Review of Woodwarm Fireview 9kw stove
So far so good - and why Stovax lost the order!
First, I found your site most helpful in assisting my choice of stove. The wide variety of comments with respect to the many stoves on the market I have found most useful and, given the cost and installation of a stove, a degree of research beforehand is certainly prudent before any purchase.
The dimensions of my fireplace were a factor to be considered and I carried out considerable research. Narrowing the choice between a Stovax 11 and a Woodwarm 9, I raised two or three technical questions for the Stovax factory. Despite numerous follow up emails and phone calls, which received promises to respond from junior staff, Stovax ignored my queries and, therefore, lost the business. My Woodwarm 9 has replaced an Aarrow Ecoburn 9. There were reasons for this: the Ecoburn could not be closed down for the night; it was not producing sufficient heat unless at a high burn rate; its efficiency rating was low; it burned logs at a high rate. In another room, I have a Nestor Martin Harmony 33, which is helpful by way of comparison. It is a superb stove but takes time to warm up, owing to its iron construction. Points with regard to the Woodwarm 9, one month after installation: 1 It is extremely easy to light. I have never failed. 2 The airwash is superb: I have never had any blackening of the window. 3 The design is such that no ash falls from the door/chamber when adding logs. This is a perpetual weakness with many stoves. 4 The stove can be closed down at night quite simply and re-started the next morning. 5 The efficiency is good: plenty of heat is transferred to the room, more so than with my previous Aarrow Ecoburn 9 unless I fired it up - in which case it consumed logs at a high burn rate. 6 I prefer a stove to function with a gentle, lazy flame. If, at this mode of operation, it can transfer substantial heat into the room, then it serves its purpose and this is something the Woodwarm 9 achieves. The log burn rate is slightly higher than that of my Harmony 33 but a big improvement on the Ecoburn 9. I also use a convector fan, which assists with heat transfer to the room. 7 The airwash lever I find requires some careful adjustment to obtain the slow, lazy flame I prefer. It will need fine tuning three or so times until it reaches its optimum setting. 8 A small niggle relates to the tool required to open the door when the stove is alight. This scratches the brass fittings and I have had to purchase a glove to do the job instead. A glove was not supplied with the stove. 9 The stove warms up rapidly. It is also helpful to add a thermometer to the stove, to ensure the stove reaches its optimum temperature. I am slightly surprised that the door handle is positioned in the lower left corner of the door and not in the middle. Presumably, better all round closing leverage would be attained were the latter the case but this is only an observation from a layman. After about a month of use, I am delighted with the stove and the heat it produces. I would readily recommend this stove to potential purchasers. In my instance, I have the flat top version. By way of a tip to readers, I have used a heat resistant glue to stick kitchen foil to the roof of the fireplace cavity. The purpose is to reflect the heat.- Be the first to comment
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