Firebird Boiler insert stove

chainsawpaddy · 25-04-2013 9:05pm #1

Hello,

I have been following the threads regarding stoves and they have been really helpful.

Problem is, I have already purchased a "cheap" boiler insert stove and so far have paid dearly. I am NOT the kind of guy to usually buy cheap, but seen someone with one of these installed and he swore by it.

First one was not welded fully so could not keep fuel in it as it was constantly drawing air, and the replacement has a warped front so the door is not sealing correctly, and all in the space of 2 months. Burning a mix of mainly turf and wood with some coal.

I have contacted the seller and requested my money back which he is offering, but he has also offered to sell me a Firebird Troy 16kw boiler insert at a discount.

My question is, should I take the money and buy elsewhere an Esse, Stafford or Clearview (around 15kw models) or would the Firebird be evenly matched with these? Firebird have a great reputation for back boilers and oil burners so would appreciate if anyone has anything to advise on the boiler inserts.

p.s Stay away from cheap Chinese imported stoves, buy cheap buy twice.

Robbie.G · 25-04-2013 9:12pm

chainsawpaddy wrote: »

Hello,

I have been following the threads regarding stoves and they have been really helpful.

Problem is, I have already purchased a "cheap" boiler insert stove and so far have paid dearly. I am NOT the kind of guy to usually buy cheap, but seen someone with one of these installed and he swore by it.

First one was not welded fully so could not keep fuel in it as it was constantly drawing air, and the replacement has a warped front so the door is not sealing correctly, and all in the space of 2 months. Burning a mix of mainly turf and wood with some coal.

I have contacted the seller and requested my money back which he is offering, but he has also offered to sell me a Firebird Troy 16kw boiler insert at a discount.

My question is, should I take the money and buy elsewhere an Esse, Stafford or Clearview (around 15kw models) or would the Firebird be evenly matched with these? Firebird have a great reputation for back boilers and oil burners so would appreciate if anyone has anything to advise on the boiler inserts.

p.s Stay away from cheap Chinese imported stoves, buy cheap buy twice.

Is the stove you currently have a boiler stove.Im not a lover of the firebird stove found it very cuddly to fit and thought it was poorly built.But that's just my tuppence worth

chainsawpaddy · 25-04-2013 9:17pm

Correct it is, have had to take it out already to fit the second one and no have to do it again. Built the wall in a way it was easily accessed again if necessary and it was, unfortunately.

All advice appreciated. How does it perform though?

Robbie.G · 25-04-2013 9:32pm

chainsawpaddy wrote: »

Correct it is, have had to take it out already to fit the second one and no have to do it again. Built the wall in a way it was easily accessed again if necessary and it was, unfortunately.

All advice appreciated. How does it perform though?

It does to an extent. But it's only 8 kw to water presuming you have an 16in fireplace like your hit water will take 3kw of that so it leaves very little generally they are a reasonable stove but they won't heat all the house

chainsawpaddy · 26-04-2013 1:34pm

Robbie.G wrote: »

It does to an extent. But it's only 8 kw to water presuming you have an 16in fireplace like your hit water will take 3kw of that so it leaves very little generally they are a reasonable stove but they won't heat all the house

There are 2 options for the Troy, a 12kw and a 16kw with 12kw to the rads.

Cant seem to find anyone with one in stock so I can view one, to see if they are aesthetically pleasing. Are they nice to look at?

Would my best option to be to take the money and buy a well known brand elsewhere, or would the Firebird perform just as good.

Robbie.G · 26-04-2013 1:41pm

chainsawpaddy wrote: »

There are 2 options for the Troy, a 12kw and a 16kw with 12kw to the rads.

Cant seem to find anyone with one in stock so I can view one, to see if they are aesthetically pleasing. Are they nice to look at?

Would my best option to be to take the money and buy a well known brand elsewhere, or would the Firebird perform just as good.

It depends on what size your fireplace is 16 or 18in.To find that measure the opening in your fireplace where the grate is cos the 12kw stove fits the 16in and the 16 is the 18in.They look so so TBH I ould look at other stoves
http://www.firebird.ie/index.php/products/biomass-boilers/194.html

chainsawpaddy · 26-04-2013 1:57pm

Robbie.G wrote: »

It depends on what size your fireplace is 16 or 18in.To find that measure the opening in your fireplace where the grate is cos the 12kw stove fits the 16in and the 16 is the 18in.They look so so TBH I ould look at other stoves
http://www.firebird.ie/index.php/products/biomass-boilers/194.html

Size is not an issue, will build the wall out to suite it and have 22in in width. It's just I'm getting it at a good rate on the Firebird, but I have no problem in shelling out for a decent one. This is the last time I want to be removing this thing.

Robbie.G · 26-04-2013 2:55pm

chainsawpaddy wrote: »

Size is not an issue, will build the wall out to suite it and have 22in in width. It's just I'm getting it at a good rate on the Firebird, but I have no problem in shelling out for a decent one. This is the last time I want to be removing this thing.

The simple thing is what kw output was the stove you took out?Was the old stove heating everything?How big if a house have you how many rads and sizes?The firebird is a good enough stove no better or worse than most.But at the end of the day if its not big enough to heat the house it doesn't matter if its free

chainsawpaddy · 26-04-2013 3:10pm

Robbie.G wrote: »

The simple thing is what kw output was the stove you took out?Was the old stove heating everything?How big if a house have you how many rads and sizes?The firebird is a good enough stove no better or worse than most.But at the end of the day if its not big enough to heat the house it doesn't matter if its free

Taking out a 14.5kw Chinese scrap heap, with 11kw to the rads and 3.5 to the room and it is doing the job, just really going through the fuel because of the constant draw. If I am to close all the dampers it will continue to burn with a good flame, no control over it.

15kw is more than adequate for the house, dormer bungalow with 9 rads with one a double.

Is the Firebird Troy cast or soft steel like the Boru, definitely not interested in one of those, made down the road from me and have heard from lads working there, that there on the road every week replacing ones that have warper or split.

Robbie.G · 26-04-2013 3:19pm

chainsawpaddy wrote: »

Taking out a 14.5kw Chinese scrap heap, with 11kw to the rads and 3.5 to the room and it is doing the job, just really going through the fuel because of the constant draw. If I am to close all the dampers it will continue to burn with a good flame, no control over it.

15kw is more than adequate for the house, dormer bungalow with 9 rads with one a double.

Is the Firebird Troy cast or soft steel like the Boru, definitely not interested in one of those, made down the road from me and have heard from lads working there, that there on the road every week replacing ones that have warper or split.

Firebird is steel

chainsawpaddy · 26-04-2013 3:24pm

Robbie.G wrote: »

Firebird is steel

Right, think I might be better to go with a Esse or Stratford I think. May very well have a steel boiler also, but they have a good reputation.

Thanks for all the help Robbie.

cranefly · 26-04-2013 7:23pm

chainsawpaddy, chadwicks in mallow have a firebird on show, maybe there is a chadwicks nearer to you that has one, open sat morning till 1pm i think, we have the esse 350gs for over a year now and i cant fault it.

chainsawpaddy · 27-04-2013 11:20am

cranefly wrote: »

chainsawpaddy, chadwicks in mallow have a firebird on show, maybe there is a chadwicks nearer to you that has one, open sat morning till 1pm i think, we have the esse 350gs for over a year now and i cant fault it.

Theres a Chadwicks in Limerick, might have a race in.

What price did you give for the Esse 350 and where?

Thank you.

cranefly · 28-04-2013 3:55am

we got the esse with the steel door as opposed to the traditional one, it was in the region of 1700 euro, or 1500 with the trad door made of cast iron, we got ours supplied and fitted by southern stoves in charleville, they did not stock the esse at the time but that was the one i had researched on boards and on the net, they were more than happy to locate one.

dathi · 29-04-2013 11:31am

dont forget to get the rated kwh out of your stove you have to burn the fuel taking the fire bird as example its rated at 16kwh with an efficiency of 80%. so that means you have to burn 20kwh of fuel to get that output, and as wood has 5.3 kwh per kg and coal has 7kwh per kg, you will have to burn 4kg of wood per hour or 3kg of coal per hour to get these outputs your chinese stove with 14.5kwh output has a lower efficiency of 70% so it also has to burn 20kwh of fuel to reach its output of 14.5kwh

chainsawpaddy · 29-04-2013 8:54pm

Thanks for the replies lads and ladies.

If anyone out there with a firebird Troy boiler insert, leave a quick message to let me know what you think of it.

holmum · 30-04-2013 11:31am

I am torn between the firebird or the achill henly boiler stove. both will suit our needs, our plumber wants us to stay away from firebird, he says its crap.

Going to see both tomorrow to see how they look.

I think its hard to get reviews on the firebird boiler insert as its only out since nov/dec.

If i find any info on it will post with update.:)

chainsawpaddy · 30-04-2013 12:35pm

holmum wrote: »

I am torn between the firebird or the achill henly boiler stove. both will suit our needs, our plumber wants us to stay away from firebird, he says its crap.

Going to see both tomorrow to see how they look.

I think its hard to get reviews on the firebird boiler insert as its only out since nov/dec.

If i find any info on it will post with update.:)

Thanks for the reply Holmun, but I cannot reiterate this enough, avoid your option two. That particular product is the reason I am here in the first place, refer to my OP. Just so you know, I gave €850 for the insert 14.5kw boiler option and I am now willing to double that to get a quality one.

Think I might be as well to get a British made one, as they seem to have the best reputation and I would advise you to make the same investment, Esse, Stratford, Clearview, etc.

holmum · 30-04-2013 2:14pm

oops - sorry didnt pick that up on your initial post, (i have heard really mixed reviews on the henleys alright)

okay, might look at the Esse so.

Thanks.

roshje · 19-05-2013 11:29pm

thinking of getting a firebird insert boiler, is this the best option for a two story house with 10 rads. any feedback would be grateful

kscobie · 20-05-2013 12:51pm

The firebox is very small, you would only fit in a couple of briquettes, so to get the output required would be hard to achieve/maintain I would think

roshje · 20-05-2013 10:18pm

thanks for the info, any idea which boiler would be suitable

Cantona's Collars · 27-05-2013 1:24pm

+1

Need advice on an insert stove to heat 9 rads in a 3 bed 2 storey house currently serviced by ofch.

The more I look the more bewildering the choice becomes,would prefer a combination of efficiency & value.It will be burning a mix of coal & timber.

El.duderino · 07-10-2013 9:05pm

Well how did you all get on? Firebird any good anyone 16kw for a 9-10 rad 2 storey. They are working out 1300€? supplied.

What did you install for similar size.

holmum · 14-10-2013 11:24am

we went with stratford one, very pleased with it. Did not like the look of the firebird and the henleys seem to give a lot of trouble.

MGHolmes · 15-09-2014 3:04pm

Hi there,

Help!!

I took out my leaking 18" back boiler after 20Yr. + service (good)
I reckoned the Boru Chieftain filled my replacement needs, Small sitting room, 10 + rads etc.
Alas, some bad reports (door-warp etc.) + new design in the pipeline.
At price 900euro (bargain)!
I'm not convinced!

Would like to hear you views for alternative insert or otherwise

Thank you

kscobie · 15-09-2014 4:21pm

Either a Grant or a Firebird, I have fitted both for the last 20/30 years, and they are still going.

chainsawpaddy · 16-09-2014 9:08am

Hi MGHolmes,

No contest here, Charnwood SLX45 is your only man. Made in Britain too not one of those cheap Chinese import with an Irish name.

Best price, Ryan Stoves in Limerick(~E1700) when I was shopping around and they are also Munster sponsors

.

A good installation is really important, so get someone who knows what their doing.

Patrick.

Sanchez83 · 16-09-2014 9:09pm

I'd advise staying away from the firebird.They have jumped on the stove bandwagon with a very rough product.It does not compare with their previous quality boilers etc.

As for the Boru Chieftan overall it is a good stove.There is always going to be a small percentage of products with small issues but by and large they are good.
But....yes there is a but.The reason it is so cheap at e900 is that another company have copied their product and are selling it around e799 so they had to drop the price to compete.

The best insert boilers on the market in my opinion is Stratford.Charnwood as stated above are a very good insert boiler but you are paying a little extra for the name as they are big in the UK.

I myself think you need to get a good quality stove at a good price and there is no beating the Henley Achill insert boiler on that score.The heat design insert boiler would be another good stove at a reasonable price but it's not the prettiest.Then again what I don't like,others may.

chainsawpaddy · 17-09-2014 8:19am

Hi,

I agree the Stratford or the Charnwood, however I cannot stress enough to stay away from the Chinese imported Henley.

After two failed within weeks of each-other, it was then that I decided to go for the Charnwood. One one the body was either made badly or the body warped so the door never closed flat to the face of the stove body resulting in us never being able to control the flow of air or keep it fed with fuel and I can remember what happened to the other one, but they are a rubbish soft steel stove.

Stovax is also a good stove, but the Charnwood is a great mulitfuel.

Sanchez83 · 17-09-2014 10:53pm

6 people I know,either friends or locals have the Henley 17.1 insert boiler based on my recommendation and all love it and have never had a problem.3 have purchased a Stratford EB12 and one had to get one replaced as the boiler leaked.Does that mean its a poor stove? No it doesn't,it means that person was unlucky same as you were.

Actually come to think of it the Henley Achill has a Gastech certificate passing all British stove regulations similar to the Stovax and Charnwood so your statement on soft steel may be without basis.It will carry a Defra exemption due to its high efficiency due to its build quality.Granted its 2/3% less than the other two,for a e400 plus difference that is negligible.
British regulations are very strict so I would incline to side with them over your unfortunate experience.

There's a new insert boiler out today in the Pierce 17.2kw.This is also a Chinese import and I'm sure they will have some teething problems but it looks good.

Firebird Boiler insert stove

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