Hunter Herald 14 stove Hot

I bought my Hunter Herald 5 years ago. We have done everything that has been recommended to ensure efficient & good use of this fire, but still having problems. The airwash doesnt work, we always have to clean the door even though we use smokeless fuel or seasoned wood. We have had 3 baffle plates due to the old bricks collapsing.

Biggest problem is the smoke! We have our chimney lined, a very large vented air brick, regular have our chimney swept, yet still it lets lots of smoke into the room. We have tried everything!!

The plus point is that output is good & it warms the heaters and hot water beautifully, however, it appears that there is a major design fault with this heater and I wouldn't recommend that you waste your money on this model, pay a bit more money to get a better made boiler system.

We now have a baby and due to the continuous problems with this heater boiler system, I am having to look to replace this due to smoke problems.

Stove Expert Replied: Speak to a flue specialist before you make any rash decision as this problem should be able to be sorted. Is the liner insulated?

I had a new Herald 14 installed in May 2011 but only started to use it end Sept 2011.
It replaced an old Villager multi-fuel boiler stove that had worked well for 18 years but was looking a little tired. It would burn almost anything and once the flue damper was opened everything went up the chimney when the doors were opened. Unfortunately this is is not so with the Herald 14.
I initially found that it was virtually impossible to add to the fire without filling the room with smoke unless the wood had burnt through completely and the coal was glowing which either meant a slow start (with lots of fuel) or a small fire which took an hour or so to gradually increase the volume in the firebox.
Hunter sales dept. recommended the use of dry, seasoned wood (as you would expect) and to use smokeless coal only. They also said make sure any doors in the room are closed (to avoid draughts) and open the door(s) a little to let everything equalize.
Putting all of these into operation does improve the situation and the draw up the flue is greater however, I feel the design of the air wash means any smoke/fumes are forced towards the door area so any refilling still causes a leakage of smoke/fumes into the room but it is just about bearable.
Don`t think if I had my time again, I would go for the airwash system....

Stove expert says: this is probably a chimney problem not a stove problem. Villager stoves, at least the older ones, are much less heavily baffled meaning that they send more heat up the chimney. This means that they are a good choice if, frankly, the chimney is not very good. Hunter stoves on the other hand are much more heavily baffled and rely on a good draw from the chimney to work well. I would look to the chimney and room ventilation here - consider lining and insulating the chimney, see if opening a window to the room improves the situation - if it does then a room vent is probably also needed. Fit a CO alarm if you have not already done so - especially important if burning coal as the smoke does not make you cough as much as wood smoke.

Hi My query is does anyone know where you can buy a wood burning kit for a hunter herald 14 with wrap a round boiler-. my fire brick has also cracked and broken after only three winters. i am burning mainly wood.where can i get this fire brick from.

Stove Expert Replied: Try this link for all spares http://www.stovespares.co.uk/ or call 0845 8339077. If the liner has lasted three winters this is reasonable, it might be worth you checking the rope seals to ensure that they are still functioning correctly. Routine maintenance is recommended and if any further items are required now would be a good time to get them.

Had this stove for 3 years. It has a back boiler that heats 8 radiators which makes all the house nice and warm. The only thing that I'm not happy with is the fact that we cannot open the doors when refilling with wood without getting a lot of smoke that comes back into the room. Does anyone else have this problem or am I just unlucky? If anyone has any advice that would help me solve this problem I would be really grateful.

Stove Expert Replied: This should be investigated further ideally by the installer. Try only opening fire doors when the room door is closed. Is the chimney lined? Is there an air brick in the room?

I have been running this stove for three winters now and so have a pretty good feel for the good and bad points. I have also had experience of a number of other wood buring systems.
We use our stove exclusively with wood and were at no time told about the wood burning kit available (until I contacted this website). The wood burning kit essentially removes the grate and ash bucket from below and increases the hearth depth by about 50%. This instantly transformed the output of the stove and achieved an acceptable heating performance with wood, where previously it was bearly adequate and cetraintly not capable of heating a 3 bed house on wood alone. If you are only going to use wood get this kit and get rid of the grate. It cost extra so preferably negotiate this at the time of purchase.

Positives: Solid and simple. Large fuel capacity (without grate). Only need to empty the ash out once a week even during the heart of the heating season. Good value for money.

Negatives: Thermostat can not be used with the wood burning kit as the ash will fall out of the back. Found the thermostat to be pretty much useless anyway. Handle too small and gets very hot necessitating use of the tool provided. Not very controllable, sliding vents essentially either give you fully open or closed. Not nearly as controllable as Clearview or Morso.

Conclusion:
This stove works fine and is very good value for money. However, given my time over I would have paid a bit more and got a stove which really worked well. Replacement fire bricks and glass can be bought from other suppliers and not just Hunter and are vastly cheaper.

Stove Expert Replied: If only wanting to burn wood then a designated woodburner is always the best option as it allows the ash to build up better than on a grate system.

Always had an open fire and no central heating for years. Splashed out on this and it has transformed our home.The heat is excellent and loads of hot water. One or two small niggles but that could just be our inexperience. Had a thermostat fitted but don't rate it that much. Overall it is excellent and wish we had done this years ago. My scoring reflects the fact that nothing is ever perfect in my eyes but this is pretty near!!!!

After living with the stove and learning to use it(and changing to a larger size of coal)It now stays alight all night no problem and the house is constantly warm.I still have misgivings about the build quality but overall am pleased with its performance and as I live in a rural area and have access to free wood I am saving a small fortune.

i've always used a wood burner but only as a room heater. when my gas boiler packed in I decided to replace the wood burner in the front room with a boiler stove and connect it up to the cental heating. I have done away with the gas boiler. Got a fantastic on-line price from a fairly local Company and got them to install it as well. I picked the Hunter with the optional thermostat and what a difference this makes (no more up & down regulating the air flow)
I use the Hunter as a wood burner only (it is multi-fuel)and must say it's the best thing i've ever done and would recommend to anyone. If I had any complaints it's that the house can tend to be a little too warm! My gas bill has virtually gone and the wood for the fire is IRO £350 per year so I'm quids in.
Love the stove, love the heat, love the ease and I don't care what the bloke below thinks!!

This is our 4th Hunter stove and I'm afraid it will have to be the last, not because it isn't a perfectly adequate stove, but because in our area it is just about impossible to get anyone to agree to look at the thing when we had a problem.
Our mistake really, we didn't buy it through a dealer because the delivery waiting time was up to 5 months, so we bought on-line (DELIVERY JUST 10 DAYS) and therefore got no back-up, no installation help, no advice and could find absoloutly knowone at any price who would carry out the work. Obviously had we known this before we purchased then we would never have bought it in the first place, another sad but clasic case of not reading the small print.
It has taken 8 months and nearly £2,000 to get it working fairly satisfactorily - we would certainly go for an Aga or Rayburn next time and have the cooking facility in place of the not very good radiator heat.

STOVE EXPERT SAYS: Not all online retailers have such poor service, or as long a lead time as 10days. Find a supplier who will take care of the whole job from designing the installation, making sure all the materials needed show up on time, arranging for installation and liaising with the installer throughout, providing aftersales advice and support. Whether that is an online supplier or a bricks and mortar shop is beside the point - getting a good serivice is the key.

I am going to shatter all your illusions. We used to have an Aarrow Hamlet heating the water etc. This came to the end of it's boiler life so we put it in the other room just as a room heater and not a boiler. We bought the Hunter 2 years ago to replace it and it is the biggest waste of steel since the Titanic. The riddleing mechanism is rubbish, the depth of the fire box is nowhere near enough and if a windy bedtime sees the wind drop during the night the thing is out by breakfast. I am looking to replace it because it so bad, the next one will have thermostatic control for starters. A fire box you can get at least 2 logs in. Anyone looking at the rest of these reviews would surmise that the Hunters were good stoves, but the writers of them have not had an Aarrow Hamlet to compare them with. If I could afford to, I would give it away, but it is definitely going. This is of course only my opinion, but thoroughly examine the stove before you buy which ever one you choose.

My 14 has been in about 9 years very satisfied with it Replaced the rope round the doors once. Full back boiler with it. Heats 3 bedroomed bungalow with under floor heating no problem very happy with it. I would recommend it to any one. As with all wood burners the wood must be dry 1 1/2 to 2 years drying before using.

Sweep the chimney once a year - I get very little soot out of it

We simply cannot fault this stove, best thing we've done getting rid of the open fire, should have done it years ago. Easy to install as well.

Mine's a Herald 14 Flat top, Double doors with crosses. Brass handles and air controls. The central heating is run from this, it's very easy to clean out, not bad looking (most people comment on how good it looks and the warmth).
I use both logs and coal and sometimes a mix depending on my mood, I think it is without doubt one of my better purchases in life.

Stove expert says: it is not a good idea to burn both coal and wood at the same time as it is not that efficient, and more importantly, you are likely to produce sulphuric acid which will eat away at your flue and chimney and stove.

I have now had my Hunter Herald 14 for two winters now and am more than happy with it performance. My original supply of logs burnt very well and lit easily in my herald and I even managed to keep my central heating switched off till xmas day this year.
I also had a small chimney (flue) fire start in November last year when a friend put a little too much fuel on the fire. It was very scary but I was able to shut the doors and all the vents on the stove which thankfully put it out. I have since invested in my own chimney sweeping set as cleaning/sweeping is very easy with this stove, which I use in between getting the professionals in to keep the stove working at max efficiency. I cannot stress how important it is to get you flue/chimney swept regularly.
I have suffered with a bad supplier of logs which were not only very wet (left in the rain overnight on the back of his van) and also not very well seasoned. Luckily this stove is multifuel so I was able to switch over to coal for a while to give my logs a chance to dry out.

Stove expert says: don't let them get away with it. Test it with a moisture meter when it arrives - if it is around 30-40% send it back - or pay much less for it as it is not actually firewood - it is chopped logs which will one day be firewood when dry enough. 20% or less is ideal.

Fantastic stove, very efficiant easy to use. The only problem I have had in the past two years was a broken door catch, this was replaced with no quibble and all is well.

The firebox is way too small if you are burning logs. If you are just going to burn logs go for a dedicated log burner as there is no need for an ash pan, which allows the hearth to be deeper and then you can get more wood into it.

I have had this stove for a couple of years now and it does what it says on the packet. I can get lots of fuel into it, keep it in overnight, and it heats the whole house as I have a backboiler on it as well.

I have the Herald 14 flat top, one door with plain glass version which looks a bit more modern. The finish is pretty good although I would perhaps not put it in a show home.

I think that the air controls and door handles could be improved. I tap the air controls with a piece of wood which works fine and use a glove to operate the door handle as it does get hot. This might not be acceptable to everyone.

It is easy to sweep through the stove and there are surprisingly few deposits in the chimney when I do sweep.

I am really pleased with my stove - I had seen them in the flesh before I bought and knew exactly what to expect and it is still going strong now.