Should i move from stovax to clearview

burbb

Hi

Currently have a Stovax Stockton 5 which i have had for approx 5 years but i have not been very impressed with it.

I am looking to replace the Stockton 5 with a Clearview Pioneer 400.

Question i have is, am i going to see much improvement with efficiency and heat output etc with the clearview.

I have seen the clearview working and seems a lot better burn than the Stockton 5.

Any views would be appreciated.

Robwiz

The honest answer is 'it's impossible to say'.

What specifically are you unimpressed with? You have been experiencing the cumulative performance of the stove, the flue and its location in your room.

Are you confident that your flue draws well? Stoves seem to be very dependent on the flue and inlet air damper settings, and the quantity and type of fuel used.

Do you use a stove thermometer to optimise your burn and have you checked that you are achieving your stove's capacity? By that I mean seeing how long it takes to burn a known quantity of wood to work out its actual heat output (I find it easier to do that with briquettes – one Verdo briquette will give 8kW of heat).

My hunch is that you may not notice much difference if you swap one 5kW stove for another if you keep everything else in your room the same.

burbb

Thanks Robwiz

I have tried to burn seasoned wood and also briquets.
There seems to be a decent draw on the flue but the flue is quite a distance to the opening.

I have tried various fuels and seem to struggle to get any heat from the stovax. I do have a stove thermometer on the flue about 12inches above the stove.

If i have it burning well there it struggles to burn and i have tried different setting on the air vents using the top one to control and the bottom one closed once burning.

It is the multi-fuel version.

I have seen the clearview in use and burns a lot better. Someone once compared the stovax to clearview like chalk and cheese. (it wasn't a clearview seller).

Mojisola

We've got a Clearview and are very happy with it.

It's easy to light and responds instantly to being turned up or down.

But - it's the only stove we've had and others may be just as good.

Chimney_Sweep_3

Its a lot of money to spend on a similar stove, I sweep a fair few Stockton 5s and most are always happy with the performance, is a DEFRA version and do you know if its installed on a stainless steel liner if so what size ? if you are using for wood only remove the grate and block the hole for rod, let a bed of ash build and put an extra log or 2 in the extra space. Use the stove pipe therm just above the spigot of the stove, is the baffle in good order and have you been seeing flames from the secondry air at the back of the firebox ?

Robwiz

burbb wrote: »

If i have it burning well there it struggles to burn and i have tried different setting on the air vents using the top one to control and the bottom one closed once burning.

It is the multi-fuel version.

I have seen the clearview in use and burns a lot better. Someone once compared the stovax to clearview like chalk and cheese. (it wasn't a clearview seller).

From your reply, it sounds like you haven't yet got to grips with the controls on your stove. Very often they're not 'linear' and small movements lead to big changes in the fire's activity.

I looked at the stove reviews website and found this:

Burning this with the lounge doors closed and we can be sitting in shorts in nearly 40c!! Even with the lounge doors wide open 25/26c is possible. However the penalty is consumption. Our flue thermometer goes from 0-900c with best operation indicated at 270 to 470c, with wood that's too dry the temp is nearly always above 470c, sometimes to 900c! and when logs are too big or too damp( or both ) it struggles above 200c. Tips I do have: if its died down to much, or difficult to light, open the door about a couple of centimeters for a few minutes to get it going. Split logs up so you can get 3-4 pieces in at a time. Don't use the door vent when burning wood, that will allow an ash bed to develop, and the burn will be better. I keep the airwash open full all the time and if any more air is needed, I use the "hidden" rear vent. When it's burning well with good wood, I find only the airwash vent needs to be open

I suggest you persevere and go back to basics. Try starting your fire with just newspaper or card, kindling and a fire lighter and add small, dry logs to get the fire going. If the flames die back add more kindling so that you get the firebox temperature up, only throttling back the air when your thermometer needle is in the 'ideal' band. When I first started using briquettes I found they would smoulder and struggle to burst into flames – I found that adding more kindling would get some orange flames going which was enough to encourage the briquettes to catch.

If you don't have any luck, get the supplier/installer back to show you how to get a good fire going. Even if you have pay them it will be cheaper than replacing the stove when it's not necessary.

countryfile_2

Hello - I'm facing a similar dilemma. A Stovax Stockton 5 which seems extremely slow to get to temperature and considering moving to a Clearview Pioneer 400, which I've seen demonstrated and which seems more efficient and easier to control.

Just wondering if you'd made the move?

Mojisola

We've got a Pioneer Oven.

It lights easily and heats up very quickly and reacts instantly to adjustments of the controls.

burbb

I haven't as yet swapped from my Stovax to Clearview.

What I did do was to remove the multi fuel grate and convert my stovax back to just a wood burner rather than a multifuel burner.

That has allowed me to burn on a good bed of ash and also to get more fuel in the wood burner.

It did improve the heat output and did improve things slightly.

But still undecided and thinking about a Clearview after seeing one in use and seems a better wood burner.

If you do change to a Clearview would be interested to what you think.

jonewer

We recently opted for the Clearview Pioneer 400 over the Stovax. Given the cost of the installation, the saving of the Stovax seemed to be false economy when for a few hundred more, the Clearview was self-evidently a much better piece of kit.

Although I obviously have no comparator, the Clearview is so easy to light my wife can do it (ie. its very easy indeed) and once its roaring away, just shut off the primary air, then when up to temperature, control the burn with the secondary air push-pull jobby.

I’d also be interested to know from other people if they do make the switch, to confirm if we did the right thing or not.

reeac

We had a Clearview Pioneer 400 installed 18 years ago when our bungalow was built. We only have it as an emergency backup for heating and cooking if our electricity goes off (which happens from time to time as the supply is via overhead cables through a forest) but find it very impressive - big output and easy to control. Many people are puzzled by our preference for central heating especially as we can get loads of free wood but we both prefer the even temperatures around the bungalow to the concentrated heat from a single source - too many memories of sweltering Christmasses at the MILs.