Riva 66 Multi-fuel Fire Hot

Fire is lit every day during winter, so used quite a extensively in winter,
Parts are very expensive, every year I have to replace a part that fits in the top of the fire costing £100.00 a time, fire bricks crack, some welds have popped apart, every few weeks you have to dismantle the fire to clean debris off the plates, if not they burn away even quicker, the fire is only three years old and cannot see it lasting another three years, I would not buy the same product again,,,,

Stove Expert Replied: Have you had the flue draw checked as parts should not be wearing our so quickly that they need replacing every year.

The stove itself is brilliant. Easy to light, control. Well made. No problems with the function at all. HOWEVER, no end of issues with the cassette concept(ie embedding in a wall). Superheated air coming out the top burns paint, cracks plaster. We've had it "installed" twice, so it is not an installation issue, and tried both types of metal surround. Now have a marble frame (c10 inches on top of big metal frame), but even with that plaster is cracking, and I don't hold out much hope the marble will stay put.

Would definitely buy Stovax again but only a stand alone stove. If you are considering a cassette fire think very carefully about placement and surrounds. Sticking a super hot stove in a wall is inherently problematic...in my view...

Stove Expert Replied: There is special plaster on the market for this problem, was this used?

We have a Riva 66 and the wall immediately above the stove gets very hot and the plaster is continually cracking. As fast as we repair it further cracks appear. It is very worrying. A gas engineer has informed us that all log burners should be fitted with a top grade Class 1 chimney liner because of the output of heat. We don't know if ours is fitted with the best quality liner we are awaiting a visit from the installer. Having looked at your installation instructions you do not specify this. How can we solve this cracking plaster problem please.

Stove Expert Replied: A liner or small length of rigid flue off the stove should help as this is where the main heat will be, check with installer.
Heatproof plaster can be purchased which may also help to prevent an annoying problem.

I installed the Stovax at least 6 years ago, it has taken a lot of punishment in that time being used Summer evenings and all day throughout the Winter months. As with other reviewers the baffle plates, particularly one of them is made of a very thin gauge stainless steel, and the price with Stovax was particularly high as previously mentioned. As my trade is in engineering I was able to make them myself, however, I would suggest that anyone needing to purchase these plates go to a local engineering shop with the old baffle plate/s and have it made probably at a fraction of the cost. If you are looking for a modern looking room heating fire,with plenty of heat output then I would definitely recommend this stove.

Stove Expert Replied: Any spares always seem disproportionately high to the cost of the stove, good tip from this customer but not always able to source local metal workers to undertake making spare parts. Also if you do this the warranty will be invalidated.

I am a fireplace and stove specialist and have installed all types of stoves.
At home I have had the Riva 66 for 6 years now and have used it all weekend every weekend through 6 winters and at least 3 nights a week!
We have not had to replace a single part, to all those how have had to replace the baffle plate are not burning it correctly and are over heating these parts!
We burn kiln dried wood in our 66 and due to the very clean burning of this type of wood we never have to clean our baffle plates, and when we have it swept our sweep struggles to get more than a tea cup full of soot from our flue this is down to how well the 66 burns and also the kiln dried wood!

Install one of these and burn good wood to the manufactures instructions you will have many a warm winter!

Stove Expert Replied: Here is a review from one who knows how to use a stove and is not afraid to share his thoughts. Thanks

The stovax riva 66 looks good, works well but my complaint is having to remove the baffle plates every month which is not quite as easy as it seems, I wish I had known this prior to purchase, one plate is suspended on two bolts, the second is on hooks,

I had to replace both baffle plates quoted £200, now I have found one of the very thin bolts that suspends one of the baffle plates is looking rather burnt away and look as if it will not stand being screwed out and the part is not listed,

Stove Expert Replied: If the stove is not very old and you have had to replace both baffles it may be that your chimney flue draw is too high causing these failures. Might be worth further investigation before major damage occurs.

we bought this stove about 12 months ago ( we have the riva 76, basically the same just a little bigger)
We are delghted with it, find it easy to use, lighting is a breeze, adjusting the air flow very simple
The glass stays beautifully clean and the secondary burners give a brilliant view to look at.

We would definitely buy this again, and would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone, however you do need to understand the controls and know what you are doing.

Stove Expert Replied: It takes time to get to know how to operate any stove so do not expect to get it right from the start. Weather conditions can alter how a stove performs!

As you can see not a lot wrong with this fire, the only thing they could improve on is having an external slot for the main air flow as i can never be bothered to shut the bottom hatch to hide the dust catch. i wish it had a back boiler too as i'm moving soon and i'm putting another in my new build but want a back boiler, so i think i will put this one in my lounge and a aquatherm in my kitchen if i can afford both!! it is so easy to light my partner thought it would be a bad idea to get rid of our flame effect but now she loves it as much as me. happy burning;)

The stove looks good and has a large fire box and has some nice touches,but is let down by functional aspects of the design, quality issues and overpriced spare parts.
On ours the catch for the panel that covers the controls and ash pan has been impossible to adjust to get it to work. So it remains flapped down all the time picking up ash that falls from the fire whenever you open the door (because the front guard that stops the ash falling out is ineffective.)
We bought the stove with the optional fan kit and the air duct kit. When one of the 2 fans failed we were amazed that it could not be bought as a spare from Stovax, you have to buy the whole kit again with 2 fans wiring loom and grills etc.
We looked into replacing the baffle plates (they divert the heat and flames from shooting straight up the flue liner) after 1 year the originals were so warped they didnt stay in place, the price was over £200.00 which is extraordinary for such a simple component.
If you buy this stove do look into the optional air duct kit that ducts hot air from between the two skins of the stove to another room, it works very well.
Having owned a Clearview stove in the past perhaps weve got high standards but we've spent too much "hard earned" on this stove and if it wasnt built in it would have been out the door ages ago.

I looked for months to try and buy the right stove for my new build, not knowing anyone else with an inset burner I had to rely mainly on the Manufactures facts. I have just started using the stove and I can't believe how easy it is to control, if you open the bottom vent it is like turning a gas fire up as it is instant. The fire stays in all night when shut down and all you need to do is load the logs open the vent and away you go again.You do get a little bit of spillage when you open the door but that is only to be expected. This fire is absolutely brilliant, it is one of my better purchases, if you are looking for a multi fuel stove you have come to the end of your search.

We have been delighted with the heat output from the stove. Its good looks and the overall efficiency and ease of operation have been much admired.



Highly recommended