There are many things to consider when choosing a stove. Quality issues are of course important and this is one of the reasons that Whatstove stove reviews should be useful.

What do you want the stove for?

Perhaps you want some cosy secondary heating so perhaps the look of the stove will be very important, perhaps it would be good if it had a nice big window .

Perhaps you want to heat your whole house and run central heating as well. One of the main considerations here will then be what sort of output the stove has. Remember to ask your supplier what the max output is -only the nominal outputs are now listed and these figures are usually useless because of flaws in the way the test is done - so ask a stove expert about sizing your stove.

Perhaps you want a stove you can cook on, with an oven and the ability to provide hot water. 

Perhaps you live in a smoke control area, want to burn wood, and so need to choose a stove in which you are allowed to burn wood in smokeless zones.

What sort of look do you want?

Stoves are generally traditional looking stove which are rectangular and failry low, contemporary and tall with a very large window, or a stove that is somewhere inbetween.

Should you choose a multifuel or woodburning stove?

A multifuel stove has a grate which means you can burn coal or wood. A dedicated woodburning stove will generally not have a grate because wood burns best on a bed of ash. A dedicated woodburner will gernerally burn wood more efficiently than a multifuel stove although this is not always true.

Remember that coal is a fossil fuel - burning coal results in the release of a lot of CO2 which drives climate change - the responsible choice if practicle would be to choose a dedicated woodburner so you are not tempted to burn coal.

Cast iron or steel?

Historically steel was once a poor material for stove manufacture so you would end up with warped steel stoves. However steel quality has now greatly improved so there really is not that much in it anymore. In some cases cast iron stoves are built more heavily than steel stoves and may have the quality edge.

You get what you pay for

As with many other things you do generally get what you pay for with a stove, There are some bargains to be had but in generally the more you pay the better the stove. When you set your stove budget do remember that you are also likely to need to spend out on flue pipe and possibly flue liner and insulation - this can often come to as much as the cost of the stove.