Northern California Stove Options

begreen · Oct 23, 2011

OK, got enough info to decide that a good fit would be the Woodstock Fireview (if it passes approval). If not, tell us what is the guiding aesthetic?

ddddddden · Oct 23, 2011

I think you were on-the-money with the Princess pick, BG. If I had no hardwood available, I would want something larger than the Fireview, like the Princess or the Progress, a very attractive cat stove about the size of the Princess.

begreen · Oct 23, 2011

That would have been my first choice, but it there may be other deciding factors. If she likes the Fireview, have at it. There is a great sale right now.

Heftiger · Oct 26, 2011

What do you guys thing about the QuadraFire Isle Royale? I like the looks of this stove and it seems to have longish burn times. Does anybody have experience with this?

Pagey · Oct 26, 2011

You'll find many happy Isle Royale users here. They are certainly easy on the eyes!

begreen · Oct 26, 2011

The Isle Royale is a great stove. It's well made and a strong radiant heater. It might work out with mostly softwood burning. It maybe not ideal for the long, low heat, shoulder season burning like the Fireview. But it can be done. When it's cold outside, this stove delivers the heat.

branchburner · Oct 26, 2011

Heftiger said:
BeGreen said:

Given the parameters, I would be looking into a cat stove. The suggestion for a Woodstock Keystone is a good one. In the BK line, have you looked at the Chinook?

Click to expand...

I looked at that one as well. My wife doesn't like the design. Surprisingly she actually like the look of the BKK. My father-in-law has an old 1980's BKK so I'm basing my decisions off the look of that; I'm assuming not much has changed.

I might end up going with the BKK just because I need long burn times with not the greatest wood. I figure the 40 hour burn time for the BKK is with the best wood (40 MBTU per cord) and ideal conditions. Lodgepole Pine is more like 20MBTU per cord. So I figure I can get 20 hours of burn time if i'm lucky, maybe more like 15 stuffed full. 15 hours burn time seems ideal for me. That gives me enough time to sleep in on weekends and still not have to load the fire first thing in the morning.

Either way I'm holding out this winter with my Efel Oil stove, so hopefully by the time I buy next year Blaze King will have their new line of stoves out and I might like those better.

I really do like the looks of the Hearthstone soapstone stoves and the VC Defiant. They just don't seem to have the burn times I need.

Again, thanks for all the great input!

The Woodstock will give fairly long burn times, thanks to being catalytic, but will also have the added feature of a bit more residual heat after the fire goes out, thanks to being soapstone. Depending on your situation, your house may also retain warmth for some time after the fire goes out, so the main downside to somewhat shorter burn times may simply be the inconvenience of building a new fire. If I was looking for long burn times for a fairly small house, think I'd narrow my search to only catalytic stoves more in the medium size range. A big stove may give long burn times but may also cook you out of the place.

Heftiger · Sep 19, 2012

Hi again!

I thought I would update this thread with some more info.

I got my BKK Classic installed about a month ago and can't wait to light it! My father-in-law replaced his 1980's BKK with a new classic model last winter and you just can't argue with the results.

I've started cutting and splitting my own wood. I'm already addicted and I haven't even gotten to use the stove.

I'll post some pictures some time this weekend.

Thanks again for all the help!!

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Northern California Stove Options

begreen

Mooderator

ddddddden

Minister of Fire

begreen

Mooderator

Heftiger

Feeling the Heat

Pagey

Minister of Fire

begreen

Mooderator

branchburner

Minister of Fire

Heftiger

Feeling the Heat

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