We have our Green enamel Stovax 30 for so long I can''t remember when we bought it. During that time we have used it almost continually during the cold winter months. We have moved it several
times from house to house and I have found that all of the problems we have had have been down to the fuel used or a dodgy chimney. All that is required to get this stove blasting heat out is to use a fair amount of kindling to give a good flame to encourage airflow. Once burning it is easy to control via the handles on the front and easy to riddle. I clean it after every use once it has finally cooled down which is at least 8 hours after shutting down. The enamel has chipped but that is due to use and having been moved several times. It''s a heavy beast and not easy to handle carefully. I have not experienced any failure of any parts. It was expensive (although I would say good value as it is a quality stove compared to others) but has been worth every penny. I would say I would buy one again, but I won''t need to as this one will last forever.
Stove expert replied:
Great comments and good service from this stove.
I have owned a enamel green Huntingdon 30 multi-fuel stove since Jan 2008 (5 years now). I have burnt wood most of the time (c.85%) and smokeless fuel for the remaining time. The stove looks
lovely. It is incredibly heavy and well built, as you would expect - this is not a cheap stove! However there are several problems with both the design and the finish, as follows:a) the riddle does not work properly - after just 2 burns the ash works its way under the back firebrick and fills in the gap which allows the riddle bars to move back and forth. For the riddle to work I would have to do a full clean out (removing all firebricks and riddle bars) after every burn. I checked with a Gazco engineer who was replacing parts under guarantee, and he confirmed the stove has been correctly installedb) It is not easy to light - I have to open the door of the ash tray for a long time (always >15 minutes) if I want the fire to really take. It then takes a long time to heat up (compared to our other two stoves) but I think this is due to the solidity and weight of the Stovax - once it is up to heat, it does throw it out. As a note, I use the same fuel source in my other stoves, against which I am comparing the performance of the stovax.c) within 10 months of receiving the stove the enamel cracked off the top. Stovax did accept liability and replace the whole top plate, but only after many calls and many failed appointements for their engineer to turn up. On one occasion he arrived but didn't have some parts he needed. On another occasion he just didn't turn up at the agreed time. It took 4 months and 3 attempts and many many calls and emails to get this replacement.d) the enamel is now cracking off the replacement stove top. Stovax technical dept take anything up to 1/2 hour to answer the phone and their customer service just is not up to scratch.In summary, a beautiful looking stove. Once up to heat it works well. But I would expect better design and finish quality from such an expensive stove. I would not but Stovax again.
We bought this stove 3 years ago. A crack has formed at the top of it. We contacted the company and were told that we weren't covered by the warranty as apparently you are not supposed to burn
coal in it (multi-fuel stove). The lady who we talked to was very rude and told us that we should have read the warranty and not burned coal in it!!!!!. We talked to our local supplier and were told that this is a fault that happens regularly with this model and that to replace the top would cost 250euro cost with another 200euro to fit it. This is such a pity as we were very happy with it. If you don't intend to burn coal this is the stove for you!!!!!
Stove expert replied:
House hold coal is not recommended on a closed appliance due to the long flames that subject the internal components to higher than normal working temperatures.
The manual states 3.2 Solid fuel:
• Burn only anthracite or manufactured briquette smokeless fuels listed as suitable for use with closed heating appliances
Do not burn bituminous coal, ‘petro-coke’ or other petroleum based fuels as this will invalidate the product guarantee.
Always read the manual closely to make sure that the correct fuels are used.
We have had stoves before and we love them so when we moved into our new home the first thing we did was to get a stove installed. We decided on the Huntington 30. Wrong choice !We thought it
would be a good well built and designed product but it''s not. Firstly the riddling grate clogs up in no time making it a useless feature. Secondly the ash pan is way to small as half of the ash does not fall into it and when you try to remove the pan ash falls out of the sides onto a slate hearth which is not easy to clean. And to try to get out the remaining ash is very hard and messy. Thirdly ash falls out from other parts underneath it which is also very hard if not impossible to clean up. Fourthly you need to use an awkward tool with your left hand to open and close the door. And last but not least the customer service received is terrible. After I called them and explained the above I was told that they have never heard anything like this before but they did say they would get another department to call me and get an engineer out to have a look and to be fair they did call me but they wanted £119 to come and have a look. They were told not to bother. All in all a terrible product and equally terrible customer service. If I could put a zero in the score I would.
Stove expert replied:
Stovax have done what they said they would by calling you back, to make a charge to come out to inspect a fault is not uncommon with manufacturers and in some cases they do not have engineers so can't offer this service. The grate fowling may be down to the type of fuel used as they do vary greatly and perhaps an alternative should be tried. You state that it clogs up in no time, not really sure how long you mean, do you clear the stove out daily? Ash hoovers are readily available for removing any ash that fails to fall into the ashpan and the hearth is there for the very reason you explain to prevent ash from falling onto any combustible materials and should be made from a material that is easily cleaned.
We were persuaded to replace a perfectly good Jetmaster fire with the Stovax woodburner. What a mistake! It is poorly made, it is very difficult to control (either burns like a furnace or smoulders
impotently). I am now waiting for the chimney sweep to return to refit the top baffles which fell down (they appear not to have any proper fixings!) Overall very disappointed with this stove.
We stupidly bought two Huntingdon stoves. They look great in situ but do not give off the heat that we were told they would. They do not stay in over night and therefore it costs a fortune to
keep relighting and bringing them back to some sort of temperature. We have had them for about three years which I think is a fair test.I have now got enough money to replace them but definitely not with another Stovax!.
Stove expert replied:
How sad that the stoves have failed to give you the expected heat. Did you get the installations checked, this is key to insure the heat generated goes where is should. It is not always the stoves fault!
This is my second stove, the first being a hase.
The Stovax is solidly built and looks handsome in our inglenook. It does a first class job of heating our living room and heiping to heat the
adjoining dining room.
On arrival the top plate was cracked. Whether this was the delivery guys or not is unclear - my bet is it was them rather than a manufacturing fault.
There is one air control which is a small lever at the top front. It gets very hot and because of friction either does not move or moves too far.
I am still surprised how long the door has to be left ajar to really set the fire going enough that it does not soot up when the door closes.
When it is in the fire looks great - there's a big glass area for a good view of the flames.
The firebox is good size and compensates for my laziness over trimming down logs.
The Stovax is cast iron so it takes a little while to heat up - longer then steel. In my view this is more than compensated for by the fact that it stays very hot at the end of the evening when the fire has been allowed to die down.
We went for the flat top, which has earned its keep when our electric has gone out - because we cook on it then.
Overall, the Stovax does well the two things we want from it - giving good heat and looking great. If there was one thing I would want to change its the air controls, but that's more a niggle than a real complaint. Am considering buying another for a different house.
