WhatStove?

Review of Clearview pioneer 400 oven stove

Excellent stove, a few minor drawbacks

Maria Chesters 11 years ago

We have had our Pioneer Oven for three years now and a very excellent stove it is: easy to light, excellent build quality, and we use it to roast potatoes, boil veg, cook casseroles etc. It is also, perhaps by virtue of the longer smoke channel around the oven, exceptionally efficient.

We have a large fireplace in a small room, for which the increased width (over the non-oven Pioneer) and the height made this stove particularly suitable. Despite its plain and unfussy styling it looks very pretty.

The finish is lovely and durable but difficult to clean of cooking stains.

A slight design flaw: ash falls onto the internal ledges of the door, and then onto your hearth/carpet when you open the door. This is very annoying. We have not had this problem with our Jotul stoves.

The handle is very nice in brass but does get very hot.

Tip: get a cast iron trivet to put in the oven to prevent your pots from overheating. Looks nice, too.

Overall rating:

4.5 flames

Build Quality 5 flames (avg 4.6)
Quality of finish 4 flames (avg 4.8)
Value for money 3 flames (avg 4.3)
Ease of use 5 flames (avg 4.8)
Ease of lighting 5 flames (avg 4.8)
Firebox size 4 flames (avg 4.5)
How well does the airwash work 5 flames (avg 4.8)
Controllability 5 flames (avg 4.7)
Handle operation 5 flames (avg 4.6)
How likely are you to buy it again? 5 flames (avg 4.6)
What is your overall satisfaction? 4 flames (avg 4.5)
  • David Campbell said 10 years ago:

    Just make sure the "garden Rake is fitted the correct way around. The mistake is to have it close to the glass, in an effort to cram more fuel in. It is supposed to create a trough between the glass and the bar of about 2" which would stop the ash falling problem. It is also good practice to fit a hearth of the correct size. 225mm in front for closed appliances is minimum, 300mm for open fires and appliances suitable for open door burning, but good practice is to cover the swing of the door. A solution is to put down an extension panel of say 12mm toughened glass to protect a wooden floor, which is attractive and does not detract from the flooring finish.