BEST STOVE OPERATED? Early results! Anyone else?

snowtime · Mar 4, 2010

When I decided to upgrade the main house heating stove my requirements were a little different from most. We are snowed in most years so the stove had to be reliable.
I chose a PE T6 because
1. welded steel firebox--my experience with old steel boxes made that an easy choice. Most cast stoves that are used hard will have to be rebuilt in 10 years. I would not want to have to deal with a broken stone in a soapstone even though I love there looks. Remember I can not go to dealer for 7 months of year.
2. Stainless baffle-- I did not like the looks of most EPA baffles-- either to easy to break or take to much space from firebox--you can bump the T6 baffle and it will not be damaged.
3. Door handle latch is outside the firebox so should hold up well
4. Very easy to operate--one air control no bypass. Lights easy.
Its a convection so some do not like the soft heat from sides but we love it.
One negative is PE is coming out with porcelain and the wife is talking about upgrading. I do not look forward to this as this is one heavy stove.

Bobbin · Mar 4, 2010

I haven't operated any woodstove other than the Fireview and the new Classic in nearly 20 yrs.. If we ever move and build again I'll be all over a masonry heater, though!

At first I was sort of freaked out by the catalytic combustor (why it was there, when to "engage it", cleaning it, etc.) but I've always been a proponent of "reading the directions" and actually learning about the proper way to use tools. So I applied myself. And it was really easy! BUT, we've always had good firewood... properly seasoned, see rule #1.

The Woodstock Soapstone Co. stoves are a breeze to operate. As long as you pay attention to having quality, seasoned firewood they perform flawlessly. Great fires, lots of heat, and no smokey stink in the house.

jmhpsu93 · Mar 4, 2010

creeker said:
MY best stove is the only one I've owned. Hearthstone Phoenix is working out just right for my situation.

+1

Backwoods Savage · Mar 4, 2010

We've owned a few different stoves but none can compare with the Woodstock Fireview. I've said it before and will say it again. Our last stove was an Ashley and it could take big firewood up to 22-23" long. We could really load that sucker up, and we did. However, we also burned a lot of wood to try to keep warm. This stove will take 16" (18-19 in a pinch) and will not take wood the size we used to put into the Ashley. We probably have about 1/2 the size firebox as before. However, we now burn only half the amount of wood we used to and stay much, much warmer. In addition to that, we were constantly cleaning the chimney with the Ashley (3-4 times annually at least) but not so with the Fireview. We cleaned less than a cup of soot from the chimney after 2 years use with the Fireview and there is no creosote. What more could a family ask, other than a larger firebox?

REF1 · Mar 4, 2010

36" Catalytic Elm, from Vermont. Had a very different look to it. 3' logs. Easy to operate. Never had a problem with it, although I did put my own wood handles on it, and also changed their cat bypass rod. The company folded, but the 24" and 18" are still made by Steve Slatter, called the Wildfire Elm. If this house had a slightly deeper hearth I'd have the 24" right now. No longer cats, but vids on youtube show how well they burn.

BrotherBart · Mar 4, 2010

My favorite stove.

grommal · Mar 4, 2010

Gee, I have 24 years of heating my home with a woodstove, but only 2 stoves. I'm not sure if that means I have lots of experience or only a little.

1986 through March 2009. VC Defiant Encore cat. Of the two stoves I owned this is the worst, though I only have 1 year experience with the other one. The Encore had some good points. Beautiful styling, convenient top loading. When it worked well, it was fantastic, with long burns and clean chimney. When it was in a bad mood (often), it backpuffed and could not be stopped from doing so without burning it with the bypass open until most of the gases were gone. Naturally, this had to be done with the primary air fully closed, or it would run away. Naturally, operation like this caused plenty of creosote and ugly smoke outside. It went through combustors about every 3 years, so the pro-rated warranties on those things came in handy. Had it completely disassembled and rebuilt with new cat chamber in the rear, new secondary air system, and a replacement rear wall of the firebox because of erosion at year 10, but this did not really change its spastic behavior. Why we put up with it for 23 years is a mystery.

April 2009 through present. Jotul F500 Oslo, matte black. Only one year on it, but it's treated us better than the Encore did even when brand new. Zero problems with draft, backpuffing, temperature control, or anything. My wife is in love with this stove. The well-documented ash dumping issue with the front door is a very minor annoyance, I suppose, but it's a non issue if you side load. I did have the also well-documented sticking air lever, but a little graphite fixed it very easily and has lasted for months. If the Oslo continues to behave like it did in year 1, I'll be a very happy camper.

VCBurner · Mar 4, 2010

Franks said:
I'll have to list a few, being that I may have burned over 50 different woodstoves in the past 26 years of selling them.

First Love! The Vermont Castings Catalytic Encore. Super easy to light by cracking the ashpan (cringe) burned great, made tons of heat. I ran that with a griddle temp of 800+ degrees for weeks on end. Long burn times. Top load was very fun.

Jotul Oslo. Burned in our showroom for a few years on Long Island. Loved the side load, loved the long burn times, very easy to control, glass stayed clean, couldnt kill it.

Current favorite, the Hearthstone Mansfield. Super easy to load, very long burn times, good heat life, beautiful, glass stays clean. Lights up without any drama, shows off the secondary combustion easily. I've emptied the ash 3 times this year (only burning 3 or 4 days a week and 12 hours a day) Love the stove. I dream about finishing my basement so I can have a space large enough to stick one of those babies in.

Great to hear from an obvious professional! This is the kind of post everybody would enjoy!! Thank you!!

VCBurner · Mar 4, 2010

Todd said:
I'll just make a list of the stoves I can remember I've burned and tell you the best one is the one I burn currently.
Heatalator Fireplace growing up, one of those space ship looking cone shaped fireplace/stoves, Montgomery Wards potbelly, Woodsman airtight, Century, Lopi Answer, Energy King Legacy, Superior Heatform, Regency small, Hearthstone Homestead, Woodstock Fireview. These all spanned 4 different houses in Michigan and Wisconsin. I'm sure the next stove I buy will be even better!

Let me guess... That'll be... The new Woodstock! Great post Todd, Thanks!

VCBurner · Mar 4, 2010

Iam an electrical contractor here is SE Michigan, your about right as far as 4 or 5 years go. If I would have known it was going to be this bad this long, I would have given up a few years ago. Hey WTF, gotta keep going now!

Hanko,
I smell what you're steppin in! I have the example of my father in law, who's been in for over twenty years. He made it through the early 90's recession, when the guys who were lucky enough to have a job were getting paid 80% of the prevailing wage. He tightenned his bootstraps and rode it out, and now he's doing it again, just like the rest of us. When things are good, they are sometimes really good aren't they? Hang in there brother!

VCBurner · Mar 4, 2010

Wallyworld said:
I own 3 Sunshines, boiler plate, brick lined cigar burners, take a 2 foot stick. Don't look like much but they throw some heat and hold coals for a long time. I have new EPA Jotul Oslo in camp, sucker is nice but won't take a 2 foot stick, doesn't light as easy, but will throw some heat once going. I'll take my old simple stoves over the new stuff

My old stove beats the snott out of my new stove, as far as heat output. The box was half the size but it heats fast, really fast! It had short burn times, was hard to load, and probably burned through more wood (yet to be seen, I'll have to compare numbers next year.)

VCBurner · Mar 5, 2010

snowtime said:
I chose a PE T6
One negative is PE is coming out with porcelain and the wife is talking about upgrading. I do not look forward to this as this is one heavy stove.

Most of us wish we had that problem! My wife doesn't even want to hear the words stove and upgrade in the same sentence. ;-P The T6 is a beauty, I bet it would look fantastic with the enamel! I love the sliding mitten warmers and the whole look of the stove!

VCBurner · Mar 5, 2010

Bobbin said:
I haven't operated any woodstove other than the Fireview and the new Classic in nearly 20 yrs.. If we ever move and build again I'll be all over a masonry heater, though!

At first I was sort of freaked out by the catalytic combustor (why it was there, when to "engage it", cleaning it, etc.) but I've always been a proponent of "reading the directions" and actually learning about the proper way to use tools. So I applied myself. And it was really easy! BUT, we've always had good firewood... properly seasoned, see rule #1.

The Woodstock Soapstone Co. stoves are a breeze to operate. As long as you pay attention to having quality, seasoned firewood they perform flawlessly. Great fires, lots of heat, and no smokey stink in the house.

I'm freaked out about the catalyst now! Similar concearns you had, mine's no Woodstock Fireview, though! I hear they are really easy to learn and a great stove all around. Plus the looks are unmatched in my opinion! Although, I love my Dutchwest, I'll get better results next year with properly seasoned wood.

VCBurner · Mar 5, 2010

REF1 said:
36" Catalytic Elm, from Vermont. Had a very different look to it. 3' logs. Easy to operate. Never had a problem with it, although I did put my own wood handles on it, and also changed their cat bypass rod. The company folded, but the 24" and 18" are still made by Steve Slatter, called the Wildfire Elm. If this house had a slightly deeper hearth I'd have the 24" right now. No longer cats, but vids on youtube show how well they burn.

I've seen the Elms on-line. They are very unique. I've seen the youtube videos of Steve retrofitting the secondary burn into the old ones. They are a sight to behold. Almost like a cross between those incredibly ornate antique rebuids and a cast iron jet engine! :coolgrin: Nice looking stoves!

Bobbin · Mar 5, 2010

Catalytic combustors are no big deal. Read the directions and follow them.

They're no big deal; even less of one if you're a committed or an experienced wood burner. No brainer, really.

VCBurner · Mar 5, 2010

BrotherBart said:
My favorite stove.

LMAO

! :lol: Only you ,Bart, could come up with something like this! Is that what you do with your junk mail in the morning?

VCBurner · Mar 5, 2010

Bobbin said:
Catalytic combustors are no big deal. Read the directions and follow them.

They're no big deal; even less of one if you're a committed or an experienced wood burner. No brainer, really.

I'm having a hard time getting it to burn the semi seasoned wood. But this was no secret, I knew the story about the newer stoves and wet wood. Next year will be better! I underestimated the wood consumption for this year. Typical, rookie maneuver!

grommal · Mar 5, 2010

Bobbin said:
Catalytic combustors are no big deal. Read the directions and follow them.

They're no big deal; even less of one if you're a committed or an experienced wood burner. No brainer, really.

For me, it wasn't the combustor that was a big deal. It was the stupid, restricted, turn-back-on-itself-and-flow-downward smoke pathway in the back of a VC cat that made backpuffing just part of life in our installation. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a cat from Woodstock if I were interested in a soapstone stove.

VCBurner · Mar 5, 2010

grommal said:
For me, it wasn't the combustor that was a big deal. It was the stupid, restricted, turn-back-on-itself-and-flow-downward smoke pathway in the back of a VC cat that made backpuffing just part of life in our installation. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a cat from Woodstock if I were interested in a soapstone stove.

By no means am I insinuating that the Woodstock is a bad stove. But i've recently heard a member mention that his stove top blew open due to a backpuffing incident. Pretty scary, when the pressure is enough to move a 45 pound piece of stone and cast iron frame. Is this one of those things that just happen with catalytic stoves? It sounds like cats should have some sort of emergency intake valve that activates when the cat can't combust the gasses inside the stoves. This was the first time I'd heard of backpuffing with a Woodstock Fireview, but someone else mentioned backpuffing with a Keystone.

Slow1 · Mar 5, 2010

VCBurner said:
grommal said:

For me, it wasn't the combustor that was a big deal. It was the stupid, restricted, turn-back-on-itself-and-flow-downward smoke pathway in the back of a VC cat that made backpuffing just part of life in our installation. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a cat from Woodstock if I were interested in a soapstone stove.

Click to expand...

By no means am I insinuating that the Woodstock is a bad stove. But i've recently heard a member mention that his stove top blew open due to a backpuffing incident. Pretty scary, when the pressure is enough to move a 45 pound piece of stone and cast iron frame. Is this one of those things that just happen with catalytic stoves? It sounds like cats should have some sort of emergency intake valve that activates when the cat can't combust the gasses inside the stoves. This was the first time I'd heard of backpuffing with a Woodstock Fireview, but someone else mentioned backpuffing with a Keystone.

Heh, well keep in mind that not everyone is burning 60+ year old cedar mixed in with pallet wood as Texas Boy is. Any stove can experience backpuffing - cat or non-cat. I have no idea if one is more likely than the other. My old VC Encore NC did it quite a bit actually. I have had a few small ones (even a the steady series of them situation) with my Fireview. Nothing anywhere near what Texas Boy reported though! Got a little smoke smell in the room, never saw the smoke or had any smoke/CO alarms go off. I decided my issue was due to insufficient draft (relatively warmer day and perhaps less than ideal chimney length). So I added 3' to my chimney and haven't had any problems since, then again it got colder which likely improved draft and also gave me incentive to burn hotter... so perhaps after the spring shoulder season I'll know if the issue really was cured. Note that there is a good article on the issue available on the Woodstock website.

In any case, I'm pretty confident that this is not unique to cat stoves and that it can be corrected in most cases.

VCBurner · Mar 5, 2010

Slow1 said:
Heh, well keep in mind that not everyone is burning 60+ year old cedar mixed in with pallet wood as Texas Boy is.

ha!ha! :lol: This is true.

Any stove can experience backpuffing - cat or non-cat. I have no idea if one is more likely than the other.

It seems to have a lot to do with higher temps and low pressure outside too. I heard a lot less about it in January.

My old VC Encore NC did it quite a bit actually.

Funny that VC's seem to get a bad rap for this common occurence. The Dutchwest has a completely different design than the Encore and still gets beat up over the backpuffing. As a prior VC owner you must have experienced a significant drop in backpuff frequency with your Woodstock.

I have had a few small ones (even a the steady series of them situation) with my Fireview. Nothing anywhere near what Texas Boy reported though! Got a little smoke smell in the room, never saw the smoke or had any smoke/CO alarms go off. I decided my issue was due to insufficient draft (relatively warmer day and perhaps less than ideal chimney length). So I added 3' to my chimney

souds like your VC could have benefitted from that too, no?

and haven't had any problems since, then again it got colder which likely improved draft and also gave me incentive to burn hotter... so perhaps after the spring shoulder season I'll know if the issue really was cured. Note that there is a good article on the issue available on the Woodstock website.

In any case, I'm pretty confident that this is not unique to cat stoves and that it can be corrected in most cases.

I'll have to look up Woodstocks view on the backpuffing. I'd love to give one of the Fireviews a shot. In my opinion, they are beautiful stoves and keep some of the happiest owners on the market today.
Thanks for your valuable input!

Slow1 · Mar 5, 2010

VCBurner said:
Any stove can experience backpuffing - cat or non-cat. I have no idea if one is more likely than the other.

Click to expand...

It seems to have a lot to do with higher temps and low pressure outside too. I heard a lot less about it in January.

It seems a lot of backpuffing is related to insufficient airflow through the stove. Negative pressure in the stove room, insufficient draft, or perhaps poor stove design. Colder weather clearly can help increase draft so I imagine many folks with marginal draft will see improvements as it gets colder. Also we tend to run the stove harder, i.e. with more air, and thus get less issues. For me I only have seen the puffing in the FV when running at very low settings, perhaps marginally too low - barely in the 'worth burning' range - surface temp at 300 when cat min is 250 and with less than full loads. So I honestly am not all that excited about the issue. I may never burn that way again as I'm learning to just go with larger burns and let the hot stones coast for the rest of the day rather than try and have a fire burning for 24hrs.

VCBurner said:
My old VC Encore NC did it quite a bit actually.

Click to expand...

Funny that VC's seem to get a bad rap for this common occurence. The Dutchwest has a completely different design than the Encore and still gets beat up over the backpuffing. As a prior VC owner you must have experienced a significant drop in backpuff frequency with your Woodstock.

Absolutely. And nowhere near the level of violence that I had with the VC. I would have the smoke blowing out of every joint and the top plate clanging on the VC. Fixing the issue there meant disengaging bypass and fiddling for a while. Fixing the issue with the FV has been a matter of just giving it a bit more air and it is fixed for that burn.

VCBurner said:
I have had a few small ones (even a the steady series of them situation) with my Fireview. Nothing anywhere near what Texas Boy reported though! Got a little smoke smell in the room, never saw the smoke or had any smoke/CO alarms go off. I decided my issue was due to insufficient draft (relatively warmer day and perhaps less than ideal chimney length). So I added 3' to my chimney

Click to expand...

souds like your VC could have benefitted from that too, no?

Perhaps. However, I was running under the impression that I had too much draft for the stove most of the winter. I kept having runaway fires etc. In retrospect I wonder if that stove had some leak(s) that I was unable to find. I can't tell you how many times I did the $ bill test on the gaskets trying to find one that was too loose thinking that I'd find a problem there. Oh well, it is history - my takeaway is that the particular stove I had was not well suited for my home.

VCBurner said:
Thanks for your valuable input!

No problem - rather enjoy the conversation!

And to steal a line from Backwoods Savage aka Dennis - Have I mentioned how much less wood I'm burning?

VCBurner · Mar 5, 2010

Slow1: 05 March 2010 09:00 AM
No problem - rather enjoy the conversation!
And to steal a line from Backwoods Savage aka Dennis - Have I mentioned how much less wood I’m burning?

Thanks Slow1,
I enjoyed our chat also!
As I said, I would love to join the ranks. Unfortunately, at the present time, the cost of a brand new Fireview would not fit with our finances. Although, if there was a stove I would spend that much on, it would be the Woodstocks. Maybe I'm better off waiting until I can afford such a cost, by then they'll have the new model on the market! That would be a purchase I would consider making for life. Until that point I'll have to run with what I have. Wood heating has done a great deal for me this season. Without it, I don't know how we could have afforded the cost of heating! It has also kept body and mind in motion, which for me avoided lots of stress thinking about the haves and have nots. The bad news was, I've worked 11 out of the past 26 months. The good news is, I just received a phone call from a job steward requiring my presence on Monday morning. Consigli construction needs a few guys to install mill work at a new UMASS Memorial Hospital building. Furthermore, the bonus that after this job is done, they will need to man up a job in Cambridge. This could prove to be a really lucrative run! Thanks again for the conversation.

Hanko, you must have sent some positive thoughts my way! Hope your situation picks up too. If union jobs are any indication that things are looking better, which they normally are, all of the trades will start picking up!! Good luck !!!

!

VCBurner · Mar 6, 2010

OK! I think it's time for a review. Lots of grest answers!
I'll go in the order that the votes came in;
Dutchwest2461
Hearthstone Homestead
Herathstone Phoenix 2 votes
Jotul Oslo 3 votes
Woodstock Fireview 4 votes
VC Encore 1rst love vote
Hearthstone Mansfield
Sunshine
PE T6
Woodstock Classic
Elm Stove 36"
and one very unique Mail Box Stove by BrotherBart!!

The Woodstock Fireview is in the lead with 4 happy owners! Jotul Oslo in second place with 3 votes.

I've enjoyed all the posts and still look forward to some more input. Where are all the Blaze King owners? How about the Englander, Equinox, Summit, owners?

SolarAndWood · Mar 6, 2010

24 hr burn cycles now, 12 when its cold and/or blowing. Burns high and low equally well. Thermostat removes all the guesswork and tending. I can't imagine an easier stove to operate unless it fed itself.

BEST STOVE OPERATED? Early results! Anyone else?

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