When looking for a solid fuel stove, it's always a good idea to carefully consider how you propose to use the appliance and what type of fuel you are most likely to burn. If you are able to source a steady supply of good quality seasoned wood, and do not wish to leave the stove slow-burning over night - a wood burning stove would be ideal. If you're aiming to use your stove to as a heat source over night, a multifuel stove may better suit your needs.
So what are the differences?
Externally a wood burning stove and a multifuel stove may look the same, infact a number of manufacturers produce wood and multifuel versions of the same model. It is inside the stove that you will notice the key differences.
A multifuel stove will have a grate inside which raises the fuel up and allows air from the primary air inlet to flow through the fuel. A grate can be 'static' with no moving parts and usually cast in a single piece or 'riddling' which is designed to move or shake, usually by pulling a lever. The majority of riddling grates are now operated externally with the fire door closed, reducing the likelihood of ash entering the room. By riddling the grate, the ash will fall into the ashpan which sits beneath the grate. The ash pan is the second main difference between a multifuel and a wood burning stove. It simply catches the ash that falls through the grate and can then be removed from the stove so that the captured ash can be disposed of, usually into a bucket or more conveniently into an
ash carrier.
Stoves deigned to burn solely wood simply have a flat surface inside the stove which allows the wood to burn in a bed of ash, this is the best way to effectively burn wood. The lines have been blurred slightly by some Scandinavian stove manufacurers who have included small central static grates in some of their models, however the surface area of the grate is not large enough to allow sufficient air through to burn coal, therefore, these models have simply been designed for easier cleaning.
