RE: Who else was in the running?

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firefighterjake

firefighterjake

Minister of Fire
Jul 22, 2008
19,588
Unity/Bangor, Maine
Dennis posted something recently that got me thinking . . . he mentioned how he was looking at another stove before he ended up buying his Woodstock Fireview. Made me wonder what other stoves folks had in their final picks before they brought home "the one."

I'll start . . .

I was looking long and hard at a Hearthstone Heritage or Phoenix as well as one of the T-series stoves from Pacific Energy.

Ended up bringing home the Jotul Oslo.
 
I was looking at an Oslo as well as a couple of Lopi stoves. I had never even heard of half the names thrown around this site when I bought my current stove. No regrets though. Although I still have an itch to strike a match on a Blaze King King. (I just wish they weren't so darn ugly :coolsmirk: )
 
Liked the Jotul Kennebec but decided it was not worth ~$500 more than the others. Wanted to go for the Regency I2400 insert but had not a good experience with the dealer. Ended up with the PE Super insert and like it a lot so far.
 
Consolidated Dutchwest with a warped side wall and a "blown through" lower back wall and a missing cat. It got HOT! Was willing to rebuild it but no parts available. Ended it's life in a scrap yard. Probably part of a Kia now. Put a deposit on an Oslo but my hearth pad was 2" too short.
 
Gosh Jake, you must be assuming my memory banks are still intact! They aren't all there any more.

The Lopi Leyden and Hearthstone Heritage and another Hearthstone but don't remember which one. There was also another stove or two that we liked but it basically boiled down to the Hearthstone, Lopi or the Woodstock Fireview. Since we bought the Fireview I have really been pleased because it is such a wonderful stove but also have read enough about problems with the others that it really makes us happy we went like we did.
 
Well, we first bought the Encore NC... lasted one season, then decided to go for a different stove. Fell in love with the Fireview but truth be known, we had all sorts of literature about Blaze Kings printed out and were debating a King or Princess - all the way up to and including the drive we took to visit the folks at Woodstock when we finally decided to buy the Fireview (a long drive for us). I'm still pretty sure that from a heat point of view the BKs would have done us well - but the wife would not have been happy with the looks (and as you know that is very important).
 
And then Slow1 turned around and drove back to Woodstock in September just so he could enjoy some bbq and free beer!
 
I was dead set on a Hearthston Heritage, or Phoenix. Then the Jotul caught my eye. Went to two differnt dealers and looked at the stoves. my wife and I both chose the Oslo, so far we are very pleased.
 
I had been looking around since mid summer planning to buy a new stove after the coming season was over. When I fired the old stove in late September after re-gasketing, re-painting and installing a new baffle and liner in the summer I discovered a hidden cracked weld in the firebox behind the baffle. In two or three days I was going to go into town and buy the Hearthstone Clydesdale on the dealers showroom floor. That night I was looking around on the web and discovered the 30-NC. From a company that I knew of for many years and it was sized right to be that big honkin free standing stove I always wanted in that fireplace. Drove all over the area the next day and couldn't get anybody to sell me one. Got on the phone and ended up having one shipped out of Boulder, Colorado.

Of course, naturally, six weeks later a beautiful new Jotul insert still in the crate showed up for sale six miles from my house. Asking price seven hundred dollars.
 
I considered a Quad Cumberland Gap, Hearthstone Shelburne, and High Valley 2500 before picking the Jotul Oslo.
 
Quad Isle Royale was the top contender. Jotul F600 and PE Summit also. I had a friend that wanted to give me a barely used Encore cat, but then the Alderlea came knocking on our door at a good price and the rest is history.
 
Isle Royal from Quadra Fire was my first choice - very nice looking stove but wouldn't fit for our specific hearth install.
 
Looked at the Morso classic stoves (3440, 7110, & 3610) to replace our cracked 1125. They newer styles didn't do it for me, and the wife wasn't too stoked either. Went to a different shop set on getting a Jotul Castine, but ended up walking out with a Hearthstone Shelburne in "Basil" enamel (almost same color as our Morso 1125)...

Love our stove, but if i had to do it over, i would probably get an Oslo for the bigger firebox (than the Shelburne).
 
It was a shock when we saw how many stoves there were. We were going from a smoke dragon and needed an extremely reliable stove as wood is our only source of heat and we are snowed in most winters. My DW loved the soapstone look. After doing the necessary research I decided the soapstone would be too difficult in shoulder season and might not do well with high temps. Most cast iron had heat issues and needed rebuilt after 10 years which probably would be 5 for us. The PE had a good strong welded steel firebox surrounded with a cast shell. Seemed perfect for us as I was confident the fire box would take the continuous high temps in deep winter and the cast was not glued so no rebuild in future. We are very happy with our choice.
 
We considered a Quadrafire Mt. Vernon pellet stove first. I am so glad I went with wood.

I wanted a Lopi Liberty or a PE Summit, but we ended up with a kozyheat z42 because the wife didn't want a free standing stove and extended hearth. I have no regrets. It was a smart purchase.
 
I went into the store thinking about a red enamel Vermont Castings. There are different model stoves? Who knew?

The dealer was pushing a Dutchwest Neverburn. Then I came here, did some reading and ran away.
 
I started by reading this forum....so I checked out the NC-30, Jotul Oslo, and even a Quadra-Fire 4300. But I really wanted a Fireview which is what I found on Craigslist. But I think any of the ones listed here would have been fine for our application.
 
Vermont Casting Montpelier was actually my first choice because of the very large viewing area, by far the nicest i had seen in person.

It was actually much cheaper than the Jotul C450 that i ended up getting, but in the end i just didn't like the dealer there.
VC was actually doing a 15% off sale for the month i went, and then the 30% tax credit
but if you don't like the dealer/installer you just can't go through with it.

Very happy with the Jotul!
 
firefighterjake said:
Dennis posted something recently that got me thinking . . . he mentioned how he was looking at another stove before he ended up buying his Woodstock Fireview. Made me wonder what other stoves folks had in their final picks before they brought home "the one."

I'll start . . .

I was looking long and hard at a Hearthstone Heritage or Phoenix as well as one of the T-series stoves from Pacific Energy.

Ended up bringing home the Jotul Oslo.
Click to expand...

Just looked at Lopi's, so since we were heating from the basement we went with the Liberty. Summer Haven in Potsdam NY the business we bought it from has been very good with us, we had purchased a Pellet Stove three years earlier before we bought the woodlot.

zap
 
Still haven't pulled to cord.

I'm torn between the easy side loading of the Jotul 600 and the Lopi Liberty.

Lopi has a nicer view IMHO. But n/s loading is shallow at 15". Lopi has a few inch better clearance than the Jotul.

Almost bought an Englander 30 until I found out what the hearth requirement was. My wife wants a flush hearth instead of a 2" raised hearth pad.

Wish I could make up my mind. :)

Both are great stoves and I'm sure will serve me well.
 
I'll always be looking for "the one" but looked hard at the Jotuls and Blaze King before going with Woodstock. The Jotuls didn't have the burn times and the Blaze King had the burn times but wife doesn't like the look. Woodstock worked out great for both of us. I will be interested in the new Blaze King 1.7 cu ft fire box stove that's suppose to come out next year.
 
Bought a voglezang colonial before i found this place. Knew she would be replaced once it got real cold out.

The second go round was fireview, defiant, hearthstone mansfeild and heritage, hampton 3100 too. I wanted a free standing, a 30nc wouldnt fit. Found jotul after visiting the bazzilionth dealer. Wife liked oslo, i hardly looked at it. Enviro boston was in there and a pe summit...picked up the jotul because i stumbled on a deal and price was still a top factor. That and the people selling the fireview never called me back. Now trying to find one for the basement...
 
We were down to the Alderlea T5 or the Rangeley. The Oslo and an Avalon were in the final mix as well.
 
firefighterjake said:
Dennis posted something recently that got me thinking . . . he mentioned how he was looking at another stove before he ended up buying his Woodstock Fireview. Made me wonder what other stoves folks had in their final picks before they brought home "the one."

I'll start . . .

I was looking long and hard at a Hearthstone Heritage or Phoenix as well as one of the T-series stoves from Pacific Energy.

Ended up bringing home the Jotul Oslo.
Click to expand...


Good thing you went with the Oslo as the Heritage and Phoenix are smaller stoves.


EDIT: Damnit. I was fished in by a Zombie Thread.
 
Perhaps a zombi thread but a good one none the less.

Now I suppose I would have to update and say "that Fireview was the 'other' stove" :) Ok.. well, it isn't yet but it is getting close to be there.
 
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