Buying new stove: was going to be Harman TL300 now considering Regency 3100

[botemout]

The TL300 that I was going to buy fell through. Now we're scrambling to find another stove.

We found a dealer that wants $2300 for a Regency 3100 free-standing wood stove (with blower).

Are these quality stoves? Worth the money ($50 more will get me a Harman TL300, the stove I was favoring).
The salesman/dealer did a good job of selling the stove. I'd written off any stove without an ash pan that requires shoveling; he got me to consider it (saying that they burned efficiently enough that I'd only have to clean it out once a day).

Of course, we also have a quadra-fire dealer nearby ;-)

 

[BrotherBart]

I will leave reviews of the stoves to people that have them, but with dry wood you will be shoveling once a week not once a day.

 

[Todd]

Regency's are decent stoves, but if your favoring the TL300 and it's only $50 more why not go for it? Be sure to get the grill option so you can grill steaks on it all winter.

 

[DAKSY]

Why isn't the salesman offering the F3100 WITH the ash pan?
Both the pedestal & leg models have a plate that can be removed in order to install the pan.
Don't remember the price, off hand, but I believe for either one you can get the pan for less than $100...
That way you don't hafta shovel the ashes...

 

[botemout]

BrotherBart, I mistyped; when I said "once a day" I meant "once a week."

Daksy, the dealer will sell the ash pan (for about $130). As my present (and only) stove has an ash pan it just seems kind of odd to have a stove where ANYTHING needs to be done to remove the ashes. Them falling through the grate into the the pan just seems right (to me). I guess I'm curious from others here whether there's any advantage to an ashpan free stove? Does, as the dealer indicated, allow the stove to burn "better" and more efficiently? Or is it just how Regency does it?

 

[botemout]

Regency's are decent stoves, but if your favoring the TL300 and it's only $50 more why not go for it? Be sure to get the grill option so you can grill steaks on it all winter.

I'll have to drive about 1.5 hours to get the TL300. If I can find another great stove (hopefully cheaper and closer, from someone I get along with and trust), I'd rather stay closer to home.

Tomorrow I'm going to another dealer and have him sell me on the quadra-fire (I think it was the big one that we were interested in - was it 5400?).

 

[firefighterjake]

Not to hijack this thread . . . but does the Regency 3100 fall under the 30% tax credit deal . . . a friend of mine bought one earlier this year before the whole deal was finalized and the numbers were worked out.

As to one of your questions . . . the one thing I do notice about my stove with the ash pan is that when there is a layer of ash and coals in the bottom of the firebox (either because I have not raked the ash down into the ash pan or if the ash pan is full) that the stove does retain the coals longer . . . for this reason after dumping and cleaning out the firebox the first few fires typically do not have a lot of coals (if any) on an overnight burn whereas if there is an inch or two or three of ashes there often are enough coals to get the fire going in the morning.

That said, I like having an ash pan . . . probably because all the stoves I have ever owned (Ashley, Shenandoah and now a Jotul) have had ash pans . . . you just get used to using them.

 

[botemout]

Not to hijack this thread . . . but does the Regency 3100 fall under the 30% tax credit deal . . . a friend of mine bought one earlier this year before the whole deal was finalized and the numbers were worked out.

Yes.

How does your friend like his Regency?