Review of Stovax Stockton 5 stove
Does what it says on the tin!
This is a good value and versatile stove. I have a small living room in an early Victorian cottage, and the heat output is more than adequate - in fact when it really gets going, I have to open the door to the other room. I would suggest that those complaining about the poor heat output are either burning wet wood, or should have chosen a bigger stove. I bought the multi-fuel version and ran it mainly on smokeless coal for the first winter. As with any solid fuel stove, it takes 30 minutes or so to establish a firebed, but once you get it going it gets really hot. Burning smokeless coal, it would also just about stay in overnight. Then as I got a good supply of dry hardwood, I converted it to a woodburner for the winter just gone - easy, just remove the grate and riddling rod, 2 extra bricks in the side and hey presto, you have a dedicated woodburner. Performs really well burning wood, gets hot quickly and is controllable. As with any stove, it just takes a little trial and error to work out the best air settings, and this will all depend on the draw of your flue. The only minor gripe I have is that after 2 years the black finish has gone a light grey in places, assume this is just due to the heat affecting the paint finish. Can easily be touched up with a product called 'colloidal black'. In summary, I would not hesitate to recommend the stove. No doubt it is not the best stove on the market as reflected in its price - if you want a top of the range cast iron stove, you will have to spend a lot more money. If you just need a small stove for weekend and evening burning in a average/small room, this is more than adequate.
Stove expert replied: these stoves have a sprayed finish so do not use colloidal black - use an appropriate spray paint.