Feedback and Opinions of Vogelzang Wood Stoves

[corey21]

The stove i have is a good stove see my sig.

 

[begreen]

US Stove avoids any mention of that on any of their materials and claim all their manufacturing and welding is done in the US.
https://www.usstove.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=4

If you suffer through their marketing video you will hear the reference to imports about 3/4 through it, though they don't say from where. I suspect most of the assembly still takes place here but wouldn't be surprised if they are offshoring the casting.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I purchased a Country Hearth 2000 last winter which i believe is sold by US stove. I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed with this attractive looking and well built stove. Performance is also very good. THe Price at $499 is just hard to argue with. It is a Small EPA air tube for secondary burn similar to the NC-30. It weighs bout 275 LBS. The 2500 and 3000 models are larger and cost more.
I also own a couple NC-30s as well and feel this stove is just as good
I will say the model i have is in a large apartment so i got the smallest size available.

 

[Torro]

Well if I miss my guess the consensus is that I should go withe the Englander 30-NCH, I will wait until I see some price reductions (hopefully) and then jump on it. I was thinking about where are we going to keep our dog, he sleeps in the basement and if we install t his I am sure the heat will be more than he can handle. Any other suggestions tips or best practices to keep in mind for the install? I will have a local professional install it but want to make sure I do everything I can to address any common mistakes or improvements that can be made to enhance the install, performance, maintenance and longevity. Thanks again for your kind advice.

 

[corey21]

Here is my stove Thought a pic would help.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I got both of my 30 for $650 each with free shipping from HD . Once i had to type in a different ZIp code as my local store did not include the discount.

 

[Torro]

I am pretty much sold on the Englander 2200sf model, just going to wait to see if price comes down, I was thinking of buying now and trying to recoup the savings on heat but I also dont have any wood stacked up so I will probably wait. I thank you all for your candid and insightful remarks and I will keep this open for future input and an update on how things turn out.

I DO HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION:

I have posted another discussion here ( https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/wood-stove-and-air-handler-in-same-space.104640/ ) where I am looking on feedback, code and safety info on installing the stove in the same space as my ventilation systems air handler.

As always your knowledge and time is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[VirginiaIron]

I purchased a Country Hearth 2000 last winter which i believe is sold by US stove. I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed with this attractive looking and well built stove. Performance is also very good. THe Price at $499 is just hard to argue with. It is a Small EPA air tube for secondary burn similar to the NC-30. It weighs bout 275 LBS. The 2500 and 3000 models are larger and cost more. View attachment 93608
I also own a couple NC-30s as well and feel this stove is just as good
I will say the model i have is in a large apartment so i got the smallest size available.

We recently installed a US Stove/Country Hearth 3000. It was the fourth on the list of choices until we observed it for $160 more than the Canadian model we thought we wanted. We thought about the US2000 and US2500 but we were not sure if they had enough Btu's. We looked at your model at TSC and thought it was well made- with few exceptions; most manufacturers seem to offer a fiberboard type baffle. We saved $3k over our first choice and about $500 over the Canadian Made unit (when Lowes matched Northern Tools price). Long story short; we are impressed, and the US3000 should be called something else than the quiet name "Country Hearth", because it heats more in 30 minutes than my insert did (smaller btu) and we can feel the heat throughout the house. I plan to start a thread for it soon.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

While i do like my Country hearth 2000 ,my next stove purchase will be the englander ,model under the pleasant hearth line, probably this week due to the huge fire view and the rock solid reputation of englander stoves. Ill post my thoughts after iv had a chance to take this new stove for a test drive.
I think it is made in north america somewhere so thats a plus as i strive to buy all things Made in America.

 

[kennyp2339]

Good luck to your US 3000, I didn't have such good luck with its brother the 2500, thing only lasted 2 season before problems started. Please take note..before running the stove through its paces change out all the screws that hold the secondary reburn tubes to stainless steal ones, trust me...if you leave the old ones in then go to do a cleaning you will snap the heads off due to them being reheated and cooled.
Be leery about the stove gasket size recommended by US stove, I replaced mine with an oem and it was looser than the old bad one, watch for cracks developing around the firebox, particularly around the upper fire box area's (both right and left sides)

 

[VirginiaIron]

Good luck to your US 3000, I didn't have such good luck with its brother the 2500, thing only lasted 2 season before problems started. Please take note..before running the stove through its paces change out all the screws that hold the secondary reburn tubes to stainless steal ones, trust me...if you leave the old ones in then go to do a cleaning you will snap the heads off due to them being reheated and cooled.
Be leery about the stove gasket size recommended by US stove, I replaced mine with an oem and it was looser than the old bad one, watch for cracks developing around the firebox, particularly around the upper fire box area's (both right and left sides)

I hope you reported this condition to Recalls.gov http://www.recalls.gov/
Before making the purchase, we did see one comment on a breakage of the firebox welds but that didn't stop us because it was only one and the reader never really knows if the user got it too hot. The casting of our new oil fired boiler cracked but we were not notified there was a free replacement available until we noticed the leak. Apparently, these things were cracking enough that the company was freely giving the new assembly away. Anyway, I did go over everything pretty good, including welds, and I did see those tube screws and wondered if they were SS or sufficient enough- I never had a problem with the quad screws and tubes. I did call the US Stove company about the light that was visible from the center mating joint of the two piece fiber baffle. A company technician said it was fine and I guessed that maybe a 1/2 inch fiber blanket or a 1 inch blanket and a two SS plates was in her future.

 

[kennyp2339]

I hope you reported this condition to Recalls

I did not notify anyone, There was a poster here that claimed to be a US Stove rep that was just obnoxious, he got myself and others so frustrated I just oh well and bought another brand entirely, I would change the screws out before any headaches develop, as far as the fiber board pieces I think the little gad isn't a big deal, I had a single board that started to fall apart after 2 season, mainly from flame impingement (center rear) these boards are thinner than what Englander uses, and they are fragile to a point, they do get brittle after a while, maybe just a thin 3/8" fiber blanket layed over the top of the boards will help, I def wouldn't put anything metal, or try to connect the 2 boards together due to them breaking down over time.
*The biggest thing to know is that I bought this stove 5 years ago, I used it for 2 and 1/4 before getting a different brand, the 3,000 wasn't even out yet so maybe the company made some design changes and you have a good stove. I wish you best of luck with it.

 

[VirginiaIron]

I did make some calculations and figured, once I used my toes, there was more than enough area, at the throat of the baffle fiber boards to permit a 1/2 blanket. My thoughts were centered around the future degradation of the mitered seam. The company says these boards do deteriorate over time but rapidly deteriorate with wet wood and/or overloading above the firebrick. I do like the design of my old quad insert which has the baffle blanket over a heavy steel plate. We'll see. The transition from insert to stove has been slow because we knew our quad and installation has proven itself over 20 years, so the purchase price of this stove v Btu output was important. My first choice was the equinox 8000 but everyone I spoke with said the surface temp was not hot enough to cook with.

 

[VirginiaIron]

I get buyers remorse very easily if an item does not perform as intended. Thanks to this installation, we are now convinced that a large wood stove is the best option for our needs. If we change it out, hopefully, we can use the 6 inch liner.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

I think you'd be making a good decision to go with the Englander 30. The price is right and it's built like a tank. Prices usually drop significantly at some point late in the winter or early spring. I myself got a very good deal on one last year through these very forums. I would not go with Vogelzang, and Englander is higher quality for the same, or less money.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Believe me, we are a Made in USA/ Canada first if we can get it. I looked at those earlier and we decided on a flat top and thicker steel. The Osburn 2400 was our final choice prior to choosing the 3000. I removed two of those tube screws last night and their condition does not look like a basic screw; however, both were magnetic and could indicate basic stainless steel. I took their measurements and will see about having a higher grade replacement for the seasonal cleaning. In the meantime, I will be watching their condition .

 

[edyit]

I've had the Magnolia 2015 for 5 years now and haven't had any issues with it. When we purchased it I knew it was a "lower end" stove but sometimes you don't have 4 grand extra kicking around. I've never had an issue with it to be honest, and the first 2 years we had it, it was an uninsulated basement instal, so it was ran hard to try and get heat upstairs as well. That didn't work well but it definitely wasn't the stoves fault. So we moved it upstairs and lo and behold there was heat! The only thing I've ever had to do is change the door gasket, which is normal wear and tear, and I added another set of fire bricks horizontally on top of the existing bricks under the assumption it would better insulate the box and give better secondary burns. It seems to work better, could just be my own imagination though.

TL/DR: I have one, never had an issue, know it's not the top of the line.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Edyit- There are not many stoves with a 120K BTU rating. The Vogelzang is a popular stove, but I am not impressed with the construction of the stove. I realize the 3000 is not an upper end stove. IMHO, sometimes the most expensive is not always the best product since marketing has a lot of influence over valuation.

 

[VirginiaIron]

I have to say I am initially impressed and very satisfied with the stove, but it's the long-term performance and satisfaction that will determine the stoves quality. As far as our family's experiment with the transition from inserts to freestanding woodstove, we are convinced that we need a freestanding stove and we are satisfied with the decision of this transition. I still love the appearance of equinox 8000 however. Recently I've been experimenting with just throwing in a few pieces of wood to maintain a moderate temperature rather than stroke the firebox full and bank it down. Currently, it is 27° outside and 79° inside with just four small pieces of wood on a thin bed of coals to maintain the interior temperature. I realize my comments are off topic, so I apologize, and I will start a new thread.