Review of Charnwood Cove 1 stove
Great Little Stove
Lots of heat for its size and an efficient airwash system.
This is the third stove I have owned. My first was an internet special in my old house, the second, which is in the living room of this house is a Stovax 3. The Cove 1 is the best of the 3 but isn't perfect. I have an external air kit with an underfloor duct though I did have to modify it to have the inlet vertically pointing down instead of horizontally rearwards. The stove is in a kitchen and the kitchen extractor does not affect the performance of the stove. The airwash system works very well and the glass stays clean or will clean itself if it gets dirty when damped right down. The air is drawn in at the bottom and travels up the rear of the stove and then across the top so has plenty of time to get hot. Having just one air control knob is great for the wife, out for hot in for cooler, instead of a multitude of controls. I do find the positioning to be critical, to within a mm, to get the burn just right for it to stay in all night or for long periods. (The floating flames sensation) Too far in and the stove will go out and leave un burnt wood (charcoal) too far out and it burns out. The position also alters depending on what wood I am burning. Quite often it will stay going for over 8 hours overnight on wood but then so will my little Stovax. A few sticks, open the vents and 5 mins later it is flaming again. The multi grate is a good idea and will allow the use of multi fuel and wood. Though on my Stovax with a multifuel grate it is easy to let ash build up so I am unsure just how necessary the adapting grate is. When riddling ash tends to go down the front of the bars so when the door is opened ash spills out. Also if any ash or bits fall out they sit on a lip which is where the door seals against. So I also sweep the lip to remove bits so the door will close properly. I will look at how I can modify things to alleviate this issue. The door glass is curved so I am dreading the cost (no idea what the cost is) if and when it requires replacing. The cost is high even when I got an ex display stove at good price. It is a great stove though I am unsure if it is worth over double the price of my little Stovax. That is a lot of fuel I could buy (if I did)