Battle of the stoves!

[CrustyRT]

Ok so maybe the Fisher Baby Bear is not the answer to my problem. Something about the homeowners policy requiring a UL listing and my desire to have a clear view from sofa to to my tv coerces me to go with a new stove. I figure the stove will pay for itself within a couple of years with the rising LP prices. Now consumer reports hasn't done a wood stove shootout lately afaik so here I am again on this site. I've searched but maybe I'm not using the right keywords.

I'm still shopping with a price point in mind for a wood stove to heat my 1300sq/ft Georgia home with a corner installation. I think I've narrowed it down to a Buckstove Model 21 http://buckstove.com/wood/model21.html and a VC/Dutchwest CDW2000L02 http://www.vermontcastings.com/content/products/productdetails.cfm?id=316 . I'm partial to an American made product but the VC/DW looks to be a compromise for a NA product. Anybody got an opinion on one verses the other? Chime in if you can recommend something else in the price range of $900-1200 plus the cost of venting the stove through a single story.

TIA,
Crusty

 

[stoveguy2esw]

look this one up also built in virginia should fit your footprint as well

http://www.englanderstoves.com/13-nc.html


or if a bigger unit: although this might be too much stove (i think the dutchwest is a bit big for your footprint too) anyway , heres our big gun

http://www.englanderstoves.com/30-nc.html

feel free to contact me if you have specific questions on these models.
you did pick out a couple pretty good stoves in your post too, but you asked about possible alternatives, so here they are

 

[Jimbob]

This one is a VERY nice looking stove, and has close corner clearances:
http://www.pacificenergy.net/product_super27.php

 

[webbie]

Wait, he was narrowing and you guys are widening!

Georgia has a wide range of temps - are you in the Mts? What is the average winter weather? Are you looking for 24/7 burning?

My suggestions....being as it seems you are looking for Heat for the Buck ($), is to compare similar stoves by checking out the cubic feet of the firebox size. Take the other normal considerations (clearances, local availability, etc.) into account and go for it.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Wait, he was narrowing and you guys are widening!

Georgia has a wide range of temps - are you in the Mts? What is the average winter weather? Are you looking for 24/7 burning?

My suggestions....being as it seems you are looking for Heat for the Buck ($), is to compare similar stoves by checking out the cubic feet of the firebox size. Take the other normal considerations (clearances, local availability, etc.) into account and go for it.

his quote from the first post
"Chime in if you can recommend something else in the price range of $900-1200"

i was just posting options based on this part of the post

 

[CrustyRT]

Wait, he was narrowing and you guys are widening!

Georgia has a wide range of temps - are you in the Mts? What is the average winter weather? Are you looking for 24/7 burning?

My suggestions....being as it seems you are looking for Heat for the Buck ($), is to compare similar stoves by checking out the cubic feet of the firebox size. Take the other normal considerations (clearances, local availability, etc.) into account and go for it.

I'm outside Atlanta. I'm looking to practically turn my central hvac off or to the "fan" mode to circulate the warm air. It's not terribly cold but I have riden past the bank sign when it read 19f. My wife is a stay at home mom who remembers delivering firewood as a child on Christmas day and will be keeping the home fire burning while I'm at school/clinicals.

Unless someone says one of the two is better, or brand x blows both of those away, I think I'm flipping a coin. I'm just looking for some insight to help make a good decision. Is the VC/DW too big? I was looking at it for the larger capacity firebox.

 

[Gooserider]

Mike is biased since he sells the things :cheese: but I would SERIOUSLY look at the Englanders, - The folks posting here that own them are overwhelmingly happy with them, and I don't think you will fine a much better value in terms of "bucks per BTU"

I'm not sure if you can stay under your proposed budget if you inclued the chimney, but the cost for the venting is going to be pretty much the same no matter what stove you get, as long as you stay with ones that can use a 6" Class A pipe.

(I like Englanders even if they don't currently make a model that I could install in my house - I think they are probably the best "value price" stove there is on the market.)

Gooserider

 

[CrustyRT]

I'm not sure if you can stay under your proposed budget if you inclued the chimney, but the cost for the venting is going to be pretty much the same no matter what stove you get, as long as you stay with ones that can use a 6" Class A pipe.

Gooserider

I did not include the chimney in that range. Thanks, it sounds like I've narrowed my choices up to three(or four).

Crusty

 

[Cath]

Crusty,
I've been reading Consumer Reports for years, probably decades actually, and I don't think I've ever seen an article on Wood Stoves. It's possible I just skipped over it if they had one longer than 4 or 5 years ago since it's a topic that wasn't on my radar screen until then.

However, even at that I'm guessing they might have covered wood stove safety and some tips on features to look for but probably without the ratings, or perhaps as part of a larger piece on alternative heat.
~Cath