Review of Esse 125 wood burning stove
SE125
Looks great, contempory style I wanted, flames look great, starts fast and get to heat very quickly, but controllability is poor/bordering on awful. With top airflow open, its great, kicks out lots of heat, with top air intake closed it still burns quick, 1.5 hours and its burnt 2 big logs, plus the glass will become blackened around the edged and in a V coming from two of the top screws holding in the glass.
With the bottom air intake closed as well its still burning fast - 2 hours. Having looked at the bottom air intake it was fitted with the wrong screws and it never made a seal, was loose. I changed these and tightened it but it leaks air. Two of the screws that hold the glass in place at the top, mentioned earlier, also appear to leak air. Having tightened these screw or loosen them its seems to aggrivate the issue. I've replaced the rope and screws in a pack from ESSE, the problem is not as bad but is still there, with all the vents closed and tightened I get a high pitch whine from the unit as air is sucked in from varios locations on the stove. If I have a air draw down the chimney, instead of up (happens once or twice a year) when starting the fire, smoke floods the room, I can see all the gaps in the stove (even with all the vents closed), thats quite exciting. I've had the SE125 2 years and stove is suffering from spots of rust on the Stainless Steel legs and on exterior parts of the chassis. It does burn well but this one is high maintenance.Stove expert replied: A smoke exempt model will never close fully as it has to have a bleed of air to dilute the flue gases. By altering this you will invalidate the warranty and change the compliance modifications required for smoke controlled areas. Not recommended.