I tested this eye-catching hot pink Arada bioethanol stove — here's why I recommend it for homes like mine

Having previously owned a home with a log burner, I'm no stranger to the allure of a fire with a roaring flame. But, living in a first floor apartment means my heating choices are more limited. With no chimney – or opportunity to add one or a flue – any additional heat sources need to be smokeless.

While bioethanol fireplaces and stoves claim to offer warmth and fire without smoke, they are generally considered less effective other types of fires. Nonetheless, with winter evenings on the horizon and cold snaps predicted, I was interested to see if one could make a difference to my open plan kitchen, dining and living room space.

Add to this the fact my property is a Grade II listed building with single glazed sash windows, I wasn't sure if the Arada Hamlet Solution 5 Bioethanol Stove would be up to the job. But, realising I could get one in a shade called Flamingo Pink sealed the deal, and after moving some furniture around, one has been taking centre stage for a while now and here's how it's performed.

What is bioethanol fuel?

If you're concerned that log burner ideas are not always environmentally friendly, choosing a bioethanol stove could be for you. Distilled from wheat and crop waste, bioethanol fuel is smokeless and the CO2 released is off set by the CO2 absorbed by the plants when they were growing.

It's readily available online or in stores and generally comes in 1L bottles meaning you can still buy in bulk, but don't need to find log store ideas to keep your wood dry.

You can even buy scented versions such as this Forest scented bioethanol fuel from Imaginfires if you're looking for something more akin to wood. I've personally used Amazon so far to purchase my fuel and there are a wide range of options available.

Initial impressions

Taking delivery of the Arada Hamlet Solution 5 Bioethanol Stove was a little more challenging than I expected – for no other reason than I had underestimated how well packaged and heavy it would be.

It arrived on a large lorry on a pallet – perhaps not an issue in a more residential area, but I live on the main high street in my area and can't easily dispose of excess packaging. Nonetheless, despite the parking restrictions, the delivery driver was very accommodating and took the larger pallet and some packing away, leaving me with just a small section of pallet and protective layers of packaging.

Carrying it up the flight of entrance stairs to the ground floor was a two man job for myself and my eldest son, but was achievable and absolutely worth it when I took the final layers of packaging off and revealed the stove. It was fantastically robust, clearly constructed of good quality 3mm steel and cast iron materials with a smart cushioning heat proof trim on the stove's door a glass with a decent thickness to protect against breakage.

Very well wrapped and perfectly pink, it contained all the elements needed too, including a bottle of bioethanol fuel, plus ones I wasn't expecting such as a hot glove and a can of colour matched touch up spray – a thoughtful addition, particularly when you've chosen a colour other than the standard black.

There are plenty of colour options aside from Flamingo pink and metallic black too, from dove grey, spice red, and raincoat yellow to Miami blue, straw cream and peapod green. These can be chosen when purchasing the stove through Direct Stoves online.

Setting up the Arada Hamlet Solution 5 Bioethanol Stove

The major benefit of this beautiful little stove is that it can be easily "installed" yourself, perhaps with the help of another person for lifting. There's no flue needed and you won't need building regulations approval or other consents to add it to a space. It simply goes in wherever you need it to go, you don't even need a hearth unless you want to put it on carpet or other combustible surface, according to Arada's website.

The components were fairly easy to deal with too, such as screwing on the remainder of the handle and inserting the bioethanol grate. That said, with no printed instructions included (the company chooses not to include them to help with paper wastage), it's important to go online and follow the instructions step-by-step. They can be found here on the Arada Stoves website.

Although bioethanol fuel is smokeless, in the same way that installing a log burner means following important rules and guidance, it's the same when setting up a bioethanol stove. It needs to be placed certain distances from walls and furniture and if you can't meet these guidelines, there are limiting bolts you can use on the burner to help reduce the amount of flame and heat it produces.

Likewise, it's recommended you securely fasten the stove to the floor and wall to make it completely safe. Steps that really are essential to follow if you are adding one to an environment with young children. On that note, it's also important to understand that in the same way as a stove, a bioethanol stove also gets very hot to touch, so it's worth considering where you will use one if it seems like it might be right for your home. Plus it's important it's placed on a non combustible surface such as slate or a 12mm thick glass hearth.

Once it's securely in place, adding the handle, popping in the metal burner tray where you pour the bioethanol fuel and arranging the faux embers are all simple steps.

Arada Hamlet Solution 5 Bioethanol Stove specification

The Arada Hamlet Solution 5 Bioethanol Stove is designed to look like a traditional log burner and it really does look that part but without any of woo burner regulation hassles. The specifications of this version are as follows:

• Dimensions: W440mm x H558mm x D385mm
• Weight unpacked: 40kg
• Materials: 3mm steel body and cast iron door
• Output: 2.46kw
• Burner capacity: 0.8L (1L including overfill)
• Maximum burn rate: 0.35L/hour
• Typical runtime from full: 2-4.5 hours
• Guarantee: 10 years on the stove body
• Colours: available in a variety of colours
• Extras: Decorative flue available if required

Using the Arada Hamlet Solution 5 Bioethanol Stove

If you're considering purchasing a bioethanol stove such as the Arada Hamlet Solution 5 Bioethanol Stove and want to get it up and running immediately, there are a number of items I'd recommend buying before it arrives. A non-combustible surface such as this curved glass hearth from Direct Stoves is the more obvious one, a plastic jug and small funnel such as this one from Amazon are ones you may not think about, as well as a carbon monoxide detector like this one on Amazon.

Why do you need these? Again, it's to make use of the stove safer and more practical. It's important not to spill or overfill the bioethanol fuel when pouring it into the burner, therefore being able to accurately measure the volume of liquid means a jug with measurements saves having to 'guestimate' how much liquid you've poured in. Likewise, to avoid splashes or spills, a funnel helps contain the liquid and direct it far easier.

Gradually increase fuel quantity

Although most fuel is supplied in 1L bottles (the maximum capacity of the stove), for the first use, it's recommended you start by using around 250-500ml of fuel. Although this will give you a shorter burn time, it's a good way of understanding how the stove works. I followed this advice, and enjoyed around 45 minutes of burn time.

When you've poured in the fuel, use a long handled lighter such as this one from Amazon to light the fuel. It lights immediately and then you can close the door. Initially the glass will fog over, but this soon clears and the flames will be dancing.

The reflective panel to the rear of the inside helps magnify the appearance of the flames and will be larger if you use more fuel.

With each use, I've gradually increased the amount of fuel to around 850ml and although there is the option to 'turn off' the flames by pulling a burner cover across using the supplied metal tool and hot glove, I've been happy to let it burn out and not done this – although I have closed the cover after each use for safety.

To date, I've used it on several different occasions, including through the recent cold snaps. It's primarily been during the evening, although I also recently tested it during the day as I chose to work from the living room. With the heating off, it took the chill off the air and made for a more pleasant experience.

Using it really is simple, with no smoke generated it stays clean and is easy to dust and wipe over when actually cleaning, unlike cleaning log burner glass which is a more arduous task.

Results

With each use, the comments from myself and my sons regarding the amount of heat it produces have increased. Our traditional Christmas Eve viewing of Polar Express was absolutely enhanced by being able to watch it with the fire burning, and it also received full approval from our new dog who happily lay down in front of the fire and fell asleep. I used around 850ml of fuel on this night and we had around 2 hours and 45 minutes of burn time which was perfect.

The warmth radiates into the room, and when the door is closed and the fire is on, there's a noticeable difference when you walk into the room. Although I wasn't expecting to be this enamoured by its performance, I think it's safe to say it's definitely been a great addition to my home heating.

Final verdict

Based on pure facts, it's important to realise that the affect it has on your heating really does come down to the size of space you are trying to heat – as is the case with any stove or fireplace such as when working out what size wood burner do I need.

I have an open plan kitchen living room and dining space that is relatively small. Therefore, I didn't choose a stove based on output as I knew I was purely adding it as supplementary heat source. But also, I wanted a stove that was fairly compact in size, so it didn't take up too much space – and the Arada Hamlet Solution 5 turned out to be ideal for this.

Plus, when in use for a longer period of time, the Arada Hamlet Solution 5 Bioethanol Stove has certainly raised the temperature in the space, according to my Hive monitor. While it might struggle in a much larger room, the stove's heat output is decent – perhaps akin to a gas fire – if you are considering one for a smaller space.

There's no doubt that aesthetically it's added a cosy and stylish dimension to my living room area. The range of colours make it suitable for all different styles of interiors, with the added benefit that if I move, it's transportable and would work equally well elsewhere. It would be a great addition to snug room ideas or perfect in a home office set up too.

As previously mentioned, the body of the stove does get warm and so touching the exterior is not recommended when it's in use or until it cools down. However, this means it is also radiating heat into the room which makes the performance better.

I'm also planning on purchasing a stove fan soon to see if this adds to it's performance. If you're wondering what is a stove fan, they are stand-alone units that sit on top of a stove and use the heat of the stove to generate their own power which turns the blades of the fans and distribute heat around a room. The best stove fans will work on most types of stoves, including bioethanol stoves so I'm keen to see if it makes any difference to how far the heat circulates.

In terms of negatives, I've personally struggled to find any in my situation. This hot pink model might not be a cheap off the shelf solution so if you're perhaps looking for a budget option this might not be for you, but if you're keen on purchasing a good quality bioethanol stove that will last and help heat a smaller space where you can't add a gas, wood burner or multi-fuel stove, I'd certainly recommend considering the Arada Hamlet Solution 5 Bioethanol Stove.