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| Sumo prototype, under test |
... rather than an open fire?
If you're searching for stoves, you probably already appreciate the advantages of an enclosed stove
over an open fire: an efficient, controlled burn, that doesn't suck all the heat out of the house
Any stove should offer at least a fourfold saving in fuel over an open fire: 'half the fuel,
twice the heat' is a modest claim.
As well as the comfortable heat a stove produces, it allows the house to breathe. As opposed to a gasping
open fire, or a stultifying gas or electric heat, it also has the potential of being carbon neutral: burning wood releases
the same amount of CO2 into the atmosphere as does the process of natural decay, and the equivalent volume of timber will
reabsorb the CO2 as it grows. So you win all round!
rather than gas, oil or electric?
burning solid fuel gives you more control over the fuel bills, instead of
being at the mercy of the Utilities, especially while the energy market is so volatile. With timber growers putting more land
to wood production, seasoned logs are becoming more readily available. Managing your fuel supply, and operating a stove are
obviously more work than the push button convenience of gas, oil or electric, but the householder is rewarded with a
richer quality of life ... a controlled fire to put life into the heart of your home!
Why a Dowling?
Our stoves are fabricated (that is, cut and welded, as opposed to pressed) in heavy gauge
steel, which has the tensility to absorb the heat that would crack unprotected cast iron. We use heavier gauges than any other
manufacturer (8mm for the upper body, up to 25mm for the grate plates), and are confident of our claim to make 'the
strongest stoves in the world'
no firebricks, ceramic rope or handles; no cast iron parts to replace!
building with craft techniques means a different economic equation to produce each stove. The material
is only a small proportion of the cost, so we can afford to whack on the steel; a high labour content means we have to keep
the detail simple however ... so no ornament, and we get the shape to do the work. This continual quest for simplicity
is a great driver for R & D, and is one of the reasons we have developed such unusual designs. Also, the gauges of steel
we use mean that we can be more adventurous with the shapes. We'll admit that strength is not the only consideration for a
stove, but it gives us an edge:
if a stove is built to last a life time, it's overall value is greatly increased
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| ... the shape does the work! |
We're slightly wary of using the tag 'craftsmanship'
- on the one hand it's overused, and applied misleadingly to mass produced articles, or else associated with luxury one-off
production.
of course, we take pride in our manual skills. You don't need many tools for steel fabrication:
oxy-propane for cutting, electric welding to fuse the steel, and grinders to finish. But you need a lot of skill, and we'd
accept any challenge on our fabrication ability
But the real satisfaction is being able to design, build and deliver a stove from
scratch faster than an average retailer can supply from stock, and still beat them on value!
| Sumo boiler ... |
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| ...each stove built by one man, from raw steel to finished article |
Working purely in steel has certain pro's and cons:
pro's:
much tougher and more resilient than cast iron, the stove body can be welded as a complete unit, and will absorb
the heat stresses that would crack unprotected cast iron. Most modern manufacturers use steel for the bodies,
but for reasons of economy use relatively light gauges, which still need firebrick lining, to prevent the steel from distorting
under heat.
We use heavy gauge steel (typically 8mm for the upper bodies), cutting and welding rather than the cheaper
pressing and folding ... no fire bricks mean faster heat transmission, and no bricks to replace!
working purely in steel also gives us the flexibility to try different ideas, without having to make expensive
patterns. We can sketch out an idea, and have the prototype built and tried out within a week!
it also allows us to customise each order. For very little extra expense, you can have an original stove
made specially to the requirements of your situation.
cons:
detail, such as hinges, handles, grates and fire bars are more labour intensive in steel than in cast iron.
This means we have to constantly drive for simplicity. But as a design imperative, simplicity has persuaded us to unique solutions,
such as the bottom hinged doors, the 'jaw grate', and the dramatic and unusual shapes. We like to think that we have
on the whole turned the problems of detail to advantage
such as our 'jaw grate', which will last as long as the stove ... up to 5 times longer than the standard
'fire bar'
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| SUMO boiler, cutaway to show jaw grate, boiler design, and secondary air system |
click here to see SUMO boiler detail
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