When choosing a stove or having it fitted, please consider the following points to ensure you make the right choice and get many years of enjoyment from your stove: -

If you are not going to rely on the stove as the only source of heat in the room (i.e. if you have central heating as well), choose a stove with a smaller heat output, or it is likely that the room will become uncomfortably hot when the stove is in use and you will also however have to consider aspects such as the number of windows or whether the room opens out into a large entrance hall. Remember if you would like any advice, just give us a ring.

We would recommend using the stated output figures as a rough guide only, because much depends on the type and quality of fuel used as well as how confined within the fireplace opening the stove is.

In order to run the stove at its most efficient, you will need to ensure the combustion chamber is at least 400F this can be achieved with less fuel in a small Stove. If the Stove is running at this temperature it will actually use far less fuel than if you run it half full at lower temperatures with its air vents open.

Ensure the opening to your fireplace is not too close to the sides of the stove or this can severely restrict its output and cause the stove to overheat. We would recommend at least 100 mm clearance on all sides.

A stove requires at least 225 mm of hearth in front of it to prevent any fuel spilling onto the flooring.
If you need to have a stainless steel flue lining fitted, consider the flue outlet size, as an increase in flue outlet diameter will increase the cost of lining the flue.

Unless you buy a CLEARVIEW stove, expect to have to clean the glass after each use.

Stoves with decorative bars across the front of the glass are very hard to clean on the outside, and also to repaint. Many of our customers who have decorative bars on the doors of their stoves end up painting over the glass to maintain a smart appearance.

Always choose a stove which offers an airtight seal around the doors and ash tray. Unless a good seal is achieved, the fire will burn inefficiently and the glass will blacken very quickly.

Check that the stove you like is designed to burn the type of fuel you are likely to use. It gives greater flexibility to choose one which is multifuel.

If you are intending to burn logs, make sure the door opening is large enough to comfortably take the size of logs you have access to.

If you intend to install a boiler with your stove, the efficiency and output will be severely compromised. Please contact us to discuss the disadvantages and benefits in more detail.

Be prepared to buy a few extras with your stove to help you get the most out of it. As a minimum we would recommend some stout leather gauntlets to enable you to add fuel safely, and a magnetic stove thermometer to help you understand how efficiently your stove is performing, allowing you to control it properly.

Make sure the stove you choose can be easily swept. If we cannot get access through the stove to sweep the chimney, we have to either sweep from the roof or fit a soot door. All Villager and Clearview stoves can be swept through the stove.

When fitting a stove, we would always advise having a bird guard/cowl fitted to the chimney pot to prevent anything entering the flue, which is much harder to remove when a stove is fitted. The bird guard must stand proud of the pot so that it can be swept and should be strapped on, as hook bolts are unsatisfactory.