Mendip Loxton/Churchill DC (dual control) Review:

The Mendip Churchill and Loxton range have been around for quite a while, the same internal design is also used in the Woodland stove, and their previous versions make up the Beltane range of stoves. But they have now introduced a DC (dual control) version, which will gradually be rolled out to all of the different models. The Churchill now has an all cast iron door rather than steel, a twist handle and the all important dual controls which have dramatically improved the model. As I've said the range is big

Churchill 5 D/C

Churchill 5 with log store D/C

Loxton 5 D/C

Loxton 5 with log store D/C

Woodland 5 D/C

They are all focused on wood burning, but do have a grate and ash pan for occasional use of other fuels, but primarily for ease of emptying. They come with direct air, and they also come with convection options too, so that they can reduce their distances to combustibles. 

Lighting the stove: 7/10

I was using the Churchill 5 with a log store which has an awful lot of metal to heat up, but even so it was at operating temperature in around 15 minutes, and there was no issue with smoke coming into the room either. Simply put a good amount of fuel on, leave the door ajar for the first 10 minutes and it's away, no issues and no long wait either. 

Cleanness: 8/10

The previous version was already DEFRA and Eco-design, and this one retains all of the cleanness, but adds controllability and fuel economy. I ran it overnight and the glass remained clean, and as long as a log doesn't fall against the glass then you shouldn't ever have an issue.

Controls & Controllability: 7/10

The stove comes with a glove which you will need as the handle does get hot. The main door handle is nicely engineered with a roller catch to keep it feeling nice and not becoming tough or noisy to use. The air controls are under the door and there are now 2 main controls (dual control), 1 for air from below (for lighting) and the RHS one is your secondary air which is what you will generally use. However there is also a 3rd control which you will tend to set in place and then leave it permanently. Most people will want and benefit from having this control completely closed (by pulling it out), however if you're struggling with clean glass, lighting or getting the stove uptown temperature then you can increase this 3rd permanent air bleed, which should go someway to solving any potential issues. Once set in the right place for you, the stove is easy to control, and as you'll see in the video, if you need a DEFRA kit then it's 2 minutes work to fit or remove it from your stove.

Fuel economy & Burn time: 8/10

This is the first Mendip to perform above average in this area. Don't get me wrong, they have always been excellent at driving heat into a room, so you've never been losing heat. They just always wanted to give the heat quite quickly. But that has now changed, this stove has given control back to the user, so you can run it hot for the evening at peak efficiency, as Mendips always did. Or you can now close the stove down, go out for a few hours and you can rely on the fact that the stove will still be lit when you get back. From a user point of view it's exactly what the model needed. Chris the owner and designer of Mendip Stoves is a really good man, who knows his subject extremely well, so I'm keen to listen to his view. He would tend to favour maximum efficiency rather than maximum control, I think now he's hit the balance bang on.

Who's it for:

This stove is designed as a back up and focal point. They make lots of versions to suit whatever setting you're putting it into, and now the function of the stove will suit nearly all of us too. There are a couple parts to the designs aesthetics which I'm not in love with (which you can see in the video), but there is no doubt the DC stoves are the best Mendip Stoves they've ever made.