ANSWERS

We hesitate to say “All” stoves! We do have access to a huge section of the market, and display those that we have personal experience of. If in doubt, ask!

There is a cliché answer to this one! “Have a good steel rather than a poor cast, or a good cast iron before a poor steel” Let us guide you. There are examples of all four in the market.

Start with one of the many central heating calculators on the net. These will allow you to calculate an output requirement for your room.

Some manufacturers also give you access to a calculator

One of the most important aspects in choosing a stove is making sure it provides the right level of heat output in relation to the room size. As a guide to help you work out how much heat you are likely to require, we suggest the following calculation formula:

Length x Width x Height of room = Space in cubic metres.

Space in cubic metres ÷ 14 = kW heat required.

Unfortunately we can’t. See above “What stoves do you sell?”

We currently hold two hundred different catalogues, so where to start? Most manufacturers will accept a request for their brochure and forward one to you. See our Manufacturers web page

Depends! Condition of the flue and what you intend to put at the bottom of it all play a part. It must be said that all stoves will have their performance enhanced by flue lining, and consequently the risk of chimney fires is reduced, but it is not a pre-requisite to install a stove.

Yes, but this concept is fraught with difficulties. This is so often asked, and can be done so badly and dangerously that we have devoted an entire page to it.  See our Link ins page.

Efficiency is a measure of how much of the potential heat in any given volume of fuel ends up in the room. It is NOT dependent on the method of heat delivery. (Some purists and pedants may debate this, but few customers want to delve in to pure science!)

Yes. In one of two ways. Either, enamel on cast Iron, or a paint finish on cast or steel. Heatproof stove paint is now available in around twenty different colours, and even if a manufacturer doesn’t offer your colour choice, you may talk us into painting a stove for you!

( See website www.calfire.com )

Remember, enameled cast iron is essentially a glass finish on top of the black iron base and you will be waving a poker around in front of it so chipping and cracking of the finish is possible! But, if you want one, we won’t stop you! (Besides it generally adds £200-300 to the price!)

Yes. Please see our special page on building a chimney if your house has no chimney.

Why is anything cheaper on the internet?

Answer. No overheads. Little things like, advice, qualification, service, showrooms, all cost money! So does after sales backup!

If you wish to buy a stove from a company in the south of England and have it delivered to you in Cumbria or Dumfries or the Borders, so be it. But don’t be surprised if they won’t, or can’t, send an engineer to service the warranty on it!

Bear in mind that current consumer legislation in the UK places responsibility for the product firmly in the lap of the retailer for the first year. Manufacturers are perfectly within their rights to send you back to the stove retailer for service. Most will!

See this question below.

Why are some stoves so much cheaper than others?

Quality. It seems odd to me that we are so often asked this. Do people expect that all cars, fridges, televisions, computers, sofas, (we could go on!) should all cost the same? There are quality differences in every market. Generally you get what you pay for.

This is often more a statement with a question mark than a full question! We generally find that Chinese produced product is a mixed bag. A vast amount of Chinese stoves are being shipped to a hungry British market and are often epitomized by low prices, poor finish and low quality castings.

We also often have suspicions with regard to technical requirements. (Not unusual to see a huge stove with a very small flue outlet)

Information with regard to qualification and suitability is hard to come by and many of the claims made by suppliers are unsubstantiated.

Here are a few things to watch out for:

• a 30kw stove, no larger than most British produced 15kw appliances. How do they do that?
• “Made in Britain” when the supplier really means “Assembled”.
• “Manufacturer” when the site doesn’t tell you where.
• Claims of CE or EN approval that may not be substantiated. ( Try this link for info https://reviews.ebay.co.uk/WARNING-FAKE-CE-APPROVED-SOLID-FUEL-CAST-IRON-STOVES) ALWAYS ASK
  A reputable supplier will have no qualms about supplying a legal document showing CE and EN qualification.

• stove “Specialists” who also turn out to be “Specialists” in garden furniture, or antiquarian books! And there’s more..
• the claim that pure mined ore is better than recycled scrap. Tell that to the newspaper and environmental industries! We have been fortunate enough to tour many western European foundries and seen the exactness that is applied to ensuring the production of a quality cast iron from scrap metals.Let’s show you…

The best of these foundries employ computer systems that would be the envy of NASA!  Jotul are renowned as the worlds’ foremost quality stove producer, and are proud to tell you that they recycle material in one of the worlds’ cleanest, most environmentally sound factories. Just look here….at this link on the Jotul Website https://www.jotul.com/
Here’s more about Chinese stoves…

Go to the following link and put “cast iron stoves” in the search box. (Click the Compnay links and allow yourself a couple of hours, there’s thousands of them!) www.made-in-china.com

We’re sure that there are some good products coming out of China. But if a supplier isn’t telling your their products originate in China…..what have they got to hide?

No. Just think about that for a minute. We should make no profit on the stove but take all the responsibility? Tell you what. we WILL fit your stove but WILL up our fitting charges to cover ourselves. You’d have been better off buying from us in the first place!

Can you send me a stove to…(a town three hundred miles away)?

Sorry. No! See above and our Internet Policy.

How long is a piece of string? The BEST stove is the one for the job. Be guided by a responsible retailer. It is in his / her best interest that your stove does what you wanted it to do and does it well, so that you become a salesman for him / her.

Yes. See the link to our  Smokeless Zone Stoves,

Additionally, go to www.smokecontrolareas.co.uk to see the up to date list of DEFRA Approved stoves..

You must have a hearth if you want a fire! Building regulations stipulate minimum hearth requirements. We often encourage clients to exceed the minimum. Think about your floor.

An air inlet to the stove is engineered to bring a “Curtain” of air across the glass, pushing the smoke away, resulting in cleaner glass.. A “Hot” airwash is even more effective,as it can burn tar deposits off the glass doors.

Nobody really knows! Never has a term been so abused. We like to think it should only be applied to those appliances where a manufacturer has made a serious attempt to ignite and burn off the flue gases. Often this is done by injecting hot air in to the path of the smoke, but not exclusively.

Some of the best “Cleanburn” appliances are “Downburning” with no evident “Tertiary” air injection. ( See www.euroheat.co.uk technical downloads, if you really want to delve into this)

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