Multifuel Burner- is cheap and cheerful possible?

janiec

Hi
I am completely new to all this so please bear with me!
We are looking to install a multifuel 5k wood burner in an existing inglenook...ish fireplace. We have already found a reliable installer who will fit the double insulated flue. I now have to find the woodburner which is proving to be SOOO confusing.
Is it ok to buy one from Ebay or such like? They don't seem to be brands I recognise but that's not saying much and the ones I have seen have CE approval. They are about half the price of showroom ones I have seen.
If not ebay, could anyone recommend a make or model please?
Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thanks for reading!
Janie

matelodave

I think that it's probably best to pay a bit more for something that you can get spares for or from a supplier you can beat up if something goes wrong.

A._Badger

It would be very unwise to buy a 'no name' stove from eBay. Why spend extra on a twin walled liner and yet skimp on a stove?

Not only will you almost certainly get a cheap Chniese made cast iron stove, which, if you do manage to get it assembled and working, possibly won't work very well. Later, when it needs spare parts you'll be sunk. CE approval, by the way, is a complete red herring.

There are some perfectly good cheaper stoves from some of the recognised makers that are likely to serve you a lot better. Have a look at Aarow, Stovax, Hunter - brands like that.

If you really want cast iron (though it's hard to see why some people do - steel being the better material in so many ways), the Chinese made Firefox models seem to be one exception to the rule and posters here have been quite positive about them.

janiec

Thank you both for replying. To be honest I hadn't even thought about getting spare parts.....definitely something to bear in mind.
Out of interest, why is CE approval a red herring? I thought it was important!
Will start looking at more well known named brands.
Thanks again
Janie

michaelgordon

Can i just ask and its not something i ever thought off but why or what spare parts would be needed maybe the rope in the door and firebricks but surely thats it?

Swipe

michaelgordon wrote: »

Can i just ask and its not something i ever thought off but why or what spare parts would be needed maybe the rope in the door and firebricks but surely thats it?

Glass, baffle plate, grate bars

thozza

janiec wrote: »

Out of interest, why is CE approval a red herring? I thought it was important!

It is a red herring because it is an absolute requirement for the stove to carry a CE mark.

Under the Construction Products Regulation, CE marking is mandatory for all solid fuel and biomass equipment to show compliance with the Harmonised European Norms

Every stove sold in the UK must be CE marked.

HETAS have a statement here:

http://www.hetas.co.uk/just-one-more/

A._Badger

thozza wrote: »

It is a red herring because it is an absolute requirement for the stove to carry a CE mark.

And, frankly, because it is worthless. All of the rubbish imported from China (as well as the good stuff) carries a CE mark (often whether it qualifies or not). It is a guarantee of precisely nothing, whatever importers like to claim.

Swipe has explained why spares are needed. Nothing lasts forever..

A stove is a major purchase and it simply isn't worth buying a poor quality one. At best it's a false economy, At worst it could be dangerous.

suki1964

If you are going to go cheap, then I would recommend the tiger+

We have had ours 6 years and we burn for at least 12 hrs a day for 6 months of a year


So far we have had to replace a back fire brick and the rope

This year it's going to need a good clean and refurb outside

We find it suits us. Works better on the smokeless then it does logs tbh, but then we can only get softwood logs and the seasoning isn't always brill. Don't get me wrong, the logs belt out the heat but I don't think we have the best controls As I say we find using the smokeless much easier to control and much more economical

janiec

The chap who is going to fit our stove has offered us a Hunter Herald 5, about a year old for £240.
Any thoughts?!

A._Badger

There's a bit of an 'I hate Hunter' thing among stove snobs but I have had one for five or six years (a 12-14kw model) and it's been fine. They lack sophistication (allegedly) but most of those who criticise them have never had one and many of them have a vested interest in selling you the most expensive stove they can. The main thing is that Hunter is a long established, British brand, spares are easy to get and they are simple to run and service. Think Ford, rather than BMW.

The only slight concern I would have is why would someone be selling a year old stove?. Stoves aren't cheap to buy and install. Why did someone get rid of it in just one year?