Wood Burning Stoves

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gonbechan
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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

Post by gonbechan »

One thing.. which I have been meaning to write about.
Before ordering a wood burning stove, contact your local municipality and find out if they have subsidies.
More than a few rural places are starting to offer subsidies for pellet and wood burning stove purchases.

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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

Post by KumamotoHunter »

xxxxtom wrote:Kumamotohunter,
regarding your wood burning stove as a guess I think your stove is probably cast iron which means before welding the broken leg and stove should be preheated with a oxy acetylene torch and then arc welded .

Cheers
xxxxtom
Thank you for the advice. I will have to get a quotation.

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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

Post by Leicaman »

Zasso Nouka wrote:Hi Mark and welcome to Japan Simple Life,

That looks like a pretty nice stove, the large door window is a definite plus when it comes to watching the flames. Stoves and parts here in Japan are astronomically expensive so if you have someone that will install it for you and the shipping is easy enough to arrange then that is an excellent idea and will save you a fortune. If you do import you might as well order up a good amount of the rope gasket for the door as that will need changing from time to time and some stove gloves would probably be worth ordering at the same time and also get a chimney brush set and rods. Also you could get a splitting axe/maul and hatchet bundled up if you don't already own them, Fiskars make some great ones that allegedly have unbreakable handles. Chainsaws are way cheaper in the UK as well if you'll be cutting wood up.

The customs guys down at Yokohama port are friendly and helpful and the shipping companies are also quite helpful. Have a chat with them before you ship the stove and find out what documentation they require and ensure you get that from your supplier. So long as you have everything on the day you pick it up it will go through without a hitch, the paperwork is long and complex but the staff will help you fill it in correctly. They have a singing chef in the staff canteen at the customs office if you like civil service food, there aren't many other places to eat around and you could be there for a while as everything is processed.

Although most manufacturers don't recommend burning softwoods such as Sugi or Hinoki most modern clean burning stoves can handle them without issue if the wood is properly dried. It's probably worth using one of the powders that inactivates creosote in the chimney once a week if you do regularly burn either of those, you can order from Amazon Japan or from Fransis.

If you do split your own wood and tire of using an axe wood splitters are available from Honda Walk but I wouldn't recommend the electric type ones as the oil gets hot quite quickly so they need to rest often to cool back down and the motors don't last long.
Hi there
So, I've finally go round to ordering the maki stove and chimney. It's sitting in my friend's warehouse in the UK at the moment but it will be shipped either today or Monday. I was just wondering what the correct procedure would be for collection at the port. When my wife called customs a few months ago, they told her it would be best to get an agent to deal with the importing paperwork. Is it so difficult that we need to pay an agent? If so, any ideas how much I would need to pay for such a service?

If I do it myself, what would be my first port of call ? (Excuse the pun )

Thanks in advance

Mark

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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Nice one Mark,

The actual import procedure itself is not so much complex as long and boring and entails you filling out a multitude of forms that one of the customs staff will later enter into a database (Japan hasn't really embraced the idea of the paperless office yet so expect lots of form filling that could easily be done online). Last time we were there they had actually set up some input stations to directly submit parts of the paperwork electronically but it was a really clunky interface that looked like it was written by a part timer, hopefully that will have improved by the time you are there.

The main thing to ensure that your friend sends you all the correct documentation. You will need

1 Packing List
2 Invoice
3 Bill of Lading
4 Fumigation certificate if your stove is sent on a wooden pallet (better to use a plastic pallet)

You must have originals or at least copies indistinguishable from originals (ie colour copies) and several copies of each (I'd suggest at least 4 copies).

Your friend should be able to supply you with a shipping schedule and using that you can actually track the ship online, can't remember a specific website right now but there are several if you search for them where you enter the ship's name and registration number and they will show you where the ship is.

You should be ready to get down to your local port on the expected date and once your stove arrives the shipping company will contact you (provided your friend gave them your contact details) and inform you that the ship has unloaded. You need to get down there fairly quickly so you don't incur storage fees (which can be quite steep) and I'd suggest a kei truck if you have one or can borrow one.

On the date the shipping company gives you go down to the customs office and start the ball rolling. Fill out all the relevant paperwork and wait, then fill out more paperwork and wait again, then fill out more and wait again. At this point you will probably need something to eat so pop upstairs where you can use the staff canteen. There's nothing flashy on the menu but it's edible and cheap.

Then once all the paperwork is complete you will go to the shipping company and they will load the pallet onto your vehicle, you will be accompanied by several customs agents to make sure you aren't smuggling anything naughty into Japan and they will escort you to the inspection centre. Once there your shipment will be thoroughly inspected and probed. Given the weight of your stove they probably won't be able to load it onto the x-ray scanner so will probably take the package apart by hand to inspect it, just let them do their job here. Once all the checks are done you may have to go back into the customs centre and fill out more forms or you may be free to take your stove and go home. You will need to pay any import duties incurred on the stove depending on the price (honestly can't remember what they are but maybe the customs website might be able to help there but probably not).

Ideally you want to arrive early in the morning as this process can pretty much take up a whole day. Normally the staff are quite helpful and will assist in filling out the necessary forms. Just let them know this is your first time and tell them them you are somewhat apprehensive about the whole process and they become a lot more helpful.

Hope that helps

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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

Post by Leicaman »

Hi Phil
Sorry for my late response. That's really useful information. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it. It's much appreciated.

Very much looking forward to getting the maki stove shipped over and installed. Should be just about in time for the new year I'm hoping.

Thanks again

Mark

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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

Post by Zasso Nouka »

No worries,

That will be awesome having the stove installed in time for the coldest part of the year.

It's been a while since we last imported anything through Yokohama so you might want to double check with your local port which documents they want and what the import duty will be. Beats getting disappointed when you go to pick your stove up.

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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

Post by donguri »

Wood burning stove installed, and now I can't seem to move any farther than the woodpile!

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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

Post by Zasso Nouka »

donguri wrote:Wood burning stove installed, and now I can't seem to move any farther than the woodpile!
Congratulations, you must be well pleased to have it in :clap:

It's the perfect way to spend the winter isn't it :lol:. A good book and a nice bottle of wine in a comfy chair and that's all you need :D, maybe that can be topped off with some slow cooked spare ribs left bubbling on top of the stove :drool:

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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

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donguri wrote:Wood burning stove installed, and now I can't seem to move any farther than the woodpile!
I think we need some pics please ;)

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Re: Wood Burning Stoves

Post by Zasso Nouka »

So it's that time of year again, break out the ladder, non slip tabi and chimney brush set and get up on the roof to clean the chimney

Image

And once clean fill up the maki stove ready for when the nights get cold enough

Image

Can't wait for it to get cold enough to light it now.

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