Esse 100 stove Hot

We chose the Esse 100 partly because of its good looks and partly because of the manufacturer's reputation. Easy availability of spare parts was also a factor. Four months on it's a case of so far so good.

We've only burned logs up to now and we haven't tried to keep the stove in overnight. Using logs it lights easily and gets up to temperature quickly. It's reasonably controllable although the airwash slider needs careful handling since the tiniest movement can have quite a significant effect - very much a case of getting to know the individual stove. The large glass door is both a pro and a con. When the stove is blazing it looks stunning but burning with the airwash fully open for a sustained period produces a little too much heat for the size of room and is a bit wasteful of fuel. Partly closing it means that the glass does get slightly dirty even though we try only to burn wood with a maximum 18% moisture content. The only other problem we've had so far is that for some odd reason the door hinge pins tend to work loose and a couple of taps with a hammer and a block of wood are necessary to re-seat them.

Esse's website is more gloss than substance and although the support section allegedly includes FAQs we were unable to find them. However an e-mail to their "Ask an expert" address was answered promptly and helpfully.

Overall we're enjoying our Esse 100 and looking forward to a long and happy relationship with it.

Stove Expert Replied: Good feedback, gets too hot!!! Amazing.

We moved to the Scottish Highlands in 2008 the house we bought was a listed cottage with an open fire, the house was very damp and wet which a dehumidifier sorted out but was still cold and not cosy with the open fire, which also ate fuel at an incredible rate.
After countless hours of research we decided on the Esse 100 Multifuel,after being townies all our life we had no idea of coal and wood but we soon settled in after our Esse was installed.
The fuel output has gone down by half, must say the first year we loaded it up and burnt full capacity till we mastered how to use it to it's full advantage.
We are in the process of renovating our house so we have new radiators which are not connected up yet,they were installed 2 years ago and being oiled fed are really expensive to run, so we had a year with just the stove for heat,all I can say is wow we wont be buying oil in the near future as the stove heats all the house,when it gets too hot we just open all the doors and let the heat travel.
Last year we had Minus 20º for weeks on end, but with no central heating and just the stove my bedrooms were 22º.
If I had to recommend to people which stove to but this is the one it is incredible and I would be lost with out it.

We recently bought our first stove, an Esse 100se after weeks and weeks of reading reviews on here (thanks')and looking around showrooms...
First of all the stove has a great viewing window of the burning wood with depth of (310mm) it was great for the limited rear space of my chimney breast..
I'm amazed at how easy it is to light, all I need is 6 pieces of scrunched up paper a few sticks and a small piece of wood on top and away she goes!!
The glass stays relativity clean, if slightly dirty the next day I just give it a quick clean with Cif cream on a nylon scourer.
The economy is great too now we've got the hang of the damper and airwash slide a piece of timber lasts ages, far longer than I expected.... At the moment I'm burning scrap wood but I've good some hardwood logs on order for delivery to see the difference and maybe burn a mixture of hard and soft??
Overall I thing this burner is great and surpasses all my expectations and would gladly recommend it to friends and family...
Not tried to keep it in at night because it's so easy to light and the chimney is still warm in the mornings so I can't see the point in doing it.

Well done Esse, a fine example of a quality well made British product..

Stove Expert Replied: Another good review for the Esse stoves.

We got the stove in August 2010 and have been well pleased with its performance. Heat output good and view of burning logs through screen is sensational! Minor problem with glass fixing at start but easily fixed. Have used good dry wood with aid of moisture meter and this has helped keep the glass clear. It also seems to work well with top-ups of smokeless fuel to keep it on throughout the day during the really cold spell last winter.

Stove Expert Replied: Good honest feedback of a well known manufacturers product.

this is the first stove we have had. All I can say is it does everything you need it to. The big glass front is great allowing
You to see everything what's happening in the box. The build quality appears to be great and we have had this confirmed by others who also have stoves. Great buy

Stove Expert Replied: Good all round review, nice large glass ensures good view of flame picture.

This is the first stove we have had installed so it's all been a bit of a learning curve. The Esse 100 has no problem heating our large sitting room and the large door and glass is superb for viewing and access. If I was being picky then the utensil you are given to remove the ash tray is nit very good but besides from that the fire does everything we want it to. It's early days to comment on build quality. Overall the fire has been great. Esse customer services could do with improvement but hopefully I won't be calling them to many times.

Stove Expert Replied: Good overall review for this stove.

My Esse 100 stove was installed in January of 2010. I bought it because I liked the rustic styling, in particular the wide glass door and generally pleasing appearance. However, after only about 5 months usage, it has begun to emit fumes and when I investigated, found the deflector plate at the top of the combustion chamber badly distorted. This wasn't surprising as it is only a piece of thin (1mm) mild steel sheet. Also, one of the two fire resistant(?) bricks at the back was in three pieces and there was evidence of quite severe corrosion plus some signs of distortion of the fabricated outer steel casing which is only 5mm thick. By contrast, the cast iron components forming the front,top and fire basket etc. are perfectly OK. In short, a good design but badly let down by inadequately specified material. I wouldn't be happy about buying one again.

Stove expert says: sounds a little like this stove was fired very hot, perhaps on coal, and perhaps with a strong chimney draw. A lot of steel stoves are actaully made from 5mm steel plate.

Bought this stove as we wanted a long and narrow stove that wouldn't encroach in the room too much and assumed esse was a a quality brand. when installed and fire on their was no control on fire as on further investigation the slider air control was a flimsy 1mm piece of steel which buckled and bent with the heat of fire so had to have 4mm sturdier replica made ourselves, also when fire goes on the cast makes a banging noise once hot stops but when cooling down makes the same noise so build quality poor. Esse stove does look good with a large glass for a good view of fire and throws out good heat, had a country kiln stove for half the price of esse in previous house and no problems so just shows you paying more doesn't mean you'll get better quality, wouldn't buy another esse.

Stove expert says: sounds like there was at least one problem with this stove. The best recourse is really to go back to the retailer, who I would expect to rectify a problem like the one experienced with the air control slider.

Had this stove for 3 weeks with a total burn time of about 60 hours. I've only had to clean the glass once with a scrunched up piece of wet newspaper after a nicotine- colour coating built up. I find the stove likes to be run quite hot. If allowed to die -down too much it is reluctant to pick up. Thus, the primary airwash vent is left open most of the time. A trick to get the fire to pick up is to open the door about half an inch for a few seconds to increase draw. It heats my 16ft x 18ft sitting room in a way that my 40 inch central heating radiator never could. A main factor in my choosing the Esse over a Bohemian woodburner (my second choice) was the superior styling and huge glass screen. The Bohemia by comparison is just a crude metal box with no attempt at making it pleasing to look at. The Esse is a beautifully proportioned burner with elegant leg, top plate and door castings. The chrome (or is it stainless steel?) handle is light and secure to use. Perhaps the Esse' best feature is it's large glass screen. It is the same size as a 19 inch LCD television and on most evenings provides far superior entertainment with it's dancing flames and glowing light.

Poor build quality lets this fire down. Otherwise good heat out put.

Glass broke 2 minutes after lighting for the 4th time. Paint rubbing of door after 2 months. Door hinges stiff. Good heat output

wonderful heat output. looks stylish cross between modern and traditional. Takes good size logs. fire bricks have cracked? not tried to keep it in overnight.

Good screen size, found the inside a bit small but good for a smaller room. Would buy Esse again but bigger one.

We really wanted to like our British Made Esse, but we've been disappointed.

The good points:
It's a brilliant design and if you need to restrict your stove to a 5kw output to save having to put extra vents into the room, but still want to see the fire, it's the best currently available.

The not so good points:
The stove arrived with the door seal (rope) not properly fixed. Most disappointing however, has the been the lack of control compared to our old Morso Owl, which was simply brilliant. The Esse is less easy to get going or keep going - hopeless with Anthracite - and is less controllable than the Morso. We'll certainly be returning to Morso next time.

I've had the Esse in our kitchen for 2 years now. Like most stoves it takes a while to get the ideal settings sorted (air wash openings, type of fuel etc.) but after a bit of trial and error it's working well. I start off with dry wood and get the stove nice and hot and then switch to coal. Turn it right down overnight and it normally restarts in the morning. If you use coal regularly and want the stove on 24/7, the ash tray will need emptying every day. Don't fiddle around with the ash tray hook - just get yourself a good heat resistant glove. I went for the Esse as it has a good size firebox so no need for too much chopping of wood to fit! Handle spring will need oiling if in constant use. All round a pretty good product.

The Esse 100 is great it works really well but can often be too warm so if youve got a small room the 100 is more than enough. Ours heats the whole cottage we often shut it down overnight an we only empty the ash once a month remembering that wood burns with air from the top. We are absolutely stunned by the difference between the esse and an open fire.