WhatStove?

Review of Stovax Brunel 1A stove

its not that adorable!

Jo Payne 12 years ago

When we first had our Brunel stove 5 yrs ago we loved it - it was used continuously throughout the winter months and kept the downstairs back of a very drafty Victorian brick house lovely and cosy... so why the low mark. Well, this was actually the second Brunel stove we have had. The first one was in blue enamel but within a couple of years the enamel had crazed all over the stove and started to peel, plus there was a problem with the controls on the stove, even when the vents were closed the fire would flare... but to their credit Stovax did replace it with a new one without any problems. However the present stove which is also enamel started presenting problems two years ago - a small line in the enamel appeared on the top of the stove but since the stove was operating well and it didn't look too bad, we decided to order some enamel paint from Stovax in the summer and patch it up which we did.. However, present day, the paint we put on the line has come off, a very large patch of enamel has come away where the original line was, there are now bubbles of air under the enamel all over the stove which threaten to break out... and imagine our surprise to find the other week that the actual cast iron on the top of the stove where all the enamel came away now supports a 2.5cm crack on it...

Because this stove is out of warranty Stovax is under no obligation to do anything... but to our mind we will never again buy from Stovax - their fires are not cheap, we had paid extra for the enamel - which has given us so many problem, but for a cast iron stove to crack after only five years... well what does that say of the product? All we can say is beware... it may be the luck of the draw, but if you are unlucky like us, you can and will be seriously angry and out of pocket!

Stove expert replied: Very sad story, cast iron can crack but this is likely to be through over heating of an appliance (not always though!). A costly experience!

Overall rating:

2.5 flames

Build Quality 3 flames (avg 4.3)
Quality of finish 1 flames (avg 4.2)
Value for money 1 flames (avg 3.8)
Ease of use 4 flames (avg 4.4)
Ease of lighting 4 flames (avg 4)
Firebox size 2 flames (avg 3.2)
How well does the airwash work 3 flames (avg 3.3)
Controllability 4 flames (avg 4.2)
Handle operation 4 flames (avg 3.9)
How likely are you to buy it again? 1 flames (avg 4)
What is your overall satisfaction? 1 flames (avg 3.9)