Just about to rip out a Waterford Stanley Range Cooker. Hasnt been lit more than 25 times. Parts have burned through. Smoke everywhere. Cannot get anyone to take a look! After sales service
is non existent. Complete waste of (a lot of ) money!
Stove expert replied:
Have you been back to the supplier? Was this installed by a Hetas Engineer who is another point of contact regarding problems experienced. You have not indicated the age of the appliance. If the stove has been overdrawing then parts can fail prematurely.
A smoking flue requires further investigation and is not the fault of the stove but down to the installation.
I would suggest finding a Hetas Engineer who would survey the installation before removing it which seems a drastic step unless all other avenues have been exhausted.
Have had the Stanley Oisin in for a couple of days now.
I have burnt peat, dry and wet wood and high quality, homefire coal.
The stove is listed, generally, from 5 to 6.4kw. Before buying,
not having had a stove or fire before, I wasn't sure if this would be enough for me, and I regret to say it hasn't worked out for me.
I heat a room around 3.5 to 6.5 metres long and 2.5 metres in depth. Calculated online I was told I needed a 3.4kw stove. However this stove is a higher kw rating and I find it doesn't deliver what I need to keep the room at a consistently toasty temperature. Before buying I was told by various sources that a stove at 5kw would be enough to have me in my boxer pants but I just have not got that type of heat.
On reflection I think - as I suspected before I bought this - I should have purchased a 7-9kw stove for my room area and burnt on it. The problem with this stove is that it has only a small area to fit logs into, meaning you can only get say 3-5 good logs in at a squeeze, and you need this number to wack out the heat and not simply be using the stove as a glorified radiator. These tend moreover to burn up quickly if you have the vent fully open, which if turned down results in both a lower heat output and clouding of the viewing window. The smaller stove size also inadvertently results in logistical problems if burning wood solely as it means you must ensure each log you are burning is to the correct size - slightly under a foot - to go in this stove.
Having burnt coal in it more recently, I find that the heat given off, whilst a lot better than wood, and lasting a lot longer without refill, is not amazing either. This I would hasten to add is not simply down to the stove or the make (which although smelted in China gets good reviews and sells well in the UK/Ireland) but I suspect heat loss from my Victorian terrace house, combined with the fact that it is hard to get a good fill into the stove on account of its small size.
If others are reading this, with a view to getting a stove in, as I was one week ago, my advice would be to buy this stove if the area to be heated is less than that I stated above (my living room area) or if their house is more modern and facilitates better insulation. If for example you were simply buying a stove for a closed off bedroom or study or a small work area this would be ideal; but for a larger living area it would be safer to get a larger kw stove then fill it liberally or conservatively dependent on other heating factors like the weather, season and the insulation of your home.
Overall I would still rate this stove as a 4/5 as it looks nice, is homely, and the 'issues' I have with it would in some respects or in similar ways be repeated with other makes of stove. It was also my error (not having had a stove before, or been exposed to a home fire since a child in the mid-90s) in getting a lower kw stove than it transpires I need.
I would hasten to add, however, that I am testing the stove in an unusually warm late Sep/early Oct in 2011 and I may have a different view of it after the 2011/2012 Winter. If this is the case I will update this board.
On a final note I bought this stove for £370 in Erwin's at Nutt's Corner in Antrim, and got it installed for £230. So for £500 all in, with a lot of free firewood and some coal, it will I'm certain make a nice addition to my Oil CH this Winter.
Stove expert replied:
Other factors like insulation, open plan areas etc should be considered before purchasing a stove to insure that the stove is powerful enough to heat the space required. The price is low for this stove but if you still require central heating a larger stove which would be more expensive may prove more cost effective. Still every little heat produced will help to cut other fuel costs.
I purchased aan oisin stove 2 months ago. All went well until yesterday flames started coming out at back of stove. I phoned the centre who installed it for me and was told fire cement obviously
came out where stove was joined to flue, and they said this was very common. If I hadn't been in the house it would have gone up in flames. Surely if the stove was connected properly this wouldn't have happened . I paid 2000 euro for cost of stove and installation.
Stove expert replied:
Surprising and alarming comments as the flue connection should be sealed in place and after 2 months should not be causing a problem, most spigots on a stove twist and lock into place and the sealant is there as back up. This is an installation issue and not directly related to the stove and its quality and performance.
On lighting first fire smoke was belting out of the back. On checking it was coming out of one of the bolts which holds stove together at the back. Phoned Stanley and was told to tighten the
bolt up as bolts can loosen in transit. Surely there should be no smoke coming from anything which emits dangerous gases from new.
Had this multi-fuel stove installed 10 years ago and, until last year, it was brilliant. Then our chimney sweep pointed out that the top baffle had corroded badly and recommended replacement
. After much head scratching, my husband managed to fit a replacement baffle. 12 months later, the rear flue just dropped off - just like that. I was glad I noticed it as I was just about to light the fire. This time the bolts holding the pipe had corroded and sheared off. Luckily it didn't happen when the fire was on and we were out the room. We knew nothing about stoves when we had it fitted, but after these events, a quick internet search revealed that cast iron stoves are prone to these failures. We had always been careful to use only seasoned wood, and in fact had only used the stove lightly over the years. With hindsight, I wish we'd done some research. I will never buy a cast iron stove again, and I will only use wood that has been seasoned for at least a year, preferably two. It seems that a steel stove is a better option. Please do some research before buying.
Stove expert replied:
These problems can happen on a steel stove as well as on cast iron models. Wood that has a moisture content of less than 20% should only be used on a stove. Rountin maintainence should be carried out to check all aspects of the installation and may have prevented the flue from dropping off.
I was actually considering buying a new glass for my stove when I came upon the reviews. I have had my stove for about 15 years and have had no replacement parts so far. It is a basic cast
iron stove that I black lead now and again. The glass is now rather crazed but otherwise OK. At one time I had no other heating in my (approx) 150 year old town cottage and was able to run the fire constantly for about three weeks at a time without it going out. After that time it needed a good clear out. At the time I was working so the fire was made up in the morning, raked when I came home, and again raked and made up before I went to bed. I have always burnt large anthracite with the occasional few bits of wood. Wood burns too quickly and needs feeding too often. I haven't used it much recently because an enthusiastic chimney sweep removed the baffle plate and didn't get it back correctly. I have a man coming in to rectify this (I hope) shortly and I look forward to using it more again next winter. I have to agree with other reviewers about the size of the firebox - it is difficult to put paper, kindling and fuel in all at once when lighting. I usually wait for the kindling to catch and then add fuel. It would be difficult to have a bigger firebox in such a small size stove and it heats my 15' x 13' living room, which has an open staircase in it, quite well. I have always been well satisfied with it. PS I don't think it was made in China like the modern versions.
Stove expert replied:
Amazing no spares in 15 years - what value for money!!
I am writing again, having previously written on 01/10/11, having had much greater experience of using this stove. I would like the admin to keep my previous review up to show the contrast that
experience makes in operating a stove.
This stove is great value for money. Previously, I had used it and did not have any experience in operating a stove or in maintaining and building a fire. Now I have had it for around 10 weeks, I can say that it actually is very good.
The stove firstly is great value for money. It is Chinese-made, but with an Irish name. Don't let its origin put you off; I have found no mechanical or aesthetic faults with it. The only slight gripe one could justifiably have in this respect is lack of a formal air-wash system. However, burning the stove hot, and a wipe every 3 days (about 4 seconds of time) with a sheet of newspaper across the glass clears up the glass nicely.
I find this stove more than delivers what I need and so is exactly right for my living room (see previous review for dimensions). I have burnt this stove on just about all solid fuel types and, with a combination of smokeless anthracite and household coal, have pushed the room temperature up over 33c. This was several nights ago when it was 0c outside - unlike a gas or oil system, this just won't give up with the cold.
The key to getting the best out of this stove rests on two elements, one of which I touched on above: The use of proper solid fuel to maintain the fire, and the use of proper, appropriately sized kindling.
When I first bought the stove, I was all over the place with both: Sometimes I would throw in a log with firelighters, other times I would try to start with coal mixed with peat.
The simplest, and best way however to start this stove, and I expect all stoves, is quite simply with several sheets of knotted newspaper, on top of which should go a small amount of kindling (dry, and thin), with perhaps a small firelighter. The real trick however is what goes next. Coal produces much better heat than wood, but coal differs according to its type. I previously made the error of throwing on grade a anthracite smokeless. This is a great mistake as this can take several (quite literally) hours to get burning. I recently bought housecoal (the smokey coal) and I can have the fire roaring in 15-30 minutes, with maybe an hour's wait to heat my living room.
So the key to starting this stove, for me is kindling, followed by household coal, followed by smokeless. With this I've got the best temperatures, and if you follow this then you will easily achieve perhaps 6-8kw out of this stove. On this basis I would rate this stove quite highly considering its price.
A few other points. As said at the start, don't be putting off as this stove is made in China. It works well, and the fact an Irish company sells it on to local stove merchants gives you a better chance to contact someone from the company if anything goes wrong. Waterford Stanley even has a facebook page where they answer problems from customers personally, which is very good.
I would not recommend this stove for wood burning solely. I would not do this because the firebox is only slightly bigger than 1 ft wide, so it is a pain to put anything too big in.
Aesthetically the stove is quite nice looking when well lit up. There are a lot which look nicer, but just be wary about some of these. One often hears about 'crap Chinese stoves' as if European models are all fault-free. However, a cursory look about this site will reveal some of the real problems which are exhibited in some of the European designs (at 3 times the price of this). It strikes me that the Chinese make stuff for a functional reason then sell in bulk; the Europeans, not being able to compete with low labour costs, seem to go for supposed quality, but can often make basic errors with regard to design. For example, on this site you will read reviews of £1000+ 5kw stoves with small fireboxes, inadequate firebar provision etc whereas this is the ronseal of stoves.
I cannot comment on how good this stove would be for central heating as I don't use it for that. However, based on reading a lot of other posts about this stove, I would aver you would get away with using this for perhaps 4 radiators and hot water tops.
I hope this review has been helpful and I didn't put off too many with my previous entry.
Stove expert replied:
Experience counts for so much when using a stove, you learn the best way to get the maximum from it so thank you for the updated review.
We went with the Stanley Oisin because of the great range of finishes available which for an enamel finish offered reasonable value when compared to the Stovax alternative. We went for the new
Cream finish but they are also available in Black, Blue, Green and Brown. Deceptively powerful!
Colours like cream are special orders, but we got a great deal at Dalzells in Markethill http://www.armaghelectrical.com/acatalog/Stanley_Oisin_Cream_Multi_Fuel_Stove.html
