Ashley or Fisher

[rsblunt]

I have a free Ashley wood stove coming to me from a friend. Should I replace the Ashley I currently have with the Fisher. The Ashley's thermostatic controls do not work. I locked that out. I can't seem to find any efficieny info on either. Either one will get me by for this winter until I replace the furnace with wood boiler.

Thanks in advance for your input...

 

[rsblunt]

PS The Fisher does not have an inside baffle up high. Can one be welded in and does anyone have plans or guidelines for doing this? Someone said the newer Fisher had a baffle to better burn the flue gases.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

As long as it is just for this one season and both need fixing and you already have the Ashley, why not just go with the Ashley? You can definitely still use the Ashley even though the automatic draft control doesn't work. You just have to tend the fire instead of filling it and forgetting it.

You did not say why the draft control won't work. Why not? Is it just rusted maybe? If so, you can free that up.

Also, if I were you, I'd definitely reconsider the wood boiler. Smoke dragons indeed! We've compared our new purchase of the Woodstock Fireview to several neighbors who installed the wood boilers. The only advantages they have is that they can put more wood in each time they fill up (and burn much more wood in the end) and that they can heat their water at the same time as they are heating the house. Well, one more is that they don't have to bring wood into the house.

Drawbacks are many! One of biggest being cost. Also, a relative installed his wood boiler and has had to replace it twice already in only 3 years use.

One more thing. Whenever we've gone into a home heated with the wood boiler, it feels much like the home that is heated with oil or gas and we are cold. Not so with a free standing stove. There we feel warm.