Amesti N 380 Review (cheap stove at Lowe's)

Hello All,

I bought one of these last year and wanted to give a review of this low budget stove.
JoeCool85 gave a pretty good overview of the materials, etc. here: http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/73535/

I bought mine at the end of the season last year on super clearance for right at $300. It was a deal I couldn't pass up.
I really needed a stove for my home office which is only 12x 16, but I really wanted an EPA stove.

The stove does seem to be pretty well made. The baffle in top of the firebox is incredibly thick and parts are available if needed and the steel and welds are covered by a 5 yr. warranty.
The only thing I'm really dubious about is the steel door. It is much thinner stamped steel than the cast iron we all know and love.

Today it finally got cool enough for me to fire it up. I was really impressed how quickly the secondary combustion begins. This is only my second wood stove, so my only frame of reference is the Napoleon 1100 I have in my home. The Amesti seems to begin secondary combustion at a much lower temp than my Napoleon. After the fire got good and hot, I checked outside and was quite satisfied to see no smoke at all.

Although I'm not using it for wood storage, the space beneath the firebox/ash pan does stay nice and cool, the ashpan however gets pretty hot. I really like the N/S loading and 16" logs fit, but 15" fit better. The glass wash works great and I had no problem with discoloration. For now the door is sealing tight, but I fully expect warpage at some point. The door handle is a bit of a pain as it removes from the unit. I can just see one of my kids finding an alternative use for it over the summer then me improvising from then on.

I am very pleased with my purchase as the stove is performing very well on it's first day. I'll update the review as I use the stove more, but for now I couldn't be happier with this low budget Chilean stove.

It's actually quite a nice looking stove.
Love the poster on the ceiling!

Cheap or not, that's a neat looking stove.

Why do you think the door will warp?

Wow, that sure is a nice looking stove!!

I resist change.

A stamped steel door just seems like it may succumb under the stresses of the HEAT.

I'll say that the manufacturer has been around for a while, just not in North America, and likely has tested this design over time.
I'm hopeful to be proved wrong and enjoy years of service from this nice little stove.

I'm a cave biologist and the poster on the ceiling is the Bats of North America. Sorry to disappoint if you were hoping for something more risque.

Cory

With the internet you can find risque items everywhere, but it's not often you come across someone with a poster of the Bats of North America.

How did your Amesti work out ? does it burn all night?