First the ugly, HOLY COW is this stove heavy. I took the easy way and rented a skid steer as it was going in the basement, and I could drive it right into the house. Put down some 1/2 pvc sections three feet long and rolled it like the ancients did once in the house. It was on a concrete floor, so could move it with one hand. I put it together by myself, which was very easy, the only trick was getting it off it's pallet stand. I was able to lift one side enough to slide the pallet out a bit at a time. After the third time, the front legs were touching concrete, and then it was easy to tip it an inch and pull the pallet the rest of the way out. I was going to get friends and beer, but we are all getting older, and are right at that age where we are learning we are mortal and twist, pull, and generally hurt ourselves everytime we try to do things like this...so skid steer it was...which is always fun anyway.
The Bad...I have been running the stove for a few days, and I am not convinced of the heat output. Mind you, it has been 40's here so the draft is not as good as it will be once it gets some real cold. I have to say I am puzzled. I had a Fisher Grandma before. My house would run 68-76 and back between fill ups. I found it very comfortable between 74-76. With the new stove, I find the temp levels out at 72-73, BUT it feels much warmer than the 76 of the other stove. The only thing I can figure, is the old stove put out the heat and created a draft of sorts coming upstairs, which caused it to feel cooler because of a breeze. The new stove is not as intense, so no breeze. I had never had a woodstove until last year when we bought this house. I learned quick, I experimented, and within a short time became a master of the ol' smoke dragon. Now comes the EPA beast, and I am convinced its female. You must pay much more attention to it at first, but once you have it...well...then it does not want you to chase it anymore, it's content and happy, and you just want to play with it's knobs and buttons .
The good...its really a beautiful stove, very well put together from what I can tell, WS service has been great! I have never run a EPA stove before, let alone a cat one. I found it pretty easy to get things going, and am amazed at the burn times with the relative heat output. It's not the blast furnace the Fisher was, but much much more even. My only concern here is the -5 degree 60mph wind blizzard in the future. I am not sure the stove has the backbone to keep it 70+, but I am sure we will not freeze. I remain hopeful it does though. My upstairs bedrooms feel warmer, in fact the whole house feels warmer, even though the thermometer says it's 2-3 degrees colder than the other stove...again I feel it's a air movement deal. 750 degrees with 3 hours, or 450-500 for 8-10. Seems to make a difference.
I do have a request though. Can someone post a picture of what the screens should look like looking up from the glass? I was looking yesterday, and they seemed to be covering the top opening. Today I looked, and I am guessing they fell, because I can see tabs and it no longer coveres the top opening...not sure how it happened, expansion? Not in tight to begin with? Rememberers broken?
Anyway, I am very pleased with the stove overall, as long as it has the BTU's when the snow is flying, I will be thrilled.
The Bad...I have been running the stove for a few days, and I am not convinced of the heat output. Mind you, it has been 40's here so the draft is not as good as it will be once it gets some real cold. I have to say I am puzzled. I had a Fisher Grandma before. My house would run 68-76 and back between fill ups. I found it very comfortable between 74-76. With the new stove, I find the temp levels out at 72-73, BUT it feels much warmer than the 76 of the other stove. The only thing I can figure, is the old stove put out the heat and created a draft of sorts coming upstairs, which caused it to feel cooler because of a breeze. The new stove is not as intense, so no breeze. I had never had a woodstove until last year when we bought this house. I learned quick, I experimented, and within a short time became a master of the ol' smoke dragon. Now comes the EPA beast, and I am convinced its female. You must pay much more attention to it at first, but once you have it...well...then it does not want you to chase it anymore, it's content and happy, and you just want to play with it's knobs and buttons .
The good...its really a beautiful stove, very well put together from what I can tell, WS service has been great! I have never run a EPA stove before, let alone a cat one. I found it pretty easy to get things going, and am amazed at the burn times with the relative heat output. It's not the blast furnace the Fisher was, but much much more even. My only concern here is the -5 degree 60mph wind blizzard in the future. I am not sure the stove has the backbone to keep it 70+, but I am sure we will not freeze. I remain hopeful it does though. My upstairs bedrooms feel warmer, in fact the whole house feels warmer, even though the thermometer says it's 2-3 degrees colder than the other stove...again I feel it's a air movement deal. 750 degrees with 3 hours, or 450-500 for 8-10. Seems to make a difference.
I do have a request though. Can someone post a picture of what the screens should look like looking up from the glass? I was looking yesterday, and they seemed to be covering the top opening. Today I looked, and I am guessing they fell, because I can see tabs and it no longer coveres the top opening...not sure how it happened, expansion? Not in tight to begin with? Rememberers broken?
Anyway, I am very pleased with the stove overall, as long as it has the BTU's when the snow is flying, I will be thrilled.