# Forum Home Renovation Heating & Cooling  Scandia Warmbrite wood heater

## Floop

Hi, 
So while I'm sitting here freezing my proverbial's off I thought I'd start looking into which wood heater I want to buy.  Budget isn't huge, so I'm somewhat restricted in what I can get.  I've been looking at a Kent brand heater, and also looked at the Scandia wood heater Bunnings sell. 
Does anyone have any feedback about the quality, durability, etc of the Scandia?  I've read they are Australian owned, but made in China, how does that fare compared to other brands?  Kent are Australian owned too I think, but I can't actually see anywhere where they are made.  In terms of emissions the Scandia is supposedly better but I'm a bit sceptical purely because it seems to be half the lowest I've seen in the other brands I've looked at. 
Does anyone have any feedback on either brand? 
Thanks,   :Smilie:

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## Moondog55

Free standing?? 
I just had a look at the Scandia line using google, I would personally prefer a wood fire that was deeper than it was wide as they seem to burn a little cleaner but they are stated as meeting Australia Standards,
 A little old fashioned perhaps and in the long run it pays to buy the cleanest most efficient wood heater you can afford.
Installation costs are often more than the purchase price of the heater itself so it will pay to examine those details as well.
Other than that I can't comment as I have no direct experience with those brands, but I have heard excellent feedback on the Nectre range

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## David.Elliott

Hi all,
two years ago managed to jag an Arrow brand made in Victoria, new and uninstalled...still in cartons!
Has a three speed fan booster, heats our place well and we have a large open plan living, dining, kitchen area with 3.6 cathedral ceilings
With it came 6(?) spare pieces of the firebox, top, sides, grate, so we won't need to worry about replacements for a long time.
Weak spot is the ash door that is hinged at the bottom with a couple of small hinges that bend if you let the weight of the door hang on them, which you have to do 
when you clean the ash tray, so I took it off...
Really works well as slow combustion, 1 LARGE log on at 7:00 am when leaving, still alive when wife home at 4:30, just a stir, a bit more wood and open vent and we're off again...
Effectively, once we have ours alight for winter it pretty much goes around the clock

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## Floop

Moondog - Yes freestanding, sorry I should have mentioned it.  Interesting about the shape of the box and cleaner burning, is it because it reduces the likelihood of smouldering logs at the edges or something?  Apparently the Scandia has emissions of 0.6g/kg which if it's true is good, but I'm not sure how accurate that would be given it seems a lot less than other brands I've looked at (who sit at 1.2-1.3g/kg).  I'm surprised the installation costs would be more than the heater, I'd not have thought it could cost that much to get it installed?  Thanks for the feedback, and the tip about Nectre, I had heard that actually but completely forgot to look at them, lol.  I'm kind of surprised there doesn't seem to be much information in general online about different brand wood heaters. 
Thanks for the feedback regarding the Arrow brand, I think I looked briefly at them but I can't remember now why I didn't look further.  Will have to go back and check, lol. 
Thanks again folks, it's only early days in my researching and I haven't yet been anywhere to look at them, but it helps to get some information about what is out there.

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## Moondog55

Well you're not "Supposed" to install them yourself, also prices never include the flue kits or the heat shields you need for the floor ( 12mm compressed cement sheet isn't cheap) and sometimes heat shields are needed for the walls and if you have kids in the house you really do need a safety fence as well
A good tradie could probably do an install in a morning but it may take a full day

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## Floop

Ah I didn't realise you were factoring in the flue kit and the like as part of the installation, that makes more sense.  The cost of installation I was thinking of was after the flue kit and hearth/base and so on.  I may or may not do the floor part of the job, there are a few things I'm tossing up doing (tiling or a granite slab and so on), but I wouldn't be touching any of the work with the flue. 
Thanks again.  I've just had a recommendation for Lopi heaters from someone who has one and loves it, and I've had a quick look at the Nectre and there's one that might be suitable, although they are at the upper end of my budget.  But, if it means I get something better then it's best to spend the money now rather than regret it later!

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## Smurf

I don't know how well they are built now that they are owned by a well known BBQ retailer, but the Saxon heaters used to be very solidly built when the factory was here in Tassie. 
 The main point is that the firebox is of heavier gauge steel than most others, hence should last longer. The only downside - you'll need a couple of mates to help shift it around if you're planning to DIY the install as they're rather heavy. 
No prizes for guessing that a heater which was originally built in Tas does indeed put out a lot of heat. They're made somewhere else now though (Sydney I think?).

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## goldie1

I have a Eureka which I am very happy with.  Bricks in the firebox is a plus. If you have a straightforward installation ( one level 
house with a straight flu )  they are fairly simple to install. A fan is not important, a ceiling fan in reverse is much more 
effective

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## Moondog55

Which size are you looking at Floop?
Fairly important to not go too small and getting too large may have you opening a window.
What-ever treatment you get for the hearth ; a sheet of 12mm compressed cement flooring is always a good start.
Any decent wood fire should last 20 years so doing it right first time is the way to go.
Look at all the threads talking about air transfer systems and ceiling fans as well, although I have to say we haven't yet done our duct work, but at least the fan is wired in

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## Floop

The house is only small, about 124-125sqm all up so I don't want anything massive (also because the spot I'll have to put it isn't huge).  In the Scandia I was looking at the Warmbrite 200, a little larger than what I need (does 200sqm) but the model under that that does 140sqm (Warmbrite 140) must not be as insulated because it requires a greater clearance and would end up sticking out further if I didn't do something with the walls, which ideally I'd like to avoid. 
That seems to be the case for a lot of the smaller ones, aside from being uglier (not a huge issue, but still) they all have far greater clearances required, so it almost seems more worthwhile to go a slightly larger one that looks better and avoid the need to insulate the walls behind and beside the heater. 
The Kent I was looking at was possibly the Classic 2000, but I find it fairly ugly, lol.  I also looked at both Jindarra and Eureka, then realised the heaters I were looking at were basically identical.  Only realised after looking that they are made by the same company, lol.  I was looking at the 'Opal Series 2' in the Eureka, Riverina by Jindarra.  They actually look somewhat similar to the Warmbrite 200 as well in styling (not sure about the other aspects). 
Moondog I was actually thinking about using the left over compressed cement flooring from the bathroom and laundry, should be enough there to do the job. 
Thanks for the feedback folks, I really do appreciate it.  :Smilie:

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## Floop

So I went and had a look in person today and instantly scrapped the Scandia, it looks like a piece of junk (can't say I'm overly surprised, I wasn't expecting much).  Edges has snaggy bits on them, generally just looked poor quality.  The Kent heaters didn't look much better and given I really found them ugly it was easy to scrap them too.  I wanted to have a look at the Nectre Freestanding 500 but the store didn't have one which was a pity, I still wouldn't mind giving it a proper look at.   
I also had a look at Arrow, Settler, Regency, Coonara and Jindarra, of that lot I'm leaning towards the Jindarra (didn't see any Saxon).  The Jindarra may not be top of the line but I 'know' it a bit more as it's the brand my parents have had for the past 20 years or so and they have never had an issue with it.  They are all much of a muchness in regards to price, heating capacity, emissions and the like so I think most of the decision will come down to looks.  All a bit above what I want to spend but there is no point saving a small amount now and paying for it down the line. 
Thanks everyone for the feedback, it's been helpful.  :Smilie:

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## BradM

DISCLAIMER: I work for one of these heater manufacturers listed here so any opinion may be biased but is my own personal opinion. 
I would personally stick with one of the well known Australian brands that are designed & made in Australia as they will be the most suitable to the conditions it will be subject to.
I really don't think you could go too far wrong with any of them and its more of a personal choice. 
And as for the Scandia we have one sitting at work at the moment for certain reasons and if you were to compare it with a few other popular models its obvious why  :Wink:

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## Floop

Heya,  
I ended up going for the Jindara Riverina.  Not top of the line but not the bottom either.  Mainly because I preferred how it looked, and also going of the experience of my parents and some of their friends, they have Jindara heaters and have never had any issues with them.  It goes in on Wednesday so hopefully I can start warming this house up, lol.  I got lazy and decided to get the hearth made with the leftover tiles from the house so it should look ok, it was cheap enough to get made that it wasn't really worth my time to bother with.  :Wink:

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## BradM

Good choice. Also you can feel better knowing its fully designed and manufactured locally  :Wink:

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