Black Bear

neumsky said:

Your a lucky man! Going to bed... Talk atchya later! Jeff

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Heating with wood or now pellets is a lifestyle choice that is suitable for my situation. I would rather have the wood than the pellets because it is cheaper. I'm young and don't mind the work it takes to heat with wood as well as process all the wood.
It is not for everyone though. Some people don't mind spending the money on conventional fuel. Some can't possibly do the work for one reason or another. Take care, good luck.

If you end up with the 118, let us know how it works. It sure is a neat lookig stove!

I think it goes back to knowledge is power. You have a head start on most uninformed buyers who rely solely on a salesman. All of us here benefit from each others experiences. It goes beyond just complaints and recommendations, we all end up better off because others are willing to help improve our situation here!

BeGreen is right - I lucked up and got a free 118 in pristine condition from my neighbor. This is my second year burning with it and I find it to be a GREAT stove (keep in mind that I've only had experience with an insert and fireplaces before).

I have almost all positive things to say about my stove. With the LONG log length that fits in there, you can easily get overnight burns - of course, you DO have to have it cut longer or cut your own wood (which I do). I typically run my stove around the 650F mark and it cruises for hours at that temp and throws of some really good heat. The small door has been a little bit of a pain and I've recently wished I had a side load panel or a larger door so I could *shove more wood in. I've begun cutting wood to 11-12" long in anticipation of a Morso stove upstairs, and with the 118, I can load all the way to the back and then all the way to the door - giving me a seriously full load of wood. The splits are obviously smaller, so I'm having to turn the air down even more since there is a lot of room for air in there.

If you have a specific question about the 118 that I may be able to answer, ask away. I don't know everything about this stove, but I can tell you what I've experienced.

Brian, is yours one of the newer F118 with the new crossfire reburn technology or its predecessor non EPA rated stove?
EDIT: I read your first post and now realize you have one of the older ones. Nice looking stove, btw, are you still heating from the basement? I ask because I too had a primary heater in the basement once and realized later how much heat I was wasting once I moved it upstairs into a fireplace. You have a side exhaust on the 118, right? Could it possibly fit on the fireplace hearth sideways? You'd be much better off having your main source of heat in the space where you spend the most time. Of course you'd have to consider proper clearances and adjust accordingly.

VCBurner said:

Brian, is yours one of the newer F118 with the new crossfire reburn technology or its predecessor non EPA rated stove?
EDIT: I read your first post and now realize you have one of the older ones. Nice looking stove, btw, are you still heating from the basement? I ask because I too had a primary heater in the basement once and realized later how much heat I was wasting once I moved it upstairs into a fireplace. You have a side exhaust on the 118, right? Could it possibly fit on the fireplace hearth sideways? You'd be much better off having your main source of heat in the space where you spend the most time. Of course you'd have to consider proper clearances and adjust accordingly.

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I am still heating from the basement - it does well for the house, other than the bedrooms. I affirm the heat I'm losing (not getting the full affect of) due to the install location; saving for a stove upstairs with very small clearances.

Fireplace and chimney is now gone - I've removed that entire wall to open the floor plan.

Mine is most definitely a non-EPA stove, but I will say that when it is burning hot, I would put it's cleanliness way up the list. I see no smoke coming out of the chimney - I think burning too low allows the ole smoke dragon to start breathing. I try to never run my stove below 450F. Anywhere from 450F-650/675F is my ideal zone.

Our F118 is a new EPA model and burns plenty hot for our use. It's in the main living area (too pretty to hide!) and we run it right around 400° most of the time. If the temps stay above the 40s which is common here in the pacific northwest we usually have to have the windows open to burn full time. When the weather is colder we are more comfortable!