WhatStove?

Review of Firefox 8 stove

Fantastic value for money

John MacEachen 13 years ago

My girlfriend and I bought out first home in early 2009. Its a farmhouse dating from around 1890, with various bolt on extensions. Located in Perthshire, Scotland. Two storey. Kitchen/diner, utility and bathroom through the back of the house in a flat roofed extension. Livingroom and dining room down stairs with two large bedrooms and a box room upstairs.\n\nThere is an open fire in the livingroom which we use most days and nights through winter. The dining room also has an open fire.\n\nLast winter was the coldest in this part of the country since 1961. The house has no insulation, except for the 13" I put in the attic last year. Last winter (Nov,Dec,Jan,Feb) we used 2,200litres of central heating oil at 53p/litre = lots of bloody money!\n\nMy plan for 2010 was to install a woodburner! After lengthy investigation and finding this site amongst others, i decided on The Firefox 8 for three reasons. 1 good reviews. 2 price. 3 multifuel (so if i run out of wood i can burn coal)\n\nI bought the stove online (£325) and installed it all myself for about £900 including cost of stove. I opted to fit the stove in the dining room as it was closer to the core of the house, plus it was always a bit risky having an open fire in a room when you aren't in it, even with a guard it can spark! That way we can run the woodburner when we aren't in the room with no risk of it going wrong!\n\nI finished installation for September 2010. I am absolutely thrilled with this stove. It has been on 12hrs a day since i fitted it! As i said the house has no insulation, but the job for this year is to remedy that. As we insulate the stove should provide even more heat.\n\nIn mid-December we had 12 nights at 17oC to -19oC by night and it didnt get above -9oC by day. The stove was on constantly, the dining room (5m x 4m x 3m tall) sat at around 29oC, the hall (3m x 1.5m x 3m tall) 23oC and with both bedroom door open upstairs, they sat at around 13oC. I also had the fire on in the livingroom, but only to heat the livingroom. \n\nI have been burning only seasoned hard wood with smokeless coal on occassion. I have recently started using house coal having found a good supplier. I bought 4 cubic metres of split seasoned hardwood locally for £200 delivered, of which i have about half a cube left. Once the stove is up to heat I turn both vents right down and add a log every hour or so. The fuel box isnt massive, though i gather a wood only insert is available.\n\nThis winter has been the coldest since the house was built! and so far we have used 500 litres of oil (which is now 75/litre!!) so the stove has already paid for itself!\n\nOnce you start to understand how heat...or in my case draughts, move around the house its easy to open doors once each room is up to temperature to spread the heat. If my house was properly insulated I think the stove could heat most of the rooms.\n\nI haven't really tried an overnight burn as i'm worried about over-firing as the manual states you have to keep ridling when using coal...how do you do that when you are in bed?!?! Overnight with wood isn't possible unless you use the wood only insert previously mentioned by others. I'm sure i'll get the hang of it eventually!\n\nGlass stays pretty clean. Finish hasn't changed a bit in the five months it's been used. Yes there may be 'better' stoves out there and as this is my first i may not be aware of how much 'better' Clearviews and the like are... but at this price, who cares!\n\nLoads of heat, easy to light and clean, heats up quickly, cheap to buy, has saved us a fortune. I am now cutting and stacking my own hardwood for next year. Hope to install the 5kw firefox in the livingroom in a year or so.Oh and it drys wet washing hung up on a frame in a few hours, and the dogs always infront of it!\n\nSuperb! Buy one!\n\n

Stove expert replied: Household coal is not recommended on closed appliances as it can block the airwash system, it also burns with a taller flame that can distort the internal components. Might be worth sticking to smokeless to ensure longevity of this product. Good review of performance. DIY installtions need to be undertaken with the utmost care and needs to be signed off by Building Control. Don't forget to install a CO2 alarm.

Overall rating:

4.5 flames

Build Quality 5 flames (avg 4)
Quality of finish 5 flames (avg 4.2)
Value for money 5 flames (avg 4.3)
Ease of use 5 flames (avg 4.1)
Ease of lighting 5 flames (avg 4.3)
Firebox size 4 flames (avg 3.9)
How well does the airwash work 4 flames (avg 3.6)
Controllability 4 flames (avg 3.7)
Handle operation 4 flames (avg 3.7)
How likely are you to buy it again? 5 flames (avg 3.7)
What is your overall satisfaction? 5 flames (avg 3.8)