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Finally got the burner in! It took a lot longer than estimated (long story) but at least its up and running. Got loads of wood from Heritage people chopping down certain trees in local woods, plus been salvaging loads from jobs and work too.
With solar panels dropping my leccy bills right down, this should hopefully drop my gas bill by around two thirds (thats what im hoping).
I even put my whistling kettle on the top of it and that will give me free hot water for tea/coffee too!!!

Hope you enjoy your wood burner. We would not be without ours. Just a suggestion to reduce your energy costs a bit more is to do some of your cooking on the wood-stove.

Our wood-stove is flat on top, so is able to support a saucepan safely and reaches a very hot surface temperature. The wood-stoves heat output alters with the kind of wood burned and depending on how much air is allowed through it's vents. All woods burn differently and for example - pine burns quickly but doesn't give off much heat whilst olive wood makes a hot fire with a strong heat and a long lasting burn.

A wood stove's temperature is increased when wood is added, then drops as it burns. By adding wood frequently in smaller amounts, you can keep the temperature relatively even.

To test the surface temperature of a wood-stove, place a little water on the surface and see how it behaves. If the water rolls while sizzling, the surface is between 230-345 degrees celsius and you can easily boil or fry foods at this heat. If the water drops spread out slightly and sizzle steadily, the wood stove is between 150-200 degrees celsius and hot enough to simmer or bake. If the drops of water flatten and bubble, cooking will be slow, but perhaps you may be able to use the heat for slow steaming.

Our wood stove has it's own door for the removal ash tray and we have found this to be a good place to cook potatoes wrapped in foil.

Fantastic reply there okra. Many thanks for the top tips. trappa