Multi Fuel Stove Dilemma

Lee_T.

I'm booked in to have a multi fuel stove fitted in a couple of weeks. I have a couple of dilemma's, firstly do I go for a steel one or a cast one? Both stoves that we are interested in are around £800.

Secondly which one out of these two?

Stovex Huntingdon 25 (Cast)
or
Parkray Consort 5 (Steel)

Any advice would be welcome!

alleycat`

Horses for courses really.

Steel heats up faster, but also cools down faster.
Cast Iron will heat up slower but radiate heat for longer.

You can get more intricate designs on Cast stoves but the cheaper ones can be problematic due to poor construction.

Steel stoves are easier to maintain (certainly people who can weld "cast" are few and far between).

I have a Stovax Stove (but it is steel), my colleague has a Nestor Martin which is Cast iron.
Both are equally nice in their own way.

Of the two you've listed i'd have chosen the huntingdon but that is more a personal thing than anything else.

Try the alternate fuels board for some other comments. There are a few installers and sweeps that frequent that board (and they'll have seen more stoves than i have).

greyteam1959

Funny that.........I have exactly the same dilemma !!
I have been looking putting in another woodburner.
I have a Dovre cast iron stove had it for about 25 years now.
Got a bit over heated a few years ago & part of the cast iron cracked !!
Never bothered repairing it though.....as already said a cast iron welder would be difficult to find & cost more than the stove is worth.
I narrowed my choice down to one of the Hunting range...
HTH

muckybutt

As a sweep and a stove owner I would go for the steel stove, cast can and does warp and crack all to often, steel doesnt.

Lee_T.

Brilliant advice so far guys. Any more welcomed. Does steel make noises when it heats up? I must say I was deffo go for cast but now 90% going for a steel one.

muckybutt

The only noise we get is the water fizzing in the stove as it warms up, the stove itself makes no noise at all. 0 to 300 deg in 15 mins soon gets the house warm