Osburn 2300 fancy Drolet Myriad

Hey Woodscout,

Welcome to the forum. I have the Osburn 2400 insert. It's a great stove. Fyrebug, one of the members here works for SBI. He may be able to answer your question for you. It may help to search the reviews section of the site and see what others have said about the two stoves. Hope that helps.

This stove is also made by SBI..... I think it falls somewhere in the middle of the 'Drolet' and 'Osburn' lines.....

http://www.flame-intl.com/product.aspx?CategoId=7&Id=457

I believe we've had a thread on this before. Yes SBI and other MFG use the same firebox for various models/brands.

The reason for this? It's very expensive and time consuming to design, prototype, test, certify (EPA, UL etc..) a firebox. So while a firebox might be identical things will change for each brand. For ex. Osburn will have refractory bricks (vs pumice), top plate steel might be thicker, More customizable look, different baffle system, better warranty, blower might be included etc...

Think of it this way, GM makes a vast multitude of car models across various brands. However they may have only a few engines for all these models. They tune these engines differently for all the models.

For wood stoves, the performance will stay the same across the fire box no matter the brand. Therefore, it is up to the consumer to decide what is important. Is value/Lower cost fairly important? Then Drolet will fit the bill and it is typically to be found in a Big Box store where the customer base are more cost conscious. Are looks and all the other things a brand like Osbun offers take on more importance? This brand is to be found at specialty dealers where your will typically receive more support & install service.

Both brand will serve you well.

Woodscout said:

Thanks to ALL!.. I'm really leaning now toward the Napoleon 1900P

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Any particular reason?

I have an Osburn 2300 and it throws heat like you can't imagine. I heat 2900 sqft with it. Stove is in the basement of a 2 story bungalow. It has a HUGE glass window in a cast iron door (which most epa stoves don't) and a nice bypass damper to prevent smoke roll out when reloading. It's a little

I know tons of guys who have been heating with wood for 20-40 years. However, none of them took my advice and came to this forum when it came to learning how to use EPA stoves. They complain all the time that new stoves don't heat properly, bla bla bla. I try giving them tips and they never want to listen!

You could look at the Osburn 2400 which would give a good run for it's money to the Napoleon 1900.

I didn't think there was more than 5 wood stove companies before I came on this forum. Now I don't have enough fingers and toes to count them all...

Andrew

Something to consider when making the purchase: Napoleon notoriously have poor customer service with home owners. They only work directly with dealers. I had a napoleon and they completely ignored me.

really kid? i seriously never heard that napoleon had that bad service! good to know.

Yeah if you do a search of the forum of Napoleon customer service- you'll see I'm not the only one who had that experience. But if you have a good dealer that may be a non issue.

Woodscout: Unfortunately I can't comment on the 1900. I don't have one and I don't know anybody that has one. DaFattKidd mentioned that customer service can be an issue but if you buy it from a good dealer it shouldn't be a problem.

I can tell you, however, that I love the bypass damper. I some times have negative pressure (basement is well sealed) and have a downdraft in my chimney. I open a window nearby for 5 minutes to let the pressure settle. I open the damper, stack the wood, light a newspaper torch and place it near the back. The heat goes straight up the pipes with the damper open and helps warm the flue.

HOwever this year I will have my air exchanger installed (in the basement) and will put a positive pressure downstairs to help prevent this. My chimney goes straight through my foundation wall and up the outside of the house: not an ideal setup for good draft.

Here is a picture of my house setup. The red dot is where the stove would be located (downstairs) so it gives an idea how it heats.

My wife some times hates the stove because it heats too much. She doesn't like sleeping in a hot bedroom and when it's 24 degree in the bedroom, 23 degrees upstairs and 29 degrees downstairs, she doesn't go to bed with a big smile but I do! We end up opening the bedroom window when it's -20 outside!

Andrew

If you want an even bigger osburn heater, there's the 2400. I found it was simply too wide for my liking, I prefered the 2300.

I bet the 1900 is a damn good stove. As a matter of fact, I almost bought a 1450 but then was leaning towards a 1900 and in the end got the Osburn 2300.

Napoleon are right up there with North American stove manufacturers.

BeGreen is right: try to exceed minimum clearances. After all, it's a MINIMUM. Most of all, happy wife, happy life!

Andrew

What does the Osburn baffle look like? Is it similar to PE stoves, I know it's stainless. I'd take a good stainless baffle over the ceramic board any day of the week. The bypass is another great feature and if your wife approves of the Osburn I think it should be a done deal. The stove is going to pay for itself eventually anyways.

Woodscout said:

Swedishchef

My wife says (based on your description about heating your house - above) she bets that your Osburn 2300 puts out more heat if not equal to that the Napoleon 1900P.
I'm somewhat inclineded to scratch my head on that one just for a moment, given that the specs are somewhat simular. Comments?....

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They are about the same stove. Claimed firebox sizes is 3.0 for the Nap and 3.1 for the Osburn. Should burn about the same. Pretty much it would come down to the little difference; visual appeal, cost, dealer location, etc... some things are more important to some buyers.

BeGreen,
As requested, here's a picture of the Osburn 2300 baffle. My photography skills are not the greatest, especially at 6 am!
You can tell it's stainless steel and is not removable (from what I can see....)

Andrew

Is there an isulation blanket above or inside the baffle?

I honestly don't have a clue if there was one or not. It was installed last year and I never noticed if there was one. However, I plan on sweeping in the next few weeks and will find out! BUt something tells me that there's none....the baffle is some kind of heat resistant to 2100F type baffle. Then again, there must be one otherwise the stovetop would overheat!
Andrew