Your thoughts on Wood Burners made in China?

Vinstar

Having read a previous thread and looking into buying a wood burning stove, there are so many to choose from. I personally have been looking at a franco belge but my hubby has seen a sun rain one -made in china. Will it be as well built as a uk made one and will it withstand years of being used??

Any advice welcome

martinthebandit

No and no

But if its cheap enough it may be worth it.

Vinstar

Its £325 he likes the cheapness of it but hasn't researched them. I prefer the france belge one which is british made and more expensive.

martinthebandit

Vinstar wrote: »

Its £325 he likes the cheapness of it but hasn't researched them. I prefer the france belge one which is british made and more expensive.

just agree with him, as long as he agrees to clean the glass in the door every morning.

Personally I would go for the France Belge one every time but it depends on what you can afford, I think it would be cheaper in the long run as I am fairly sure it would last more than twice as long

A._Badger

I wouldn't risk it. What chance have you got of spares in the future, or reliable service from the importer? Is it even CE approved for use in the UK?

grahamc2003

In m y experience, by far the largest cost is that for fitting - in my case, almost a total £4k estimate including a £600 stove. Saving £300 on the stove would have meant in my case a total bill of £3.7k, a 7.5% saving. While I don't usually think 'you get what you pay for', in the case of stoves, it probably has some merit. I'm very pleased with my AGA stove.

There was enough written on these boards to put me off even considering a cheap stove when the overall saving is relatively little.

In my amatuer opinion, the main things to look out for are the probability of complete combustion (if operated correctly), the airtightness when hot and cold, as well as what it looks like, and even the attraction to a buyer should you sell up at some stage. A poorly designed stove may not give you those things, but I have no idea whether all chinese stoves are poor design or not. I think i can safely say the aga is a excellent design (my only experience of stoves).

ventureuk

Vinstar wrote: »

Having read a previous thread and looking into buying a wood burning stove, there are so many to choose from. I personally have been looking at a franco belge but my hubby has seen a sun rain one -made in china. Will it be as well built as a uk made one and will it withstand years of being used??

Any advice welcome

Get a Franco Belge, we have a Monaco, it is a high quality product and every part can be replaced. In theory it would be possible to build one from scratch out of the spare parts brochure and this indicates a company who are offering long term support for an item which will be in your house for years to come.

The Monaco also has a heat shield on the back which allows it to be mounted very close to a wall and the dual burn system which in simplistic terms reburns the smoke and reduces particles which go up the chimney.

The use of a wood burning stove over the last three years has reduced our gas bill for a recently converted 80yr old 4 bed bungalow with converted roofspace to below £30 a month.

Next winters fuel has cost me £100, 3 tons of hardwood obtained from British Waterways contractors , cut chopped and stacked by me in March, it will last from late Sept to the end of March.

If you want to save money in the long run don't scrimp on the stove now.

Owain_Moneysaver

If it's not a HETAS approved appliance and installer then run away very very fast.

Solid fuel appliances can kill though carbon monoxide or fire.

Teenager dies in summerhouse after wood-burning stove leaks carbon monoxide

suki1964

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

If it's not a HETAS approved appliance and installer then run away very very fast.

Solid fuel appliances can kill though carbon monoxide or fire.

Teenager dies in summerhouse after wood-burning stove leaks carbon monoxide

Hetas does not cover Scotland nor NI - does this mean we are not allowed to have stoves installed?

You do not have to have a stove installed by a hetas installer. All they do is short cut the paper work for you. You can fit one yourself as long as you get the work signed off as conforming to the building regulations

Vinstar

Thanks for all the replies - im gonna go and show my hubby this thread now and try and convert him to the Franco stove!

Owain_Moneysaver

suki1964 wrote: »

Hetas does not cover Scotland nor NI - does this mean we are not allowed to have stoves installed?

The building standards approval system is different, but HETAS still has registered installers in these areas.