Review of Dean Forge Hembury 5 kW
Really pleased with stove. SE Version
We are now going into our 4th season using this stove. We went for the SE version because of the advice of our fitter he put in a 5 inch flue which then required us to get a Defra Approved stove. The stove is very easy to light and control. Two sliders for air control. One for Primary air and one for the air wash/secondary/over fire air. The air wash system does keep most of the glass clean. I have found that deposits build up around the grate bars which are not in contact with the air wash system. When I do clean it I just use a soft paint brush to dust it. In the last three years of use only once did I have a large build up of soot and that was down to me. In the first year of use I tried to slumber it over night. I now know that you cannot do this with is type of stove. This being a multi fuel burner the first year I tried wood, smokeless coal or combination of both. You have to decide what fuel you want to burn before lighting. There is no riddling mechanism or moving air plate. Wood burns on a burning plate, which restricts primary air and the ash builds up on the plate. To burn smokeless the plate is removed allowing primary air to flow through the coals for combustion. When burning smokeless fuel the grate is manually riddled and I found that I got a much more even heat out of the stove. However, the ash collector will only hold a small quantity of ash and to avoid damage to the grate bars must be emptied on a regular basis. I needed to empty it at least twice a day. When burning wood I can go over a week without emptying. I have only burnt kiln dried ash. Lighting is very easy. I like to fill the fire box with paper and layer a mixture of soft wood and strips of ash. Once burnt down I introduce small split logs and then work up. The fire box is a good size 13x8 inches. Apart from splitting my logs they will go straight in. The door handle does get hot, it is a solid mass of stainless steel fixed to the door, use the gloves provided. Overall I am very pleased with this stove. It is easy to light and control. Would I buy this model again? I like the thought of being able to burn different types of fuel. However, as I have built up a large collection of seasoned wood and know how small the ash collector is, I would most definitely go for another Dean Forge stove but choose a wood only burner.
Stove expert replied: Choosing the correct stove for the fuel you are going to use is important, some customers however, like to flexibility that a multifuel stove offers. Ashpans should be emptied regularly and should not be left until full as this will shorten the life of the grate system.
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