Cheap Multi-fuel Stoves Ireland

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Cheap Multi-Fuel

Cast Iron Stoves

SunRain Multi-fuel Stove 6Kw €225 plus €25 delivery

I have had a lot of hits, feedback, and enquiries regarding low priced stoves, their quality, value etc. One business that offers solid fuel stoves at very cheap prices is Stove Deals, Blanchardstown, Dublin. They operate mainly through DoneDeal Internet sales site, and do not have a retail premises.

Stove Deals offer a 6Kw stove for just €225. It is made, like nearly all cast iron stoves sold in Ireland, by a Chinese Factory. The Chinese brand is called SunRain Foundry.

The exact same stove is sold by B&Q only in the UK for Stg£239 or roughly €300.

There are some mixed reviews on this stove but the majority are quite positive. I have written before about buying imported stoves. My advice is the same now. Cheaper prices usually mean that there have to be some saving by the manufacturer, so don't expect exactly the same quality as items costing more than twice the price. If you are ordering one of these stoves, buy a spare set of grates and baffles, costing about €55, at the time of purchase - make the purchase conditional on getting the spares. Then look at the results in this way; if the stove gives you 5years good wear it will have cost a mere €45 per year. Chances are, if you use it carefully, you will get 10 or more years out of it.

I contacted Stove Deals and asked some direct questions about the stoves, spare parts, delivery, guarantee etc. Here are the questions and the answers, from Dave at Stove Deals, in bold italics

(1) Do you have any sort of show room? Address?
 No showroom, we use a freight company in Blanchardstown for distribution, but no shop at all.

(2) Collection point for cash sales?
Collection can be arranged by appointment Mon-Fri from the warehouse and they accept cash, customers should do their research first, then give me a ring when they know what they want!

(3) What type of guarantee do you offer?
All stoves are 1 year guarantee and buying off us is the same as any other shop, your consumer rights are the same.

(4) Do you have spares in stock in Ireland for the stoves you sell. Grates / Baffles / Glass / hinges / handles etc?
I try to carry the main spares in stock in Ireland, but we do run out. Best time to order spares is around the end of the season, March - April, so if they are not in stock we can have them before the next winter.

(5) You advertise flue pipe and bends on DoneDeal what type of material - enameled steel?
The flue pipes are mild steel, painted black

(6) You have been selling stoves a few years now - what is the failure rate generally/? Baffles? Grates? Any body failures?
I've had 1 complaint about poor assembly, as in bolts not fully tightened and a door loose, other than that I would say about on average 1 stove per container (200 per container) arrives damaged at the customer, either the glass damaged or maybe somebody dropped the pallet. Obviously these are replaced, and there are always people looking for cheap damaged stoves for their shed.

(7) Price of a grate for 4Kw stove - and 7Kw stove?
4kW grate €25 - 7kW €30.

(8) Price of baffles for the above?
Baffles for stoves €25-€35 depending on size.

Glass €20-€50 depending on sizes, really only the insert stoves have a €50 piece of glass. Biggest problem at this time of year is keeping stoves in stock! Thanks, Dave.

Stove Deals 6Kw stove, a very popular size, is priced at just €225 plus €25 delivery nationwide.

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/heating/3620184

B&Q offer the same stove at Stg£239 or roughly in Euro €300

http://www.diy.com/nav/rooms/fires-surrounds/stoves-accessories/stoves/-specificproducttype-solid_fuel_stoves/Cast-Iron-Solid-Fuel-Stove-10146489



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Wood Burning in Stoves

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Is it a BLACK-HOLE?

A Vorex of some kind?

No - not a Black-Hole - it is the inside of the flue pipe of a stove that has been burning unseasoned wood.

Do NOT buy unseasoned wood

As you can clearly see in the above photo, about two thirds of the flue-pipe is blocked with this creosote encrustation. If much more of the pipe was to become blocked, there would be a very real danger of CARBON MONOXIDE being released into the house.

Carbon-monoxide is a KILLER.

Here is another example of a creosote clogged flue pipe. The above example is getting very close to the point where carbon monoxide production would become a real possibility. If you burn a lot of wood - please check your flue pipes regularly.

Another real danger with Creosote

There is another danger involving a creosote build-up in a flue. Creosote is flammable, if the build-up in the flue-pipe ignited, it would go off like a rocket. It could pose a very real danger to the house.
 

A metal pipe will actually redden and you would have a roaring noise like a rocket. It will cause expensive damage, and may well set your house on fire.

Yet another but lesser problem is the difficult and dirty job of cleaning out the flue pipe, and if you use a lot of unseasoned wood, that should be done at least twice in a season. That hard work alone makes it worthwhile to avoid using unseasoned wood.

If you burn kiln-dried or fully seasoned wood, there is a greatly reduced amount of creosote released. With wood briquettes with their very low moisture levels, creosote is hardly a problem at all.

Please be warned - do not buy those wood blocks in plastic bags unless you 100% trust the person who is selling them. Most of that stuff is green wood, not properly seasoned, and I would bet a weeks wages, if I were a betting man, the chances of that stuff being kiln dried is about 100 to 1 against!!


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Blacksmith Stove Review Part 4 - Alert -

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Possible Problems with the

Blacksmith Artisan

I have been doing some close up checking of an installed Blacksmith “Artisan” inset stove. I recon that there are fundamental problems with the level of heat output, and with the hot air convection from the back and sides of the stove

There would appear to be no convection of heat from anything other than the exposed front of the stove. How do I come to that conclusion?

In a normal freestanding stove, heat is dispersed from the back, the sides, and the top of the stove. In the Artisan inset, there are no sides, back or top. The only exposed surface is the front.

If the heat from the sides, back and top of the stove is to be used in the house and not dispersed up the chimney, it would have to be gathered, by air convection, from the hot surfaces of the fire box.

One of the Convection Air intake vents seen on the right  side

Looking at the stove, it would appear to have the necessary features for this convection air flow to happen. It has two air intake slots at floor level either side of the frame which roughly 8 x 4 cm.

Hot Air exit grill on top?? - The Air-Wash damper knob on the right?

It has a large grill, in the frame above the door, which runs the full width of the stove. I would assume that this grill is an exit grill for the hot convection air to get into the room.

Here is the dilemma: 

Air is drawn into both of the intake slots - I checked this with a sheet of paper held near the slots, and sure enough, there is a good flow of air which sucks the paper onto the opening.

In the course of things, you would expect this air flow to be heated around the sides and back of the stove and then to exit as hot air through the slotted vent at the top, wouldn’t you?

But here lies the core of the problem. Instead of an outflow of hot air from the upper grills, air is being sucked in causing a cooling effect. I checked this simply by placing a length of tissue across the top of the grill - it is clearly being sucked in - instead of being gently blown out by the hot air convection.

The airwash damper does not affect the air flow - nor should it - it should have a seperate air way.  So where is all of this air from the room going? What is this telling us?

What appears to be happening is that air is being sucked in both at the top grill, where hot air should be coming out,  and at the bottom air intake slots. This air is effectively cooling the front of the stove and reducing the heat from the one radiant surface.

Poor Heat Output from this stove

The manufacturer rates the stove output at 5 Kw. I have no means of measuring this in any scientific way - but let me say this much, it is well under 3 Kw of heat when compared to a 3 Kw electric heater.

Now, I am hoping that this case might be just a one off problem, and hopefully it does not represent a problem of poor design.

Contacted Blacksmith Stoves

I contacted Blacksmith and had a callback from one of their senior reps. however, he could not directly answer the technical questions, did not seem to understand the principle of the convection process, or of the need for the combustion air and convection air to be completely separate. I was left no wiser by the call.

I have asked for some technical diagrams of the Artisan stove which might clearly show the layout of the airways. I am hoping to have these early next week, and that they will clarify things a bit.

If the convection airways are incorrectly designed and unable to gather heat properly from the back and sides of the firebox, the efficiency of this stove could be no greater than 30% to 40% rather than the 70% claimed. The heat output to the room based on what I experienced is no-where remotely close to the 5 Kw quoted.

I will also request a copy of the independent labs test results, especially the details of the criteria used to determining mean output and fuel to room transfer efficiency.

Best Wait and See

We, that is myself and the owners of the Artisan stoves, will await some technical clarification and assistance, and detailed diagrams and instructions, and I will inform this blog of the outcome.

In the meantime - Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) applies. Personally, if I were considering a purchase or installation of the Blacksmith “Artisan” stove, I would postpone until the design, heat output, and efficiency can be fully assessed.

I will post information as it becomes available.


ADDENDUM:
Added 11th January 2012

I have since received a copy of the standards certification cert of the Artisan stove along with a set of technical drawings showing an exploded view of the stove from the people at Blacksmith. It all looks 100% kosher. As far as I can tell from the drawings, all the bits are there and in the right places.

I acknowledge that I have only closely observed one installation and that any inefficiencies may well be associated only with this one stove and installation.


The bottom line however, as far as this one installation goes, is that the output of this stove is substantially less than a similar size of stove, the Blacksmith  "Anvil", which I have no hesitation in recommending.  I would however put the output of heat from the inset "Artisan" as somewhat disappointing.

I would also point out that I have not so far been able to compare the Artisan inset against similar stoves by different manufacturers.

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