Help choosing a stove

[TheMarsVolta]

Hello all,

I'm in the process of purchasing and installing my first stove. I have a 1700 sq ft dormer-ed cape. Current heat is electric baseboard/radiant ceiling for 2/3rds of the house and a propane fireplace insert for the other 1/3rd. I am trying to replace the electric heat with a stove. So, I'm trying to heat about 1200sq ft with the stove, which includes the kitchen, living room, and upstairs bedrooms/bath. Fireplace will be installed in the living room and will be adjacent to the stairs leading to said bedrooms/bath.

I went to a rather large local stove store, Preston Trading Post, and have come away debating between a few options. They are a new Jotul F45, a new Hearthstone Green Mountain 40, or a used non-cat Jotul #8. The Jotul #8 is in great shape, is red enameled, and is offered currently at $875. Which stove would you chose out of these options? My wife does not like the look of soapstone and I don't particularly like the look of steel stoves. I really like the idea of longer burns with the Hearthstone, but am a bit concerned by their apparent lack of quality. Especially considering the Green Mountain 40 is a newer design. We are on a budget, and would like to stay under $2300 for the stove.

Any input is greatly appreciated. I'm going to take a look a the Jotul #8 in few hours, but am leaning towards the Hearthstone at this moment.

 

[begreen]

The F45 sounds like a good fit. The Green Mountain 60 would be my second choice or a Pacific Energy Alderlea T5. The Jotul F8 is a bit old school. Depending on the model it dates back to 1980s-90s.

 

[TheMarsVolta]

Thanks for the advice begreen. The Jotul F8 was in like new condition. I didn't expect to buy it, but it was too nice to pass up. Previous owner had just passed away at 101 years old. I don't think it was used for anything but entertainment and very infrequently. Chimney guy is coming today to give a quote for a new installation. Just need the wife to pick out the hearth pad material.

 

[begreen]

Which model 8? There are many versions. What does it say on the UL tag?

 

[TheMarsVolta]

It is the original #8 pinwheel stove. No cat. I pick the stove up on Thursday, so I don’t have a UL number. The owners manual had an 89 stamped on it. May or may not be the year. Seems to have been used mostly for decoration.

 

[begreen]

The original model 8 is a simple stove. Not much to go wrong, but with a trade off for efficiency and clean burning.

Do check to see if the stove has a UL label with clearances listed on it. Your insurance company and inspector may want this. If none, it is considered unlisted and the clearances for this stove are 36" in all directions. You may be able to rebut this by printing up the manual. Here are the clearances from there.



I've moved this thread to the Classics forum for further discussion.

 

[TheMarsVolta]

Wanted to pop in and give an update. I have burned about a half a cord through the stove thus far. I absolutely love it. I installed my own hearth pad and heat shielding, using the UL clearances, and had a professional installer handle the chimney. He was able to find the uncommon 7" pipe which as resulted in an excellent draft.

I'm able to heat my whole house (1700sqft), supplementing a bit at the far end from the stove on our coldest days. The stove will have coals up to 12 hrs after loading, enabling me to load it up, head to work, then restart it in the evening. We've have been burning 24/7 since last weekend where it warmed up too much to run the stove during the day. Another thing I really enjoy is the option to burn door open with the screen. This is great in the evenings.

Here are some pictures. Many thanks to Begreen for the information.