplace a lot of heat pushing you backward, and after the door closed, feels nothing, like all the fire inside has been sealed in a realm, I can just watch them burning crazy but all the heat just gone missing.

I was quite interested to get a new one but after talked to the fireplace company where I bought my baffle they told me it is not just replacing the old fireplace with a new one, I'll have to pay for all the installation and apply for new consent form and it won't be any cheaper than installing a new one from scratch, which will be few thousand dollars. So I guess I'll have to stick with the old fireplace for a while and see if there will be any more models coming out in the next few years :-(

You should contact your council. Apparently according to my council you don't need a consent if you are replacing the flue or maintaining the fire, although it doesn't say anything about replacing the firebox. But different councils have different rules.. I can't see why you couldn't use the same flue, if it is compatible with the new fire.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#1795546 6-Jun-2017 17:59

mattwnz:

Hibino:

I have a 20+ year old Masport LE5000 with 2 speed fan but I just feel it is not working as it is supposed to. It can get the fire burning very well inside it but just after the door is closed you don't feel much heat coming out from it. I check few friend's houses and they only have a small fireplace maybe just 1/2 or 2/3 size as mine but when their fire is going big you can't even get too close to the fireplace and you feel there is a lot of heat pushing you backward. I thought it might because the baffle is cracked(still in place but just cracked) so I have them all replace and had the flue cleaned, but it is still the same, when the door is open, it feels like my friend's fireplace a lot of heat pushing you backward, and after the door closed, feels nothing, like all the fire inside has been sealed in a realm, I can just watch them burning crazy but all the heat just gone missing.

I was quite interested to get a new one but after talked to the fireplace company where I bought my baffle they told me it is not just replacing the old fireplace with a new one, I'll have to pay for all the installation and apply for new consent form and it won't be any cheaper than installing a new one from scratch, which will be few thousand dollars. So I guess I'll have to stick with the old fireplace for a while and see if there will be any more models coming out in the next few years :-(

You should contact your council. Apparently according to my council you don't need a consent if you are replacing the flue or maintaining the fire, although it doesn't say anything about replacing the firebox. But different councils have different rules.. I can't see why you couldn't use the same flue, if it is compatible with the new fire.

This would be ideal of course, but you can forget any common sense as you're dealing with bureaucrats and rules.
I'm pretty sure that they'll reject using an old flue with a new fire, even if the diameter is the same, as the burner was tested for emissions with the OEM flue and cowl.

Psilan

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1803188 19-Jun-2017 09:03

Question for those with a Masport Mystique;

I went into Mitre10 and had a look at the ULEB in the weekend, and I noticed a major change compared with my unit.

The 'down draft injector' (the center metal piece) on the M10 unit was completely different to mine.

My one has the metal top piece, but that sits on top of a stone piece. The Mitre 10 unit has a metal top, that sat inside a metal bottom part also. The metal part went right through the center hole.

Tried to highlight it. Yellow is metal, red is stone on my one. But the Mitre 10 one is all metal.

Because mine is stone, it drifts around a lot and doesn't sit nicely. E.g. when I level the ash, the metal stand drifts around the fireplace, and I have to try seat it back in the center again - which at times is difficult.

What do you guys have on yours? I'm wondering if mine is an early revision because it was purchased almost right when the unit was released.

Very hard to explaint

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

Mattyyo

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1804305 20-Jun-2017 20:22

Please excuse my rudeness as I post under another user's waiting-to-be-answered-question.

I finally joined Geekzone, I've been reading these pages as a guest for years.

Interested in this thread, we are in the process of choosing a heating source for our 1989 A Frame, 2 stories home.

We've decided on a wood burner and now tossing up which one to purchase.

In a previous house I installed a Pyroclassic and liked it for the most part.

After spending time looking at various options we narrowed it down to the Ferva Saturn vs Akaroa vs Bosca Limit 380.

That was before going to see them in person and then setting up mock units in the designated area.

My the ULEBs are tall! I couldn't believe the difference between my measurements, mock ups and seeing the units in person.

We've decided we really like the Masport Akaroa as an alternative, and just wondering if anyone has had any experience with them?

When we visited Mitre10 they had the Mystique and Akaroa side by side.

It's very hard to find anything on the net beyond specs.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#1804418 20-Jun-2017 23:09

I've got an Akaroa, but haven't yet installed it. The flue kit has to be returned and replaced because it was damaged in transit. It may be several months before it is installed. But it is one of the nicer looking units IMO. The Mystique isn't bad, but was nearly double the price of the Akaroa, and I think the Akaroa does look slightly better. I have a free source of firewood so the saving on wood wasn't that important, and we don't have a requirement for ULEB in my area.

Wheelbarrow01

1723 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Chorus

#1804472 21-Jun-2017 09:27

Hi @Psilan

My unit appears to be the same as yours - My metal injector piece sits direct into the stone/ceramic floor of the upper chamber, however in contrast to what you describe, mine has a definite seated position and I have never managed to dislodge it from there when stoking the fire etc. When I remove the metal injector plate to clean the ash out, there is always positive feedback when placing the injector plate back in its position - it sits snugly in a slight recess in the stone/ceramic surround, and it has never moved from that position during use.

I was going to take some photos of mine for you when I got home from work yesterday, but I found my girlfriend had already lit the fire. I will try to do it when I get home today, but from the sound of it, yours may have an issue seating in its correct position. It may be worth asking your installer (Heat Store?) whether they have had any other Mystique customers with issues similar to yours.

I guess as with all new products, there is a certain amount of minor improvements brought about by the early adopters providing real world feedback, hence why the models on show may have an improved injector plate seating arrangement, but as I say, mine sits very well with no movement - so far anyway.

How old is yours? Mine is still only 8 months old so may not have had as much use as yours.

Psilan

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1804507 21-Jun-2017 10:27

Hey :) Thanks for the info.

I managed to pull it apart last night after work.

I found that it must have been installed incorrectly before my first light-up.

Ash had gotten between the steel units and caused the top metal thing to never mount in the gaps. I pulled the blocks apart and there was rust/soot as hard as stone in the mounting points. I had to chisel it out.

Once I did this I was able to link the pieces correctly. The bottom piece is actually metal. It just looks like stone because of how rusted/burnt out it was!

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

Wheelbarrow01

1723 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Chorus

#1804525 21-Jun-2017 11:07

Psilan:

Hey :) Thanks for the info.

I managed to pull it apart last night after work.

I found that it must have been installed incorrectly before my first light-up.

Ash had gotten between the steel units and caused the top metal thing to never mount in the gaps. I pulled the blocks apart and there was rust/soot as hard as stone in the mounting points. I had to chisel it out.

Once I did this I was able to link the pieces correctly. The bottom piece is actually metal. It just looks like stone because of how rusted/burnt out it was!

I'm glad it was an easy fix. I'm curious to see the alternative/new configuration now though. Might pop into Mitre10 on my way home. There must be a reason why they changed it. Maybe a few people were having the same issue as you, although as I say, I have not had any problem at all.

Psilan

856 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1804526 21-Jun-2017 11:09

Wheelbarrow01:

Psilan:

Hey :) Thanks for the info.

I managed to pull it apart last night after work.

I found that it must have been installed incorrectly before my first light-up.

Ash had gotten between the steel units and caused the top metal thing to never mount in the gaps. I pulled the blocks apart and there was rust/soot as hard as stone in the mounting points. I had to chisel it out.

Once I did this I was able to link the pieces correctly. The bottom piece is actually metal. It just looks like stone because of how rusted/burnt out it was!

I'm glad it was an easy fix. I'm curious to see the alternative/new configuration now though. Might pop into Mitre10 on my way home. There must be a reason why they changed it. Maybe a few people were having the same issue as you, although as I say, I have not had any problem at all.

I don't think it's changed much really.

The handles appear more plastic. I haven't had a problems with my handles though. The latch at the bottom is replaced with the new clicky version.

The man at M10 said he had his bottom ceramic grill replaced just like mine. It broke up under the heat pressure.

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

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