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Wood-Burning Cooker Buying Guide Before the Stars

Updated: October 2026

You want a hob and an oven on wood, and you may also want hot water. A wood-burning cooker buying guide that opens on stars will send you to a room heater, a portable stove, or a kilowatt figure that is mostly water. Settle the job, ask whether the chimney is in a smoke control area, size the flue to the outlet, and only then read the output. The [wood-burning cooker comparison](/hub/garden-furniture/wood-burning-cooker) keeps the prices and the review counts. Products Compared gathered the amazon.co.uk listings on 15 October 2026. This is not a laboratory test. A purchase through that comparison can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You want a hob and an oven on wood, and you may also want hot water. A wood-burning cooker buying guide that opens on stars will send you to a room heater, a portable stove, or a kilowatt figure that is mostly water.

Our top picks

Prometey Prometey Practik Lux

Best overall

Prometey Prometey Practik Lux
6.3/10about £824.65
View offer
OtoSystem OtoSystem 1P34

Best value

OtoSystem OtoSystem 1P34
5.9/10about £540.00
View offer
Prity Prity FGW15

Rank 3

Prity Prity FGW15
6.8/10about £888.02
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the job, not the kilowatts
  2. 2.Ask about smoke control before you trust Ecodesign
  3. 3.Size the flue to the outlet, then to 125 mm or 150 mm
  4. 4.Read kilowatts as a room figure, then check the hotplate, oven, and boiler
  5. 5.What this amazon.co.uk set costs, and what the stars do not prove

Start with the job, not the kilowatts

A fixed kitchen cooker, a cooker with a back boiler, and a portable wood stove are three purchases. The fixed cooker has a hotplate, usually an oven, and a flue. In this set those bodies weigh about 76 kg to 136 kg. A back-boiler cooker adds a water jacket. The FGW15 listing prints 5 kW to the room and 15 kW to water, and the W12PM prints 4 kW plus 12 kW. Portable stoves weigh about 195 g to 10.9 kg and boil water outdoors. Only the fixed jobs use a building chimney, including a summerhouse, so the next question is whether that chimney may burn wood.

Ask about smoke control before you trust Ecodesign

Wood in a smoke control area is allowed only in a Defra-exempt appliance. GOV.UK says smoke must not drift from the chimney. In England that can mean up to £300, and buying unauthorised fuel for an unapproved appliance up to £1,000. Ask the council. Ecodesign is a different test. HETAS says cookers placed on the market from 1 January 2022 must meet limits for efficiency and for particulate matter, organic gaseous compounds, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides. That does not replace Defra exemption. An Ecodesign line, a CE mark, EN 13240, or German BImSchV is not UK smoke-control approval. Notice 0123/25 lists EN 16510-2-3:2022 for cookers, replacing EN 12815, until 26 September 2027. Check the exact model on the official list. None of these listings has been confirmed here as exempt.
Prometey Prometey Practik Lux

Testsieger

Prometey Prometey Practik Lux
6.3/10about £824.65
View offer

Size the flue to the outlet, then to 125 mm or 150 mm

For a closed cooker up to 20 kW outside a fireplace recess, Approved Document J allows 125 mm only when the appliance meets the Clean Air Act requirements for wood. Otherwise the figure is 150 mm, up to 30 kW, and the flue is never smaller than the outlet. Several listings print 130 mm and do not state a Defra exemption. A 130 mm outlet will not fit a 125 mm liner, and it is below 150 mm when exemption is not shown. BFCMA also notes a maximum horizontal run of 150 mm from the back of an appliance into a chimney. Flue pipe is often not in the box. In England and Wales the work is notifiable: a HETAS installer in the right category can self-certify within 30 days, otherwise apply to building control first. Alarm placement is on the how to use page.

Read kilowatts as a room figure, then check the hotplate, oven, and boiler

HETAS says an installer should size the appliance. The fixed cookers here print about 9.5 kW to 16 kW, or 5 kW to the room plus 15 kW to water. Adding 5 and 15 and calling the kitchen a 20 kW room heater oversizes it. A named plate, or a count of plates, is what a pan needs. An oven size in millimetres tells you if a tin fits. One review says the oven works and the top does not cook, so treat them as two jobs. A back boiler belongs only when a circuit exists and someone can load wood through the day.

What this amazon.co.uk set costs, and what the stars do not prove

Shelf prices on amazon.co.uk on 15 October 2026 sit in three bands. Portable stoves run from £36.99 to £165.00. Fixed cookers with no boiler stated run from £540.00 to £824.65. The back-boiler listings are £799.00 for the W12PM and £888.02 for the FGW15. Five stars on one or two reviews is not a verdict. The table marks the FGW15 as the comparison’s top pick and the 1P34 as best value. In England, loads under 2 cubic metres must be Ready to Burn, at no more than 20 percent moisture.

Common questions

Is a wood-burning cooker the same as a wood-burning stove?
No. A cooker has a hotplate and usually an oven, and it also heats the room. A wood-burning stove, in the usual UK sense, is a room heater. A trivet on a log burner is not a range top. Choose the cooker when you will bake and boil.
Do I need a Defra-exempt cooker to burn wood?
You do if the chimney is in a smoke control area. GOV.UK allows wood there only in an approved appliance, and smoke must not leave the chimney. Ask the council, because the map is indicative. A summerhouse chimney still counts. This page has not confirmed exemption for any listing in the comparison.
Does Ecodesign mean I can burn wood in a smoke control area?
No. Ecodesign sets efficiency and emissions limits for cookers placed on the market from 1 January 2022. HETAS treats Defra exemption as separate. A line that says Ecodesign, EN 13240, BImSchV, or CE is not UK smoke-control approval. Check the model on the official list before you buy for an address inside an area.
What flue size does a wood-burning cooker need?
For a closed appliance up to 20 kW outside a fireplace recess, 125 mm is allowed only when it meets the Clean Air Act requirements for wood. Otherwise use 150 mm, up to 30 kW, and never go smaller than the outlet. Several listings print 130 mm without stating exemption, so ask an installer before you buy pipe.
How do I turn the kilowatt figure into a room size?
You do not, when the number mixes room heat and water. HETAS expects an installer to size it. Dividing room volume in cubic metres by 14 is a retailer rule of thumb. A listing that prints 5 kW to the room and 15 kW to water is not a 20 kW room heater.
When is a back boiler the wrong buy?
It is the wrong buy when nobody is home to load the fire, or when there is no heating circuit. Buyers describe frequent loading, so an empty house goes cold. It is also the wrong buy when the title says boiler and the page never states a water volume.

Related pages

Best wood-burning cookers

Cooker versus wood-burning stove

Wood-burning cookers and camping

Wood-burning cooker

How to Use a Wood-Burning Cooker After Installation

Sources

Public UK sources used for smoke control, flues and solid fuel; last accessed 15 October 2026.

  1. Smoke control areas: the rules (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. HETAS Ecodesign and Defra guide (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. HETAS regulations (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. Selling wood in England (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. Approved Document J (2022) (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. BFCMA flue design (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. NHS carbon monoxide (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Fire safety outdoors (retrieved 15 October 2026)