Review of Hunter Herald 14 stove
Hunter herald 14
I had a new Herald 14 installed in May 2011 but only started to use it end Sept 2011.
It replaced an old Villager multi-fuel boiler stove that had worked well for 18 years but was looking a little tired. It would burn almost anything and once the flue damper was opened everything went up the chimney when the doors were opened. Unfortunately this is is not so with the Herald 14. I initially found that it was virtually impossible to add to the fire without filling the room with smoke unless the wood had burnt through completely and the coal was glowing which either meant a slow start (with lots of fuel) or a small fire which took an hour or so to gradually increase the volume in the firebox. Hunter sales dept. recommended the use of dry, seasoned wood (as you would expect) and to use smokeless coal only. They also said make sure any doors in the room are closed (to avoid draughts) and open the door(s) a little to let everything equalize. Putting all of these into operation does improve the situation and the draw up the flue is greater however, I feel the design of the air wash means any smoke/fumes are forced towards the door area so any refilling still causes a leakage of smoke/fumes into the room but it is just about bearable. Don`t think if I had my time again, I would go for the airwash system....Stove expert replied: this is probably a chimney problem not a stove problem. Villager stoves, at least the older ones, are much less heavily baffled meaning that they send more heat up the chimney. This means that they are a good choice if, frankly, the chimney is not very good. Hunter stoves on the other hand are much more heavily baffled and rely on a good draw from the chimney to work well. I would look to the chimney and room ventilation here - consider lining and insulating the chimney, see if opening a window to the room improves the situation - if it does then a room vent is probably also needed. Fit a CO alarm if you have not already done so - especially important if burning coal as the smoke does not make you cough as much as wood smoke.
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