Anyone have a Gazco Riva 67 Designio fire?

coolaboola

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Hiya folks,

We're replacing an open gas fire in our little front room because it pulls a horrible draft. We already have a Gazco Ashton stove in our kitchen which practically roasts us out of it, its so good. So we were thinking of putting another stove in the front room but smaller than the one in the kitchen (so we won't be roasted out of it).

Anyway, we got looking at the Gazco Riva 67 Designio (in black) and think that would suit the room very well but were afraid that it might draw a draft just like our existing open gas fire. Anyone got any experience of the Gazco Riva 67? Does it draw a draft?

Another thing that was mentioned was putting in a slate surround to protect the surrounding plaster. We'd prefer not to do this - we like the minimal look of the fire on its own in the wall (as shown in a lot of the brochures). Our walls are big feck-off solid concrete jobs so have a pretty significant thermal mass compared to, say, more modern walls. Would this make a difference? Anyone have a Riva installed without surround? Any problems?

c
 
We have have had one for about 3 years. We get a bit of wind noise on really windy days as the cowl on the chimney blew down about a year ago, and I haven't had a chance to put it back. We get no drafts from it at all. It works really well and looks very good.

We had it installed on a newly plastered chimney in our house which was built in the early 60's. We experienced one crack in the new plaster after about a month but I since filled it and it has not appeared again.

The big problem that we have with it is that it is not suitable in a House with small children (we now have two under 3's) and as a consequence can never use it when they are around, the glass on the front gets so hot that you just couldn't contemplate having it on when they are in the room. We have never found a fire guard that we liked the look of that could be used safely with it. That is something to bear in mind if there are young kids in your house.
 
Hi JD,

Thanks for that info. Sounds like you have your hands full with the kids - which probably explains why you haven't fixed the cowl yet! :D You need one of those monster fire guards we had when we were kids - the sort that looks like Alcatraz for fires and surrounds not only the fire opening but the whole fireplace too. We didn't have central heating when I was a kid - the open fire was the only source of heat. Apart from an incident when my Da freaked out the cat and she jumped up the chimney with the fire lit we never had a problem. [nostalgia] I remember having baths in front of the fire as a kid - very cosy (it was necessity - the rest of the house was like a feckin' ice box in winter!) [/nostalgia]

We've no kids, just two mutts (who are used to the very hot stove in the kitchen - not good to lick when on!).

Just to double check - you don't have any surround around your Riva? It's just installed against the wall without a surround?

BTW, who did you get to install it? We're debating between Fenton's (Greystones - tried and tested reliables, having stalled our last stove and four other stoves for my immediate family) and Glorney's (the end of the road, an unknown quantity but local and a bit cheaper it seems).

c
 
Fentons supplied and fitted ours. I had to considerably modify the opening, increasing its height by 18" to allow the fire to be 14" off the floor, and widening by about 7" each side. They wont undertake that work, they just want to fit it into the space, install the flue and connect the gas. Maybe they do more of that end of it now, but they didn't when we got it installed.

Yep the fire is just installed flush to the plaster on the fireplace, no mantle or hearth.

I cant stand the look of the 'Alcatraz' wire fire guards, so the central heating has to suffice for us for now.

Best of luck,

John
 
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