Looking for a woodstove with a long burn time

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Ogeechee

New Member
Jan 2, 2014
2
Richmond Hill, GA
I want to heat 1100 to 1200 sqf open design home with exposed beam ceiling in main room (20 foot ceiling) of home. I am looking for a stove that will hold heat over night. I have been thinking about the Vogelzang Durango. I was looking for your comments on this stove and/or recommendations for a different stove. I will vent into an existing fireplace which I plan to have lined with an insulated flexible stainless 6 inch pipe. I use to heat with a Grandma fisher double door years ago in a different home. This stove had no problem heating 3000 sqft and was very efficient on wood use. Easily burned all night.
 
I've always been intrigued how vogelzang can make less costly wood burners. I've never owned one even though I've liked a lot of their products just looking at them and have thought about a box stove for my garage. the video looks interesting as I thought it appeared to be a small short stove but with a 26 in log capability, it must be pretty deep. you will find some folks here that will criticize the company, making lesser quality products. in my opinion, it boils down to necessity and cash flow. I've burned things from a home made stove made from a truck frame, a barrel stove lined with sand and fire brick and even a Consolidated Dutchwest :eek: all because of economics and money situation. I currently burn a Jotul and a Summit but it took me awhile go get into the position that allowed me to be able to purchase those. As long as you have a safe instillation and keep the required distances, burn seasoned wood and keep the maintenance/chimney cleaning up, you should have no problem. It looks like it might be a great stove.
 
The minimum stove for an over night burn is going to be a 2.0 or bigger fire box if you go with a EPA stove. With an EPA box that large it will drive you out of that 1200 sqf home unless it has poor insulation. You can always leave windows open as I did with my Fisher and still do at times with my new stove. I have never used a fan and I don't think you will need one either. The old smoke dragons did a fine job of overnight burns. They burn more wood but will heat your home just fine. There are lots of choices. Do your research and look at reviews. Don't buy a stove because its cheap. Buy the right stove for your home now and save headaches later.
 
I'd be looking at a medium sized BK considering your location. You can burn a cat stove lower and slower and BK is known for their loooong burn times.
 
There are thousands of threads on the forum about the pros and cons of all the different products available.

In order to begin seriously narrowing your options you should provide a diagram or at least measurements of your layout and options for where you plan on installing the unit.
 
Have you thought about an insert for the fireplace? Most can be had with a circulating fan that will spread the heat some.
 
Im finding it very frustrating to figure out what stove to get. I had been leaning towards an Englander either the 13 or 30 but then i started seeing people complain about ash and embers falling out when you open the stove and the crappy blowers. Then i thought maybe a US stove or maybe a Drolet Myriad and found various complaints on those. It's enough to make your head spin. Guess theres no perfect stove out there for under $1000. Im about ready to tear my hair out.
 
It may be 1100 SF but with 20 foot ceilings, it is more like heating 2000SF. Plus folks have an odd habit of not including the basement in their square footage.

Regardless, if you insist on a non-cat stove then you will need a true 2.3 or larger stove to make it overnight with some heat in the morning. You will not have much left in the morning with such a small stove but you can probably avoid starting from scratch with kindling and such. Larger non-cats do a better job of overnight but in your warm climate and smaller house, you will quickly see the side effects of an oversized stove.

If you are willing to consider a cat stove then overnight burns, and most of the next day, are very easy from a small stove.

I happen to highly value a long burn time. It is the key to a good wood burning experience for those that don't intend to dedicate horrendous amounts of time tending the fire.
 
Kinda what I was thinking....High ceilings but moderate climate, going to need something that will keep up in those few cold spells that do happen down there but something that you can turn way down the rest of the time. I'd save my pennies for a nice cat stove.
 
For a non-cat, I would look at the Pacific Energy Super 27. Easily capable of overnight burns, and then some.

Will the stove be going into the fireplace? If so, what is the lintel height?
 
Agree with others here, cat is a good option, but pricier. Bigger firebox with a cat will allow longer burning without cooking you out.

Unless used, even a smaller cat stove like the Buck 20 would run over $1500, unless somebody knows of a cheaper one, about double or even triple what you could pay for a non-cat like Englander 13.

Englander is not a cat, but ain't no dog... that's how I'd go if on the cheap.
 
it sounds like a lot of your stove choice boils down to budget/$$. one thing to take into consideration is your current expense for heat. do you have oil or electric. how much extra a month are you spending on heat currently. then, consider a great bulk of that going away because you have a wood stove doing the heavy lifting. I currently use only a couple of hundred dollars for the whole season. my last oil bill was $150....last year. So, if you consider payment of the heat bill as being significantly lower, you could apply that toward a financed stove with a longer burn and higher heat output. just another way of thinking about it. another option to think about is that at $600-700, its not an investment that breaks the bank. you can get it, if its within your budget now, try it out for a season or two and if it works for you, great. if you are not satisfied with it, you can put it up for sale on craigs list next year. since you've burned in the past and aren't new to the process, you will know if its doing the job for you or not. it might not be perfect, but it just might do the trick. jmho
 
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