The 750 is installed in our Kitchen with a baffle boiler to heat domestic water and three radiators. If I was truthful the only reason we fitted the boiler was that we were not going to run
a central heating system when we did the renovation of the old derelict 1830 "Grand Design" style property. Fuel consumption, we have known for a years, is considerably higher when you are asking a stove to do work behind the scenes. We were expecting a bit more fuel to be used but nothing like what it actually consumes. It is easy to go through a cubic meter each week of good quality hard wood logs. We have not burnt smokeless coal on the stoves in the house, electing to concentrate on a carbon neutral wood fuel, but I dare say the coal use would be pretty high also. It has to be understood that you get nothing for nothing in this world, and hot water with radiators off a stove is no different. Get ready to carry lots of fuel. The stoves are able to burn different types of fuel, although they have only been tested with wood. We tend to use Ash and Beech which has been processed and dried in potato boxes in our poly tunnel for about a year, which is a brilliant way to ensure your fuel is ready to burn. As long as the wood is seasoned and the core moisture level, the sap in wood, is less than 20% moisture you should be ready for trouble free use.The double glazed window on Clearview stoves ensure the inner glass is insulated from the room temperatures which gives an unsurpassed view of the fire...hence their name. A word of warning however..... a boiler in the stove reduces combustion gas temperatures in the firebox and can cause some sooting of the glass even on a Clearview. Be sure to burn the stove hot at times to discharge combustion products up through the flue. Ideally a stove should be run between 350-500 degrees F for optimum burn.To sum up, the 750 is the biggest of the Clearview range. All Clearview boilers are removable so they can be repaired or replaced without the need to replace the entire stove, which is a credit to the manufacturer, considering it would be all to easy to weld the stove into the body knowing that if the boiler failed, the stoves sales would increase as the old one would be off to the scrap yard .
Stove expert replied:
Highly rated and giving both room heat and a heating system this is a goof solid review. Fuel is the key to getting the best out of any stove regardless of the design and materials used. In depth comments appreciated.
Had high hopes for stove after chatting to the sales person and am so disappointed. The doors are always black despite system to prevent this - unless burn flat out with both vents open for
a few hours in which cases it just eats logs and gets overhot. I wouldn't mind that the airwash doesn't work - but the other faults mean I cannot recommend this stove. The door handle becomes too hot to touch (few burns from that) the ashtray does not slide in and out - you have to sort of lift it and hold it in place and turn the handle, too difficult for anyone in our house but me to manage. It doesn't stay in overnight so house is always cold in the morning. Previously owned a morso at last house and regret not buying one this time. Consider this overpriced for build quality. Seems somehow not to have good seals so burns logs at a very quick rate and needs refilling every couple of hours (used a smoke bomb to see where leak was and smoke poured from every single join - dreadful build quality). Really cannot recommend and would love to be able to afford to replace this one.
I''ve used the Clearview 750 for 2 winters now and can say all in all I''m pleased with my choice. It''s a big decision to make and one you have to live with. Thought I''d add my observations
to this website as I found it very useful.
As with all stoves - installation is critical - and will dramatically affect the performance. Get a good fitter. Mine was installed with the external air kit - the stove draws fresh air from outside and works well.
The good - easy to light / gets hot very quickly / clean glass (a wipe once a week is usually enough) / great styling / ash pan easy to use
The bad - low efficiency compared to many other stoves / expensive / shipped with a squeaking left hand vent / external air instructions + diagrams on the website not clear at all.
Firewood type / moisture content / firewood size also make a big differences to the burn. I never attempt overnight burn when it takes five minutes to light.
For users I suggest logs cut to :
450-550mm length / 100-150mm diameter ( easy to stack )
and equal amount of shorter thicker logs to build the fire you want.
Stove expert replied:
Ideally logs no larger than 100mm diam is recommended to get maximum efficiency / burn rate and they should have no more than 20% moisture content. The fuel and installation are key for any stove to operate effectively.
Had the clearview 750 fitted 14 years ago with a back boiler on an old gravity fed continental boiler system. The stove was fitted in a couple of days and has performed perfectly ever since.
The day it was fitted the engineer ripped off the seals from the windows and doors on the brand new stove and then replaced them with slightly larger more solid cord. The windows were about 3mm wider than standard. This puzzled me but he said that the other 3 stoves he had fitted had all leaked slightly as the seals compressed and rather than return in 6 months he would do it now. The stove performance was brilliant from the first time it lit. No soot on the glass ever. As long as you use good dry wood and get it hot before you shut air valves.It heats 6 radiators gently and takes the edge of the cold in the rest of the house. The lounge being too damn hot within 15 minutes. After 5 years I had the chimney looked at which received a vacuum for some debris but did not require a full sweep.The ash box has never really fitted properly but I wedge it in with a extra strip of seal on the bottom.After 7 years the seals went on the glass. Soot every time you lit the stove. The man who fitted it sent me a set of replacements not by clearview I fitted them which was easy. Adjusted the doors and no more sooty glass. After 10 years the back boiler which is steel suffered corrosion at the joint between the copper pipes and the steel. Galvanic corrosion I'm told. So boiler drained. Until spares could be found. These were located and replaced very expensive but all back up and running now.The stove was expensive eats wood but I wouldn't swap it for anything.
As promised, here is my update;
Installed the 750 low canopy model which sits on a Clearview supplied plinth. Installation was straightforward with the additional rear pipe connection for
air infeed (the air is being drawn in directly from outside).
Logs just over 600mm long are easy to use and the initial firing of the unit is as simple as the 500 I am more used to.
We have a large room - so nothing is placed too close to the unit, which is as well as when fully charged really thumps the heat out.
I am burning it on a medium setting (once it has started) with the addition of a couple of logs every 40 minutes to 1 hour. I am not trying to get to burn overnight - but by closing the secondary air down to a gentle, not roaring flame and putting in 4 logs means that the unit is still hot the next day and with only a few burning embers, a piece of newspaper and some proper kindling, I have regularly 're-lit' the fire without any matches.
I have the small back boiler fitted to a thermo-siphon circuit and heatstore. this has meant that our back-up CH boiler is working much less. This small heat output does not have any effect on the ability for the down wash to keep the glass in the doors nice and clean - although it is having an effect on the heat output into the room - especially after about 1 hour when the heatstore is at 40 deg. C, but once the heatstore gets up to over 65 deg. C it is noticeably warmer around the stove.
I am also using a Caframo Ecofan to help move the air around - the dark brown paint is lovely in the light and I am really, really happy with this investment.
it has changed that end of the house enormously and I cannot tell you how many house visitors have commented on the stove, its design and how well it looks in our 17th century fireplace.
We had our stove installed at the end of August 2014. We love it. The heat is amazing and it is just so cozy to sit by now that the cold weather is here. It looks pretty darn good as well
. Thanks to our installer and his team for a really excellent installation.
We've run a Clearview 750 for just over thirty years now using mostly 12 month seasoned ash and hornbeam of which there is masses round the farm. It has a saddle boiler which has been replaced
once, about 7 years ago at the same time that the flue liner was installed. The secret of any successful woodstove is in the flue; ours is stainless single skin inside the original pumice liner inside a brick chimney. It's never needed sweeping since it was installed because the insulation is so efficient; on open draught watch out that the carpet and tables and chairs don't disappear up the chimney....it's a good breather! Overnight burning's easy providing you fill it with thick logs (I cut them all to 16 inches long) and give it a good roar, then shut the air right down and the air wash about halfway. A bit of kindling in the morning and she's away again. We keep the stove alight all winter. My only criticism is the door catch whose spindle is just threaded to turn in the tapped hole in the door. This is not man enough and wears, and now after 30 yrs will have to be engineered better. And the handle does get hot, but what the hell! It's a stove! And a very good one too.
I have operated a Clearview 500 for the last 12 years and am just investing in a 750 Low Canopy for a very large living room and another 500 flat top for a smaller room. Having read all of
the comments all I can say is that for against the negatives, this is the best British made stove you can buy but does need setting up properly. All stoves should be burnt hard/fast to their capacity - be careful of the 750; it is a MONSTER. I will be heating an 85sqm room - yes nearly 860 sqft and fully expect some of the heat to disperse upstairs. The handle is not an issue with the clearviews, just accept that they get warm and use the leather glove. Ensure the doors are adjusted correctly and you will not get any air going in except where it is meant to (i.e. the intake vents).If you are in doubt - get advice and look at the 650 (still a big stove for most homes).I will update you all when ours is fully installed and working, but do not expect any problems.
Bought one two years ago, as recommend by a friend-was not impressed by the very high price compared to similar models, but still went ahead. Have used it all winter for the two years and although
it did heat well, the airwash started to become faulty. I contacted the manufacturers and was dealt with by a very snooty woman, who inferred that it was my fault and not her precious stove. Finally I had to pay for an engineer to come and rectify the problem, he found that there was spare cast iron hampering the flow and removed it, re-did the seals that were also faulty and the stove works fine now.Having spent such a lot, very disappointed with the build quality and also not happy with the appalling customer service. Would certainly not recommend this having had others in the past with no problems and much cheaper!
This stove does exactly what it says on the label. We have just installed it and are really impressed with it. We had a multifuel Hunter Herald 8 and needed a bigger stove for the size of the
room, we had the usual domestic discord over the stove - I wanted the Clearview and Hubby wanted the new Hunter Inglenook with a high output (as we have had no problem with our other two Hunters)The only reason I won was because he couldn't find any reviews or anyone who had had the Inglenook, now we are so glad there were no reviews for it - we wouldn't swap the Clearview 750 for anything, easy to use easy to clean out, airwash works great, sooooo controllable in comparison to our other stoves, our house has never been so hot, everyone that comes moans they are too hot! The First couple of times we lit it we were having to let off a little heat through windows but we have sussed it out now and it's perfect. Handle gets very hot but you are provided with a pair of good gloves with the stove, it looks great (we had the golden fire brown) it is so cosy when it's lit and we have a huge ground floor area for it to warm and it is no problem for it. We are so impressed we are saving up to replace the upstairs stove with the smaller Clearview model. It may be a bit more expensive than some other models but we never realised how much better it would be, the difference is amazing. The only small niggle I have about it is that I find it a little more difficult to light than the Hunter, but I think this is due to the fact that the Hunter had a moveable grate for wood & coal and you could alter the air flow, and on the Clearview it is a solid grate that I think is geared up for wood so I presume it doesn't draw from underneath but over the fuel. There will be a knack that I just havn't sussed yet, but I will. I give it 15 out of 10 - fantastic stove.
Stove expert replied:
A wonderful review of the Clearview stove, very impressive!
THIS WILL BE OUR SECOND WINTER WITH THE 750 AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY ITS THE BEST MONEY WE HAVE EVER SPENT.IT HAS TURNED OUR HOUSE FROM A FREEZING COLD ONE INTO A LOVELY WARM INVITING HOME. WHOEVER
COMES TO OUR HOME ARE VERY IMPRESSED AND ADMIRE IT. IT TOOK A LITTLE GETTING USE TO IT LIGHTING IT AND REGULATING IT BUT NOW WE HAVE GOT IT OFF TO A FINE ART. IF WE WANT IT TO BURN ALL NIGHT WE JUST STOCK IT UP WELL BEFORE WE GO TO BED. THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHEN WE HAVE MANAGED TO KEEP IT IN FOR A FEW DAYS WITHOUT IT GOING OUT.IF IT GETS TO HOT WE JUST OPEN THE DOOR TO THE HALL TO RELEASE SOME OF THE HEAT, WHICH MEANS THE HALL AND STAIRS WARM UP. AS FAR AS VALUE FOR MONEY, EXCELLENT WE HARDLY EVER HAVE THE CENTRAL HEATING ON AND ITS MUCH NICER LOOKING AT THE 750 THAN A RADIATOR.
