Confused by so many stove choices

[thepipe]

Shopping around, I found a place that sells the basic King Classic for that price.
Where? Is that plus a door, legs, shipping, etc...?


Is natural gas unavailable?
No natural gas - only propane.

Can you get wood inexpensively?
Generally, yes. One of my coworkers has a bunch of property he keeps thinned out. For the cost of a tank of diesel for my pickup, a gallon of gasoline for the chain saw, and a few days' time, I can get a few cords of oak.[/quote]

 

[thepipe]

[quote author="branchburner" date="1290906899"[/quote]

How about $2400?
http://www.americanenergysystems.com/model-bbf.cfm[/quote]

The manufacturer's website indicates the max burn time for this unit is 12 hours with a maximum heat output of 54,000 BTU's. They also indicate legs are an additional cost. Why pay nearly 3X the price of the Englander for fewer BTU's and the same burn time? Isn't that the appeal of the cat?

 

[thepipe]

thepipe, have your read the webmaster's intro announcement?
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewannounce/13750_2/

Yes. I understand that some poeple's "unbiased" opinions...aren't. Nevertheless, I want to hear all perspectives. I recognize that even those with a proverbial horse in the race can still contribute meaningful information.

 

[BrotherBart]

Actually I want everybody to buy a different stove than the one I have. That way if they don't like it they can blame it on somebody else. ;-)

But my trigger pull is pretty light on the bad mouthing of non-cat stoves across the board.

 

[Renovation]

Shopping around, I found a place that sells the basic King Classic for that price.
Where? Is that plus a door, legs, shipping, etc...?

I don't want to advertise here, or get a dealer in trouble, but I'll PM you. That's for the King Classic, the basic model that comes with a short pedestal, not legs, painted black door, shipping extra.


Is natural gas unavailable?
No natural gas - only propane.

Can you get wood inexpensively?
Generally, yes. One of my coworkers has a bunch of property he keeps thinned out. For the cost of a tank of diesel for my pickup, a gallon of gasoline for the chain saw, and a few days' time, I can get a few cords of oak.

[/quote]

Okay, then that makes wood much more economical than propane. You probably pay about $3K/year for propane, and would save most of that heating with wood, minus the time effort and cost of your wood. Think about that when you're trying to justify an extra $1K for the price of a premium stove.

The King would heat a good part of your admittedly huge house (I'd close off the uninsulated part of your basement) if you use some fans and/or your furnace fan to move the heat around. (It's rated at around 90KBTU). The BK King will provide about 12 hour no-fiddle burns at full blast, and can be dialed way down in warmer weather to burn 24+ fiddle-free hours in warm weather. It seems to me that extra convenience over a budget stove would make your life easier, and encourage you to use it more and save more money in the long run.

To me, the $1K extra purchase price would be well worth it, but get what works best for your own needs and preferences.

 

[Todd]

If your just looking to heat the basement area I don't think you will go wrong with anyone of those stoves you mentioned. They should all give you overnight burns and plenty of heat for that space. Take a good look at all of them and pick out the one you like best, they will all pay for themselves, some may take a little longer but not much.

 

[Mad Tom]

I am not a fan of the looks, but my dad has a Morso that is about the same size as my Jotul. That stove is incredible. If saw it in action before I bought my Jotul I would of picked one up.

 

[Renovation]

I am not a fan of the looks, but my dad has a Morso that is about the same size as my Jotul. That stove is incredible. If saw it in action before I bought my Jotul I would of picked one up.

Hey Tom,

Thanks for the tip--those are beautiful. Which model does he have? Is it one of the classic styles, or one of the modern ones?

 

[Mad Tom]

I am not a fan of the looks, but my dad has a Morso that is about the same size as my Jotul. That stove is incredible. If saw it in action before I bought my Jotul I would of picked one up.

Hey Tom,

Thank
s for the tip--those are beautiful. Which model does he have? Is it one of the classic styles, or one of the modern ones?

I believe it is the 3610. Classic style. It is less that 5 yrs old I think. It is an EPA stove.. He says it weighs 450lbs. He has a pretty big house and I am impressed by it's performance. I am surprised you don't hear about Morsos to much on this forum. Or maybe I am missing the posts. It needs to be in a fairly large room or you will cook yourself out. I am not kidding about that.

 

[argus66]

there is a morso dealer in englihtown nj not to far from u. if u are interested in going and looking at them also if u are up that way check out wood stove and fireplace center in ocean nj good deals there on jotuls.

 

[BrotherBart]

We had a forum regular that burned in a Morso 3610 and really liked it. He got his nose out of joint over something and hasn't been back in a couple of years. But he loves that stove.

 

[soupy1957]

".........I must be behind on fiddling. I better go catch up."

And I thought "I" was the only one who "fiddles" with his fire!! LOL

-Soupy1957

 

[thepipe]

there is a morso dealer in englihtown nj not to far from u. if u are interested in going and looking at them also if u are up that way check out wood stove and fireplace center in ocean nj good deals there on jotuls.

I ruled out Morso because its largest firebox is just over 2 cubic feet. I ruled out Jotul because its largest model, the Firelight 600, is a double door configuration that has a lot of gasket surface. I feel adjustments will be necessary more frequently than with single door units. The next smallest Jotul is the Oslo 500. The manufacturer lists its maximum burn time as 9 hours. That's not long enough for my application.

 

[firefighterjake]

there is a morso dealer in englihtown nj not to far from u. if u are interested in going and looking at them also if u are up that way check out wood stove and fireplace center in ocean nj good deals there on jotuls.

I ruled out Morso because its largest firebox is just over 2 cubic feet. I ruled out Jotul because its largest model, the Firelight 600, is a double door configuration that has a lot of gasket surface. I feel adjustments will be necessary more frequently than with single door units. The next smallest Jotul is the Oslo 500. The manufacturer lists its maximum burn time as 9 hours. That's not long enough for my application.

Bear in mind that "burn times" are very subjective . . . as has been discussed in many threads . . . your definition of burn time may be quite different from my definition or even the manufacturer's definitions . . . and this lack of an objective definition means a lot of folks go shopping for a stove based on burn times and then are quite disappointed when whatever stove they end up purchasing doesn't meet the definition.

What I mean is how do you define burn time . . . 1) the time when the stove is lit until the time the stove's last visible flame is seen? 2) the time when the stove is lit until the last coal winks out of existence? 3) the time when the stove top reaches X degrees until the stove top falls below X degrees? 4) or another definition. Even today if you ask hearth.com members what their definition of burn time is you'll get different answers.

Just be aware when stove shopping. I know I expected to have visible flames showing for X number of hours . . . now I know that this was unrealistic.

 

[thepipe]

Bear in mind that "burn times" are very subjective . . . as has been discussed in many threads . . . your definition of burn time may be quite different from my definition or even the manufacturer's definitions . . . and this lack of an objective definition means a lot of folks go shopping for a stove based on burn times and then are quite disappointed when whatever stove they end up purchasing doesn't meet the definition.

What I mean is how do you define burn time . . . 1) the time when the stove is lit until the time the stove's last visible flame is seen? 2) the time when the stove is lit until the last coal winks out of existence? 3) the time when the stove top reaches X degrees until the stove top falls below X degrees? 4) or another definition. Even today if you ask hearth.com members what their definition of burn time is you'll get different answers.

Just be aware when stove shopping. I know I expected to have visible flames showing for X number of hours . . . now I know that this was unrealistic.

I understand that the term "burn time" is somewhat subjective, but not to the point that 9 hours means 12 or 14 hours. Therefore, I would have absolutley no leg to stand on if I complained about getting only 9 hours between loadings. After all, the manufacturer should know best and they rate it at 9 hours. I need more than that.

 

[BrotherBart]

I hate to break it to you but you have no leg to stand on with a manufacturer as far as burn time goes anyway. They all qualify it with statements about type of woods, dryness of the wood, type of chimney and on and on.

Want long burn times? Get a stove large enough to hold enough fuel for a long burn and feed it good dry hardwood. Otherwise get a cat stove and burn it low and slow.

 

[begreen]

Bear in mind that "burn times" are very subjective . . . as has been discussed in many threads . . . your definition of burn time may be quite different from my definition or even the manufacturer's definitions . . . and this lack of an objective definition means a lot of folks go shopping for a stove based on burn times and then are quite disappointed when whatever stove they end up purchasing doesn't meet the definition.

What I mean is how do you define burn time . . . 1) the time when the stove is lit until the time the stove's last visible flame is seen? 2) the time when the stove is lit until the last coal winks out of existence? 3) the time when the stove top reaches X degrees until the stove top falls below X degrees? 4) or another definition. Even today if you ask hearth.com members what their definition of burn time is you'll get different answers.

Just be aware when stove shopping. I know I expected to have visible flames showing for X number of hours . . . now I know that this was unrealistic.

I understand that the term "burn time" is somewhat subjective, but not to the point that 9 hours means 12 or 14 hours. Therefore, I would have absolutley no leg to stand on if I complained about getting only 9 hours between loadings. After all, the manufacturer should know best and they rate it at 9 hours. I need more than that.

This is a somewhat silly requirement. Heat is not free. You're not likely to see great burn times given the task at hand. It takes btus to heat a space and your space is warehouse large. In order to create lots of btus you need to burn wood at a fair clip. This is good for heating, but not as good for burn time.

If long burn time is the primary goal, get off the wallet and get the big BK, Kuma, Buck or cat stove of your choice. If you want good heat at an affordable price, get the Englander or a big Drolet. Seems like enough has been said on this already.

 

[Mad Tom]

there is a morso dealer in englihtown nj not to far from u. if u are interested in going and looking at them also if u are up that way check out wood stove and fireplace center in ocean nj good deals there on jotuls.

I ruled out Morso because its largest firebox is just over 2 cubic feet. I ruled out Jotul because its largest model, the Firelight 600, is a double door configuration that has a lot of gasket surface. I feel adjustments will be necessary more frequently than with single door units. The next smallest Jotul is the Oslo 500. The manufacturer lists its maximum burn time as 9 hours. That's not long enough for my application.

I am not Yoda of the Oslo, but I have had some small coals 24 hours after a burn. Not that it was heating. I have started fires, went to bed, got up 8 hours later and the stove is very warm and the house is 65 degrees. Do I see a nice log flaming in the window?. Nope.

During very cold weather I may be refilling every 6 hours + or - during the day. Cranking that baby. I am not sure what the definition of burn time is. For me it is the time between reloads so as to not freeze my buns off when it is 15 below outside. I still don't have that pegged down yet!. To many variables!.

 

[soupy1957]

Mad Tom: "Alt + 0177" will give you the "±" symbol, representing "tolerance"...........(just thought you might enjoy knowing that, is all).

-Soupy1957

 

[thepipe]

This is a somewhat silly requirement. Heat is not free. You're not likely to see great burn times given the task at hand. It takes btus to heat a space and your space is warehouse large. In order to create lots of btus you need to burn wood at a fair clip. This is good for heating, but not as good for burn time.

If long burn time is the primary goal, get off the wallet and get the big BK, Kuma, Buck or cat stove of your choice. If you want good heat at an affordable price, get the Englander or a big Drolet. Seems like enough has been said on this already.

I agree that heat is not free. However, all stoves are not created equal. Some may have a large firebox, but were not designed with superior efficiency in mind. Some may be more efficient, but lack a large firebox. A few may have both, but at a price point which some may consider excessive. I'm seeking a balance between all these factors, with an emphasis on the length of burn. To refer to this requirement as "somewhat silly" is myopic.

The unit I purchase must have a large firebox and have been designed with a degree of efficiency in mind. All of my initial choices seem to meet this balance well. I was just seeking some additional input from those here who may have some personal knowledge.

 

[Renovation]

The unit I purchase must have a large firebox and have been designed with a degree of efficiency in mind. All of my initial choices seem to meet this balance well. I was just seeking some additional input from those here who may have some personal knowledge.

I'm on your side, Pipe, but, despite the inflammatory (pun intended) use of "silly", BeGreen is giving you excellent advice.

I do not believe all of your choices are suitable for long burns in a huge house. As BG said, for that you need a huge firebox, and I do not believe the PE or Englander models qualify--they have excellent reputations, but are just not big enough.

So your choice is not that hard. Decide on shorter burns and/or smaller heated area and get a cheaper (in cost) smaller stove like the Englander or PE, or go for longer burns (maybe 12 hours max in your case) and larger heating area and spend the money for one of the stoves BG suggested.

Brusque as BG can be, he is knowledgeable, and is trying to correct your misperception that you can get long burns with very high output from a moderately sized stove--the manufacturer's advertised burn times are for moderate to low heat output, and none will meet that spec in your application.

I hope this helps!