13nc or 30 nc to heat 1500sqft southeast oklahoma

I have a small 2 CU ft stove just like the 13 and you will get tired loading it so often. Get the 30 and call it a day.At $649 It cost less than a single 250 gal tank of heating oil and last 100 times longer.

Get 2 cords of wood RIGHT NOW

I got the NC13 last fall, but didn't have a good supply of wood. (And, no, ash does NOT season 2 weeks after being split. I banked on that, and I now know it is NOT true. I don't care what anyone says about king's slippers.)

I would have gone with the NC30, but we just didn't have the space in our house for one.

In any case, I was disappointed with my stove experience this winter, but I am pretty certain it was because of the quality of my wood. (It shouldn't sizzle.) I've had several cords split and stacked since the fall, so I expect next winter's experience to be MUCH better.

If you're buying wood, I recommend buying wood in the spring for the following winter, meaning buy wood in April 2014 to start burning in Nov 2015. These stoves seem very picky about wood having a moisture content of <20%.

begreen said:

The new Englander Madison has an ember -protection-only hearth requirement, but it is also a 3 cu ft stove. Another stove to consider might be the PE True North TN19. It's 2 cu ft, has an EPO hearth requirement and under $1000.

another shot of the Madison:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/hpb-expo-news.125755/#post-1689020

PE TN 19:
http://pacificenergy.net/products/wood/fireplaces-2/truenorth/

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the Madison should be released this summer, only reason its not available yet is we are waiting for the serial number tags to be shipped to us, they have to be approved by the testing agency (to make sure all the pertinent info is present on the tag, then they can be printed and serialized and shipped to us. it will be very soon. I suspect it will be available in about a month at most for special order and should show up in stores which stock us when they take their host orders in june/july or so.

BG its a 2.45 CF firebox, we are working on a 3CF plus smartstove as well but its still in development

its all good bro, I appreciate the plug

FACT: The NC30 is a beast

FACT: A well insulated 1500SF house isn't tough to heat

FACT: getting an "overnight burn" from an NC30 would require you to fill it up

FACT: A full NC30 will produce a ton of heat MY OPINION: probably too much heat

FACT: Assuming you know what you're doing, with a NC13 you'll have plenty of coals to scrape together in the morning thereby eliminating the need to restart your fire

Bigg_Redd said:

FACT: The NC30 is a beast

FACT: A well insulated 1500SF house isn't tough to heat

FACT: getting an "overnight burn" from an NC30 would require you to fill it up

FACT: A full NC30 will produce a ton of heat MY OPINION: probably too much heat
FACT: Assuming you know what you're doing, with a NC13 you'll have plenty of coals to scrape together in the morning thereby eliminating the need to restart your fire every morning

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I've been watching this thread,and have to agree. I know for a FACT that too big isn't good. I'd rather run a small stove hard than have one that's too big and have smoldering fires. Overheating a space is not comfortable or efficient. Just an opinion.

I think you exactly know the problem. Ideally you are better off with a catalytic stove to meet your low burn/ burn time expectations. I would probably try to make that your final selection. I know Woodstock sells refurbished stoves at a healthy discount -a little more than double of what to expect to pay for the Englander but much less than the BlazeKing- that might be an option.


I think the NC30 is overkill in a well insulated house especially when I am surmising the normal high low is around 50-30 in the dead of winter for you. Since finances are tight and for a stop gap measure I think I would buy an NC 13 and accept the fact you will have more startups and will probably 5-10% of the time the need for supplemental heat so make sure you buy your propane in the summer.

Silenced38 said:

Mabe somebody can tell me thier burn time. Coal to coal in the 13 with good hard wood. Oak and hickory.
Im cutting standing dead trees. That died last summer. I think if i get c/s/s this spring itll be ready this winter. But i have to cut twice as much. To get on that 2 year rotation. Agin i want to tell everybody thanks. All my wood burning has been old smoke dragons. Im having to relearn how to burn for epa stoves.

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@Silenced38: I am a newbie- burning an Englander 13 for exactly 1 week now. This is what I would like to add to your discussion:

1) With 2.5 year-old black locust wood (a VERY good wood to burn, by the way), I have gotten as long as 6 hrs 45 minutes from starting a fire to having a few coals remaining to re-start a fire just by placing new wood splits on top. Most of my fires go only 6 hours from wood to "re-light-able" coals - the top of the stove stays warm. Only once did it go 6 hrs 45 min. Once it only went 4 hrs 30 minutes- I am still learning the air control.

2) With 100% SILVER Maple wood (a "junk" tree) that was Cut, Split, and Stacked (CSS) 2.5 years ago, I get no more than 4 hours from starting a fire to having a few coals remaining to re-start. I burned this wood twice- first time I got 3 hrs 30 minutes.

I wanted to comment on your thoughts about your wood supply: I think you are too optimistic about cutting standing dead trees now, cutting, splitting, and stacking later this spring, and having that wood ready for THIS coming winter of 2014-2015. Even if the tree is already "dead", I believe the "clock" does not start until it is split and stacked to season properly. Everyone here will tell you hardwoods need 2 years (and ideally 3 years) to season. Softer woods like poplar may get you ready for THIS coming winter of 2014-2015, but no way for oak wood, nor for locust wood.

Again, until a week ago my only experience burning wood was as a boy scout ("find some dead branches and just throw that stuff onto the already raging smoking fire") or with experienced college room mates in Washington, DC. My travels in India and Vietnam saw a lot of people burning bamboo with more smoke than heat.

For my purposes, it is no big deal to re-start a fire. I don't use kindling and tiny splits, etc. I live in the city- I just light a small fire starter and place it right under some of the bark on one of the splits. I don't use the whole pre-cut fire starter...I found that 1/4 of the normal amount is all I need. So I take the fire-starter brick and cut it up into fourths.

Good luck!

EDIT: Changed correct name of wood to "silver maple"- which does not hold many BTUs and burns up very quickly in my firebox.

Did you rule out the Super 27? If you did, un-rule it out. Using Fir and Alder and Bigleaf Maple and Hemlock I routinely get 12+ hours between reloads.

Also, no cat to fuss with and probably about $1000 less than the Princess.

RickBlaine said:

With 100% Sugar Maple wood (a "junk" tree)

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Thanks, Rick, for that detailed report. One quibble: Sugar maple is a very good firewood tree with about 24 mill. BTU per cord. Somewhere between ash and oak. Maybe you are confusing it with silver maple which is the "softwood" relative. Sugar maple can get punky relatively easily though, when not cut and split in time.

RickBlaine said:

Even if the tree is already "dead", I believe the "clock" does not start until it is split and stacked to season properly.

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According to a semi-professional tree cutting acquaintance, cutting dead trees for firewood is like a lottery. Some will be drier than live trees, others will still be plenty wet. The crown is usually the drier part and having a moisture meter around while splitting helps to sort the pile appropriately.

Grisu said:

Thanks, Rick, for that detailed report. One quibble: Sugar maple is a very good firewood tree with about 24 mill. BTU per cord. Somewhere between ash and oak. Maybe you are confusing it with silver maple which is the "softwood" relative. Sugar maple can get punky relatively easily though, when not cut and split in time.

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Ouch! I am sorry, I meant silver maple in my original post- I will edit it now. Thanks for catching that. Lesson learned- don't type while eating pancakes with maple syrup. Thanks Grisu.

Silenced38 said:

On side note that may make some of the soft wood burners mad. Up till i started burning to supplement heat. I would cut oaks and hickory in the summer. just to have bon fires to stand around and drink in the winter. Well live and learn.

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I have no problem with this.

Silenced38 said:

If anyone us still watching this thread. I bought an englander madison today. I did the first break in burn today, outside. With a temp outside temp of 88 and 5' flue. It was hard to get up to the 300 deg first burn. But want to get the break in burns done before i move it inside.

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Congrats and welcome to the club! Smart to get those early fires out of the way.

We expect a nice, detailed review and pictures please!