What is the Difference Between a Wood-Burning Stove and a Multi-Fuel Stove?

If you’re thinking about installing a wood-burning stove in your home, one of the first things you need to decide is whether it’s really a woodburner you want or a multi-fuel stove.

So, what’s the difference?

The biggest difference between the two is indicated by their names. A wood-burning stove is only equipped to burn wood. Multi-fuel stoves can also burn wood, but you have the additional option of burning other solid fuels.

Grate differences

The most obvious difference between a woodburner and a multi-fuel stove that you’ll be able to spot is that a multi-fuel stove has a raised grate.

This is because fuels such as coal burn better when they have an air supply from beneath. Wood, by contrast, does not need this sort of air supply to burn effectively. In a multi-fuel stove there is a grate to allow air to circulate below the fuel, whereas in a wood-burning stove the wood will usually sit on the bottom surface of the firebox because it burns best on a bed of ashes.

Some solid fuels also burn at hotter temperatures than wood, which means that burning them on a dedicated wood-burning stove can cause damage to the metalwork.

Where’s the ashpan?

Multi-fuel stove have an ashpan that sits below the grate to gather the ashes. Since wood burns best on a bed of ashes, woodburners do not include ashpans. Instead, you’ll need a shovel or ash vac pot to collect the ashes.

The benefits of a multi-fuel stove