Clearview Pioneer 400 stove

We have had our Clearview Pioneer 400 for three winters now and it does what is claimed, it is a well build product and the airwash system does work well.

We don't have our own supply of wood so had logs delivered which are now quite expensive and not always as dry as they should be. We could never get the fire to keep in overnight with wood and were advised against doing this by the installer as it substantially shortens the life of the chimney liner.

During last winter we switched from wood to anthracite which gives much better results, needs a lot less attention and will easily keep in overnight and works out cheaper than damp logs. Also the novelty of stacking a delivery of wood in the snow after a day's work soon wears off!

Minor criticisms of the stove - the brass handle and controls get too hot to touch when in use and gloves are required. I would have expected a better design on a stove this expensive. The brassware needs frequent cleaning to remain shiny as they quickly dull down.

In summary, my advice is to check the quality logs from your local log supplier before buying any wood burner as the moisture content of the wood makes such a huge difference. If you have a ready supply of cheap WELL SEASONED firewood you will be happy with this stove, otherwise it can work out an expensive method of heating the one room.

I purchased my Clearview Pioneer 3 years ago. We have just come through our 3rd winter with it. I installed myself with a builder friend. I purchased it because my builder friend had already installed a Vision in his house and raved about it. I did lots of research and ended up coming back to the Clearview every time.

I am so glad I did. It is fantastic. Controllable. Easy to light. As others have said I watch it as much as the TV. It is the heart of our house and I feel sad in the spring when it is no longer being lit each evening.

The best thing I have done to this house since moving here four years ago.

Finally made the decision to buy a woodburner could not believe how much choice of stoves there are.we saw and liked the look of the 400 but was shocked to see the cost but we went away and checked the reports and reviews.went back and bought the 400 then worried whether we had wasted our money.Now the stove has been fitted and been running for a good month or so,the worry has turned to relief.If we hadnt bought this stove we feel we would have made a mistake it is everything we wanted.overnight burn is excellent just chuck a log in turn right down then in morning open up and away it goes.never had to clean the glass must be down to the airwash system.the only problem we have found is the ash raker handle is difficult to operate with a glove on.
that apart cannot fault the stove and would advise anyone looking for a stove to seriously consider this one.

This is our second Clearview stove, we bought a Vision in 1999 and when we moved we brought it with us to the new house. We got the chimneys lined with insulated concrete and bought a Pioneer 400 for the smaller front room in 2004.

This addition meant that we haven't had to use our gas central heating for 5 years, and our annual gas bill is less than £100. These stoves are an important part of our low carbon lifestyle.

We don't use the front room Pioneer as much as the back room/kitchen Vision, but it is a super stove, just as good as the bigger stove, perhaps just slightly less easy to keep the fire in overnight, although we do sometimes do it! But it's SO easy to light, this really isn't a problem. The double-glazed window doesn't soot up and all the parts are replacable, although we haven't had to replace anything from the Pioneer. It easily heats the room it's in, and the bedroom above too.

Several friends have bought a Pioneer since seeing our Clearviews, and they are all very pleased with it. The flat-top version is good as you can put a kettle on it or even cook with a small pan.

My brother bought a similar-sized Town and Country stove, and when he bought his second stove, decided on a Clearview.

We recommend Clearview Stoves above the others we've seen and experienced.

John Cossham, York

15 years ago I bought a Clearview Vision 500 and was extremely pleased with it. 10 years later we moved to a cottage and the Clearview Vision was too big for the fireplace so purchased a Hunter Hawk.

Much later on I found out that Clearview had introduced the new Clearview Pioneer so after some measuring discovered that it would fit nicely.

Now I thought that the Hunter Hawk was OK but since installing the Clearview Pioneer it is like chalk and cheese, the Clearview experience is back and makes the Hunter seem not even second division but more like a third division stove.

I know that Clearview are expensive but their stoves will still be going when the Hunter is dead and gone. So do yourself a huge favour and buy a Clearview - they are not called the Rolls Royce of stoves without good reason!

This will be our fourth winter with this hard working little stove. Fitted in a north facing room in an exposed position, we couldn't ask for more!

We occasionally burn smokeless fuel, but find that it burns far too hot and we end up having to open all the internal doors.

This wonderful little workhorse has been used to make casseroles on and boil kettles of water in power cuts. I timed boiling a pan of potatoes on it compared to the gas hob, and beat the hob by two minutes (it was going at full capacity).

Having the longer legged option means you can store small logs or kindling underneath.

If lit in the morning and the room is left with the doors open, a gentle heat will permeate throughout the ground floor during the day.

We are installing a second stove but have chosen a Charnwood Country 4; two reasons: the hike in price for a Pioneer during four years is over £300. We wanted a light coloured stove for a dark room, Charnwood are the only manufacturers that do this in a paint finish, unless we want to pay £2k to Chesneys (National Trust).

We have been using the Clearview 400 for abot 7 years now with no complaints. Burning only logs it lights in a jiffy, sometimes just using newspaper without kindling. Contrary to the experience of Shughes the fire stays in overnight every time. Indeed, we have frequently damped the fire down late at night and have been able to bring it back to life after returning home from work the following evening (18 hours later).

I can't fault our Clearview Pioneer..I love it. Wood burners are really my husbands thing and I have never been 100% sure, until now but I am completely hooked and can't wait for another snowy winter. It is so easy to light and to use and looks great with its big window. Perfect for our average size Victorian sitting room - it really kicks out the heat and I can turn most of our downstairs radiators off. Cant recommend it enough.

I like Clearview stoves. I have a Vision 500 and a Pioneer, but the Pioneer doesn't operate as well, purely because the firebox is so much smaller. It is not really possible to keep a fire in over-night in the Pioneer and in my opinion, this should be reflected in the price. Overall, the build quality and functionality are good and it is good that we support UK manufacturing. But in the smaller stove range, in my opinion, the Little Thurlow (Town and Country) is better value for money.

After making the mistake of buying a cheaper woodburner in our previous house, we decided to go for the clearview in our new house. No regrets and can't recommend it highly enough. It does everything it says it does .... it's highly efficient, easy to light, heats up a room quickly and burns perfectly clear. Very satisfying. We've recently started using coal on the multifuel pioneer and have discovered that this enables up to keep the fire burning all night - superb!

I have had other stoves in the past, but this one is by far the best! I would never buy another make of stove after using the Clearview. No need to burn overnight as it lights so easily within minutes in the morning.

I have two stoves and this is my favourite. Lights very easily (the little front vent works a treat and it does have a good tall chimney flue) and is easy and accurate to control. Its star feature is the overnight burn. Last thing I pop a couple of logs in, and turn it down full. In the morning it looks like it has gone out, but just open the vents and in a few minutes it is going full - and still has lots of wood to burn. So no messy starting. It can go for weeks on end with never going out. Of course you need to empty the ash, but this is easy to do even when it is burning. The front control for shaking the ash down works well. The glass also stays pretty clean, even over a period of weeks. The heat output is fair for the size of stove too. The only downside I found with it is that if you want an external air intake (rather than from the room) the supplied cowling only allows for intake on an extenral wall - i.e. it only can go straight out. Overall my favourite stove.

Its the first stove I've ever owned, and having installed it myself just a couple of weeks ago I'm really disappointed that summer is on the way - as I won't get to play with it much more. It looks really nice and would fit in to either a traditional style or contemporary (you can have either brass or brushed steel handles for a small additional charge). Other optional extras I would recommend are the removable handles - so you don't get the issue of them getting too hot and also the long legs so you get more air flow under the stove. I've found it easy to light and doesn't take too long to get upto temperature. The air wash works great except for a small area towards the bottom of the glass, but cleaned up fine with a damp cloth. Burns efficiently when up to temperature - a couple of small logs will last over an hour. Compared with an open fire it gives off a gentle heat via convection rather than radiating so you don't really notice the warmth given off until you leave the room and go back in. Although its a small stove it gives off enough heat that I've switched off the gas boiler. It also doesn't produce much ash (I guess as a consequence of being very efficient) so you don't have to empty it very often. As for the cost you have to look at it as a long term investment - Clearview are known for their reliability and are easy to maintain. When I bought mine, a chap came into the shop to pickup some fire cement to repair the firebricks in his clearview - but it was 20 odd years old and still going strong.

Without doubt, a great stove. We bought ours from people putting in a new one (wonder if they bought another Clearview?)

Pro - Very controllable (slider is main control). Amazing gentle flame, very watchable. Top quality build.

Con - Small stove so can't stack enough wood to last overnight - but it only takes a few minutes in the morning to have a cosy fire roaring again.

Our first stove was the Pioneer and it set a benchmark which is hard to match. Very controllable, heats up in a jiffy, and no fancy grate system which gets jammed. The (adjustable) handle design is simple and effective. All in all very pleased with the stove, and the second stove we bought would have been a Cleaview except for the fact that they don't sell a double-sided stove. We ended up with a Woodwarm Fireview 9kW, which don't get me wrong, is a good stove, but doesn't have the simplicity, ruggedness & ease of use the Pioneer does

We had one in the last house, so yes we had to have one in the new house. Coming home to a Clearview is like returning home to a dog with its tail wagging!

We installed a Clearview last year and enjoyed the warmth all through the very cold weather. My only criticism is that the room gets too warm, even at the lowest setting! Although it is a little expensive I would not hesitate to recommend it as being the best stove to buy. An added bonus is using the stove top to cook, reheating stews etc. or cooking foil wrapped meat/fish.

In my review I scored everything as 5 but put Value for Money as 4. I have just replaced a fireplace with a wood burner but bought a Stovax because the Clearview was too tall and I didn't want to move the fireplace lintel. I now know the difference in performance between a £600 stove and a Clearview and the extra money for a Clearview is well worth it. I am amazed at how much less controlable the Stovax is and that the airwash is inferior. Now I know this I rate the Clearview's value for money as 5 and wished that I could have fitted a Clearview here too.

Whastove expert says: Clearviews are very good stoves and, like Morso customers, Clearview customers are usually very happy with their stoves. There are still stoves on the market that will give you a similar performance for a lower price tag.

I was lucky enough to "inherit" a Clearview Pioneer 400 when we bought our last house. It is by far and away the best stove I have ever used. It looks great, it very efficient, controllability is fantastic (you really can fine tune this with the two air controls) and the air wash really works unlike any other stove I have used. We have moved house and made the mistake of not bringing our Clearview with us. The Villager in our new house is not a patch on our old stove so I am replacing it with a Clearview and buying another Clearview for a second room.



Yes, Clearviews are expensive but if you can afford the extra then it is definitely worth it, especially given that they last for years, and you will love this stove. The other reviews scored the stove poorly on overnight burning. I have never found this to be a problem. Make sure the stove is at full heat with a good thick base of embers, then load up with wood and close down the air so it is almost fully closed. The stove will the tick over until morning where it will jump back in to life when you fully open both air vents.

absolutly delighted with this fire, i watch it more than the T.V!!!

Excellent stove, wholeheatedly recommended. So good we bought another for another room in our cottage. We know 2 friends who owned a Clearview, but weren't prepeared to pay the extra for another stove in their house, and both now regret it moaning about no airwash, poor heat, lighting etc