GREEN STOVES 3KW INSET MULTIFUEL STOVE
I bought this stove a couple of months ago and it was a bit of a gamble as there were no reviews on the internet and I was not quite sure what I was getting.
There were a couple of glitches to begin with, but now I am very happy with it and I think it represents good value for money.
The two minor problems which I encountered were:
1.Information:, the same stove is shown in several different publicity pictures with different names. My guess is that the suppliers have given out several versions and photos as the model has changed slightly. If this is still the case, it's worth buying the stove from a friendly and approachable firm, rather than a big company that's just a mail order centre. That way you can ask some questions and be clearer about what you are buying than I was.
2.Insulation: I had been promised an offcut of rockwool to go behind the stove. While I was waiting for this I installed and ran the stove for a couple of weeks. The performance was very poor, but as soon as I fitted insulation behind it the heat output dramatically improved, I did not realise it would make so much difference.

In summary, we use the stove in an ordinary three bedroom semi detatched house which had an open fireplace in the front room. We normally have the central heating on, but like to use the fire in the front room in the evening.
The open fire is obviously very wasteful, particularly when burning wood, but I did not want to change our fireplace, so one of these inset stoves seemed like a good solution. The green stoves model was very reasonably priced, but I was not sure how it would compete with stoves two or even three times the price, but I have been very pleased with it.
Installation: The stove is designed to be taken out once a year for cleaning and is therefore easy to fit into a standard 16" fireplace. Don't forget the rockwool or vermiculite!!! This is not mentioned in the fitting instructions, which are otherwise pretty good. I would say it's definitely a DIY job to fit, but make sure it complies with building regulations, mainly the non combustible hearth area, and air vents if it's over 5kw. I would say don't let fitting floor vents for ventilation put you off. Fitting two in the alcoves either side of the chimney breast was one of the greatest improvements in comfort when we had the open fire, as all the cold air was taken from this area instead of making freezing cold draughts across the floor.
General performance: The stove is as hot as our open fire and uses about half the fuel. On the box it says the stove will pay for itself in 2 years which is probably true depending on how much fuel you normally buy. I have used it with both solid fuel and wood and a mixture of both. It's surprisingly good at burning just wood on its own, and I think it gets as hot as with solid fuel.
Airwash: this works well and I think makes the wood burn better. The glass still gets a bit smoky but I think this happens with all models and it's easy to clean.
Appearance: The large glass window means it looks quite similar to an open fire.
Advantages: Economical, safer than an open fire, can leave unattended for longer, good value for money.
Choice: The stove comes in a 3kw and 5kw version. There is also something similar called a 4kw Firewarm which looks nice and is a similar price. We have the 3kw which is enough for a small living room (about 4m x 4m x 2.4m). I think a larger firebox would be better in some ways because you could fill it up more and use bigger logs, but on the other hand what we have got is small and efficient for the room.
I would recommend it, I can't see how the expensive ones can be any better really.