Dik Geurts is part of a Dutch company that has been making stoves for generations. The Did Geurts range is very contemporary, precisely engineered and beautifully finished, right down to the silicone pads that are on the legs to prevent you from scratching the hearth. That attention to detail is present in a lot of the Ivar stove and its highly wood focused design, makes for an even more purpose built feel. You can buy an optional grate for burning coal, but trust me this is available to give the illusion of flexibility and buying one is as mad as buying off road tyres for a Ferrari.Â
They make 2 sizes, and a couple versions of each:
Ivar 5 Low
Ivar 5 High (+ 105mm height)
Ivar 5 Log Store (+ 295mm height)
Ivar 8 Low
Ivar 8 Log Store (+ 295mm height)
They all have the same removable handle, which has been re-designed in 2023 to improve the precision and feel when opening and closing the door. The handle had previously been the weakest part of the stove, but the improved design promises to make fixing the handle in place easier and neater which is a welcome change. The stoves have a rally good internal depth too, which makes fitting the fuel in much easier, and keeps the fuel away from the glass, meaning it always runs clean.
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Lighting the stove: 6/10
This is a high efficiency stove so you'd expect it to be trickier to light. It heats up without an issue however, just leave the door ajar and off it goes. It can spill into the room when you open the door, but again this is due to how effective it is at heating a room.
 
Cleanness:Â 9/10
This stove was stunningly clean, it was easy to keep in overnight and remained clean until morning too. It's obviously also DEFRA approved and Eco Design so it has all those boxes ticked too, and it runs at 82% efficiency.
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Controls: 10/10
It has a removable handle rather than a stay cool handle, this will suit some and not others, but it is well made and everything fits together perfectly. The main air control is also a real strong point, it moves smoothly and the control is so linear and precisely adjustable. It's a joy to use and the flame picture you can create with simple air control adjustment is unbeatable.
 
Fuel economy:Â 10/10
This stove will run hot with a big flame, but will also close down to a slumber on command. You can precisely control the temperature, which allowed me to keep the stove at the bottom of operating temperature without it wavering too much, for ages (as long as 14 hours on 1 net, having already lit it and got it to temperature). You can achieve this and overnight burns all whilst maintaining a clean glass too. You will need dry fuel, it's no use having a precise tool like this and not using or fuelling it correctly, it'll only work it's best if the fuel and user is at their best too.
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Who's it for:
This stove is a long way from cheap, the removable handle won't suit everyone and you do need an interest in stoves to get the best out of it. But if you like the best, are keen on getting the right fuel and enjoying superior performance in return, you will love it. This stove is accepted as a high end, high performance stove and it won't disappoint you, and with the many versions it's available in there is one to suit most of us. Definitely stick to wood though, if you want a good coal burner then look elsewhere!
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4 comments
Re: smoke from the IVAR 5 – I had that for a couple of months and it was the paint curing. You need a few really hot burns – much hotter than the loading suggested in the manual, which is what my installer suggested (I have had up to 5kg of wood and briquettes on there) and burn it a few times. Eventually the smell went away although it would return occasionally if I hit a higher temperature.
Thanks for a great review. I am torn between upgrading to either the DG Ivar 5 or Heta Ambition 5, I don’t think there is much between them. However I am intrigued by the Esse 175, which has a catalytic filter, is this a gimmick or the future? Anyway, I think its overpriced, as is the Charnwood Aire.
We just had one of these installed. The Ivar 5 is impressive in many ways, it’s very easy to light, it has the most amazing flames of any stove I have ever seen, they are simply magnificent. It warms the room quickly, with temperatures getting up to 20 – 23 degrees. It has a single control lever that is incredibly responsive, it does what you tell it to do, but, and this is a big but, our room smells of smoke, it makes my eyes sting and its so strong I can taste it in my mouth!
At first we thought the smell was just the paint curing, but we’ve had two really hot long burns and the house still smells of smoke, my hair and clothes smell smokey too. We initially had a problem with the stove spilling smoke into the room on refuelling, but with some advice from our stove supplier I managed to sort that issue out, at least it didn’t spill smoke into the room at any point during the last burn, but the room still smells strongly of smoke when the stove is lit. It does go away and is almost undetectable in the morning, but as soon as the stove is lit, within an hour the room smells of smoke again..
I’ve stayed with friends who have open fires and their room doesn’t smell of smoke, and I’ve visited stove shops with live displays, and again, there is zero smell of smoke. Now the stove is not spilling smoke we have no idea where it is coming from!
I have asked my stove fitting to come back and have a look but he refuses saying the chimney has a good draw and the stove has a excellent supply of air.
If the smoke is not coming out of the door and we can’t see any coming from anywhere else, where is it coming from?
Thank you for your amazing reviews! I’d practically decided on this stove but then realised I’d need to fit the heat shield to accommodate it. Do you know if this affects the performance at all please? Thank you!