SALAMANDER HOBBIT
Small Stove Review
Salamander stoves out of the UK make beautiful cast iron multi-fuel stoves for a variety of small spaces. The hobbit is a miniature version of large full-size cast stoves and is perfect for small spaces. Of all the small wood stoves – I like the look of the Hobbit the best. While these stoves are assembled in the UK they can be imported.
FEATURES
- Compact Size
- Large Front Display Window
- Riddling Grate + Ash Tray
- Cast Iron Construction
PROS
- Looks Great!
- Cast Iron
- Optional Cold Air Intake
- Good Heat Output
CONS
- Very Heavy
- China Made (Assembled in UK)
- Expensive
- Hard to source 4" flue size
Bottom line
The Hobbit is a well designed, solid little cast iron wood stove full of features. It performs well and fits the smallest of spaces. The stove has a long list of features including a top and rear flue exit giving you the option of freeing up the entire stove top for cooking. My biggest complaint with the Hobbit is the multiple piece fire box shifts when we move which is a sooty mess to get back together. The combined control for primary and secondary air can limit burn times. All in all the Hobbit is one of the best little stoves on the market!
Features
The Hobbit is not lacking in features!
- Handy Multi-Tool
- Mechanical Riddling Grate
- Removable Ash Pan
- Optional Top & Rear Flue Exit
- Large Glass
- Primary & Secondary Air
- Coal Bar for coal use
- Optional Direct Air
- Optional Brass Fittings
- Optional Galley Rails
- Optional Stand
- Optional Water Boiler (For heating a radiator in a separate room)
- Optional Enameled Colors (Not available in USA)
Ease of use
The Hobbits attractive & tasteful handles + multi-tool make opening and closing a breeze. The integrated riddling grate is operated via the multi-tool which makes clearing the ash from the fire box a snap. The ash pan is removable making disposing of ash very simple. The large glass door is great for viewing the status of your fire plus enjoying the romantic ambiance. The well sized firebox can accept a good sized load of wood.
Performance
Carefully engineered primary & secondary air + additional firebox air holes makes the Hobbit SE very efficient. The secondary air is supplied from below the fire grate, through the cast iron sides of the firebox, to the top of the fire to create a balanced air flow. Once the Hobbit gets up to temp there is no visible smoke exiting the flue. However, feeding the primary and secondary air are fed from the same place limits your control over your burn rate.
Price: $1100
BTU: 13650 (4kw) How many BTU’s do you need?
Dimensions: H18” x W12” x D11” (465mm x 302mm x 272mm)
Weight: 110lbs
Material: Cast Iron
Fuels: Wood & Coal
Pipe Diameter: 4” (100mm)
EPA Certified? Has UK Based Certifications
Notes: You can optionally get 1 or 2 colors for these small stoves and it looks like they have lots of color combinations. One SWEET feature in the Hobbit is an optional boiler ($150). The boiler is a stainless steel bladder that sits inside the fire box that can be used to heat water and an optional radiator for more efficient heating.
Salamander Stove for Off-Grid Airstream
This is NOT an approved EPA stove. It cannot be installed any place that a building permit will be required, if that area asks for verification that the appliance is EPA approved. A travel trailer, maybe, but not in a house, with an expectation of a building permit.
John Crouch, HPBA
John- That’s absolutely right. As mentioned in the article, and like most small stoves on the market, the Hobbit is not EPA approved. They do have a DEFRA-approved model, which is a UK-based emissions certification. But that doesn’t help you if you’re trying to pull a permit in the US.
Most small spaces that we work with like off-grid cabins, tiny homes on wheels, RVs, buses, etc, are not “residential” structures, and therefore don’t require building permits. If you were planning to put a small stove in a residential home subject to building codes, your choices for a small wood stove would be very limited.
Hello,
We have a hobbit salamander that we are trying to install and we are short 48″ of 4″ flue. We have not been able to source this locally. Can you please advise if you have a retail vendor in Canada or do we order from you and you ship it?
Hi Amanda-
We only have the one location in Hayden, Idaho, but we do ship direct to Canada. Our 4″ parts and flue kits work great with the Salamander Hobbit. Feel free to play around with our flue parts calculator, or shoot us a message at support@tinywoodstove.com for some help from a human.
Are the Hobbit stoves available in Colorado or New Mexico?
Rebecca-
Salamander Stoves does have dealers outside of the UK, though you will probably not be able to find one in a showroom in your state. A google search should turn up any listings of any active dealers selling the Salamander Hobbit in the USA. As an alternative, you might also consider our Dwarf 4kW, which ships from Idaho and has the same output as the Hobbit and similar dimensions, but better air controls, a larger fire viewing window, and costs a few hundred dollars less.