Drolet, US or Vogelzang?

[JCMAC]

We are about to replace our VERY old VC Defiant with a new stove. We have a 200 year old farm house that although big (2400sq ft) the floor plan isn't exactly open. The chimney and stove are at one end of the main house and the kitchen is two additions away. We do have fans to move the heat around. My budget is not huge. We've looked at a lot of stoves - from $4800 soapstones to $1000 steel. I have to say I'm leaning toward the less expensive steel. As I mentioned our older VC is not efficient at all, we might get 3 hours on a full load of seasoned hard wood. Our property consists of 28acres so the fuel isn't a problem for anything other than my back. My question: do you guys/gals have any suggestions on which stove and brand I should choose. I do want a large stove so the Ponderosa stuck out however the reviews on the HT2000 Drolet were much better. It so difficult to compare these things without seeing them in person. Thank you for any direction you experts can give me - JC

 

[jeff_t]

Welcome.

Drolet, for sure, of those three.

For another quailty, budget friendly, large steel stove, try Englander's 30NC. It is also sold as Summers Heat or Timber Ridge, depending on which box store you are looking at. Same stove, with slight differences in trim, etc. You'll find lots of happy owners here.

These stoves require dry wood for proper operation. 'Seasoned' means different things to different folks, but generally speaking wood needs to be split and stacked for at least a year in the wide open. Two or three years for woods like oak and hickory. Most of us like to shoot for under 20% moisture when checked with a moisture meter. Or just be 2-3 years ahead in your split and stacked wood supply.

 

[tekguy]

Drolet for sure from those listed -

 

[Huntindog1]

Vogelzang is not very popular on this board as they build a very cheap $200 stove that can be dangerous if your not an experience wood burner. Its made for garages and work shops to take the chill off but people buy it for their homes and thats dangerous.

Their line of EPA stoves are UL listed and EPA certified by omni test labs, who certifies alot of stoves on the market.

I will say this the Ponderosa is a new Designed stove and has some impressive number on efficiency 82% and emissions 3.2 grams for its large size stove.

It has like 6 burn tubes up in the top more than any stove I have seen.

Its rated for 14 hour burn so expect 12.

It has an extra high burn control that I havent seen in other stoves.

There was a guy reported that he over fired their stove and got a slight warp on the step top but had to lay a level on it to see it.

It is made in China and most will tell you buy american.

 

[jeff_t]

It is made in China and most will tell you buy american.

North American, anyway

 

[Huntindog1]

I have burnt a Vogelzang Performer for 3 years nice stove. I inspected all the welds this past fall. Found no problems

I just bought a Drolet Myriad, If I could have found the Ponderosa onsale I would have considered it.

I am glad I am getting a Drolet. But Vogelzangs are nice stoves. I have one.

The only reason I am getting a new stove is my stove is undersized for my house and when temps drops below zero its alot of work to keep up.

 

[BrotherBart]

Welcome.

Any of the three or the Englander stoves will make you a fine heater. Proper sizing and proper fuel are the key. Most people that have been burning older stoves that come here have the first impression that the newer stoves don't stack up to the old one. Takes us a while to walk them through wood quality issues, the old stove would burn wet sponges, and the difference in operating techniques. But we get'em there.

 

[Huntindog1]

Englander also makes a very nice stove. 1+ on that.

 

[Rebelduckman]

Englander also makes a very nice stove. 1+ on that.

Ditto!

 

[begreen]

I believe the Englander is one of the cleanest burning non-cat 3cu ft stoves on the market.

 

[JCMAC]

First of all I want to say thank you for taking the time answering my post. I'm leaning Drolet ht2000 as I've seen the most positive reviews. A few of you mentioned the Englander 30, I'm going to research that in a minute. I guess my main concerns are burn times (longest - some unmotivated teenage boys) and size - I want something big enough to compensate for the lack of floor plan openness, old windows and questionable insulation. The 2 year seasoning of the firewood began last year so next year we are golden. You are right about the wet sponge Brother Bart . Any further input is greatly appreciated. I'm shooting to buy something later next week.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

gonna need a big firebox for that size house, look for a unit in the 3 CF range or larger. note the mention of the VZ earlier in the thread, they have really cleaned up their act recently as far as building a better stove than the old 200 dollar" VZ deathbox" we used to chide them about. the 3 manufacturers you mentioned are supplying quality products so not "bad stuff" with them, some of the guys mentioned my NC-30, its a solid stove with a great reputation for heating and if you want to ask about it i'd be happy to discuss it with you.

 

[JCMAC]

I've been looking up all I can on the 30nc. It looks like a nice stove and boy they do have quite the following. Other than the wood box sizes and the sometimes inflated btu ratings it's difficult to find comparisons between the models. As I said, I don't mind being in my underwear in the living room if the kitchen gets some heat. I'm going to Home Depot tomorrow. This is a tough choice.

 

[tekguy]

Are you going to reuse your existing hearth? Do you know what specs its built to? R value, etc..

Download the manuals and review the hearth requirements, if your re-using your hearth you need to pick a stove accordingly

If you building a new hearth you have to plan and budget accordingly

 

[mol1jb]

I've heard comparisons between the nc30 and the ht2000 and from what I can gather they are quite similar in heating ability. When I was shoping last year I went with the 30 purely because it was cheaper. And boy is it a nice heater.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I've been looking up all I can on the 30nc. It looks like a nice stove and boy they do have quite the following. Other than the wood box sizes and the sometimes inflated btu ratings it's difficult to find comparisons between the models. As I said, I don't mind being in my underwear in the living room if the kitchen gets some heat. I'm going to Home Depot tomorrow. This is a tough choice.

its a good stove. I agree with the posters above about Drolet as well, I think they have a model which is similar i'd have to look it up. but you are heating 2400 SF that's a big stove playground. smaller than maybe 2.8CF is too small to handle that space with any expectation of long burn time

 

[osagebow]

I own a VG EPA, have had no problems with the stove. That said, if I had t do it over again, and had got on here first I probably would have got an NC-30. I need a bit more BTU's in my basement setup, and may get one this off season.

 

[BrotherBart]

Either stove should do you fine. I have gotten great burn times from the Englander 30 for eight seasons but that Drolet looks like a hoss too. 2,500 sq. ft. center hall colonial with the stove half in and half out of a fireplace at one end of the first floor. Sucker kept the place warm down to zero this year.

 

[JCMAC]

We are going to keep the existing hearth. Floor piece is stone 52x52 with a brick backing all the way up the wall. These dimensions were big enough for even the super expensive monster soapstone we wished we could afford. I guess it's just a matter of just doing it! Ponderosa 152k, Drolet and 30nc 95k or US 3000 132k btu's. They are all around the same price give or take $400. URRRRG

 

[tekguy]

We are going to keep the existing hearth. Floor piece is stone 52x52 with a brick backing all the way up the wall. These dimensions were big enough for even the super expensive monster soapstone we wished we could afford. I guess it's just a matter of just doing it! Ponderosa 152k, Drolet and 30nc 95k or US 3000 132k btu's. They are all around the same price give or take $400. URRRRG

Stoves have an r rating for floor protection over a combustible surface, some require ember protection only so your existing hearth is fine, others can require an actual rating, r1, r1.5, etc..

So depending on the hearth construction it may or may not be up to spec for the stove, if its stone over wood framing, the stone has very low r rating, basically none

 

[JCMAC]

Gotcha! That's VERY good to know as I don't know throw the R rating of the hearth. I'll have to see if I can find that info out.

 

[msherer]

I'm just 4 weeks into my new Vogelzang Ponderosa. I replaced an old Federal Airtight stove. I am very happy with it so far. Huge fire box. My biggest problem was me getting used to an EPA stove. Took some time to figure out what I was doing but got some words of wisdom from peeps on this forum. I'm getting regular burn times of about 5.5 hours. I load the box at night just before bed and there is a real nice bed of coals waiting for me in the AM. Now that I think of it we have had a fire going in this stove since we installed it. The unit does put out an incredible amount of heat.

Couple of things I don't like. I don't like the fan kit. It is a cheap fan and doesn't do much in the way of air movement. The way you clean the ashes out wasn't designed very well. There is a square metal piece (about 3"x3") in the middle of the burn box floor. You use your poker to remove it and then push the ashes into the ash pan. If you don't get that piece seated back into place correctly then you're gonna have a real hot fire. We had a problem with our burns getting real hot real fast and closing the vents didn't help. Once we figured out what was happening it has been smooth sailing. We don't even use that method of cleaning out. Just use a shovel and ash bucket.

Hope this helps.

Matt

 

[JCMAC]

gonna need a big firebox for that size house, look for a unit in the 3 CF range or larger. note the mention of the VZ earlier in the thread, they have really cleaned up their act recently as far as building a better stove than the old 200 dollar" VZ deathbox" we used to chide them about. the 3 manufacturers you mentioned are supplying quality products so not "bad stuff" with them, some of the guys mentioned my NC-30, its a solid stove with a great reputation for heating and if you want to ask about it i'd be happy to discuss it with you.

That Ponderosa has some pretty heavy stats! Seems like a beast. What are your thoughts bud?

 

[jeff_t]

I'd go with Englander just because Mike is here. Plus, they have a stellar reputation for customer service. Something to keep in mind when you buy a stove online or at a big box store.

 

[JCMAC]

Ok last question, what's going to put out the most heat as well as the longest burn? All I keep reading is don't believe the company stats. Ruled out the US3000. Short list: Ponderosa, HT 2000 and NC30. Sorry to be so indecisive.