Review of Dunsley Yorkshire stove
Dunsley Yorkshire Woodburner
This stove replaced an open fire, though I've experience of using other stoves, and a log boiler. It's the woodburning version, without a back boiler, and we've been using it for about a year.
I think the stove is excellent. It's not the cheapest on the market, but I think it's worth it. The steel is good and thick, and well finished. The brass handles are easy to operate, and the air control is simple and effective. As it's the woodburning model, there's only one air control, moving the vents at the front top. There are other air inlets at the back, which can't be controlled. The stove lights easily. I usually load a decent piece of wood at the back, put a knot of newspaper in front of it with some pine-cones and a firelighter on top, then add some kindling and bigger pieces once I've lit the firelighter. Leaving the door cracked open, the fire gets going nicely, and after five to ten minutes the door can be shut (with the air vent fully open). After the kindling has burnt, and the smaller bits of wood are well lit, I usually add some more wood -- even fairly large hardwood logs will catch, at this point. The ash tray in the lower compartment is easily accessed and emptied, though the stove seems very efficient, and produces little ash. This isn't because it's going up the flue, either: I've checked the chimney, and the stove very quickly burns very cleanly. This high performance is one of the reasons we bought the Yorkshire: there are relatively few ~10kW wood burners that can be used in smoke control areas. My only niggle with the stove is that the glazing does tend to get tarred up: the airwash isn't perfect. However, the glass cleans readily (I use newspaper with wet ashes, or a spray-on cleaner), and, unlike some stoves, hasn't crazed or stained. The firebox is big enough to take four decent billets of wood: I cut my wood fairly large (up to 12" long, and 4" across, as I use it in this stove and a 40kW central heating log boiler), so that makes it 'generously proportioned'. One of the biggest benefits of the Yorkshire is its ability to burn for up to 12 hours. To achieve this, having lit the fire (as above, perhaps!), and warmed the stove up (remember, there's 140kg of steel to get up to temperature), load the firebox with good fuel, let it burn at full air-flow for five to ten minutes, then shut the air inlet as far as it'll go. (The air inlet is kept slightly open by a stop: you can't completely shut it.) The stove should then burn through the night (or while you're out at work): after 10-12 hours there will only be glowing charcoal, but it's easy to relight from here, and the stove will still be putting out heat. Bear in mind that your fuel quality is important. Although the species of wood isn't a factor, the dryness and density are critical. Dry (15-20% moisture) hardwood weighs up to 500kg per stacked cubic metre: softwood can be as little as half that. Wood contains about 4kWh per kg, so you can see that a firebox of hardwood contains much more energy than softwood! (Of course, you only get some of that energy out and into the room.) Remember that burning the stove in this way will definitely tar the window up (the lower temperature and restricted air), and you must remember to burn the fire on 'full power' for at least some of the time, to make sure tar isn't deposited in the flue. If you're regularly burning wood slowly (for instance, overnight), you must regularly clean your chimney. To sum up: the Yorkshire's an attractive (to me, at least!) stove, with good control, excellent efficiency and output, and a useful but rare ability to keep a wood fire burning overnight. I'd really recommend it to anyone.Stove expert replied: Short periods of fast burn should be undertaken at least twice a day for 15 - 20mins max following a long period of slow burn to burn off any residues that form. Wood should have a moisture content of less than 20%.