Just came across the review I submitted 8 years ago. Thought it might be worthwhile providing an update. I am pleased to say that I still have my Charnwood 16b and am still very happy with it
. Interesting to read that some people have had problems with paint chipping/peeling. Every year I apply a coat of black stove polish and it comes up like new. It is now nearly 14 years since I bought my stove. I have had no leaks or cracks and apart from a few replacement parts it still works well. If I am perfectly honest it does struggle to heat the house well if the temperature drops below 0 degrees but I have to say that it is a 200 year old cottage and although we insulated as best as we could it is not up to the standard of a modern house. Some additional things I have done which has also helped is to add secondary glazing as I was keen to keep the original sash windows. Additionally, I purchased a stove fan and instead of keeping all our doors closed they are now left open which gives us an even temperature throughout the house. I find it hard to make a direct comparison with any other models because although many of my friends have wood burning stoves they are only room heaters and do have the full capacity of the 16b. Rather than change the make or model of my stove when the need arises, I think I will be more inclined to reduce the size of water tank we have which I imagine would allow the central heating pump to come on quicker and heat the radiators for a longer period of time.
Stove expert replied:
Good comments and great to hear this is still working well after nearly 14 years and heating your home adequately.
Bought this stove in September 2007. We have 9 radiators running off this system. I intially had lots of problems trying to get sufficient heat from the stove to keep all the radiators warm
let alone hot. The problem however was not the stove but the user. Logs were not sufficently seasoned and anthracite was not sufficently dry. Because of the cost of anthracite here on the Isle of Mull (£200 per month)I now only use wood which mainly comes from the Forestry Commission (25 tons costing £650). Apart from the amount of time I spend cutting and splitting logs (which I enjoy) I estimate the cost of running this system for me is just over £350 per year as opposed to oil which would cost us £3000 per year.In order to get our stove working effectively, here are some of the things I have done.Built a very large woodstore which holds approx. 12ton of split logs (one years supply). This ensures wood is well seasoned before using.Adjusted the thermostats to 80degrees centrigrade and 60 degrees centigarde to ensure the radiators become hot. Please check with your installer.Use a moisture meter to check moisture content of logs is between 15-20%All logs split to 3 inches or 6 inches wide.Have a pipe thermostat to ensure stove is sufficiently hot to achieve secondary burn.Ensure kindling is extremely dry.Where possible use seasoned hardwood in the coldest months.All these things have helped me overcome the intial problems. I love my Charnwood 16b (wife calls it the 'black bitch' as it gets more attention than she does!) and would replace with the same. Initial layout for the stove, plumbing, liner and cost of repairing the chimney was expensive at £5k, but I have already recouped all of that cost in comparison to what it would have cost if I had used oil or LPG - no gas available on the island.
Stove expert replied:
What a great account of how to get the best from the stove, log store, moisture meter, stove thermostat, seasoned logs - an expert in the making! Thank you for your valued comments.
I posted a few comments on this site when we first bought the Charnwood Country 16b. It is with GREAT sadness that our time has come to part with this "member of the family!" I still remember
the first night in March when the evening was a bit cold so we tried it out for real. We were enchanted by the flames, we switched off the TV, stopped whats apping our friends, took out a bottle of chilled chablis, cuddled up and had a wonderful evening, the one of many.For 7 years "my baby" (as my wife calls it) has been heating our whole house. We have had it on for probably 98% (we did have holiday) of the total time using it EVERY day. For us the stove exceeded all our expectations. Sure there was a time with trial and error working out how best to use is, how best to quickly get it up to speed etc and of course how we used a H2 Panel to link the gas central heating to the 16B. When we first bought the stove we bought some trial packs of different types of wood that cost about £90. Apart from that the costs of the wood was 0, yes zero. After a while, we got to know a few local builders who used to drop the wood at the side of the house, at other times got to know someone involve in building the sets at a local theatre provided lots of soft wood ideal for making kindling. Over the years we have NEVER had a gas bill of over £8 (yes eight) a QUARTER. it did require work to collect the wood cut it all up and store away ( 5 wood stores made for reclaimed pallets, as well as a bike shed and bbq cover!). So we did use a lot of wood, but hey, the quality of life that we had made us the envy of our friends.Having just sold the house and saying good bye to our Charmy was almost like giving away my daughter (ok I did say almost! :) ) Sadly moved to Milton Keynes in a smokeless zone... but hoping to buy the new Island I. if can get it at a good price!Farewell old friend, you have served us well (tear in the eye:( )
Stove expert replied:
Heartfelt review, hope the next stove proves to be as much of a friend.
I've had the Charnwood 16b multi fuel stove for 10 years and couldn't have asked for a better stove so once the inner jacket wore through I automatically replaced it with the same stove but,
the new model doesn't hold as much wood plus it donesn't have as much control of the air intake. The original stove when shut down would last 18 hours but, the new one only lasts 4 hours. Had to adjust the plate on the fire box but, still doing the same.
Stove expert replied:
If you are unable to shut the stove down to a slumber mode then get the flue draft checked as this may be in excess of the manufacturers recommended draw. Modern stoves have changed and this may be something that needs altering to suit the newer model.
I have had this stove for about 6 years and have just moved house and left it behind. We heated a 4 bedroom cottage with it, replacing electric storage heaters and a multi-fuel room heater
. We had a bit of bother with the installation but once it was resolved the system worked well. That said I sometimes felt it was hard to get the fire as hot as I would like to make the radiators as hot as I wanted them. As an experienced stove user I know what I am doing and someone new to stoves might take a bit of time to get the best from this one. (I also have a Hunter Herald boiler stove in another house and have had a stove in my homes for over 20 years).It eats fuel at a great rate. Being used to a multi fuel stove that heated only the room and belted out a good heat it was a bit of a disappointment that this huge stove powered through a huge amount of fuel but the room was never as warm as it previously had been. But we got used to it and we loved it in the end.It would stay in overnight, but only with anthracite, not wood. It wasn't really worth the bother as it was almost easier to get it going from start as it was to reawaken it from its anthracite slumbers and the heating did not stay on all night anyway.We had a huge water tank and installed an awesome bath to go with it a real plus. Loads of hot water. Even in summer I could put the stove on for an hour or two every three days and heat enough water to last a while. I did not need to use the electric immersion and that cut the electric bills down really well. A couple of things to note that I only found out through encountering issues:1. There is an alternative half throat plate available for situations where there is poor draw. We got one early on but it wasn't required as it was an installation issue nothing, to do with the draw.2. There are clips available to help hold the throat plate in place. It can dislodge itself due to heat and draw and drop down into the fire (a damned nuisance on a cold night I can tell you). An enquiry to Charnwood and a couple of free clips later stopped the issue (after I had bought a new throat plate too as I thought that it was an age/use issue at first).3. Having windows open upstairs can create another chimney effect in your house and draw air away from the stove.I found Charnwood technical support to be quite helpful. The supplier on the other hand, was not, he came up with all sorts of drivel when we were having the installation issues. We bought our Hunter Herald from a different supplier and I found him to be pretty useless too (that's being kind). They are only interested in selling you a stove, make sure you do your own research and homework.Now I have moved and I am renovating my next house and about to put a boiler stove into it, this time to supplement oil heating. Which one to choose is the problem? Would I have the Charnwood again, it does not suit the shape of the inglenook fireplace I now have so I won't be getting it. If it did suit, well I don't know. Its OK, but frankly could be better if it used less fuel, gave out more heat and stayed in overnight with a heat that kept radiators on when its really cold. I think there are bonnier ones out there, and I fancy a change. That's why I came across this website.
Stove expert replied:
The critical thing with any stove is the installation, making sure there is adequate free air in the room and a flue draw that is within the tolerances stipulated by the manufacturer. Then a good quality fuel and providing the stove matches the heating requirements all should be well.
The first stove had to be returned because of very poor paint finishThe second one was only slightly better, but after two years is going rusty where we wash down the paintworkThe company will
not deal with you, all dealings have to be through dealer who are not responsible for poor quality or performance Opening the doors is a nightmare and scratches the paint immediately you use itHoles through the hinge where you can see the flames, always black glass
Stove expert replied:
Manufacturers do not normally deal direct with the end user customer, the dealer are who you have the contract with so this is standard practise. It is not recommended to wash down stoves, when cool a soft brush should be all that is required.
Fitted a Charnwood 16b back in September 09. Tended to use smokeless fuel rather than wood. When used 24/7 during the winters of 09/10. Kept the house warm, plenty of hot water for the two of
us. When the friends and family stayed over. put the immersion heater on as well to boost the hot water. Fitted gas as well in August 08/12 ( Dual Fuel ) As we decided to rent the property out. As long as you give the Charnwood a good clean every week. If not, the bars will bend like a banana. As one tenant did. They are no longer there. The paint finish is not the best, I have repainted or touched up. Enamelled finish would be great if possible.
Stove expert replied:
Clearing the ash from the ash pan will help to maintain the grate system this should be done twice daily, also leaving a small bed of ash on top of the grates helps so do not over riddle the stove.
I had looked at bolier stoves and liked the Broseley evolution 26 (a powerful beast, stylish, with direct air supply, and eligible for mcs vat discount) and suggested this to the hetas engineer
who was going to install everything - woodburner, central heating and thermal store water tank - for my 3 bed house.
He said that the Broseley model had problems with heating the room too much. He told me I was getting this charwood 16b wood to power the system he designed, and that it was also eligible for that mcs vat discount. I trusted his professional opinion and ten grand later, I wish I hadn't.
ah, heat to the room, now that would be nice! Heat full stop would be nice.
I am thoroughly disappointed in this model.
The room heats ok if I really work at the fire and use a mix of soft and hard wood. But I have NEVER taken my jumper off as it never gets that warm. And on cold windy days (aka winter!) the heat is pretty much cancelled out by the cold from the airvent for the first two hours, as with this model I had to have a vent instead of a direct air supply. This vent - aka hole in the wall - faces the prevailing wind and a main road and it was not explained to me prior to installation, although it has a buffer in it I get terrible cold draft - I have sat on my sofa directly in front of the roaring fire in the stove with a freezing cold nose!
When I put the heating on (manually as I don't trust this model to replenish the hot water in the tank if I put it on timer) the radiators heat up but the water doesn't maintain the temperature. I have had a bath once since I got it, and then I had to turn the heating off in order to make sure water replenished. If I get the water tank really hot before I go to bed and the heating comes on in the morning even for 20 mins there is insufficent for a two showers. I know that is maybe the thermal store to some extent, but this stove doesn't provide enough heat. I wanted a system that would provide heating and hot water for my 3 bed house. And this is not it.
O and it is really really ugly.
It has only recently been installed and I am gutted that I will have to replace it with what I wanted originally (as soon as I can afford to) as that Broseley is a much better choice for power, style and the direct air supply.
I've had a Charnwood 16B for 8 years, and have been happy with it, it has supplied all our hot water and heat over the coldest winters. We live in a timber frame house which is very well insulated
, so it has never been overfired, and has always run on anthracite and/or well dried logs. It was originally intended as a back-up to our oil fired boiler, but it became the primary source of heat in our house. Previously we had another Charnwood, the predecessor to the 16B without the wraparound boiler, we had it just over a year before it developed water leaks somewhere round the air inlet. A Charnwood rep came out and examined the system, and was happy to replace the stove without any quibbles. Now, 8 years on, the 'new' stove has developed leaks, both around the thermostatic air flap and, more critically around the airwash tubes at the rear of the boiler, one of which opened up suddenly and flooded the living room carpet. Charnwood this time did not want to know, and simply suggested getting it welded up. Due to the design of the stove, the weld cracks are absolutely inaccessible to a welder, so effectively the stove is scrap.
I've had a Charnwood 16B for 8 years, and have been happy with it, it has supplied all our hot water and heat over the coldest winters. We live in a timber frame house which is very well insulated
, so it has never been overfired, and has always run on anthracite and/or well dried logs. It was originally intended as a back-up to our oil fired boiler, but it became the primary source of heat in our house. Previously we had another Charnwood, the predecessor to the 16B without the wraparound boiler, we had it just over a year before it developed water leaks somewhere round the air inlet. A Charnwood rep came out and examined the system, and was happy to replace the stove without any quibbles. Now, 8 years on, the 'new' stove has developed leaks, both around the thermostatic air flap and, more critically around the airwash tubes at the rear of the boiler, one of which opened up suddenly and flooded the living room carpet. Charnwood this time did not want to know, and simply suggested getting it welded up. Due to the design of the stove, the weld cracks are absolutely inaccessible to a welder, so effectively the stove is scrap.
We were considering the Clearview 650 and the Charnwood Oxford 16b, went with the Charnwood following advice of HETAS engineer. We had our stove installed towards end of March 2012 - must to
the amusement of the neighbours who commented on how warm March had been! But he who laughs allowed etc. April was a colder than March so at least I got to try it out.We had one problem initially in that we had purchase a H2 Panel to give us the full flexibility of using the stove or the existing central heating independently or linked up. The installer, however, mistakenly attached one of the sensors to the pipes next to the hot water cylinder, and it should have been measuring the stove temperature. Once we got this sorted out we were smoking - or rather not smoking but burning.I have had problems with the glass blackening up, not any more. The 16b even though we bought the wood burning version has the same griddle as the multi fuel. this fact is important. It was not until I had been reading through the various sites that I came across the fact that a multi fuel stove needs to have a layer of 1-2cms of ash in order to operate efficiently. Once I had accumulated this, all the glass blackening problems vanished. It was important not to block the air vents at the sides of the firebox. Now we have not had to empty the ash trays for over 2 months - I simply take off some ash ever 2 or 3 burns from the top of the ash in the firebox. We live in a 3 bed semi, the largest room has two radiators that have never been used since we started using the stove. It does take a while for all the radiators to get up to temperature when using stove only mode as the H2 Panel ensures that the hot water cylinder first reaches temperature. Once all is up and running about an hour and a half all radiators warm up nicely.We burn pallets, spend summer collecting. One tip is to nail 2,3 or 4 pallet pieces together to slow down the burn rate. We do not remove nails from the pallets, just bought a largish magnet from ebay and I just slide that over the ash - ONCE COLD - and pull out a nail porcupine!Financially we were not well off, in previous houses we used to use halogen heaters to heat up rooms. Now we have the whole house warmed up and the largest room very warm.In summer time, I put on stove for about an hour and a half first thing in the morning, heats up the 180 ltr tank for hot water for every one.But I have saved the best till last. Over the last few months, the the gas meter registers either 2 units or 3 units usage PER MONTH!! This equates to about 22 or 33 kWh. Work out for ourself how much that costs on our plan - for me gas usage costs is between £1.55p and £2.33p per month! And seeing that we made the effort to build our log stores and fill the up with pallet wood there are no other running costs! Now THAT is what I call a good buy. All our guests comment on how wonderful it is to see a fire and how warm the house is. Very very pleasedI am not really able to rate the overnight burning as never tried it.
Stove expert replied:
Great feedback. Love the tip about getting the nails out of the firebox! It can a while to get the best out of a stove and always worth experimenting until you find what works best. Sounds a very warm home now!
