Please help me choose a stove?

Dave M said:

Hello All,

I have been studying all this for weeks, but I am still noobish. Any help is appreciated. I have a somewhat drafty, 2500 SF home upstate in the catskills...and need to replace my old stove. I'm looking at the Osburn 2400, the Napoleon 1900 and a few others. Can anybody recommend something for me? This would be my primary heat source. I'd like a long, efficient burn. Something easy to operate, that wont break down. I can spend $2000, 3000 if I have to. Thanks for your time!

-Dave, Upstate NY

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Hello there. My name is roger - nickname scotty - and I've posted here in years past. Comparing stoves is one of those things that we do a lot of during winter evenings, and it's fun. Right now our 2400 sq ft. house is heated alternately with a Lopi Leyden cast iron wood stove from a baseline provided by hydronic floor heat.

From the stoves you mention, see that you are looking at welded steel rather than cast iron. I really do like the welded steel myself for their durability and price. But have to confess that each time I buy a stove it's been cast iron. Mostly because the way that cast iron radiates is different and their is just something about the style of a cast iron stove that appeals to me. Styling is a personal choice of course. If there was a steel top-loader on the market, I would surely be interested. After having several stoves that load from the top and also have front doors I am totally spoiled by that feature.

My experience is based on half a century of heating with wood and trying maybe a dozen different stoves and pipes - and types of wood - and it occurs to me that as much of the difference between stoves is due to the geography and stove pipe as to the stove itself. For example, I live in the Rocky Mountains at 7000 feet. We have mostly gusty winter winds and tend to burn pitchy local softwoods. Hardwood doesn't grow here.
So because of where we live, folks here tend toward stoves which have a little too large of a fire box so that they can cram enough softwood into it to last the night...and then we also must turn the air intake down low so as to avoid having the wind gusts cause a draft that will quickly overheat things and immediately burn a night's supply of wood. Not surprisingly, a lot of local concerns have to do with creosote and pitch forming in the stove pipe.

Speaking of stove ...pipe. Right now the Lopi Leyden into a 6" diam. Simpson Dura-Vent Duratech pipe. That's a double wall stainless pipe with an insulating blanket between the walls. Ours runs up a few feet from the stove and then out though an exterior wall to a clean-out T. From the "T" it goes vertically up through an insulated chaise to emerge about six feet above the tile roof on the mostly windward side of the roof. There's nothing taller for 20/30 feet in any direction. The previous setup was a pre-EPA Vermont Casting Thermostatic wood stove (the Resolute model) working into a very similar stove pipe - although that pipe was the type made by EXCEL rather than Simpson.

How about it Dave?Does anything written so far help with your decision? Or simply more questions?
rScotty

Welcome....The 2400 is a monster, and one I was thinking about....Hopefully DaFatKid chimes in about that stove....I went for a PE Summit, just cause my previous PE was a fun little insert...Nevermind your stove, I'll be the guy who tells you to get your DRY wood now!

Hi, Dave and welcome! I live near Cooperstown, NY in an old, very drafty, 2400 sq ft house. I bought a Woodstock Progress Hybrid last year and it has so far done a good job of heating this old barn, better than we were hoping. It's easy to operate, very well made, and customer service is superb. So, you may want to give the Progress a look-see (www.woodstove.com)

Welcome to the forum Dave.

I have to second what HollowHill has written. The Woodstock line is tops! The newest stove is the Progress which is a hybrid stove; that is, it has secondary combustion plus catalytic. Long burn times and super clean burning. Their latest addition to this stove is the cook top which is super.

I do not have the Progress but do have the Fireview, which is a smaller stove. But what I would like to pass on to you is that Woodstock sells direct and their customer service is second to none. In addition, this company gives you a 6 month guarantee. They are sure you will be happy with the stove but if for some reason you aren't, they will take the stove back and you will get a full refund! I've dealt with this company for 5 years now and am constantly amazed at how good the company and people are. If anyone has a problem, they are only a phone call away and they will work with you to solve the problem. Look up their website www.woostove.com or call them at 800-866-4344

What's your chimney setup like? Masonry or class A pipe? Six or eight inch? If masonry, is it lined?

Also keep in mind that some stoves require an R value for the hearth, while others require only a non-combustible covering.

If you're buying dry wood, you're lucky. Truly seasoned wood is hard to buy.

Money invested on insulation and sealing drafts will never stop paying you back.

I would add PE Summit and T6 to your list.

I would go with the 3+ cu ft firebox.

You can not count on a stove that has a firebox smaller than 3 cu ft to properly heat 2,500 sq ft in a very cold climate. Stoves aren't magic. I would look at stoves with fireboxes at or above 3 cu ft. The PE Summit or T6, Blaze King King, Englander 30NC, VC Defiant, Quadrafire 5700, Osburn 2400 are some of the larger stoves that you should look at.

Dave M said:

Thanks very much, all of you. I havent considered top load or the pipe setup very much. So many other things to consider that I will have to leave the setup to my installer. My old stove isnt great, had to fill it every few hours when it got really cold. It did heat the place but we probably overfired it. I'm not there right now but I can upload a picture of the setup. (Hopefully I did it right.) I dont know the brand, but its really old, over 20 years and made of cast iron. The floor plan is pretty open and the stove is fairly centrally located. I get my wood delivered, quality is good so thats not a concern (but thanks anyway). My rear clearance isnt the best, so I'm considering upgrading my current rear heat shield. I mentioned the osburn and napoleon but was also looking at jotul and quardafire. But here I see more people recommending woodstock and blazeking. I dont think I want a cat because my wife and I are inexperienced. I have to admit, this will be our first full winter up here and we do have kids to consider. Thanks again, any advice is greatly appreciated!

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If you are buying your wood, you should buy two years worth in advance so the wood is properly dry by the time you burn it the following year.

Also, what you currently have is an older Dutchwest stove.

Dave M said:

You guys are great! Thanks to people like you on this site, I will probably end up getting a tester to see just how good my wood really is. In any case, I dont have much choice for this year. I hate to sound cheap, but is my old dutchwest worth anything or do I just throw it out? As far as the chimney goes I think its 8 inch stovepipe. The setup doesnt look too expensive, but I am prepared to drop an extra few hundred to alter the setup if I have to. I just dont wanna go crazy on alterations right now, as winter is coming soon. Out of all the models recommended, is there a particular one that would suit my setup and needs the best?

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The Blaze King King takes an 8" pipe and will give you up to 40 hour burns.

Other stoves that take an 8" pipe:

Hearthstone Equinox
Vermont Castings Defiant
Several of the larger Buck stoves

Dave M said:

You guys are great! Thanks to people like you on this site, I will probably end up getting a tester to see just how good my wood really is. In any case, I dont have much choice for this year. I hate to sound cheap, but is my old dutchwest worth anything or do I just throw it out? As far as the chimney goes I think its 8 inch stovepipe. The setup doesnt look too expensive, but I am prepared to drop an extra few hundred to alter the setup if I have to. I just dont wanna go crazy on alterations right now, as winter is coming soon. Out of all the models recommended, is there a particular one that would suit my setup and needs the best?

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Depending on condition - you might try listing that old stove on CraigsList. You may get up to a few hundred dollars for it if you're lucky.

Have you thought about a Lopi Liberty?

A couple others that run 8 in. pipe
Kuma Sequioa
Country Flame BBF

The Kuma's look really well built. OP doesn't want a cat though.

I don't have a cat stove, but i wouldn't be afraid of one if I were you. The operation of a cat stove in some ways seems simpler than a non-cat, and cat stoves can burn longer. I'd seriously consider a Blaze King because they seem to have outrageously long burn times that would be really nice. There will be a learning curve with any new stove, and I don't think a cat stove will be worse in that regard.

Get your firewood now! It takes more than a year to season hardwoods and well seasoned wood is the key to operating any woodstove.

I was thinking Woodstock, mostly because of hollow hill's posts (size and type of house she's heating with it). Also, the Liberty is a nice looking stove. I second putting the old stove on CL. We got somewhere in the range of $200 for our old Fisher, and it needed firebrick and a good going over.

Dave M said:

and use the best chimney pipe I can find.

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You might want to look at Excel ICC.

Dave M said:

So far I'm leaning towards the Blaze King. I like the idea of no damper to tinker with, just a thermostat. Still researching but it looks great so far. And I think I understand what you guys are saying about the wood....and the chimney too. Buy the wood 2 years early, and use the best chimney pipe I can find.

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I think there is a bypass damper on the BKs.

BK Owners: Do you often have to adjust the bypass plate? If so, is that easily done on an insert?

This video shows adjustment at about 2:05.

Treacherous said:

I think there is a bypass damper on the BKs.

BK Owners: Do you often have to adjust the bypass plate? If so, is that easily done on an insert?

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I adjusted mine the first time I had the pipe off to brush. Only takes a minute (literally). I haven't had to since. I guess just wearing off the 'new'. It is a pretty substantial piece of metal, and just the weight of it will probably suffice anyway. No idea about the insert.

Excel pipe certainly is regarded as top of the line. It meets tougher Canadian standards. Class A pipe sold in the US has to meet HT103 standard. The basic difference is the length of time it is tested to withstand multiple chimney fires. For day to day use, you aren't going to see a difference. There is A LOT of Selkirk and Simpson pipe in use out there. Personally, I have Selkirk MetalBest from www.dynamitebuys.com

As far as the Blaze King goes, it is stupidly simple to burn. Just feed it dry wood.