Wood burning stoves tested to destruction

[kinverkid]

Just in the process of ordering but I see they are getting one or two bad reviews lately and personnel have changed. Older reviews excellent.
So if interested maybe be cautious.
I'll let you know how I get on!

It's a shame if their concept doesn't measure up. They look like someone has thought of something outside the box. But, unfortunately, sometimes the stuff inside the box is what has proven to work and why we have to go back to it. I do hope the negative feedback proves wrong though because they do look like they would do an efficient job and look nice too.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mine is brilliant. Having no fire bricks, it heats up in minutes. Nothing in them to go wrong or to need replacing, there's no ongoing costs. I had a Clearview in the last house, which was an excellent stove, but we paid the penalty for not burning bone dry ash all the time - 20 years ago it was costing us I estimated £400 every three years for baffles, fire bricks and baskets, and that's a conservative estimate. This one? Three door glasses in eight years.

 

[Jacob]

It's a shame if their concept doesn't measure up. They look like someone has thought of something outside the box. But, unfortunately, sometimes the stuff inside the box is what has proven to work and why we have to go back to it. I do hope the negative feedback proves wrong though because they do look like they would do an efficient job and look nice too.

No the stoves are excellent - if the business is still in good health.

 

[Chubber]

Hhm!

Interesting, we are seriously thinking of relocating to Dumfries and Galloway to be nearer our daughter in S. Lanarkshire. We visited Newton Stewart during our last house hunting visit, and are intending to have a 'burn it all stove' we can cook on too.
Thanks for posting.

 

[Jacob]

to say cast iron is not a good material for a stove is poor comment,it is probably the best, apart from inconel, and no seals??

Well made and well designed steel totally superior, but visually somewhat industrial. Needs no perishable firebricks or baffles. No seals needed it there is a good draw up the flue when lit.
I realise that these contradict the conventional view, but times change and things move on.
With various moves I've had 5 stoves so far - two ancient "Tortoise" brand, one Morso Squirrel, all of which were high maintenance, two Dowlings for approx 20 and 10 years both well used and still going just about as new.
PS and two Rayburn cookers which were useless as wood burners. And as cookers come to think!

 

[imageel]

This product is interesting - I had always understood that anything that used the rocket stove principal would require very high temperature liner to prevent damage to the steel body - I guess this is all about the thermodynamics of these stoves, a subject I have little knowledge or experience of.
For sure I would have installed one if I'd known about them at the time instead of the more designer Scandi looking Rais Q-Tee
The fact that they are relatively maintenance free and don't require a flue liner is a no-brainer for me..

 

[Jacob]

This product is interesting - I had always understood that anything that used the rocket stove principal would require very high temperature liner to prevent damage to the steel body

If there is a good draw you can run any stove like a rocket stove for a fast heat-up but you wouldn't want to run for long like that or you would be popping in more fuel every 20 minutes or so.
As I understand it cast iron can't take the thermal shock and all the advice is about slow burning.

- I guess this is all about the thermodynamics of these stoves, a subject I have little knowledge or experience of.
For sure I would have installed one if I'd known about them at the time instead of the more designer Scandi looking Rais Q-Tee

Cast iron was the best back in the day and can be very stylish, but functionally inferior to modern fabricated steel

The fact that they are relatively maintenance free and don't require a flue liner is a no-brainer for me..

Flue liner is highly advisable to make sure of a good and consistent draw. But where the flue is exposed in the room it is better to have plain steel for additional heat transmittance, where possible and if safe.

 

[highwood122]

Well made and well designed steel totally superior, but visually somewhat industrial. Needs no perishable firebricks or baffles. No seals needed it there is a good draw up the flue when lit.
I realise that these contradict the conventional view, but times change and things move on.
With various moves I've had 5 stoves so far - two ancient "Tortoise" brand, one Morso Squirrel, all of which were high maintenance, two Dowlings for approx 20 and 10 years both well used and still going just about as new.
PS and two Rayburn cookers which were useless as wood burners. And as cookers come to think!

i thought the fire bricks at sides and front were to direct some heat forwards and how do you get a " good" draw in a bungalow, i am quite satisfied with my jotul, in six years its only needed rope seals. but i only burn seasoned logs though

 

[imageel]

For sure it makes me realise how little I know about these things,, I know with the one I have, by design it works best when you have got the burn correct and a constant burning edge on the principally hardwood logs I used to feed it.
In 9 years I did go through one cast iron grate and one glass door, the latter entirely my fault - I dropped a log off the top of a bundle I was stacking and it bounced on the granite hearth and dinged the door...
Neither were stupid prices to replace so I'm not complaining!

 

[Jacob]

i thought the fire bricks at sides and front were to direct some heat forwards

That's what they were telling me in the showroom I recently visited!
In fact the heat is emitted from all sides, and the flue, and taken away by convection. Hence need for plenty of space around the stove. The more conductive and bigger the surface area emitting heat, the better. Fire bricks reduce output but do protect the cast iron.

and how do you get a " good" draw in a bungalow, i am quite satisfied with my jotul, in six years its only needed rope seals. but i only burn seasoned logs though

As long a flue pipe as possible, straight as possible upwards, plus insulated double skin where heat emission not desired e.g. in an old chimney.

 

[highwood122]

If there is a good draw you can run any stove like a rocket stove for a fast heat-up but you wouldn't want to run for long like that or you would be popping in more fuel every 20 minutes or so.
As I understand it cast iron can't take the thermal shock and all the advice is about slow burning.

Cast iron was the best back in the day and can be very stylish, but functionally inferior to modern fabricated steel

Flue liner is highly advisable to make sure of a good and consistent draw. But where the flue is exposed in the room it is better to have plain steel for additional heat transmittance, where possible and if safe.

could you please explain to me how cast iron is functionally inferior to steel for stoves

 

[Jacob]

could you please explain to me how cast iron is functionally inferior to steel for stoves

If overheated it cracks and distorts - more so if heated locally, hence the advice to light the stoves carefully and warm them up, and the need for perishable firebricks and baffles.

 

[Spectric]

Eight years old Little Devil. The only mod. is the rope around the handle.

Looks like they modeled this on a jukebox.

very pretty but they all had firebricks and or baffles, taking up internal space.

I think the firebricks are to try and reduce the distance needed to combustables, they keep the outside casing cooler. Yes sounds very silly considering that there purpose is to heat a room and not just burn wood. It is also strange when you see twin wall pipe run all the way from the stove without any single wall stove pipe, again the single gets hotter and disipates the heat. The baffles I believe are to do with meeting the new DEFRA requirements for smoke free zones, I had this issue in that to get a stove installed the guy said that to comply with HETAS certification that the stove had to be DEFRA approved otherwise local BC would not approve and I fall foul of local bylaws. I wonder if they have these issues in Alaska, Canada or China.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes, this is how it should be. The "halo" is an insulated duct through a 6" in line fan which takes the heat to the bedroom and the kitchen.

 

[Robbo3]

i thought the fire bricks at sides and front were to direct some heat forwards and how do you get a " good" draw in a bungalow, i am quite satisfied with my jotul, in six years its only needed rope seals. but i only burn seasoned logs though

Dunno what you do to improve the draw in a bungalow but in ours we have to use cardboard as the draw is so great that newspaper rips.

 

[BruceK]

A friend and I made a very heavy duty rocket stove for my workshop. I've not installed it yet but we lit it outdoors and it seemed to work well. It's the 'mass heater' design with a capped lid so there's not much heat wasted going up the chimney. Yes it does look a bit industrial but it'll boil the kettle and keep the workshop warm so looks don't really matter.

 

[Krome10]

Perhaps I've misunderstood some of the points being made here, but if you walk into any wood stove shop I think there'll likely be more steel stoves than iron. What sets Dowling apart is not that it is steel, but that it is bl00dy thick steel. Sorry if I've misunderstood.

On that note though, does anyone know how thick the steel bodies are on a Dowling? A quick google didn't bring anything up other than "heavy gauge", but I'm sure they do advertise the thickness.

RE fire bricks... Aside from protecting the body of the stove, aren't they there to reflect the heat back into the box and thereby increase burning temps?

And finally, not sure how things stand with installing stoves that aren't EcoDesign 2022, whether you can get them signed off, etc? Not that Clearview seem to care!

 

[TRITON]

" Handmade in Scotland "

 

[Jacob]

Perhaps I've misunderstood some of the points being made here, but if you walk into any wood stove shop I think there'll likely be more steel stoves than iron.

Mixture of both. Cast iron for the decorative and stylish bits

What sets Dowling apart is not that it is steel, but that it is bl00dy thick steel. Sorry if I've misunderstood.

On that note though, does anyone know how thick the steel bodies are on a Dowling? A quick google didn't bring anything up other than "heavy gauge", but I'm sure they do advertise the thickness.

Can't recall the thickness - I'd guess 10mm ish

RE fire bricks... Aside from protecting the body of the stove, aren't they there to reflect the heat back into the box and thereby increase burning temps?

Doesn't make sense. The heat is wanted outside. Apparently the bricks are there to absorb "thermal shock" in case of too rapid change of temperature. Similar with CI cookware advice in reverse - not to plunge oven hot Le Creuset into cold water etc.

And finally, not sure how things stand with installing stoves that aren't EcoDesign 2022, whether you can get them signed off, etc? Not that Clearview seem to care!

Certification details is on their website.

 

[Fergie 307]

Would be interesting to know. 10mm would be massively OTT I would have thought.