Broseley Serrano 3 Hot

I bought and fitted this stove in November it is brilliant heats the whole downstairs when it gets rock and rolling. Lights and is up and running in a few minutes it will keep in all night if I use smokeless coal and shut the air down
The glass does soot up after nights use if the air wash isn' t open but it is easily wiped off with a bit of newspaper.

Stove Expert replied: Good tip for glass cleaning!!

As there was no option to review the Serrano 5 in its own category, I have decided to add it here as both stoves appear to be very similar, the 5 being a bit deeper (411mm) with a larger firebox.

We bought this to replace a 20 year old Coalbrookrdale Much Wenlock which had suffered from being over fired a couple of times and was also a bit too hot for the room it was in. Being a bit suspicious of the modern steal constructed stoves, we liked the broseley because of its solid cast iron construction (weight 110 kilo's !!). The stove is well made being entirely of cast iron including the fire bricks and baffle which are very easy to remove having no fixings they just lift out along with the grate making cleaning easy.

Only problem we had was the cast iron fire bricks and baffle needed a bit of filing/grinding off of ruff edges before they would fit properly. Why couldn't they do that at the factory?

We also had a 5” flue liner fitted because our existing flue did not meet the specification of less than 8” square. Ours was over 12” square.

Very pleased with the stove and the installation. It lights first time every time and we have no problem getting a roaring fire going. Once hot it is very controllable from flames shooting round the baffle to slow dancing patterns if the controls are closed down completely (However if you run it to low for too long it will soot up the glass eventually). The heat out put is amazing I think it is as hot as the wenlock. As for the Air wash, it works reasonably well but it needs to be run fairly hot to keep the glass clean all evening/day. As it cools down the glass does soot up and usually needs a wipe in the morning. Run low, especially when refuelling and it will soot up. Cleaning is easy though. We just use a damp cloth or sponge dipped in the wood ash and it cleans up with no problem.

As far as burning overnight, we have only burned wood, I don't think any stove of this size would burn overnight unless smokeless fuel was used, as we haven't tried that yet I've given a 3.

All together a good buy. Very happy with it. Nice looking stove, well constructed and very easy to use and control.
Stove Expert replied: Nice review with honest feedback in areas that have been a little less good.

Having owned a woodburner in my previous property I decided on the Serrano 3 as I only wanted a small stove for my Dining room. I had the stove installed by my local qualified engineer, I must admit I was not overly impressed with the stoves initial performance (I was getting smoke back in the room and found it difficult to get a roaring fire going).
I spoke to my installer about the problems and he advised that I get my chimney lined, one week and a flexible liner later and the stove was working perfectly. Whilst I hadn’t planned on buying a chimney liner I must admit that it was money well spent, the stove is now performing brilliantly and I still can’t get over how controllable it is.

This is a fantastic looking stove, well constructed and very easy to use. I would definitely recommend it, however I would also recommend getting your chimney lined from the get go. This stove does everything I wanted it to do, very happy with my purchase.

Plus points
Attractive appearance
Materials appear to be good quality
Easy to install
Minus points
Poor design - Inefficient airwash, hard to keep fires alight

Having owned a wood burner for over 25 years (the same woodburner, and still going strong!) we decided to replace an open fire in another room with a woodstove.
The stove looks very attractive in situ. It was easy to fit.
But it isn't practical. Instead of a 'basin' in which wood can be burnt on a bed of hot ash, with a removable grate for burning solid fuel, this design requires wood to be burnt on the grate so that ash can only build below the grate. Below the grate is a small pan which has gaps down each side so that much of ash falls next to the pan, down the grooves on which this pan stands and can only be removed with your fingers (even a spoon is too wide to poke down them).
The air vents, which should be able to create a 'roar' when open, may be partially blocked by the grill pan, anyway they have little effect on the fire. The difference between opening and closing them is marginal. The only way to 'draw' the fire would be to leave the door slightly ajar - hardly to be recommended. Our other stove can relight from only a few hot ashes, this one usually has to be relit completely if allowed to burn even slightly low. And because it has a small interior and this strange burn-on-grate design, it can only hold a bit of wood at a time.
The stove boasts an 'Air Wash' system but because the fire never burns very hot, this doesn't work - the vents which are supposed to activate it make little difference to the flame direction, whether left open or closed - and the door needs extensive cleaning daily (white vinegar with a dash of washing up liquid applied with a plastic scouring pad).
I was surprised by a line in the manul that states that 'Failure to allow a sufficient flow of air through the grate will result in the grate burning out in a very short period of time. This will not be covered by any warranty claim' also 'You will get some spillage of ash to the back and sides of the ashcan itself' (You certainly will - since the ashcan is too small for the unit!) 'and you must ensure that this is cleaned out regularly and from behind the internal baffle plate. If you do not do this, you may buckle the baffle plate or in the extreme, burn it out'.
Well, Broseley have certainly covered their backs!
I can understand that because this fire is small (3KW) that it won't work as well as a larger unit but I was expecting better for my money. An expensive, high maintenance ornament.