Review of Firebelly FB2 double sided stove
A nightmare to use and unsafe.
We have had our firebelly stove for just over a year. We wish we had gone with another brand. It smokes when opening the door to load but the main thing is we can not leave it to burn out over night if we get sudden winds and a slight downdraft it smokes and there is no way to shut off the vents so it smokes into living room setting off the manoxide alarm this has happened on many occasions, it''s such a worry with 2 children under 5 in the house I poor water on yyo to ensure its safe over night. Its also a nightmare to clean their is a tray under the main stove that''s impossible to get to. On the plus side it dose give out heat. But for the price I would get a different brand.
Stove expert replied: That's a shame Jessica. There are a few things you can do about this and they are mainly to do with the chimney - in reality the issues you describe are more to do with the chimney and the installation than the stove itself. Of course how heavily a stove is baffled ie how much it restricts the flow up the chimney, will have an effect and means that you need a chimney with a good draw, and the size of the door does have an effect Downdraught can often be helped by raising the chimney higher - so consider that. There are also cowls that stop downdraught perhaps the best type s called a veddette. It's worth opening a window and seeing if that helps with smoking into the room when you open the stove door - if it does then you might need a vent to the room to supply extra air. This would be especially the case if you have a well sealed house, double glazing, etc. Hope there is something there that may help.