Tell me about your multi-fuel stove (particularly if you have big rooms). I need to choose one!

[FunMitFlags]

We're soon to have a multi-fuel stove fitted in our open fireplace. I have sorted out the fitting/hearth side of things but need to pick a stove.

It is to go in a very traditional/formal sitting room, a huge room with very high ceilings, so a classic timeless style is needed. Anything very modern would look wrong. We've been advised that we should go for 8kw+. Iwe have a big old (cold) house so there is no danger of us ever being too hot! The actual fireplace isn't particularly wide so I don't think many of the higher output stoves would fit (Charnwood do a 12kw one that would fit but dh thinks it looks too fussy ).

I've narrowed it down to:

Yeoman CL8 (the most efficient at 81%)
Morso 2110 Panther (72%)
Charnwood Cove 2 or C-Eight (78%)

Has anyone got these, or some other brand I haven't thought of (have rules out Hunter because they're too wide)?

I want something at will last forever and be easy to keep clean. Dh likes one door rather than 2.

[Rockdoctor]

Not sure of the outputs but we have an Aga stove fitted in a restricted space (although our limit was height rather than width). It certainly had the highest heat output for the size and it has been great so far. One thing I would think about is ease of cleaning/lighting if you are going to be using it daily.

[FunMitFlags]

Ooh, didn't know aga did stoves. Off to google...

Yes, it will be in daily use as our main heat source so that we don't need to use radiators (which cost a small fortune to run and don't really heat the house up).

[whatsagoodusername]

We've got a small Portway stove. It's only about 4.5, but they do bigger ones.

It's lovely, quite classic, and heats our 4 bed terrace pretty well. We don't have radiators downstairs, and rarely turn on the heat upstairs.

I love our stove.

[PigletJohn]

I used to have a Morso, it also heated the hot-water cylinder which is very handy. You can get big multifuels that will heat radiators, but not as quickly as a modern gas boiler which can be very powerful.

Being out at work all day, it is tiresome to come home to a cold house and wait an hour or more for the stove to have heated the main room. You can bank it up to stay in overnight, especially if you keep solid fuel handy (wood burns fast), but IME not all day if you are out.

If like me you are slovenly it is a delight to throw a lot of kitchen waste (cornflake packets, cods heads, teabags etc) in the stove instead of traipsing out to the bin.

The chimney will need to be inspected and cleaned first, and then once a year (more if you burn lots of softwood).

[sandycloud]

We are getting a stove and have been told to get a clear view or a new make called chilli penguin. We had a stovax which we thought was great but this reckons these are much better. They look good too and you can choose lots of options.

[FunMitFlags]

I don't like the chrome handle and details on the Chilli Penguin ones - would look really out of place in this house.

Thank you for all the ideas. My short list is getting longer and longer!

It will be fitted by a HETAS registered fitter/chimney expert who comes highly recommended, and the chimney will be cleaned prior to fitting.

I did laugh at the idea of cod heads etc. We don't eat in this room, other than the occasional biscuit.


Is there really much of a difference between these different brands?

[cressetmama]

We have a Jotul, and have been very pleased with it. One of the considerations for us was that it could be used with the doors open or shut, so it's like having an open log fire. Ours is wood-burning only, but you could bank it up before bed and again in the morning. As a SAHM, I tend to light it mid afternoon so it warms up for the evening. BUT, it burns through hardwood at a rate of knots; my neighbour's Morso is more efficient, although more modern in style.

[TeddyBee]

My pils have a Morso, which really heats the house, but they hate the way it looks. It is very modern. I love it! We have a 7.5kw Carron, which I am fond of but does not heat the house very well unless it is on all day.

[peggyundercrackers]

the Charnwood island looks quite nice, never used it though. when we looked at getting a stove it was suggested we look at something like the stovax huntingdon

[Belindabelle]

I have a Chesney Salisbury. Really plain and simple looking and easy to light. Look at the Belgravia and Beaumont too.

[MrsKipling16]

I have a Morso, but not the panther. I love it!

I chose it partly because of the Morso brand - from what I researched they seem to be pretty well regarded and manufacture quality stoves. Also read similarly positive things about Jotul and Clearview but preferred the Morso.

[cressetmama]

If I were buying another today, I would go for the Morso. However, this would be because I like their modern styling... and they are fabulously effective, even in barns!

[FunMitFlags]

Morso seem to be winning....

Has anyone bought/used one that they weren't very impressed with?

[APlaiceInTheSun]

We have a Stovax Riva 50 insert stove and it does good job, is easy to clean and really heats a large room.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Place marking. I want a stove too.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Can I ask a silly question? Can you have a stove with a wooden mantle piece?

I would buy a stone surround and we have a granite hearth but dh built the fireplace & I couldn't replace it.

[Itscoldouthere]

We had a Charnwood island 2 it was big and used to heat the whole of our open plan Victorian downstairs it was lovely to look at a mid way between modern and traditional look, very easy to use.

We now have a Contura (Danish I think) which heats the room really well but now it's fitted we feel it looks like a 1980s TV !

Wish I had bought a Charnwood again.

[Itscoldouthere]

We had a painted wood mantle with the Charnwood, it was fine.

[WaltzingWithReindeers]

Also marking place. I'm going to get one from town and country fires cos quite a few people I know have had 'em from there and really rate them.

Presumably I need to take out my old fireplace (it's an open fire at the mo) so that I can assess the size of the cavity before choosing/buying a stove?

[KatyMac]

Clearview are amazing - absolutely amazing

[florascotia]

Wood burning stoves are fantastic - we have a old Rayburn, which heats water and radiators and has an oven.

OP I'm sure your engineer will do things properly, but does everyone else know that, to be safe (and legal), wood-burning stoves need proper flues and chimneys? For details, see: www.hetas.co.uk/wp-content/mediauploads/BFCMA-General-Guidance-10-12-12.pdf

Stoves, flues, chimneys and their installation must also comply with UK Building Regulations - info is on p 17 of doucment linked to above.

[FunMitFlags]

My mantle piece and fire surround are wooden. The chap who is going to fit the woodburner said that was fine. In fact, he showed me pictures of other fireplaces he'd fitted and plenty had wooden mantelpieces. I think that the key thing is that there is sufficient clearance around the woodburner.

[FunMitFlags]

He did say he'd have to take the wooden stuff off (carefully) then fit it back again afterwards. Our house is listed and the current fireplace is a special feature so there's no way we were going to change that.

[Eastwickwitch]

Another vote for Jotul. It's only a woodturner but heats the enormous room really well with & is very pretty
jotul.com/uk/products/wood-stoves/Jotul-F-400

[shovetheholly]

I have a Morso multifuel and I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

They are so well engineered. I had nightmares as it was being fitted of camping as a kid and struggling to get a fire lit. With these, you can't really fail. And they really pump out the heat. The heavy cast iron keeps conducting for hours after the fire is out.

But there are lots of good brands. Be wary of taking the advice of any showroom. They have contracts with the brands, and every one of them will tell you that the one they get the biggest commission on is (and I quote) 'the Rolls Royce of stoves'. You hear that phrase over and over again about all the big makes.

I would talk to an experienced fitter and ask them what they have at home!

Style is a really personal thing, but I would bet that the slightly more contemporary styling on some brands (e.g. Morso, Clearview) will date less badly than some of the 'traditional' models. I realise that may sound like a paradox, but have a look at 'traditional' fires from the 1980s and you'll see what I mean. The fewer twiddly bits the less it's tied to a particular era.