Pedestal VS. Legs

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dmmoss51

Feeling the Heat
Oct 28, 2013
355
Michigan
OK I noticed most of the NEW EPA Stoves (example Englander) have your choice of setup as either a Pedistal or on Legs. Other than appearance, is there advantages or disadvantages to either configuration?
 
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I prefer legs because it is my belief that convection air is pulled under the stove and up the heat shield in the back of the stove better. But no science to prove it.
 
I feel legs gives more stability.

Was about to write that, before I read it. A stove on a pedestal just looks like you bump against it the wrong way with enough force or put too much weight on an edge or corner and it could tip over.
 
I think legs are better on a somewhat uneven surface, like my natural stone hearthpad. On tile, they're probably the same, but since my hearth pad is made from stones that aren't the same thickness, there are variations in height, so we have the little adjusters on the legs set to different heights to make it all even. A pedestal would probably wobble or would need some sort of shimming.

And I like the look of the legs better.
 
The pedestals do a better job of hiding the ugly, useless, ash pan that stove makers insist on forcing onto us. I like the legs better but only on a stove without a dangling noot sac ash pan.
 
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I'm a legs guy, myself.

I doubt that there is much of an advantage/disadvantage to either choice barring the adjustment ability spoken about by E-cottage. The reality is that you are gonna have to lean or bump pretty darn hard to tip over 400 pounds worth of steel that has a center of gravity of 2.5 feet.
 
stove style has alot to do with legs or pedestal too. The ornate stoves would be best with legs, the modern looking stoves probably could have either.
 
I have my NC-30 on the pedestal. Not thrilled with how it looks, but now that it's installed, it seems like too much of a PITA to switch over to legs. Maybe this summer.
 
I never liked the look of pedestals in the first place.
 
I've always been able to find some legs that look really great. Some even feel good but the same can not be said about the pedestal... ;)
 
The Pedestal can hide an OAK where you come up through the floor inside it on some stoves but I am a bigger fan of legs.
 
Legs are taller on the 30 making it a little more user friendly IMO for my circumstance. I like how they look and, as mentioned, more adjustable on an uneven hearth like mine.
 
I chose legs because I thought it would look more a piece of furniture and not so utilitarian. It also allowed me to give my new stove a custom paint job. IMG_4274 - Copy.JPG
 
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The Pedestal can hide an OAK where you come up through the floor inside it on some stoves but I am a bigger fan of legs.
This is the main reason I chose a pedestal. Otherwise, its just a matter of preference. This pedestal mount is completely stable. I don't think that's an issue.
 
I prefer legs, b'cause they just look better. A pedestal stove looks most at home in a house like this:

Rosanne.jpg
 
I have one of each. My shop stove's on a pedestal because legs weren't an option. My house stove's on legs because I could order it that way. I like them both just fine the way they are. I wouldn't put a pedestal under my Lopi, nor would I put legs on my little Century. They both look just right the way they are. And good luck trying to "tip over" the Century with a "bump". It's every bit as stable as the Lopi on 4 legs. Rick

liberty.jpg shopstove.jpg
 
Having moved my last 30-NC off the trailer and down ramps into the basement on the ped it came on I can tell ya the ped is as stable as legs. It didn't dump off the ramps onto the floor. Or me.
 
Yeah, our Lopi Heritage Bay DV stove in our Old House had a pedestal (well, has a pedestal, it's still there). I would have prefered a stove with legs but it wasn't available on that model. And it's not tippy at all, very stable. I think it would be unstable on an uneven surface, but it's flat on a wood floor so it's pretty solid.
 
Legs all the way unless you have something to hide and one less thing to clean.
It seems I heard somewhere that some stoves require a higher r value hearth pad with legs versus a pedestal? My stove particular I liked the pedestal cause it sat higher and hid the oak.
 
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