Hello,
We purchased a home earlier this year. It had a rough-looking Country Canyon ST310, probably installed in early to mid 2000’s. It’s our first time owning a wood stove. We had it inspected and the chimney swept, and then re-painted. We got some firewood and I have built a number of fires, learning along the way. We enjoy the ambiance, but…there are a few things either missing or (maybe) need replacing, and with the cost of parts, I’m wondering if replacing the stove would be a reasonable consideration.
Issues with existing stove:
1. The fan’s controller/thermostat system is absent. A power cord that leads directly to the fan is plugged in or unplugged to turn the fan on or off, and it is loud and has no adjustable speed that I can see. Replacement fan kit $700-900
2. Baffle blankets need replacing; it looks like half is missing. Falls apart easily and not laying flat. Cost confusing based on oem or aftermarket
3. Baffle bricks may need replacing - some cracked/broken/missing. Looks like now they use 4 baffle boards instead? Cost $100-250 based on bricks or baffle board/blanket set.
4. Secondary burn tubes do not look original (no center support bar, also in rectangular housing?? There are 4 tubes, but holes aren’t all facing forward as install instructions I found indicate, plus a couple look badly rusted or damaged). Replacement set with 4 included cut firebricks, $500
5. It appears aftermarket firebricks have been put in (some of which have chipped or cracked - I can see the back of the firebox due to one of the chunks missing); several are different than the diagram, and it seems to be missing some of the specially cut bricks, and the angled ones in the front under the air hole; there’s an inch or so gap. New pre-cut OEM firebrick set: $400+
6. We had our favorite painter prep and repaint it with stove bright hi temp paint, and I followed the curing process to the best of my ability, but it’s already flaking in a few places. So might have to have them do that whole process again eventually… $300-500 ish.
So with looking at around $2000 in replacement parts to get it in tip top shape, I’m wondering if maybe that $2k would be better used for a newer stove? I have not been able to find many prices listed online for newer models.
Here’s our usage environment:
1. We have a brand new heat pump so we don’t need it to heat the house unless there’s a power outage, but we like the ambiance when we’re hanging out in our living room.
2. It puts out more heat than we typically need. To get it quickly burning in the “ideal” temperature range according to stovetop thermometer, I have to load it pretty full, and it can get uncomfortably warm in the area, needing to keep a window open. We keep the house a cooler 65-67 degrees; this can bump the thermostat reading about 40 feet away to 75 which is too warm for me personally!
3. We have a grand piano across the room about 20’ away and it’s better to keep humidity and temperature somewhat controlled.
I’ve been loading N-S, top down, usually fitting 3 bigger logs or splits on the bottom, with 3 smaller logs or medium splits next, and kindling etc on top of that, and usually that lasts a whole evening. If I start it earlier in the day (like on Thanksgiving), I’ll add one or two more. We don’t have wood put up so it’s about $8-10 for a fully loaded firebox for an evening fire. I try and keep the stovetop temp around 400-450, and that’s with the air mostly closed. When the air is open it can get up to 550-600, sometimes higher if I’m not careful, which is when I start adjusting down the air and/or running the blower.
The bottom line is, if I could get it to burn efficiently but more slowly and less hot with a smaller load of wood, I’d be happy with that. If that’s unlikely for this stove, then I’m not sure I want to put in all the money for new parts etc., however I wouldn’t want to replace it with a too-dinky stove that would look like it’s being swallowed up in the brick surround (see pic).
If you’ve read this far thank you. Here’s a pic of this beast. Sorry it’s a bit dark; I want to add some down lights above the stove to help with that soon.
We purchased a home earlier this year. It had a rough-looking Country Canyon ST310, probably installed in early to mid 2000’s. It’s our first time owning a wood stove. We had it inspected and the chimney swept, and then re-painted. We got some firewood and I have built a number of fires, learning along the way. We enjoy the ambiance, but…there are a few things either missing or (maybe) need replacing, and with the cost of parts, I’m wondering if replacing the stove would be a reasonable consideration.
Issues with existing stove:
1. The fan’s controller/thermostat system is absent. A power cord that leads directly to the fan is plugged in or unplugged to turn the fan on or off, and it is loud and has no adjustable speed that I can see. Replacement fan kit $700-900
2. Baffle blankets need replacing; it looks like half is missing. Falls apart easily and not laying flat. Cost confusing based on oem or aftermarket
3. Baffle bricks may need replacing - some cracked/broken/missing. Looks like now they use 4 baffle boards instead? Cost $100-250 based on bricks or baffle board/blanket set.
4. Secondary burn tubes do not look original (no center support bar, also in rectangular housing?? There are 4 tubes, but holes aren’t all facing forward as install instructions I found indicate, plus a couple look badly rusted or damaged). Replacement set with 4 included cut firebricks, $500
5. It appears aftermarket firebricks have been put in (some of which have chipped or cracked - I can see the back of the firebox due to one of the chunks missing); several are different than the diagram, and it seems to be missing some of the specially cut bricks, and the angled ones in the front under the air hole; there’s an inch or so gap. New pre-cut OEM firebrick set: $400+
6. We had our favorite painter prep and repaint it with stove bright hi temp paint, and I followed the curing process to the best of my ability, but it’s already flaking in a few places. So might have to have them do that whole process again eventually… $300-500 ish.
So with looking at around $2000 in replacement parts to get it in tip top shape, I’m wondering if maybe that $2k would be better used for a newer stove? I have not been able to find many prices listed online for newer models.
Here’s our usage environment:
1. We have a brand new heat pump so we don’t need it to heat the house unless there’s a power outage, but we like the ambiance when we’re hanging out in our living room.
2. It puts out more heat than we typically need. To get it quickly burning in the “ideal” temperature range according to stovetop thermometer, I have to load it pretty full, and it can get uncomfortably warm in the area, needing to keep a window open. We keep the house a cooler 65-67 degrees; this can bump the thermostat reading about 40 feet away to 75 which is too warm for me personally!
3. We have a grand piano across the room about 20’ away and it’s better to keep humidity and temperature somewhat controlled.
I’ve been loading N-S, top down, usually fitting 3 bigger logs or splits on the bottom, with 3 smaller logs or medium splits next, and kindling etc on top of that, and usually that lasts a whole evening. If I start it earlier in the day (like on Thanksgiving), I’ll add one or two more. We don’t have wood put up so it’s about $8-10 for a fully loaded firebox for an evening fire. I try and keep the stovetop temp around 400-450, and that’s with the air mostly closed. When the air is open it can get up to 550-600, sometimes higher if I’m not careful, which is when I start adjusting down the air and/or running the blower.
The bottom line is, if I could get it to burn efficiently but more slowly and less hot with a smaller load of wood, I’d be happy with that. If that’s unlikely for this stove, then I’m not sure I want to put in all the money for new parts etc., however I wouldn’t want to replace it with a too-dinky stove that would look like it’s being swallowed up in the brick surround (see pic).
If you’ve read this far thank you. Here’s a pic of this beast. Sorry it’s a bit dark; I want to add some down lights above the stove to help with that soon.
