Charnwood cove 1 stove Hot

Normally one should only discuss the stove, well that's a quick one, everything is more or less fine there unless you're on a budget.
There is however one thing that really should be mentioned with these stoves as it not apparent in brochures and no-one will tell you, the flue piping sold for the stove is not as shown on the photoshop images. Each length has a very thick, rather ugly collar to receive the next length so if you are installing a free-standing stove with a visible chimney of longer than 90cm, be aware that you will not be getting a nice uniform vertical column as a chimney and also that you will have to saw off the top collar to connect the flue to your main chimney (not a fun job as the flues are surprisingly thick). Better to buy normal piping elsewhere. Spray paint is sold for colour-matching the flues to the stove.

Stove Expert Replied: Brochures will always show a stove at its ideal, not always possible in real life. Worth discussing with installer or flue expert if you are wanting something specific!

Grest little stove. Not tried to keep it in overnight as I dont need to. Just burnt kiln dried offcuts from a sawmill so far which are great along with a few briquettes.

Had the stove finished in the Ivory colour which looks superb until youve opened the door a few times and the paint wears off the knob. A bit poor for a £1000 stove, I had a country 16b in my last house and the only issue I had was the paint finish.

Overall very happy and when we do our new build next year I will seriously consider a cove 2 or 3

Excellent wee stove- don't be put off by it's size, it belts out some heat & is very easy to control. Air wash works great. Just an all round brilliant stove!

Stove Expert Replied: Size does not always matter and this is a case in point!!
Great review.

I previously posted a review of the Cove 1sr which highlighted a problem that I experienced with my stove. There was a lack of control of the rate of burn using the control rod and I was obliged to use the door to feed or reduce airflow.Since this time Charnwood have come to the rescue and fitted a modified/redesigned airbox which has cured the problem entirely.I now have proper control over the rate of burn of fuel and therefore the heat output.The airwash system is working and was able to clean a blackened glass within a short time of burning at the higher rate.There still remains an inability to shut the appliance down completely using the control rod, but I am told that this is a feature of all smoke reduction kits.Given this minor problem I am now more than satisfied with the performance of our stove and would recommend the Cove 1sr to any prospective purchaser.They do bang out some heat for a small stove!

Stove Expert Replied: Glad to hear that a manufacturers modification has sorted the problem. It's good that improvements are continually being made and that manufactures are listening to their customers.

would definitely buy again

Stove Expert Replied: Good review. Thanks

fitted the stove in November ('10) replacing a Franco Belge belfort.
It is advertised as a multifuel and is certainly capable of burning wood and smokeless fuel. I tend to use smokeless fuel predominantly.

The stove looks good, is well made and the airwash system keeps the glass spotless.

Unlike wood, if the ash of smokeless fuel is allowed to build up, the fire will go out.

When the riddling system is operated to remove the ash a surprising amount of partly burnt fuel is dropped into the ash pan, leaving a choice to either throw it away or to sieve the ash and raturn the unburnt fuel to the stove; neither of which is really satisfactory. I would recommend the Cove1 as a wood burner but not very highly for anyone wishing primarily to use smokeless fuel particulrly for overnighting.

Stove Expert Replied:
It can be difficult to get a happy medium when wanting to use a mixture of fuels. The secret is not to riddle too much as then unburnt fuel will not fall into the ashpan. A light riddle should be enough to allow the air to move through the fuel to keep the burning process alive. Wood needs and over draught whereas smokeless fuel requires an under draught, wood needs the bed of ash and the smokeless needs air through it to ensure the burning process can continue so hence mixing fuels can cause difficulties. Perhaps use wood more when you are around to refuel more frequently and then use the smokeless for the overnight burn if required when attending the stove is not possible.

This is the first woodburning stove I've owned, and I am thrilled with it. The size of the fireplace limited the size of stove I could have as I'd have preferred a Cove 2, but I love this - it looks really attractive in a modern kitchen-diner, it lights easily and draws really well. I would definitely recommend it, it is so easy to control and responds almost instantly. I haven't been able to burn it overnight, the firebox is naturally quite small and this is probably down to the fuel I've used as well, but because it lights so quickly that isn't a problem.

I have owned and used my stove for 3 months. We bought a multifuel stove to try to reduce our gas bills as our main source of heat was from gas. Even after taking into consideration the cost of logs and solid fuel, our heating bill for the quarter was cut by almost half. The stove is producing enough heat to warm most of a 4 bedroom detached house unless the weather is particularly cold. (Admittedly we prefer cool bedrooms.) The stove is now the focal point of the house and works equally well burning either solid fuel or logs. If we want to keep the fire in overnight we use smokeless slow burning fuel. If I am at home during the day I use logs only. The stove is clean, simple to use and very easy to light. Having had considerable experience of open fires, I have been very surprised at how little extra dirt or dust is made by the stove in relation to that made by an open fire. My only reservation is that the airwash system is not working particularly well. I think this is probably because it has been difficult over this winter to obtain fully seasoned logs. In conclusion, I can recommend the Cove 1 wholeheartedly, it has been a great addition to our household and what is more, the dog loves it!

I have had the Cove 1 for over a year and it is a fantastic piece of kit. I am going to get the bad points out of the way first, then on to the good points.

Price - it is expensive for a small fire (But the other half wanted it!!!)
Firebox size - this is limited and if you put a very large log in you can kill the fire.

Good points:
Build Quailty - Very good and very robust, easy to clean with a spot of washing up liquid and it comes up like new.
Ease of use - very, very easy, even my springer spaniel could you this stove!!
Burning over Night - as it is not a multifuel, wood will not last long enough to burn all night (as the firebox is small)
Airwash - very very good.
Controls - one handle and one level - very easy.
Lighting - Very easy, I don't need a bed of ash!!!!!!!!!

Over all I am very please with this, I was a bit unsure due to the cost but well worth it. I only wish the boiler option was available when I fitted it :-(. When using well seasoned wood it runs like a dream and is very clean and easy to empty. We have got so attached to it, it will move with every house move we have.

Our Charnwood was a very good idea - we use it in teenager's converted barn and it makes it very inviting

I bought my Cove 1 in the summer of '07 - as I read it's supposed to be 70% efficient against an open fire's 20% - I have no idea about this, but for its size it produces lots and lots of heat – too much in the summer time. My brother has a older large Charnwood Country stove and the difference is night and day - the Cove 1 is dead easy to light its glass doesn't soot up and the airwash system really does work! with the older Country stove sadly this isn't the case.



The only caveat I'd have is with wood (I've never really tried anything else in it) the stove won't really burn overnight - however this also relates to it being the physically smallest in the range (of Coves) so may not really be fair. If you're interested in using the Cove 1 legally in a designated smokeless zone you also shouldn't burn wood in it - there are stoves (to burn wood) that can be used in these areas: http://www.smokecontrolareas.co.uk



Another point about the Cove - to underscore its usefulness is that you can boil kettles on it and also (although its not designed for this) you can use it to put saucepans on and boil say macaroni. Cleaning the stove and looking after it is also very easy the glass comes out readily and it's quite easy to vacuum clean the ash out of it too.



Concluding my Cove 1 is very close to being my favourite 'domestic possession'.