WhatStove?

Review of Hunter Herald 14 stove

Not a good replacement for Villager AH Woodburner

Jaqui Fabian 5 years ago

Despite being recommended by the people who previously manufactured the brilliant Villager wood stoves, this is, sadly, rubbish if you''re just burning wood. It may be good as multi-fuel, but for just wood, the logs keep getting caught on the ledge of the front grill, and when you poke them in, the one above tries to fall out, making it quite dangerous.

We are burning about half as much again in timber, so it''s expensive. It doesn''t seem to shut down as effectively as the Villager, so we end up with the heating coming on during the night, and quite often need to light it up again with kindling in the morning.

Sadly, worst purchase we have ever made. Don''t make the same mistake as us if you only want to burn wood.

Stove expert replied: Have you got the woodburning option as they make both wood and multifuel stoves? Have you a damper on the flue to help control the rate of burn, they used to have these on the Villager stoves as standard so this may be what is needed. It is not recommended to burn a wood stove overnight as it will have to be shut down on a low setting for a long period which is not good for the flue system.

Overall rating:

2 flames

Build Quality 4 flames (avg 3.8)
Quality of finish 4 flames (avg 3.9)
Value for money 1 flames (avg 3.5)
Ease of use 3 flames (avg 3.3)
Ease of lighting 2 flames (avg 3.8)
Firebox size 1 flames (avg 3.6)
How well does the airwash work 2 flames (avg 2.8)
Controllability 1 flames (avg 3.1)
Handle operation 1 flames (avg 3)
How likely are you to buy it again? 1 flames (avg 2.9)
What is your overall satisfaction? 1 flames (avg 3.1)