Review of Hunter Herald 8 stove
Hunter Herald * boiler stove
We bought one of these to replace a fairly large open fire. We also wanted it to supplement our LPG central heating. We live in a rural area with no gas suppply and LPG prices are ridiculous for LPG central heating these days.
So we found a plumber to fit this boiler in as a sort of piggy back set up into the existing central heating system. It has its own pump and thermostat but uses the existing pipework and radiators. We have a combi gas boiler for hot water so all stove boiler heat is directed to radiators.It easily runs eight of them. Tne house has never been so cozy!!!!Even during this cold winter 08/09. The Herald is solid (very heavy!). At first we found it awkward to get an even heat. Now we use anthracite and get a good even steady burn/heat for the central heating. Also now the large fire has been removed there is less air movement in the sitting room (where the stove is) and of course no spitting of sparks from logs etc. We do burn logs in the stove, the heat output is somewhat less, but still effective.The logs have to be dry and seasoned or you are wasting your time. You need some sort of sheltered store. The original chimney is unlined but provides perfect draw and the expense of lining it etc avoided. We had the thermostat version boiler but it does not seem to do much and we control it by hand.We would not bother with the thermostat again. We opted for the single door with undecorated glass. This gives optimium observation of the fire for that cozy(There's that word again!) feeling. The glasss keeps suprisingly clean but we still give it a wipe over now and again. Bought the stove from stovesonline. Had good service and would use again. Overall we are very pleased with our purchase. It keeps the house warmer than its ever been for less running cost than the LPG system. The LPG is not redundant and can still be used when the stove is not operating (Best of both worlds).