Tag Archives: Woodburner

Hotpod

Hotpod

The Hotpod company was set up by Dan Harding and Lucy Aldridge in 2005 to make and sell the things Dan made as a Blacksmith and for Lucy’s work as a Yoga teacher.

Hotpod is a range of uniquely designed, extremely efficient yet incredibly simple wood burning and multi fuel stoves hand-built in Cornwall, England by artist blacksmith Dan Harding.   We love the quirky design and character of the Hotpod and it takes pride of place in the reception of our showroom in Colney Heath.

Hotpod stove origins

Dan has been making stoves from recycled materials since 1992, originally out of necessity, for heating his VW surf-bus in the winter. The design steadily evolved until in 2001 Dan made the gas bottle stove which all the Hotpods are copies of, for his and Lucy’s first house.

The Limited Edition

In 2005 Hotpod was born as Dan and Lucy got involved in BBC2’s experimental programme “How to pay off your mortgage in 2 years”. It was decided that Dan would make and sell copies of Lucy’s stove and turn it into a business.

The Unlimited

In 2007, after the programme had finished, Dan and Lucy reinvested in the business in partnership with the programme’s presenter, business guru René Carayol, and started working on the Hotpod Unlimited, the cast iron version of the original Hotpods. The Hotpod Unlimited launched in 2009 and in 2011 was tested for full EN13240 Compliance and passed with flying colours and an amazing 81% efficiency. At the same time it was put forward for DEFRA exemption for use in smoke free zones and this was awarded in October 2011.

The Nautipod

Nautipod
Nautipod

in 2012, a good friend of Dan and Lucy had just finished building his Cornish Lugger and was looking for a suitable stove. That search brought him to Hotpod HQ to see if Dan had any ideas. Dan found a piece of 200mm square tube under the bench and it was tried in place in the boat and was a perfect fit. A few weeks later, the original Nautipod was born. Dan realised the potential of the stove for use in spaces for which the Hotpod was too hot. Development was slow but after selling 11 prototypes from word of mouth it was finally ready for the world at the end of 2015.

The Special Edition

Still effectively a prototype, the Special Edition has been in production since 2010 but there have only been 5 built so far and they have all been red. They have not been offered for sale until now as there have been assembly issues with enamel chipping where parts fit together. Dan now has this issue fixed and they are now offered as part of the Hotpod range and can be almost any colour and can even be colour matched from a pantone number.

Mendip Stoves

Mendip Stoves

Mendip Stoves are designed as multi fuel appliances, with cast iron grates and heavy duty vermiculite linings to improve combustion.  Tested for ease of use and durability each stove is named after a place in the Mendip hills in Somerset where the company is based.

Mendip stoves have easy to operate air supply controls which ensure efficient combustion and a continuous stream of air over the front glass to keep a clear view of the fire.

The “Woodland” Stove won Best Under 5kW stove in 2016 at the Hearth and Home awards.  Manufactured in the UK we have a “Ashcott” woodburner on live fire and a “Christon 550″ freestanding on show.

mendip stoves

Mendip have developed a reputation for supplying superior stoves, with the best combustion techniques, classy appearances and build quality.

The highly acclaimed, award winning Woodland stove offers a remarkable visual experience. The woodland stoves can also be placed close to timber walls, due to exceptional insulating properties.

Mendip Stoves are continually striving to improve their stoves, with many 5kW stoves SIA Ecodesign Ready. This means they emit less particulates, and still give great heat and character to your room.  This makes Mendip some of the cleanest and most efficient stoves on the market.

For more information visit their website.

Dovre

Dovre

A premium Scandinavian brand of stoves, using quality cast iron, Dovre Sense 203 wood burnerDovre make an extensive range of stoves and inset fireplaces in traditional and contemporary designs.
Primarily woodburning and solid fuel appliances are supplemented with a range of gas and electric stoves to ensure there is a Dovre product for every home.  Distributed in the UK through Stovax, availability of most models is good, and technical backup is impressive.
In the showroom we have the Rock 350 woodburner on tablet legs in black.

Named after the beautiful but enduring Norwegian mountain range Dovre’s wood burning, multi-fuel, electric and gas stoves, fires and fireplaces come from 60 years’ experience crafting innovative, high performance heating products built for the harshest Arctic winters.

Scandinavian Reliability Built In

Built to last Scandinavian winters, you can rely on premium quality, cast iron Dovre fireplaces, stoves and accessories.

In fact, Dovre’s manufacturing expertise with premium grade cast iron is such that all cast parts on their wood burning stoves and fireplaces come with a 5 year guarantee. With expertly crafted wood burning and multi-fuel fires and stoves as well as highly convenient gas and electric models, there is a Dovre for every home.

Each of Dovre’s stoves and fires begins its life in their foundry.

Firing at up to 1500°C, furnaces melt down the raw materials to make high quality cast iron for their wood burning stoves and fires. Moulded with absolute precision for strength and longevity, the cast iron used in Dovre products has excellent durability and thermal qualities. Radiating heat long after the fire has died, the cast iron stoves and fires retain their shape even after years of use. Thanks to its versatile nature, cast iron can be crafted into a huge variety of shapes and textures. This brings beauty and presence to your interior whether traditional or contemporary. Whatever your choice – wood burning, multi-fuel, electric or gas stove – your cast iron Dovre stove or fireplace will be built to the uncompromising standards you would expect from our Scandinavian heritage.

Log baskets

We stock a wide range of log baskets and carriers to help you store your fuel in a practical and attractive style. Whether you’re looking for a small basket to keep by the fireside or some where to store half a tree we have something for you!

Log baskets
Log baskets at our showroom in Colney Heath

We stock a huge range of accessories to cover all your fireside needs. From installation through to storing logs & keeping your stove in tip top condition we have everything you need.

If you’re looking for a contemporary alternative to a log basket check out our gorgeous fireside log holders, perfect for modern living rooms.

contemporary log store

Multifuel Stoves

So what is a Multifuel Stove?

A multifuel stove is very similar to a wood-burning stove in appearance and design. Multifuel refers to the capability of the stove to burn wood and also coal, also sometimes wood pellets, or peat. Stoves that have a grate for the fire to burn on and a removable ash pan are generally considered multi fuel stoves.

Many of our stoves come in multi-fuel or wood burning varieties – in both contemporary or traditional styles.  We have a huge range of stoves of all shapes and sizes in our Colney Heath showroom close to St Albans, many of which you can see alight to get a real idea of how the stove would look in your home.

Multifuel stoves are our most popular products and all of us have them in our homes.  If you take care only to burn seasoned wood  and look after your stove it will last many winters and become the heart of your home.