Charnwood Island I Hot

I have used several stoves of various makes over the years and have been using the Island 1 daily since October, burning local seasoned hardwood.

Ease of use is second to none and the stove is a pleasure to light, needing only a few sheets of newspaper, kindling and some small logs, with the air vent fully open and the door ajar until the flames have reached the back of the firebox. Once the logs have caught I close the vent halfway. This closes the secondary ventilation and stops it roaring too madly and overheating, but still lets the fire build steadily.

Once the fire is going well, with a good bed of glowing embers, the control can be almost completely closed and will keep burning for around three hours before needing more logs. We have it in quite a small room, so perhaps burn it slower than some would. The stove will keep ticking over for a very long time with the lever fully closed, but the glass tends to blacken badly. As long as the vent is slightly open the airwash works well. I don't try to keep it burning overnight, it seems like a waste of fuel, especially when it is such a breeze to relight but have occasionally found it still alight the next morning.

The width of the firebox is great for a 5kw stove - taking logs of 12"+ is a real bonus when you are cutting them with a bowsaw! The door handle always stays cool and I suppose I should add that it is a very attractive stove, with simple unfussy looks straddling traditional and modern.

It is on the pricey side, but on balance I think it is worth paying the extra for a stove that ticks all the boxes.

Stove Expert Replied: Nice feedback. Do not have stoves shut down for long periods without giving them a short period (10-20mins) fast burn periodically to remove tar / soot deposits that build up when slumbering.

We have several stoves but this is our main one and is used on a daily basis in the winter. We burn well seasoned wood that has less than 20% moisture. Usually hardwood with occasional bits of softwood and we use a flue thermometer.
This stove is attractive and generally well built. The fire bricks seem to be very durable and last much longer than the ones in the Little Wenlock it replaced. The handle remains cool but the pin in the door hinges can work loose and the door has needed repositioning a few times.
It's best feature is ease of use. It is no problem to light and gets going really easily. The controls are really simple particularly with one lever for all the air intakes. The riddling grate is the best I have seen and clears the whole box of ash instead of a bit in the middle.
One gripe is the throat plate. Admittedly I didn't realise it had to be cleaned on a monthly basis but it has buckled after otherwise careful use. The one in the local pub had done the same thing. Presumably this doesn't happen if the ash is cleared off the top of the plate.
Overall a great piece of kit if you look after it as instructed.

Stove Expert Replied: Perhaps get the flue draught checked, it too high can expose internal components (like the baffle plate) to a higher than normal working temperature which can make them fail prematurely.

Being a NACS Chimney Sweep and HETAS installer here in Scotland we work with different stoves on a daily basis. The Charnwood Island 1 has always impressed me with its build quality, durability, ease of servicing and the positive comments from customers. It’s not the cheapest stove in the 5kw range but I feel the extra cost is justified with the quality of build and performance.
Lighting the stove is very simple using one firelighter, kindling and some small soft wood logs with one of the doors left open for a few minutes and the air control open fully the fire is up and running within 5mins. After closing the door we leave the air control fully open until the stove is up to temp approximately 20min then close it down 90% which allows the fire to settle to a good flame pattern with the gases burning off with a floating type flame. Once established we load with hardwood logs to give a longer burn, say three 10” logs will give a burn of around an hour and a half with air vent open to 10% with a superb heat thrown out from the stove. Overnight burning with wood has so far eluded me but a shovel full of smokeless fuel and closing the air vent down ensures a red hot base of ovals, even after 8 hrs ready for the first log in the morning. Peat is another fuel I have used giving a very good heat and burning longer than logs. To experiment I used soft wood with moisture of 40% to see how the stove would cope, black glass, very little heat output and an almost instant start to tar glazing of the liner so always try and burn wood with 20% or less moisture content.
Charnwood say the stove will take up to 14” logs but I feel 10” logs sit better in the firebox. I don’t intend to use house coal in the stove.
We have the stove installed in our living room and with the room door left open the stove heat is warming upstairs as well to the extent we don’t require the central heating to be on I will add here how this goes if we have another severe winter.
All in all this is a superb stove, expensive but for the quality of build, heat output and looks its well worth saving for.

Stove expert says: I second that - always burn wood with less than 20% moisture. More than that and you not only tar up your glass, you also tar up your chimney or liner which is a recipe for a chimney fire.

I have had this stove almost 12 months and rate it extremely highly. Lighting and using are VERY easy. One point to stress is that you must use quality, kiln dried wood (Certainly Wood, or Jotul is ideal). I tend to run it hot for about 40 mins to warm up and then shut down completely. Thus results in a very attractive flame pattern. I did burn coal over the winter, which was fine, though you need a good supply of air and there is much more residue than wood.
One of the best investments I have ever made!
Stove Expert Replied: Good all round review, always used good quality wood for best results.

Very easy to light, easy to use with minimal fuss. No gadgets and gizmos just simple controls, pull out/push in for air control and side to side for riddling and multi fuel burning.

Have only burnt Kiln Dried logs, which although may appear an expensive option, when taking into account seasoned wood will take at least 2 to 4 years to be anywhere near moisture content for optimum heat. You would be burning at least three times amount of seasoned wood to kiln dried to try to achieve same heat output, whilst paying in weight for moisture in wood, messing up your flue and blackening your glass. On working out costs and weighing up pros and cons there appears to be little in it,so will continue with Kiln Dried Logs, buying in summer for best deals.

This stove does exactly what you want with minimal fuss. Only downside, it is a little more expensive than competitors but it is supporting the British economy not the Swedish, French etc. To quote 'you get what you pay for' and 'buy cheap buy twice'

All in all we love our Stove. A million times better than the gas flame effect, no heat option we have replaced. With Gas prices on the rise we couldn't be happier with our Multifuel Stove, many thanks Charnwood.

Stove Expert Replied: Value for money all in all. Great feedback. Comments on fuel very interesting.