Full Independent review of the ACR Woodpecker 5
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- This is a full independent review of the ACR WoodPecker range, we test the stoves real world performance in:
Clean glass
Fuel economy
Ease of lighting
And controlling
I also give my views and a bit of background information. The videos are designed to be quick with only the "must know" information, they are independent and I'm not paid to make them.
If you would like any further information please feel free to drop me a comment or you check out the manufacturers page here:
acrheatproduct...
I also produce a short video that shows how to remove all the innards of the stove and put them back, check it out at the end of the video or you can see the link here:
• Servicing the ACR Wood...
I have had the ACR Woodpecker WP5 plus for 2 seasons now and am very pleased as it burns so clean. The reason I purchased it is that I needed a wide stove with a large glass panel but the stove needed to be shallow as my fireplace is only 13 inches deep (but very wide and high) and there are not many stoves that will fit where the fire place is not very deep. I have had a minor problem with the stove though and future or existing owners of the WP5 plus might want to consider this. I am a very experienced stove user, but with the WP5 plus, I was constantly having trouble with logs and embers rolling out of the stove onto the hearth when I opened the door. Even only an hour after the fire had been lit when the fire bed was not very deep it was still happening. After a lot of experimentation with raising up the front fence to different levels I had a friend weld a piece of metal on the bottom of the fence so that it now sits 20mm higher than when installed. This has entirely fixed the log rolling problem. 👍 I believe that this occurs because the stove is so shallow and hence the logs sit closer to the fence than on other stoves so it needed a raised fence to compensate. I would happily buy another of these stoves though as I am still very pleased with it.
I have the 5 plus version of this stove and overall, am very pleased with it. I did try it with coal, but found it not worth the effort, notwithstanding the fact that coal is dirty and smelly, it took ages to establish any meaningful heat. So now, I run it as a straight woodburner, allowing the ash to build up to the top of the grate and just occasionally scooping of some off the excess.Used like this, with decent air dried logs, this stove heats the room it is in, the small attached conservatory and also takes the chill off the adjoining hall, and as you said in your review, it will run for hours with very little attention, once established.
Thanks for the comment, glad yours is working well!
Just bought one getting it fitted Wednesday, can't wait. Good video ,
How are you finding it? We are looking at getting one also, as needed to replace put Brunel as it developed a crack
@jandavies8622 really good, not just the warmth,but it's a nice feature
Another great review, thanks Gabriel! I finally ordered my stove today, I'm very excited. thanks again for all of your advice!
Thanks for the support, enjoy the new stove and let me know if you have a question.
Excellent videos.. I’ve ordered a woodpecker 4… I’ve got an existing fireplace and I’m hoping that it’s gonna fit in neatly. Cheers
Sounds good. 👍
I have just had a Woodpecker WP5 Plus installed in my living room and it's a nice stove
Glad you’re enjoying it!!!
I to have a WP5+ and I’m also very pleased with it…. It’s very efficient, I normally run it on air dried hardwood logs as I have a cheap local supply and enough space to season them correctly, however a few weeks ago I tried it on ecoal and once lit the stove ran for over 12 hours on a medium heat burn without touching it, in that time it used about 3KGs of ecoal.
@@alanwood9804 That is impressive, I have only used dry hardwood so far, I might have to get some ecoal
@@alanwood9804 yea the multi-fuel grate will work against it a bit when burning wood, but it’ll certainly work well with coal based fuel. It’s a bit of a shame that the design wasn’t kinder to wood, as most people would benefit from the more wood focused design.
excellent video very useful, I have been researching for a few weeks and this model has been a contender due to my chimney not being particularly deep. cheers
Thanks a lot, well let me know if you need any suggestions or have a question.
Just comparing some of your wood burner model reviews, if im correct, it seems all ACR have a grate bottom and ash pan whether its wood only or multifuel, as opposed to other manufacturers having a solid bottom no grate.
Does the grate in the bottom introduce more air resulting in fast burn times than those with no grate and ash pan?
The 40m3 of wood ive processed is 35-40cm long which limits my selection of stove but since the acr solis muktifuel is now discontinued, ive tried to look at some wood only stoves since you said they can burn more efficiently.
As a general rule, yes a grate will tend to negatively affect wood burning. Certainly with the ACR that I looked at, I don’t doubt I’d a wood only version was offered it would certainly improve performance.
Thank you for the review. I have been going in circles trying to pick the right stove. Your help would be appreciated. I am limited to depth so have narrowed it down to the woodpecker 5plus , woodford didbury 5 and turing 5. For the woodpecker i believe this was the only one you said would run overnight. I am hoping to get something which will last and also run more than 5kw. Between the 3 would u go with the woodpecker? I did consider the Esse 155, but not found many reviews, but assume an Esse may be better quality (however costlier)?
What are you intending to burn mostly (wood or coal)?
Your use sounds potentially more serious, so may warrant a higher quality stove, but your fuel is a big decider. If you’re wanting wood to burn overnight or seriously in a multi-fuel stove then it is definitely worth spending significantly more, however if you’re burning just wood, then wood versions like the Woodford Pankhurst will achieve this without breaking the bank.
Hi, just wondering. I have this stove now installed after our Stovax Brunel 1 had an issue. I have a temperature thermometer on my flue pipe and find that I tend to on get between the low and medium optimum temperature range. It seems to drop off pretty quickly if I don’t fuel it up straight away (around 5/10 minutes). The wood I have is kiln dried and most pieces are of an alright size (medium sized logs). I generally leave the primary air until my main fuel is lit, as I run it top down. Am I doing something wrong? I ordered my wood from somewhere down south and some of the pieces are of a medium length but are only around an inch thick…..
Do I need to be doing something different here?
It sounds like you’re building a fire that is too small. I would experiment with large logs and then building up to small pieces at the top. Then allow the fire to properly establish and get the stove up to temperature. If a decent fire is built with a decent amount of fuel, then you should be able to light it, get it to temperature and run it for an hour without re-loading once.
This is the first review I’ve found of this stove - thank you!
We had the WP5Plus fitted in spring, and have just started using it properly over the past few months. We love it, the big viewing window is fantastic and we find we can make one ‘batch’ of coal (one layer across the bottom) last around 8 hours. Very economical and attractive to look at.
We do however find the glass blackens quickly, especially when burning just wood. Any tips on how to prevent that?
Also, the instruction manual says that under no circumstances should this be used overnight. Now, we have been leaving the primary air open a smidge after our last coal fire of the evening, and it’s still smouldering enough by 7am for us to chuck on a log and forget about it for a while. Is this realistically going to be a problem in the long run?
Sorry for the long post - just thought I’d take the chance to ask someone who’s clearly knowledgable! Many thanks!
Ps. I’d be very interested to see a video on the best multi-fuel burners :)
Yea I have almost ignored multi-fuel, and I’ve even viewed it as a negative. This is because the whole industry is moving away from coal and towards wood burning. Coal definitely has its uses and I probably should look a little closer at it.
Running stoves overnight does have pluses and minuses and some risks. I did produce a video on running a stove overnight which may be useful:
ua-cam.com/video/mCh8KoP58Xg/v-deo.html
As I mention in the video, manufacturers will never be pro this as an idea. Just like a sports car gets made with all the capability but then a manufacturer will warn against using it on track.
Thanks so much! That video literally answers every question I asked! Apologies, I’m slowly working my way through all your videos and hadn’t seen it when I posted my comment!
We’re looking to get another for the dining room and we’re looking at wood only (probably) so I’m watching all your videos with interest. Thanks for all the informative, easy to understand content!
@@PsychedOut.. great, thanks a lot.
Hi just double check the first on the left air control you do use to just start the fire then if you not burning coal you shut it down and the second from left stays open . Sorry I just got that burner and been said the other way . I do not burn any coal . The firs air control from the left has one dot second got 2 dots if that makes sense . One more question as I have been told to do 5 little burns before go to the full operating temperature is that the way it should be ? Many thx and waiting for more tips
The control with the 1 dot is the primary air which (when burning wood) is for lighting. The 1 with 2 dots is the secondary air which is air above the fuel, this is the main control when burning wood.
With regard to getting started with a new stove. 5 burns sounds very thorough, but who’s to say that’s bad. With a steel stove I tend to do 1, and perhaps a few times with cast iron.
Thanks for the video - really helpful. We ended up going with the Buddy Wide 5 which it looks like is similar (if not identical) to the Woodpecker 5 Plus. Have you seen the BW5 range? One thing we have found though is that one of the inserts around the edge of the stove (which you can remove) has cracked so we are going to need I think to get a replacement for it. Have you come across this before with other stoves? Overall we are really pleased with it though.
Check out my “how and when do you replace firebricks” video, because this will have some useful information in it. I wouldn’t replace a brick if it is broken but staying in place, but the video will give you everything you need.
The Buddy is almost certainly the same thing, but I’ve just checked their website out and actually they have lots of stoves that are the same as others. They’re all perhaps coming from the same factory.
@@TheTortoise Brilliant, thanks ever so much. That's really helpful. I'll take a look at the video. Thanks!
Gone through most of your videos. I know there are much better stoves out there but for this price range I've narrowed it down to: Woodpecker 5 or Woodford Turing 5x ? Which one for the long run ? Thanks a lot.
P.S. A top ten stoves video maybe? ( Best budget, mid range, refined. Etc. )
I am starting to work on a top 10 type video, I wanted to get as many reviews done as possible so that I could give as accurate view as possible. Currently the Allure (it won my stove of the year last year), is still a very tough stove to beat and it’s similar ish money. It will also definitely run for the longest, and overnight with relative ease.
Between those 2 I would expect them to perform at very similar levels. I think that there is perhaps a little more refinement from the ACR, but the Turing is tougher built. In my experience Woodford is far nicer to deal with though, you only have to go on ACR’s website and it’s almost filled with threats of if you don’t buy it here or there then we won’t honour your warranty etc. It’s sadly similar when you talk to them too, or at least when I called up as a secret customer. I know what questions to ask to put a certain amount of pressure on to them, but their reaction all 3 times with different people was unpleasant compared to basically every other company.
Great video I have just purchased the 5 with log store, a new model apparently. Quick question regarding burning just wood, would you recommend removing the grate and ash pan and burn the wood directly on the bottom of the stove? Cheers and you now have a new subscriber
The manufacturer probably wouldn’t recommend that, but allowing ash to build up above the grate will achieve the same thing.
It will certainly improve wood fuel economy and burn time.
@@TheTortoise Awesome thank you for the feedback mate, makes sense
Could you please review any inset stoves? I'm having a Charlton and jenrick fireline fpi5 fit shortly but would like to see any inset stoves and hear you thoughts on them.
That’s given me an idea. I will, it’ll take me a bit to get sorted, but it’s definitely on the list and I have a way of fitting them too.
@@TheTortoise amazing thank-you
Great channel and great advice - you have another subscriber!
We've recently purchased a WP5 from a reputable installer and can't seem to get rid of the acrid smell - we've had about 10 proper fires after the usual 3 kindling 'starter' fires.
Our flue thermometer hasn't exceeded about 400 degrees - do we need to run it hotter than this more often to clear the smell?
We've never had the haze or smoke off the stove either.
It smells so bad we're having to open out Windows at night - it seems bizarre to be having our windows open eaxh night for a week or so in winter to get rid of the smell an losing all the heat.
We also seem to have an issue with the 2nd paddle - on one occasion, fully closing it didn't reduce the flames as we expected it to, although it seems to work at other times.
Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks,
Rob.
400° does sound hot enough, general advice is 300-500°F on the outside surface, so you’re covered there. I assume you don’t have smoke coming into the room or CO alarms going off?
What’s particularly strange is that the smell is there whilst the stove is in use. Sometimes people get a downdraft when the stove is cold, and this cause smells from the chimney to come into the room?
I would have another hot fire 400°F for at least 1 hour. This will certainly cure off the paint, then if you still have an issue I would give your fitter a bell.
@@TheTortoise Ok - many thanks!
@@TheTortoise thanks again - we've now run it for 2 hours and then 1 hour at 450 to 500 degrees and the smell persists - we can even smell it outside in our garden.
We note that a black sealant has been used to seal in the plate that fits into our existing fireplace - could it be this that is emitting the acrid, plasticky smell as opposed to the stove itself?
The installers are dragging their feet about coming to inspect and replace the stove with an alternative, which we have requested.
@@robsshedoftech6457 literally the only time I’ve encountered this, after tons of visits trying to work it out. The customers dog had dropped a toy behind the stove and it had melted to the side of the stove and stank the whole place out every time you got it hot.
When something makes no sense, there is generally some external factor that has been missed. I doubt it’s the stove, I’m expecting something like the sealant or something else touching the stove or the flue is the cause of this. I would look all around the stove and flue, and my next try would be asking the fitter to remove the plate and look at the flue itself.
Let me know when you find it! It could even be as simple as some plastic packaging not removed from under the stove or something.
@@TheTortoise Hi - turns out they had used heat resistant silicone to help seal the plate in. The boss was rather surprised to hear it saying they didn't use it but saw it when he checked.
Removed and replaced with fire cement - smell gone!
Hi there where can I buy a thermometer like this in the video or does it come with the flue?
Also what’s the whole idea of there being a temperature gauge?😅 hope u can reply thanks!
I am in the process of getting a shop organised on UA-cam which will have these for sale. If you E-mail me at thetortoiseuk@gmail.com, I can send you the details of ours.
Oh, the idea of a temperature gauge is to help people learn how to run a stove. When you’re very used to stoves you generally operate off feel, but if you’re new to them then trying to guess when a stove is at operating temperature is impossible. Stoves will not work well until they have achieved operating temperature, as until you reach this point: chimney draw, clean glass, controls and efficiency will not be working properly. Because of this reviews online of stoves can often be incredibly inaccurate, and perhaps 90% of negative reviews are down to user error or installation error.
@@jackpartridge7891 how do you mean, how accurate are you after?
What about woodpecker 4 ? Is it just as economical and good as woodpecker 5 or something completely different?
This will be very similar. I believe these stoves are shipped in from places like China, and will therefore likely have an almost carbon copy of design across the range.
Thank you
@The Tortoise that’s interesting. We have the WP5+, our installer said they were manufactured in the UK. Can I be assured it’s not one of the ‘cheap’ Chinese types we’ve read such horror stories about?
@@PsychedOut.. lots of stoves are now made in China and whilst I suspect this stove is Chinese I’m not 100%. ACR don’t make any stoves themselves so they are all brought in, and this stove came with the same handle, collar and glove as many other stoves I know to be made in China. Having said that, this isn’t one of the bad ones, it appears more than capable of doing a great job for many years.
I was advised that these stoves are in fact made in Europe, Romania I think.
I was looking for a compact multifuel and have stumbled upon your page. I’m now thinking I should just stick with a wood burner and was wondering if you have any recommendations for a compact stove? The installer is offering a Firefox 5 company or Gallery Classic 5 compact as an example.
These are obviously low priced Chinese castings, which will work fine for occasional evenings, but aren’t ideal for more serious use. Similar stoves focused on wood burning are things like:
Saltfire Peanut 3
Saltfire ST1&2 stoves
MI fires Skiddaw
If you wanted a bit more serious use you could have a look at the following whilst also staying below £1000.00
Parkray Aspect 4
Burley Debdale (may be available for just under £1k)
Hope that helps.
@@TheTortoise thanks for the reply, I seem to be moving to the Peanut 5 or the DG Aste 5 - the budgets growing the more I watch your videos!
@@TerryJamesCole the DG is certainly a very different sort of thing. How will you be using the stove day to day, because your use will be the biggest factor on what will be technically best?
@@TheTortoise we have recently moved into an old Victorian house, some big corrective works went on so we have ended up tearing the living room floor up and it’s led to insulating before the boards went back down. It’s also double glazed so not bad considering.
Anyway, we both currently work from home quite a bit and it does get a touch cold during the day when the heating is off so I imagine we will run it a little to take the edge off and in the evening work along side some cast iron radiators to bring the room temp up.
Room size: 5.86m x 4.60m x 3m high
@@TerryJamesCole well the DG would be lovely for that, but given your use of evenings and some days, you could easily achieve what you want with a lower cost and larger/more powerful stove such as:
Aspect 7
Allure 7
Stovax Stockton
Dartmoor 8
These will probably be available for less money and given the size of your room, they will heat the space more effectively regardless of the drop in temperatures on the way.