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Review of Dru 78 stove

DRU 78 so very poor

Tony Pateman 6 years ago

Before I give my comments I would like you to know that I have had many years experience with both conventional wood burners and inserts.

I have lived in France for 17 years and have had stoves made by Supra, Invicta, Villager and several other makes, in all I have owned 8 stoves.

I recently bought a DRU78 from an on line company who have been most efficient in both pre and post sales advice and helpful advice, however I am most unimpressed with the DRU78 I purchased.

Unless the side door is kept ajar there is simply insufficient draft to make the wood burn fiercely and this is not the fault of the flue as the Invicta that your machine replaced burned perfectly. In fact the only reason I changed it was that there was very little in the way of control so we were unable to reduce the temperature quickly but instead had to let the fire die down naturally and the brochure indicated that control was a main function of this stove. In addition it states clearly that there is a thermostat as well.This is not the case

At present I have 3 stoves running including the DRU but the DRU is the only one that takes an age to heat up and as stated above burns gently whatever the air vents are set at.

Stove expert replied: As an experienced stove user your comments are of great interest. The thermostat removal on the Dru stove is a recent change so the brochures may not have been updated to reflect this. This is a large stove and will require a decent amount of free air for combustion, is there an air brick in the room? Different stoves have different requirements and it may be that the Dru requires more free air than the Invicta. Having other stoves in the property will also affect the way a stove performs, they can be in opposite ends of a property but one flue can and often affects the other and can lead to one stove being starved of free air whilst the other continues to work well. I would suggest further investigation into the installation of this stove as they are normally very reliable and work well producing large amounts of heat.

Overall rating:

3.5 flames

Build Quality 3 flames (avg 4.4)
Quality of finish 3 flames (avg 4.2)
Value for money 1 flames (avg 4.1)
Ease of use 2 flames (avg 4)
Ease of lighting 2 flames (avg 4.2)
Firebox size 3 flames (avg 4.6)
How well does the airwash work 5 flames (avg 3.9)
Controllability 5 flames (avg 4.2)
Handle operation 4 flames (avg 4.1)
How likely are you to buy it again? 5 flames (avg 4.1)
What is your overall satisfaction? 5 flames (avg 4.2)