After a lot of research, I bought the C18 last summer (2011). I chose it for it relatively low room output in relation to the high boiler output. I also liked the contemporary look.
The build
quality is pretty good. The stove is robust and things like door hinges and handles are strong and well engineered. The door seals well, as does the ash box.
The stove is finished in matt black. Generally, the finish is good, but I have found that the paint is rubbing off on some edges leaving bright metal showing through. I'd like to emphasize that this is relatively minor and not noticeable from 3 ft away. I just feel that the paint coating could be thicker, or more durable.
The stove was pretty expensive in my book. My motivation for buying it was to save money on oil fired central heating as I can get free firewood. It will be several years before the stove pays for itself, but it will eventually, I'm sure.
The stove is very easy to use, light and clean out with simple controls.
Its hard to get the stove to stay in overnight as the draught control is not very precise. You usually end up with it going out, or with it burning all the fuel too quickly. This doesn't bother me too much as its so easy to light again in the morning.
The firebox is huge and access to it is fantastic through the large front door.
The airwash is pretty poor. We leave it fully open all the time, but still the glass soots up very quickly. I'm only burning dry timber, but still have this issue.
The door handle is amazing, its always possible to use it with bare hands, it NEVER gets too hot. I have no idea how they do that, but its very effective! My only criticism is that there is a spring which pushes the door closed all the time. This is very annoying when you're refuelling, or cleaning out the stove.
I would certainly buy another one of these stoves. It would be made even better with some kind of thermostatic damper control to slow the fire when the boiler water is up to temperature.
Stove expert replied:
Useful comments but all in all a good review. Overnight burning is not terrible efficient and therefore due to ease of lighting not a problem. Maybe in time they will be refined to allow more control, but the heat generated has to go somewhere!!
