WhatStove?

Review of Town and Country Runswick stove

Runswick 4KW

Paul H 12 years ago

We bought one of these stoves last year due to the efficiency gain over an open fire and the associated safety of not having to worry about sparks. We chose this particular model due to the promise of minimum upheaval as we should have been able to simply slot it into the existing fireplace, however no matter how hard we tried, the stove did not appear to fit snugly. We put it down to a problem with the actual fireplace and removed the fireback replacing it with a new one but still encountered the issue. In the end we removed the fireplace and mantle and fitted it back around the stove making a fire back as we went. It was a little bit of extra work so just be careful if you do decide to purchase this stove as it is quite expensive relative to a number of smaller free standing stoves. All said, however, we love this stove, it has a nice big window and is super easy to control, if I had one little niggle it is that the handle on the door can get very hot and it is a pity that there is not some sort of insulated cover over it, however the gloves provided are great. The glass can sometimes get a little bit dirthy when the room is very warm and the airwash vents are almost closed, but saying that a bit of kitchen roll and some damp ash the next day always clears the glass perfectly. What I especially like is that I can clean the chimney as per a normal fire and no flue liner was required. All in all, now that the stove is fitted and kept us warm through all the snow of last winter, I would have no hesitation in getting another or indeed recommending them to other people, it has also been much admired by many people for it's rustic simplicity.

Overall rating:

4.5 flames

Build Quality 5 flames (avg 4.7)
Quality of finish 4 flames (avg 4.8)
Value for money 4 flames (avg 4.3)
Ease of use 5 flames (avg 4.7)
Ease of lighting 5 flames (avg 4.8)
Firebox size 5 flames (avg 3.9)
How well does the airwash work 5 flames (avg 4.2)
Controllability 5 flames (avg 4.9)
Handle operation 4 flames (avg 4.4)
How likely are you to buy it again? 5 flames (avg 4.9)
What is your overall satisfaction? 5 flames (avg 4.7)