Earthstove 101 replacement

[Osage]

We have a 30year old Earthstove 101 top vent that we have burned that long. Have been thinking of replacing it with something of comparable size. The old earthstove is our primary source of heat and has burned at least 100 cords of Hedge and Mulberry over the years so it has some stress cracks.
However I am unable to make up my mind as to what I want to go to. The old 101 has a huge firebox and can easly hold enough wood to last 10 hours. All the newer large stoves seem smaller in terms of fire box size. Are they that much more efficient that can get by with the smaller cap?

 

[GeneralBill]

I had an Earthstove 100. A big box that eventually developed cracks. Replaced it with the PE Summit last year.

I miss about the Earthstove:
- The huge box. I could throw 24" pieces in easily
- The radiated heat. As soon as it got going, there was warmth in the vicinity. The PE takes over an hour to feel much warmth since it heats the ceiling first.

But I like the Summit more:
- I don't have figures yet, but it seems to burn way less wood for the same heat. Less cost or felling/cutting, transport, storing, trips to the shed, ashes, ...
- It is great fun to watch the flames
- It burns cleaner, less smoke to breath outside, much less debris on chimney sweep day
- It meets code
- The convective heat style means it is a little safer as there are less hot spots to burn oneself on the outside.

If there is a good radiating box available, it might seem better than the Summit. Maybe someone knows. It might take much larger clearances than the Summit.

Both these stoves have a nice cook surface (I got the cheaper, plain Summit). Both these stoves hold coals overnight. It took me several burns, but now I can always have coals to restart after at least 11 hours. More if I pack in the oak.

 

[leeave96]

Take a look at the Blaze King - huge firebox, super long and clean burns.

Good luck,
Bill

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We have a 30year old Earthstove 101 top vent that we have burned that long. Have been thinking of replacing it with something of comparable size. The old earthstove is our primary source of heat and has burned at least 100 cords of Hedge and Mulberry over the years so it has some stress cracks.
However I am unable to make up my mind as to what I want to go to. The old 101 has a huge firebox and can easly hold enough wood to last 10 hours. All the newer large stoves seem smaller in terms of fire box size. Are they that much more efficient that can get by with the smaller cap?

Welcome to the forum bikerz.

Seems lots of folks bought the Earthstove and most loved them so you are not alone. However, there comes a time for upgrading. Just to pick up on what you've stated about the big firebox and now the newer stoves have small fireboxes, we too had that problem, or we thought we had that problem.

When it came time to replace our old stove (which also took those long logs and lots of them) we did some research and lots of looking. We eventually settled on the Woodstock Fireview (sold direct only). When I saw a Fireview up close and personal I was shocked. "Do you mean to tell me that little thing will heat our home?!!" Long story short, we did buy that little stove that has only a 2 cu.ft. firebox. You simply cannot put much wood in that tiny thing. So, how does this little stove compare with our older big stove?

We were pleasantly surprised to find that not only would that little stove heat our home but we were a lot warmer too. I had a minor problem at first because much of our wood had to be shortened but that turns out to be an easy task by building a box, stuffing it with wood and cutting off the ends. So, we stayed warmer but how much wood did we have to burn to get it warmer? We once more were shocked to find that we were suddenly burning only half the amount of wood we used to burn! Where we used to burn 6 full cord of wood per year and as much as a bit over 7 one winter, we've had the Fireview for 4 winters now and last winter was the most wood with just a tad over 3 cord. The other 3 years were just about exactly 3 cord or a hair shy of it.

Well, now I don't have to work as hard putting up wood because I only put up half of what we used to and we stay a whole lot warmer. My point is to tell you to not be afraid of the newer EPA stoves. They work a whole lot different from that Earthstove.

Good luck.

 

[Osage]

Thanks for the replies. Will probably burn the 101 this season. And then get serious about replacement. However I have been told that some manufactors will not honor their warrenties if you burn hedge.
Any input?

 

[begreen]

I wouldn't worry about the hedge. That is a premium firewood, just make sure it's well seasoned. If a dealer or stove maker says you can't burn it, move on to a better stove.

Many modern stoves are shielded on their sides. Some even have convective tops. This allows closer clearances and less chance for accidental burns. If you don't want or need this you will need to look for a stove where this is optional or partial (like maybe just shield on the back half off the sides. One relatively inexpensive big box that fits this criteria is the Englander 30NC. It wouldn't surprise me if the Englander could heat your home burning 30-50% less wood than you are currently going through in a season. Another very big box radiant stove would be the Buck 94NC.

How big an area are you heating with the Earthstove?

 

[Osage]

I wouldn't worry about the hedge. That is a premium firewood, just make sure it's well seasoned. If a dealer or stove maker says you can't burn it, move on to a better stove.

Many modern stoves are shielded on their sides. Some even have convective tops. This allows closer clearances and less chance for accidental burns. If you don't want or need this you will need to look for a stove where this is optional or partial (like maybe just shield on the back half off the sides. One relatively inexpensive big box that fits this criteria is the Englander 30NC. It wouldn't surprise me if the Englander could heat your home burning 30-50% less wood than you are currently going through in a season. Another very big box radiant stove would be the Buck 94NC.

How big an area are you heating with the Earthstove?

Thanks for the reply. We only heat about 1300 sq. ft. I know we have over kill. But we are gone for 12 hrs during the day, and being in Kansas we can have 0deg. and 40mph north winds, so I stoke the stove before leaving so I have good coals to get going again when I get home.

 

[Todd]

If your looking for a stove that will give you consistant 12+ burns look into a cat stove like the Blaze King Princess or the new Woodstock stove. The newer EPA stove will look much smaller than your current stove but now worries, they are much more efficient and will do the job.

 

[daleeper]

Blaze King would be my choice, but Buck makes some large stoves also.