Hey Benj. Just found your channel. I want to commend you for it. It's terrific. Particularly glad to have come across this vid. I've been trying to decide whether to go for an ESSE or not. After watching this, I'm going for it. All the best with your project. I'll stay watching.
Great video! ESSE Bakeheart owner here, and having the same problems with smoke occasionally coming back into the room when reloading the fire. Those are excellent tips about using enough wood when lighting the fire to get the stove up to temperature before reloading, and also ensuring that there are no flames in the fire box before reloading. In my case with the Bakeheart, it's OK to open the door with flames so long as the flames aren't lazy dirty/sooty flames... if the flames are fierce then the draw up the flue is usually good enough to stop the smoke filling the room. I know the Ironheart and Bakeheart are different animals but it sounds like they both have a fairly weak draw of smoke up the flue. I think my flue ideally needs extending to improve the draw, but it still chucks out a huge amount of heat!
I haven’t baked any bread or cakes in the oven as of yet but I have used it for roasting joints of meat and roast potatoes and it does a good job. Once it’s up to temperature it’s quite easy to maintain. If your willing to put the time in and learn the stove you’ll get good results. It’s just very different from conventional ovens/hobs we’re used to. It takes some work to get it all right but for me that’s half the fun. 👍🏻
Hi, just came across this video. I've had my iron heart for 8 years and I love it. Still learning about it every time I use it. I cut my own wood and generally go through 4 cords a season. I start in late September and usually end in May. As far as I'm concerned Esse is the best!!! Great video
Thanks. I do love my Esse, and with all the uncertainty surrounding gas and electricity this winter I feel at ease knowing I have the Ironheart! Do you have the same problem as I do with smoke entering the room when opening the fire door? I’ve not spoken to another Ironheart owner before now.
Thanks for responding. No I don't have that issue. I did have to add another 24" section to my stovepipe a couple years ago. It wasn't drafting like I thought it should. That did the trick for me. I do clean mine out maybe 4 times a year and sweep my chimney once 7n the winter and when I'm done using it in May. Haha 8 years and still learning. You might want to check out Woody Chain on TH-cam. He is the most knowledgeable person I found on the ironheart or cook stoves in general
Thanks very instructive. How do find servicing/ cleaning out the Esse? I hear the top bone plate is very heavy. Could a 60 plus lady manage it? Catching screw mechanism can move I hear is a fiddle. Have you a servicing video?
Thanks. I find servicing quite simple however the hot plates are heavy! So might need help to remove. Locating the screws that hold the plate down is easy enough. I don’t have a servicing video, sorry.
Hey Mate. My Ironheart is on the boat to Australia at the moment. I'm totally off grid so included the wet jacket to heat my water. It's bloody cold here right now. Appreciate your video. My question is if the Ironheart is flooded will it be difficult to clean it out and with a little TLC get it operational again. I was flooded and need to plan for the worst. Reference Eastern Australia Flooding 2022.
i would say that once the flood waters have receded it would be straight forward cleaning it out and getting it back in operation . id have concerns that it might rust internally i.e along the flu route around the oven etc. where its hard to get access. but in my opinion you'll be fine, its just a metal box after all, nothing should be damaged by the water apart from rust. i did hear on the news about the floods, hope you manage to avid them!
I’m in Australia and waited nine months for my Ironheart. Got one with a water jacket. Had to send it back to remove it because it could not handle mains pressure
@@devono7230 Thanks for the info. You can't just run normal water through them. It is a closed system with a holding tank and a heat exchanger for your drinking heated water to go through. Didn't they explain that to you?
If you haven't preheated the water in your kettle how long does it take to get the water boiling with a fire you are just starting? Also with an already going fire?
To bring a cold kettle to the boil on a hot stove can take as little as 60 seconds depending on how hot your running the stove. To get the fire up to temperature to boil a kettle will take 30-60 minutes depending on the type of fuel being burned. Hope this makes sense
Not something I’ve kept a close eye on but if it’s hard wood that’s burned I’d say 1m3 and if it’s soft wood at least double. The essy is a hungry beast but it does chuck a lot of heat out! Hope this helps.
The Esse will burn coal too, I have burned coal on mine but I found it hard work. I put it down to the draw through my Esse not being the best, perhaps it will burn coal better with a different flue set up with better draw. Like I said on the video you do get some smoke in the room from time to time and with wood I can just about bare it but when the room is full of coal smoke….. it’s very unpleasant! Hope this helps
Does the Ironheart frame get very hot as well? I see you using the tool to open the fire box, I'm just thinking about curious kids in the house touching it. Cheers!
Yes! Everything on the front of the esse gets very hot, especially the handles! When my daughter was younger I made a guard that hung on the handle to cover all the front of the stove and it worked a treat, it was made of wire mesh with 50mm holes. Hope this helps
@@doingoutdoors875 yer mine also is supposed to divert the smoke around the oven box. Then up the flu. I’ll be interested to see the smoke situation when I open the door
@@devono7230 let me know how you get on once it’s installed. It might be an issue that has been resolved or my fire might need something sorting on it?
Total respect brother! Good work. Makes so much sense in the climate that we live, and I’m not talking weather. Good luck and blessings.
Hey Benj. Just found your channel. I want to commend you for it. It's terrific. Particularly glad to have come across this vid. I've been trying to decide whether to go for an ESSE or not. After watching this, I'm going for it. All the best with your project. I'll stay watching.
Thanks 😊. You’ll not be disappointed with the ironheart! It’s definitely a stove that requires some effort but it’s well worth it. All the best! 👍🏻
Watched this a few times. Thank you
Good honest review. Thank you.
Thank you and enjoy it! ☺
Awesome video!
thanks for posting
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video! ESSE Bakeheart owner here, and having the same problems with smoke occasionally coming back into the room when reloading the fire. Those are excellent tips about using enough wood when lighting the fire to get the stove up to temperature before reloading, and also ensuring that there are no flames in the fire box before reloading.
In my case with the Bakeheart, it's OK to open the door with flames so long as the flames aren't lazy dirty/sooty flames... if the flames are fierce then the draw up the flue is usually good enough to stop the smoke filling the room.
I know the Ironheart and Bakeheart are different animals but it sounds like they both have a fairly weak draw of smoke up the flue. I think my flue ideally needs extending to improve the draw, but it still chucks out a huge amount of heat!
Thanks! When I first installed the Ironheart the draw was really poor so I added an extra 100 cm to the chimney, this improved the draw a lot!
Liking the experiments prior moving.
Thank you. I am looking at the bakeheart but this was very useful.
Do you have any comment on how well the oven works?
I haven’t baked any bread or cakes in the oven as of yet but I have used it for roasting joints of meat and roast potatoes and it does a good job. Once it’s up to temperature it’s quite easy to maintain. If your willing to put the time in and learn the stove you’ll get good results. It’s just very different from conventional ovens/hobs we’re used to. It takes some work to get it all right but for me that’s half the fun. 👍🏻
Hi, just came across this video. I've had my iron heart for 8 years and I love it. Still learning about it every time I use it. I cut my own wood and generally go through 4 cords a season. I start in late September and usually end in May. As far as I'm concerned Esse is the best!!! Great video
Thanks. I do love my Esse, and with all the uncertainty surrounding gas and electricity this winter I feel at ease knowing I have the Ironheart! Do you have the same problem as I do with smoke entering the room when opening the fire door? I’ve not spoken to another Ironheart owner before now.
Thanks for responding. No I don't have that issue. I did have to add another 24" section to my stovepipe a couple years ago. It wasn't drafting like I thought it should. That did the trick for me. I do clean mine out maybe 4 times a year and sweep my chimney once 7n the winter and when I'm done using it in May. Haha 8 years and still learning. You might want to check out Woody Chain on TH-cam. He is the most knowledgeable person I found on the ironheart or cook stoves in general
@@macmc54ify it might be a case of me not cleaning the stove enough, I usually clean it just once a year! Everyday is a school day! Thanks
God bless you man
Nice Video Watching from Australia ...Noticed your hand shaking...I thought you had the shakes with your arm...Up popped your Dog.
Thanks Ted. No shakes here, not yet anyway 😅
Ash is great for remineralising the soil too.
I’ve been adding all my ash to the compost pile. Which will get added to the growing beds each year. 👍🏻
Thanks very instructive. How do find servicing/ cleaning out the Esse? I hear the top bone plate is very heavy. Could a 60 plus lady manage it? Catching screw mechanism can move I hear is a fiddle. Have you a servicing video?
Thanks. I find servicing quite simple however the hot plates are heavy! So might need help to remove. Locating the screws that hold the plate down is easy enough. I don’t have a servicing video, sorry.
Hey Mate. My Ironheart is on the boat to Australia at the moment. I'm totally off grid so included the wet jacket to heat my water. It's bloody cold here right now. Appreciate your video. My question is if the Ironheart is flooded will it be difficult to clean it out and with a little TLC get it operational again. I was flooded and need to plan for the worst. Reference Eastern Australia Flooding 2022.
i would say that once the flood waters have receded it would be straight forward cleaning it out and getting it back in operation . id have concerns that it might rust internally i.e along the flu route around the oven etc. where its hard to get access. but in my opinion you'll be fine, its just a metal box after all, nothing should be damaged by the water apart from rust. i did hear on the news about the floods, hope you manage to avid them!
I’m in Australia and waited nine months for my Ironheart. Got one with a water jacket. Had to send it back to remove it because it could not handle mains pressure
@@devono7230 Thanks for the info. You can't just run normal water through them. It is a closed system with a holding tank and a heat exchanger for your drinking heated water to go through. Didn't they explain that to you?
You should have a boiler installed we have one on our ironhart ,it gives us hot water and radiators it's great
Definitely something I’d like to have fitted. Maybe get one sorted this summer. Do you run yours with another boiler or is it on its own?
@@doingoutdoors875 that's all we need we have solor electricity and emersion heater but we don't use it
David can you retro spect and have a back boiler fitted on a stove?
@@gedhuffadine1873 yes you can. Looks simple enough to fit one. It’s something I’ll be attempting in the future
@@doingoutdoors875 yes the parts are available from esse
If you haven't preheated the water in your kettle how long does it take to get the water boiling with a fire you are just starting? Also with an already going fire?
To bring a cold kettle to the boil on a hot stove can take as little as 60 seconds depending on how hot your running the stove.
To get the fire up to temperature to boil a kettle will take 30-60 minutes depending on the type of fuel being burned.
Hope this makes sense
Hi great vid. How much wood do you use a month?
Not something I’ve kept a close eye on but if it’s hard wood that’s burned I’d say 1m3 and if it’s soft wood at least double. The essy is a hungry beast but it does chuck a lot of heat out! Hope this helps.
Can you still cook on the hobs without heating the oven by keeping the flue diverter pulled out?
You can restrict how much heat goes to the oven buy operating the flue diverter but the oven will still get hot. 👍🏻
Is there such a thing as an esse with a back boiler that can heat radiators?
Yes there is. I think it’s called the Esse Ironheart WB. Or if you buy a stove without the boiler one can be fitted retrospectively.
I'm thinking of getting a esse but would like to burn coal too. What would you recommend?
The Esse will burn coal too, I have burned coal on mine but I found it hard work. I put it down to the draw through my Esse not being the best, perhaps it will burn coal better with a different flue set up with better draw. Like I said on the video you do get some smoke in the room from time to time and with wood I can just about bare it but when the room is full of coal smoke….. it’s very unpleasant! Hope this helps
Great vid fella take hot plate off every 6-8 weeks or the soot can insulate the plate 9 years ironheart and counting.👍👍🍺🍺
Thanks mark and thanks for the tip. Up till now I’ve only cleaned the hot plate once a year. I’ll definitely clean it more often. 👍🏻
Do they make it with a back boiler
Yes they do. You can also retrofit one if you buy a second hand one without the boiler
His much was the stove ?
I bought mine second hand for £1800. But brand new your looking at £4000+
Does the Ironheart frame get very hot as well? I see you using the tool to open the fire box, I'm just thinking about curious kids in the house touching it. Cheers!
Yes! Everything on the front of the esse gets very hot, especially the handles! When my daughter was younger I made a guard that hung on the handle to cover all the front of the stove and it worked a treat, it was made of wire mesh with 50mm holes. Hope this helps
My flu diverted turns left or right. Dosent pull out
I think mine is an early model, I bought it second hand and when trying to find instructions for it I noticed that some pull out and others turn??
@@doingoutdoors875 yer mine also is supposed to divert the smoke around the oven box. Then up the flu. I’ll be interested to see the smoke situation when I open the door
@@devono7230 have you not used yours yet?
@@doingoutdoors875 not yet. I got it last Saturday, I’m waiting for the guy to help with the flu kit installation
@@devono7230 let me know how you get on once it’s installed. It might be an issue that has been resolved or my fire might need something sorting on it?