For many people an important feature of their dream home is a big open fire, but that’s not something that fits with modern houses. The answer to this problem is Fondis inserts, a wide screen insert stove with a counter-balanced guillotine door.
This gives you all the efficiency, controllability and safety of a stove but, at the lift of a fingertip, the door slides up and away and you’re left with a big roaring fire. Fondis have been designing and manufacturing stoves like this for years and their Stella and Ulys models have a number of big advantages over the competition.
The problem with stoves with big windows is that they need a lot of airwash to keep them clean, so you end up with a stove that can’t be turned down. Fondis have solved this by keeping their windows clear using viseoceram glass.
An invisible metallic coating on the glass means that the window heats up the moment the stove is lit, preventing any particulates condensing on the window. Any dust that does land on the glass is burnt off the moment the fire is turned up. The result is a stove that can be turned right down, and will burn gently for hours on just a few logs, all the while keeping its window sparkling clean.
While other makes stress that the door should only be raised for re-loading, and some even have the door weighted to self-close, Fondis make it clear that their inserts can be used with the door up. This is a winning feature for those customers who really want an open fire.
Fires like this aren’t limited to just rural areas either as Fondis’s best selling model, the Stella 111, is DEFRA Exempt. So cleanly do Fondis stoves burn that even on its lowest setting the Stella breezed through the DEFRA test without any air control adjustment being needed.
Despite their beautiful designs and high build quality, Fondis stoves are still very reasonably priced compared to their competition, putting them within reach of a much larger customer base. This affordability is further enhanced by the fact that most models are designed to go on 200mm flues, in sharp contrast to the 300mm and 350mm flues required on many continental fires of this type.
So there you have it, a range of efficient, clean burning and controllable wide screen insert stoves that don’t cost the earth. Every showroom needs to offer that top end alternative to black box stoves and cassette inserts and the Fondis range perfectly fills that role.
For further information, and to learn about our showroom deals, contact Martin on 01803 712721 or email martin@firepower.co.uk