WhatStove?

Review of Dru 78 stove

Awful stove and diabolical customer service from DRU - do not buy!

Mr D G 3 years ago

Purchased a DRU78MF which in my opinion is not fit for purpose, poorly designed and massively inefficient. More importantly I do not consider it safe to use. There are "riddling"slots at the front of the appliance with a metal flap that constantly lets air into the burn chamber (tested with a flow meter) meaning you cannot control the burn rate of the fire as there is a constant supply of oxygen even if you close all supposed control vents. Fire burns uncontrollably with in my opinion a risk of chimney fires and unbelievably inefficient as it eats logs. DRU engineer acknowledged the problem on his first two visits but after escalating the issue to their "couldn''t give a dam" UK managing director, on the third visit the engineers story changed to "operating as normal" - now there''s a surprise! Luckily the dealer delivered on their duty of care and safety to the customer and at their own cost had to change the fire to a DRU78 which has solved the problem as there are no riddle vents. I would not recommend the DRU78MF under any circumstances and DRU''s customer services is non existent. Awful company with the UK lead being totally useless and not committed to customer care. Would never buy a DRU again. Oh and to add insult to injury, the initial fire that was installed filled our living room with smoke as there were gaps around the appliance with missing fire seal/cement that had fallen out. If anyone is interested I am sure you can contact me via the website as I have videos of the fire in action demonstrating this major issue.

Stove expert replied: It would appear that you are burning only wood and therefore the CB version is the correct stove for this purpose. The MF option would require an under draught to allow for the solid fuel to burn correctly and would not provide you with the best control that burning only wood requires (this being an over draught). The original stove would therefore have been operating as expected. It is good to hear that the dealer has changed the stove for you and that this CB version has resolved the issue that you had experienced when using only wood, perhaps the incorrect version of the Dru 78 stove was purchased initially.

Overall rating:

2 flames

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