Stovax Riva 55 stove

3.5 flames

The Riva 55 multi fuel stove has airwash & clean burn - there is a riddling grate on the stove and it has a contemporary design.

• Height: 709mm
• Width: 632mm
• Depth: 350mm
• Flue Diameter: 125mm
• Fuel: Multifuel
• Nominal Heat Output: 8kW
• Efficiency: 84%

More reviews for Stovax Riva 55 stove (page 1 of 3)

• Very good buy

  Martin Scott 4 years ago

  We had this stove installed about 10 years ago, although it was badly installed originally, it has since been taken out and re-installed. The stove works well ,and if used with dry wood will
  very rarely blacken the glass, We have found that if the door is opened too quickly after lighting the backdraught causes smoke to come into the room. We have had to replace the rear fire bricks twice since new which to my mind is quite reasonable. Overall we are quite happy and would buy again.
  ...[ read more ]
  Overall rating:

  4.5 flames

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  • 105 This is helpful 58 This is unhelpful

• Stovax Riva 55

  Callum Birrell 4 years ago

  We have had ours for 3 years now.We also have smoke coming back into the room, when loading. We spent a lot of money on our chimney, with various cowls, and eventually getting a chimney liner
  fitted, which did improve things, however, the problem still exists.The glass air wash system isnt the best either. We get blackening of the glass in front of the fuel retaining grill, where presumably, the air doesn't circulate properly.We also have a little corrision recurring, around the door area, where condensation occurs when lighting. It is the mediocre paint finish, which is showing the moisture to react with the steel casing.I would always have a wood burner, but i wouldn't purchase this model again. We used a stovax certified installer, who we also wouldn't use again either.Reading the other reviews, there is a common theme here, where the typical defence is to blame the installer, but, if you'll pardon the pun, " there's no smoke without fire" !!There must be an issue with this stove's air wash system, for there to be so many negative reviews.
  ...[ read more ]

  Stove expert replied: Was the flue draw test carried out when this was installed as this is critical to insure that the stove can function effectively and efficiently?

  Overall rating:

  3 flames

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  • 114 This is helpful 82 This is unhelpful

• Good working stove but poorly made

  Charlie Wheadon 5 years ago

  Its a good working stove but the components are cheaply made and the metal is thin and poor quality I would imagine its not made in the UK..When you have to replace parts they are excessively
  expensive " what a shame"
  ...[ read more ]

  Stove expert replied: It is quite often the case that spares seem to be priced high compared to the initial purchase cost, this is common in may cases with other goods purchased. Most components do last a reasonable time and no information on what has been replaced means this is therefore difficult to comment on further.

  Overall rating:

  3.5 flames

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  • 133 This is helpful 70 This is unhelpful

• Disappointed

  Ian Coxsey 6 years ago

  We had this fire installed in July 2017 as part of a whole house re-furb. The main issues we are having is smoke being pushed into the room when opening the door, and sooting up of the glass
  . We had a 6kw Woodwarm stove installed in our previous house which was excellent. I rarely had to clean the glass and once lit it was very easy to control. With the Riva I am having to clean the glass every time before lighting, and the control of the burn seems to be quite temperamental. Its either roaring away or struggling to keep alight? Also the little knob on the air wash control came off after one week of use.
  ...[ read more ]

  Stove expert replied: Any problem with the stove under warranty should be followed up with the supplier. Regarding the smoke and dirty glass, this may be due to a poor drawing flue or not enough air in the room to allow combustion to occur efficiently. This sound like an installation issue that should be followed up further,

  Overall rating:

  2.5 flames

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  • 179 This is helpful 107 This is unhelpful

• Spares too expensive

  James Nolan 6 years ago

  I''ve had a Stovax Riva 55 for the last 5 years and found it a really good stove, but this summer I decided to overhaul it with new fire bricks upper and lower baffles and log guard. I priced
  these and found them very expensive so much so that I took it out and replaced it a Edilkarmin Nara wood pellet free standing stove and so far find it fantastic, very efficient clean and no more lugging bags of logs and coal around.
  ...[ read more ]
  Overall rating:

  3.5 flames

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  • 209 This is helpful 114 This is unhelpful

• Problems with stove

  7 years ago

  Hi we are having few problems with this stove 1st: BLACKENING OF GLASS Everytime we burn logs glass gets black... very annoying as they you can enjoy fire estetical reason 2nd: PLASTER CRACKED
  (bricks been plaster over pink plasterboards) Plaster cracked even we let it cured for 3 weeks But it cracked very badly straight above fireplace and also there are hairline cracks in strange lines accross whole wall (up to 150cm from floor) ...1 is horizontal long across whole width of wall (180cm) and other 2 are vertical 50cm long from top of fireplace up to that horizontal line around that metal cream box....why is that please 3rd: STONE SURROUND INSIDE FIREPLACE (where we put logs to burn) CRACKED Please see photos....why is that and does it need replacing...what danger can this cause if left cracked? 4rd: SMOKE COMING INTO ROOM Lots of smoke coming into room when fire is already hot and i put more logs in 5th: BLACK PLASTER above fireplace there is black plaster around fireplace which we cant even wash off...so i think as we want to put stone tiles i would need opt only for dark stone as it would be badly looking when cream slate will go black from fireplace Please try answer me these questions I would send you photos if i can on email if you can let me know your email pls Fireplace is now 2 years old Been installed by HETAS installer Chimney is swept every 6months Thank you
  ...[ read more ]

  Stove expert replied: I suspect the installation may be at fault with so much cracking around the opening being evident. Was the stove installed with insulation around it, did the installer use fireproof boarding, rendering and plaster or just standard materials? If smoke comes back into the room, when opening the door, the flue draw would appear to be poor, has this been checked, was the chimney lined? Is there an airbrick in the room. Is the fuel dry and seasoned with a moisture content of less than 20%. Might not be the stove at fault and further investigation recommended.

  Overall rating:

  3 flames

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  • 216 This is helpful 170 This is unhelpful

• Riva

  Gwen OConnor 8 years ago

  We have 2 Riva stoves-66 and 45. The larger one works extremely well. However the smaller one not as well.1. The air wash does not work so we have a black glass.2. If it is opened shortly after
  lighting there is a huge amount of smoke coming into the room.Do I need to contact the suppliers. The problem one was installed in late 2014 so is in its 2nd winter.
  ...[ read more ]

  Stove expert replied: Sounds like the flue needs to be warm to enable the flue gases to lift effectively away from the stove. Have you an air brick ion the room? Make sure the door is shut to the room as the other flue may have a better draw and this can affect other flues in the property. Is the flue lined and insulated? What height is the flue? The glass blackening may also indicate the poor draw not allowing the gases to get away effectively from the stove, likely to be down to the installation rather than the stove unit itself. I would seek further assistance from the installer first to check what flue draw you have on this system and to ensure there is enough air in the room to allow for combustion to be effective.

  Overall rating:

  4.5 flames

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  • 247 This is helpful 151 This is unhelpful

• Initial impression very poor

  Ray Forster 8 years ago

  The Hetas engineer who fitted our stove said he had never seen so many disclaimers in the manual before. This is the 4th stove we've had and by far the worst. Air controls just don't seem to
  work, a terrible smell of smoke is produced and no way is this an 8kw stove. I also have experience of fires and the main problem seems to be the lack of secondary air - the air that is admitted over the top of the fire to burn off the gases to give a cleaner burn. Every time we open the door to refuel - regardless of how much fire is in the stove - it emits lots of smoke into the room. We spoke to the supplier and Stovax and have been told it's too much / not enough ventilation. Too much / not enough draft. I could believe all this were it not for the fact we have a Clearview stove in the adjoining room that has the same ventilation and draft (same chimney, different flue) but works perfectly. Uses far too much fuel too... even with it shut as far as I dare without blackening the glass even more. Reading the installation guide it shows that unless you custom build a fireplace for this stove, it's not suitable anywhere else. Unlike all the other stoves we have had where you just lay the fire, light and forget this one is far more convoluted. Don't forget to buy some Jif to clean the glass should decide to go for this stove.
  ...[ read more ]

  Stove expert replied: From what you have written above the installation seems to be the cause for the disappointment in the stoves performance. As you have another working flue in the property it could and is most likely is affecting the way this flue is performing. The fact that you are getting smoke back into the room on opening the door is indication that it is not drawing enough when the pressure is changed on opening the door. You also say that you are using lots of fuel for little heat production again indicative of a flue draw issue. The installation should be checked thoroughly on both stoves and do make sure that there is enough ventilation provided in both rooms.

  Overall rating:

  2 flames

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  • 296 This is helpful 138 This is unhelpful

• Stovax Riva 55

  Roger Curtis 9 years ago

  Replaced our freestanding 20 year old wood burner for something more contemporary and decided on the Riva 55. Ever since its been installed, we have had problems trying to shut the fire down
  . We've had our installer out and Stovax engineers, who replaced something to do with the airwash, but the fire still burns like a furnace with the primary air control and airwash control closed. In fact the fire is burning so fiercely, there is no need for the airwash system to be open. At this moment in time we are seriously considering having the stove taken out and looking at an alternative. I would seriously check this wood burner is suitable for the situation it is being used for because we are extremely disappointed.
  ...[ read more ]
  Overall rating:

  2.5 flames

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  • 293 This is helpful 166 This is unhelpful

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