The ST1 & ST1 Vision stoves are entirely the same, other than the door design. Saltfire appears to be in the process of fazing out the standard ST1, but it remains on their product list. These are very simple and cheap, steel stoves that are designed to burn wood. They are designed as back up and focal points, and are perfect for small spaces that are both in the house and beyond. E.G. out buildings and garden rooms, conservatories etc, however they are not well suited to heavy use.
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Lighting the stove: 7/10
These stoves are designed to be easy to use, and easy to light. This is why they work well in situations where the flue is not quite ideal. The lighting is therefore no stress and even the least experienced user can get to grips with this stove quite quickly. The slight downside to this stove is it is quite thin and light weight, so it's not built for abuse, but this lightness did enable the stove to heat nice and quick đ.
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Cleanness: 7/10
The ST range is very clean, you can close all the vents and it will go black, but when run as intended (with dry fuel) it's no issue at all. It's obviously also got the usual DEFRA and Eco-Design approval that I think all Saltfire's have.
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Controls & Controllability: 5/10
This stove is made to a price so the fit and finish isn't spectacular, but its certainly good enough. everything works and nothing fell apart so that's a tick. It was also more controllable than I expected and to be fair did whatever I asked of it. But the stove is light and not heavy built so you can tell this is a stove for the occasional user.
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Fuel economy & Burn time: 6/10
Given the price this stove should have scored lower, but I ran it overnight on just a couple logs and a good bed of embers. It burned economically, worked well and I enjoyed using it.
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Who's it for:
This stove is made for someone who is going to be using their stove as a back up and focal point. lesser used rooms like snugs and out buildings are perfect, and given the price, ease of use and clean look it's also perfect for airBnB properties. It's clean, economical, cheap and simple so there is nothing to put you off, plus I enjoyed using it!
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