Multifuel Stove recommendations

Energy28

Hi
I'm looking to buy 2 multifuel stoves. I have a max of £600 per stove but could stretch if close. 

Up to 490mm wide, 5KW max and 125mm flue.

What brands to consider/ what brands to avoid and any good places to buy from.

TIA

A._Badger

Try to buy one made by one of the longer established brands. The fashion for 'lifestyle' stoves has seen a lot of cheap imported stoves (usually Chinese) flood onto the market in recent years - often sold under reassuringly rural and traditional names.  Even if they work satisfactorily when first installed, the availability of spare parts in the future may well be poor.

Ideally, I'd say a British made stove  (don't let anyone tell you steel stoves - which most British made ones are - are inferior to cast iron - they are not) but there are also some excellent Scandinavian and Continental brands. In the price range you specify you might have a problem but (from personal experience) you could do a lot worse than start with the Hunter range or, possibly Stovax, but you might find you are a couple of hundred pounds adrift, I'm afraid.  

dunstonh

There is a lot of trash out there which is cheap and cheerful and will make your experience of a stove one of disappointment.  (for example, if you change your air settings, the best stoves, installed correctly, will see the change within seconds.  Poor quality stoves and/or installation can take up to several minutes to see a difference.  This can leave you spending far too long trying to get the air controls just right).

Cheap and cheerful stoves burn through fuel quicker as they have poor air controls.     Therefore increasing the cost of running.   It can be harder to keep them up to a decent temperature. So, you use more fuel.   i.e. it can be false economy to buy cheap and low quality at the outset.

We have 3 stoves and planning to get a 4th.  They are 8kw Clearview stoves but the 4th will be a 5kw.  Sadly, they are the wrong side of your budget but certainly result in efficient burning (and lower usage costs).

FreeBear

A._Badger said: Ideally, I'd say a British made stove  (don't let anyone tell you steel stoves - which most British made ones are - are inferior to cast iron - they are not) but there are also some excellent Scandinavian and Continental brands. In the price range you specify you might have a problem but (from personal experience) you could do a lot worse than start with the Hunter range or, possibly Stovax, but you might find you are a couple of hundred pounds adrift, I'm afraid.  

One advantage of steel construction over cast iron is that they are easier to repair should the need arise. A lot of places can weld steel, where as cast iron can be difficult.

£600 isn't going to get much - The Hobbit from Salamander or Devil from Dowling come in under budget. Both are multifuel and less than 5Kw although the Hobbit is only a 100mm flue (an adaptor would be needed).

You'll also need to factor in the cost of installation - Either using a HETAS installer that can self-certify, or getting Building Control involved.

Energy28

Thanks for all your guidance. What about a Stovax Stockton 5?

A._Badger

I hesitate to recommend the following site as it suffers from a plague of clueless users (self-identified by some of their comments!) but you can plod around it and if they don't manage to put you off buying anything, you might find it useful

https://www.whatstove.co.uk/stovax-stockton-5-stove-reviews

Generally, Stovax has been around a long while so should know what it's doing. Make sure you buy a stove appropriate to the size of room you intend it to heat - 5kw might seem a lot in a modern next to hermetically sealed shoe box but in an older house and a larger room it might struggle. Check first! 

YellowCarBlueCar

Bit late to the thread, but from personal experience that Hamlet Solution 5 is a good 'budget' stove - i.e. at the affordable end of good British stoves.  Very controllable, and even with the small size it's possible to keep it running through the night if you want to.

The main downside is that the firebox will only take 8 inch logs which means that there are a few logs in each delivery which won't fit without further chopping, so you may be better off with a slightly wider stove given you've got the space.

JudgeDekker

Don't buy a Clearview stove. Their stoves used to be good quality but now they are delivering them with essential parts missing. After taking your money, obviously. Just another good brand gone bad, unfortunately.

Rich_richardson

We fitted a Woodwarm stove a few years ago. Really happy with it and honestly can't think of a fault.

Rich

Swipe

How much longer before they are banned? It's only a matter of time.

dunstonh

Swipe said:

How much longer before they are banned? It's only a matter of time.

I don't believe they will be banned. Too many rural properties rely on them and rural use is not a problem.   I suspect you will find local authorities will introduce restrictions in urban areas (if they haven't already done so).