Review of Aarrow Ecoburn 11 stove
Aarow Ecoburn 11 - Five years on.
Bought this stove after looking for one suitable to fit in my existing fireplace opening and chimney arrangement which necessitated a fairly small front to back dimension - which the Aarrow stove had. Opted for the multifuel grate and backboiler to provide a backup to a condensing boiler I had installed earlier. Installation was straightforward and the backboiler plumbing hooked up to a separate vented hot water cylinder and header tank operating a gravity system also feeding a bathroom radiator.
I also installed a separate pump on a diverter circuit so that flow could be directed into the rest of the central heating system. The stove exceeded all expectations and even managed to run an extra 2 radiators. I found I did not need to operate the gas boiler at all due to the direct output from the stove and the additional radiator performance. The stove has been operated exclusively on smokeless fuel during the colder periods and will keep burning through the night if stoked correctly and kept clean. I have also burned unseasoned and seasoned hardwood, softwood, solid fuel briquettes, coal and various mixtures of smokeless fuel - all successfully but each requiring more or less maintenance. It is essential to provide an adequate air supply and keep the flue and chimney clean - if you are burning wood or non smokeless fuels the chimney will require more maintenance. Lighting the stove is not difficult once you learn the rudiments - firelighter - a few sticks and away you go. There is a bit of inertia from first lighting to getting use able heat out of the stove which is to be expected. Anyone not used to stoves and open fires in general may find them high maintenance and dirty - surfaces in the house are dusty - weather conditions sometimes cause blow back of smoke when fuelling the fire and you do get your hands dirty, but the independence from the grid and the cosiness soon make up for this. I recently serviced the fire replacing the back boiler(as a precaution, the original was still serviceable),the stove liners,the glass and seals and a respray with the Aarrow paint. The stove looks brand new. I do clean the stove every day and make sure the glass is always cleaned. The original glass had lasted five years but developed surface crazing which did not look too good. One thing that did annoy was the bottom air vent rattling when windy - I cured that with a wave spring. Other niggles - the moving grate clogs with ash and does not work effectively after a time - the individual grate sections are also very expensive. The gauge of the steel at the back of the stove is a little on the thin side - the boiler union developed a leak - un-noticed for a few weeks - and rusted the steel right through. All in all I can heartily recommend this stove - with a little effort on my part in sourcing fuel and maintaining the stove my running costs are half what I paid in gas. This will obviously increase as gas prices increase year on year.Stove expert replied: Glass crazing (small marks that gradually creep over the glass) are normally caused by the stove being operated on a low setting for prolonged periods, short burst of fast burn at least twice a day for 15-20mins should prevent this. Also note that you have used unseasoned hardwood, only seasoned wood with a moisture content of less than 20% is recommended to maintain good air passage in the flue system.