We must apologise for not getting back to you earlier with our opinion of the fire.
WE ARE RAPT WITH IT! It is everything we had hoped for.
We havent yet had it stay in all night, but that is probably due to the species of wood we are burning (poplar).
We have some wattle drying out at present, so it will be interesting to see whether that stays in better.
We have spoken to a number of bus owners who have the fire installed and all speak very highly of it.
One couple were in Turangi during last winter and they had 25 deg inside when it was -4deg outside.
We love it.
I wondered how I was going to clean the flue, then I found a dunny brush in the Warehouse, screwed it to a length of 1" aluminium pipe I had, and its perfect.
All the best for the future.
Regards,
Geof & Viv d'Auvergne.
WE ARE RAPT WITH IT! It is everything we had hoped for.
We havent yet had it stay in all night, but that is probably due to the species of wood we are burning (poplar).
We have some wattle drying out at present, so it will be interesting to see whether that stays in better.
We have spoken to a number of bus owners who have the fire installed and all speak very highly of it.
One couple were in Turangi during last winter and they had 25 deg inside when it was -4deg outside.
We love it.
I wondered how I was going to clean the flue, then I found a dunny brush in the Warehouse, screwed it to a length of 1" aluminium pipe I had, and its perfect.
All the best for the future.
Regards,
Geof & Viv d'Auvergne.
22 August 2007
To Little Cracker Fires,
We would like to let you know how pleased we are with our Little Cracker Multi Fuel Fire. As we have spent the last two winters living in our 9 metre motorhome in Alexandra, we would have been unable to stay there if it had not been for your fire, with temperatures getting as low as -11 degrees Celsius with the frost and last year with the hoar frost, we stayed nice and warm.
Regards
Murray and Karen NZMCA No 18990
To Little Cracker Fires,
We would like to let you know how pleased we are with our Little Cracker Multi Fuel Fire. As we have spent the last two winters living in our 9 metre motorhome in Alexandra, we would have been unable to stay there if it had not been for your fire, with temperatures getting as low as -11 degrees Celsius with the frost and last year with the hoar frost, we stayed nice and warm.
Regards
Murray and Karen NZMCA No 18990
NZ Motorhome and Caravan Forum
We operate an all year round alpine tourism business in the Queenstown area from our purpose built hut at 1880m.
The hut is heated by a Little Cracker burner and it works really well at heating the whole hut and drying ski clothing.
The hut is in an extreme environment and snow is melted for water and cooking is also done on the Little Cracker.
The burner is simple to use, rugged and produces heat well without use of a lot of wood for fuel.
Dwell Mountain Hut is serviced by helicopter and everything has to be flown in. In the hut is supply of wood for up to 2 weeks constant use of the burner.
We are very happy with our choice of wood burner , rather than having LPG heating.. as the wood burner produces a dry heat where as LPG by product is water vapor. I would recommend the Little Cracker for any application anywhere as a very good producer of heat for it's size.
From
Dan Kelly
DKDnz.com Limited, PO box 29, Glenorchy
dwellmountainholidays.co.nz steepwhite.co.nz tungstentrail.co.nz
The hut is heated by a Little Cracker burner and it works really well at heating the whole hut and drying ski clothing.
The hut is in an extreme environment and snow is melted for water and cooking is also done on the Little Cracker.
The burner is simple to use, rugged and produces heat well without use of a lot of wood for fuel.
Dwell Mountain Hut is serviced by helicopter and everything has to be flown in. In the hut is supply of wood for up to 2 weeks constant use of the burner.
We are very happy with our choice of wood burner , rather than having LPG heating.. as the wood burner produces a dry heat where as LPG by product is water vapor. I would recommend the Little Cracker for any application anywhere as a very good producer of heat for it's size.
From
Dan Kelly
DKDnz.com Limited, PO box 29, Glenorchy
dwellmountainholidays.co.nz steepwhite.co.nz tungstentrail.co.nz
Hi Bert,
just a note to say how much I'm enjoying the Little Cracker, everyone who sees it delights in it and of course a number have said they want one... out of this number you may get a few enquiries, you know how it goes... but over the years...
Just found a handy hint for keeping the glass clean... Wet a paper towel and dip it onto some ash and rub the glass.
It works really well.
I've used over a half tonne of coal in the year I've had it and a lot of pinecones... there was so little build up of soot... which attests to the clean burning qualities of the unit.
I'm delighted with it Bert.
Kind regards.
Keith Levy
just a note to say how much I'm enjoying the Little Cracker, everyone who sees it delights in it and of course a number have said they want one... out of this number you may get a few enquiries, you know how it goes... but over the years...
Just found a handy hint for keeping the glass clean... Wet a paper towel and dip it onto some ash and rub the glass.
It works really well.
I've used over a half tonne of coal in the year I've had it and a lot of pinecones... there was so little build up of soot... which attests to the clean burning qualities of the unit.
I'm delighted with it Bert.
Kind regards.
Keith Levy
We find even on the coldest days (-10 overnight several times over the last 5 winters according to the thermometer in my truck) our little cracker is great.
For comparison, our cottage is 2 bedrooms, 100 square metres, 8 years old, with double glazing and great insulation.
We would not want a more powerful fire, we are more than comfortable and so often to hot with this fire already :) it warms the cottage up super quick when we get home from work, starts really easily, and we find it very efficient.
It doesn't have a massive fire box so we get all the wood (mostly gum from our farm) that the rest of my family doesn't want, we tend to get all the branches 5-15 cm across, then we don't even need to spilt them, just zip the wood into fire size lengths.
Our cottage is an unusual shape with where the entrances to the bed rooms are compared to the fire and sometimes the heat didn't make it evenly around, the bedrooms were warm and dry but not as hot as the rest of the house (not the fires fault, the lounge was cooking and we had a window open) so last year we got a fan that sits in the top.
Once we got the fan we didn't need to burn coal anymore (except to bank overnight) and our bedrooms were toasty, this really helped the little cracker to evenly distribute the heat.
I'll attach a photo of the fire and the stove fan, we got the fan on trademe.
But if a cottage is a better layout and/or smaller, you may not even need it, we only use it in winter.
I 100% recommend the little cracker and think you'll love it.
Rochelle Wert
Hi, Just wanted to say I recently purchased a little cracker second hand but still in as new condition.
I am a very fussy Fitter and Turner by Trade and have to say how well manufactured these fires are.
They have to be the best quality Fires available in NZ at the moment, Don't hesitate to purchase one of these.
Gary
I am a very fussy Fitter and Turner by Trade and have to say how well manufactured these fires are.
They have to be the best quality Fires available in NZ at the moment, Don't hesitate to purchase one of these.
Gary
Hi Bert,
I now have my LITTLE CRACKER positioned in container at Mt. Lyford & it looks just superb with it's small scale suiting the container perfectly.
Having also now had time to look over it thoroughly I congratulate you on the considered design & exacting build quality - your good aircraft engineering background is showing through.
Most wood burners available in NZ appear to be rather crude in their design & quality.
We are now looking forward to getting it going.
cheers
Ian Bisman
19 May, 2015
I now have my LITTLE CRACKER positioned in container at Mt. Lyford & it looks just superb with it's small scale suiting the container perfectly.
Having also now had time to look over it thoroughly I congratulate you on the considered design & exacting build quality - your good aircraft engineering background is showing through.
Most wood burners available in NZ appear to be rather crude in their design & quality.
We are now looking forward to getting it going.
cheers
Ian Bisman
19 May, 2015
Bert, just wanted to let you know that we are very happy with our little cracker. It heats our 8 Meter bus easily and is a real bush mans TV.!!! . Being pyromaniac s at heart we don't need an excuse to fire it up, and if we are not careful we end up sitting outside. It took us a little, well quite a while really, to realize that a small fire near the front works best for us.
There was an issue with the door locking properly but that was soon resolved.
Many thanks
Don and Sheryl Strathdee
20 May 2015
There was an issue with the door locking properly but that was soon resolved.
Many thanks
Don and Sheryl Strathdee
20 May 2015
Thank you Bert and all at Tarlan Engineering. What a Magic little fire and it fits perfectly into the spot on my boat Shoestring. I look forward to using it for many years to come.
It heats, dries clothes, boils water, conquers the mold and creates a cosy warm atmosphere in those dank Auckland winters.
The Little Cracker multi fuel is both robust and aesthetic and simplest and most economical solution to cruiser heating that I have encountered.
Thank you Bert.
Roger Scott 23 May 2015
It heats, dries clothes, boils water, conquers the mold and creates a cosy warm atmosphere in those dank Auckland winters.
The Little Cracker multi fuel is both robust and aesthetic and simplest and most economical solution to cruiser heating that I have encountered.
Thank you Bert.
Roger Scott 23 May 2015
We got our fire 8 years ago it has been great !, the only thing that has gone wrong is door handle has broken off.
Apart from that it is awesome!
Rex mason
Apart from that it is awesome!
Rex mason
Hello Herbert,
Yes the fire continues to be invaluable... and last night we actually managed to make our wee home way too hot with just a few pine cones.
Its a totally amazing little fire and gets admired by the many people who come to visit.
People appreciate firstly how effective it is at heating the space. but also how cute and compact is its design.
We couldn't live without it :)
and the cat certainly agrees.
Toasty regards
Stella
26 May 2015
Hello Herbert,
I met you briefly at my daughter’s property about 3 weeks ago when you came to install Sel’s Little Cracker.
I don’t know if he’s talked with you, but they lit it up last weekend. My gosh! The house hasn’t been lived in yet and what with the freezing weather ...it was very cold within that morning. However, one good log and the house was toast within a couple of hours.
We were all very impressed!
Sally
June 2015
I met you briefly at my daughter’s property about 3 weeks ago when you came to install Sel’s Little Cracker.
I don’t know if he’s talked with you, but they lit it up last weekend. My gosh! The house hasn’t been lived in yet and what with the freezing weather ...it was very cold within that morning. However, one good log and the house was toast within a couple of hours.
We were all very impressed!
Sally
June 2015
Hi Bert
The fire is awesome. We were in Twizel when it was snowing and the bus was so cosy we were in T Shirts.
An excellent addition to the bus.
Many thanks
Carol Hamilton
June 2015
The fire is awesome. We were in Twizel when it was snowing and the bus was so cosy we were in T Shirts.
An excellent addition to the bus.
Many thanks
Carol Hamilton
June 2015
Really happy with the fire. Really good insulation. It’s location in the vehicle is working well and really appreciated the help you provided to get that right and to install it. We are living in the highest altitude in NZ (National Park , Central North Island) for our second winter and loving the fire. Runs really well keeping the vehicle dry and toasty ...... of course its Always runs better if the wife remembers to feed it....when I’m out???
Dean
June 2015
Bert, Yes fire goes well, we have had many comments about it and no negatives.
We are very pleased with the final product will get some photos tonight for you and send.
Cheers Jim
Jim Barnes
Building Control Officer
We are very pleased with the final product will get some photos tonight for you and send.
Cheers Jim
Jim Barnes
Building Control Officer
Hi Bert
About two years ago I installed one of your Little Cracker fires in my house bus. It took me a long time to decide, to weigh up all the pro's and con's.
I replaced an Eberspacher diesel heater and there is absolutely no comparison.
I love my fire and the heat it gives out is amazing. I use pine conesand wood and in the winter in the South Island I use some coal.
Here are two photos - can't cook eggs on a heater eh!
Angela Hill
About two years ago I installed one of your Little Cracker fires in my house bus. It took me a long time to decide, to weigh up all the pro's and con's.
I replaced an Eberspacher diesel heater and there is absolutely no comparison.
I love my fire and the heat it gives out is amazing. I use pine conesand wood and in the winter in the South Island I use some coal.
Here are two photos - can't cook eggs on a heater eh!
Angela Hill
11 April 2018
Hello Taryn and Bert,
Today was a perfect day for installing the little cracker.
It is 5 months ago we received the fire from NZ. We had some bus building delay but finally our little cracker is build in the bus and burning although it is 23 degrees celcius outside ....haha.
The fire is amazing, the design is awesome we can't keep our eyes from it and it really ties our bus interior together.
Many thanks
Greets from
Anneleen and Werner
Netherlands
Hello Taryn and Bert,
Today was a perfect day for installing the little cracker.
It is 5 months ago we received the fire from NZ. We had some bus building delay but finally our little cracker is build in the bus and burning although it is 23 degrees celcius outside ....haha.
The fire is amazing, the design is awesome we can't keep our eyes from it and it really ties our bus interior together.
Many thanks
Greets from
Anneleen and Werner
Netherlands
