Review of Morso Squirrel 1412 smokeless stove
Love is....a Morso Squirrel
I decided upon a Morso Squirrel after speaking to a friend who raves about his and reading the balanced reviews of many wood-burning stoves on this site.
I've had mine since October 2010 and cannot fault it in any way. Living in a large bungalow in a smoke-controlled area I went for the DEFRA approved 4 to 5kw 1412 Squirrel as I felt this output would be more than plenty to heat the whole house and I didn't want a "too big" stove sooting up on tick-over. I certainly made the right choice, and as a result my central heating is now almost redundant! The 1412 is very well made and very easy to use. I light mine on a single match using a couple of sheets of scrunched up newspaper and a large handful of kindling and in minutes it roars into life. I then use some untreated pallet wood to get it up to temperature and from then on its just a case of "feeding the Squirrel" logs. The primary and secondary air control knobs are easy to use and make controlling the heat up and down very simple. This may sound a given, but when compared to a friend's 'Nestor Martin' stove that needs a separate allen-key tool and grovelling around on your hands and knees to adjust the temperature the Morso wins hands down.....basic is definately best. I've only burned wood and logs, not coal, so can't comment on keeping it in overnight as i've never tried. I use a stovepipe thermometer to ensure best operating temperature and as a result have never experienced "sooting" of the glass, the glass wash works a treat and the mesmerizing, dancing flames are always a joy to behold! As an experiment today I placed my Bodum whistling (camping) kettle on top of the Squirrel full to the maximum with 2.5 litres of very cold tap water and the Squirrel boiled it in 26 minutes. This may sound a long time but bearing in mind that due to the deep snow and sub-zero temperatures outside the Squirrel was on anyway, and the fact that 2.5 litres is a ridiculously large amount that normally I would not need (enough for 12 cups of tea!) then I think it was pretty impressive. There was also something very satisfying about watching the television with the kettle 'hottering' on the Squirrel nearby and not using any electricity to boil a conventional electric kettle! Probably psychological but the tea seemed to taste better too!!! As you may have guessed I love my Morso Squirrel and now wouldn't be without it. My only regret is I didn't get one years ago......if you are considering one do it, you will not regret life with a Squirrel.Stove expert replied: Fantastic review of a customer in love with their Squirrel. Good solid built stove, does what it says it does. Great to hear!