Small Log Burners up to 5kW

Buying guide

A 4kW or 5kW stove is the sweet spot for most British homes. It heats a typical living room without roasting it, runs at the lively burn modern stoves are designed for, and in most older houses avoids cutting an air vent through the wall.

Why choose a small log burner?

• It suits the room. Most living rooms need 3kW to 5kW. A stove sized to the room burns hot and clean instead of smouldering with the air shut down.
• No vent in most older homes. In England, a stove rated at 5kW or less does not normally need a permanent air vent in a home built before about 2008. Read do I need a vent?
• It fits. Small stoves fit original fireplace openings and shallow chimney breasts. The FDC4 Eco is just 210mm deep.
• Modern houses need less heat. Better insulation and glazing mean a new build or extension often needs only 3kW to 4kW.

What room will a 5kW stove heat?

Allow about 1kW for every 14 cubic metres of room volume. On that rule, a 5kW stove suits a room of about 70 cubic metres, for example 6m x 5m with a 2.4m ceiling, in an average house.

A Victorian room with a 3m ceiling has a quarter more volume than the same floor area at 2.4m. Solid walls and sash windows push the figure up; insulation pushes it down. More in what size stove do I need?

Our small log burners compared

How to choose

Measure the space, not just the room. Check the width, height and depth of the fireplace opening or alcove, then add the clearances in the manual. The FDC4 and FDC5 are 370mm wide; the Carron ECO 5kW is 480mm wide and 350mm deep. The Opus stoves are tall, from 920mm (Aria D) to 1154mm (Trio LS), so they suit a large opening or standing in the room.

Check the flue. Carron, FDC and Woolly Mammoth stoves use 125mm; Opus uses 150mm. Approved Document J allows 125mm for stoves exempt for burning wood in smoke control areas.

Decide on fuel. FDC and Woolly Mammoth stoves are multi-fuel; Carron's ECO 5kW converts with a kit; Opus and the ECO Revolution burn wood only.

Think about logs. Small fireboxes take short logs: about 300mm in the FDC4 and FDC5, 250mm in the Woolly Mammoth 5 and 330mm in the Opus stoves. The FDC5W takes about 375mm.

Hearth, flue and installation

Small stoves are often easier to fit, but the rules are the same as for any log burner. In England and Wales, a HETAS registered installer can fit the stove and self-certify the work; otherwise building control must be told before work starts. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, your council's building standards or building control rules apply. A carbon monoxide alarm is required in the room.

• Hearth. Many compact stoves can stand on a 12mm non-combustible plate because they do not heat the floor beneath them above 100°C. FDC asks for a 12mm hearth extending 225mm in front and 150mm each side. Our glass and granite hearths come in several shapes.
• Flue. An old chimney is usually lined to the stove's outlet size. Connect the stove with stove pipe of the same diameter.
• Air. Stay at 5kW or under in an older home and you normally need no extra vent. In an airtight new build you need one whatever the size.

Our picks

For a traditional room, the cast iron Carron ECO 5kW in matt black or one of six enamel colours. For the highest efficiency here, the steel Carron ECO Revolution 5kW at 82.7%. For a small room or shallow fireplace, the FDC4 Eco. For a contemporary look with logs on show, the Opus Melody LS.

Before you order, check whether you live in a smoke control area, and read the hearth and clearance figures in the manual. A HETAS registered installer fits the stove and the carbon monoxide alarm the regulations require, and in England and Wales self-certifies the work.