holy cow.... kuma stove Vs. Buck

[BrowningBAR]

Welcome to the forum rook14.

Folks could maybe understand more if you describe your wood. What kind of wood is this? When was it cut to firewood length? When was it split? How was it stacked? How long was it stacked?

It is very possible there could be a huge difference in those 2 stoves but I would not yet call the Buck a lemon.

How could wood be a factor? Both are new, EPA stoves and the Kuma is a cat stove with the Kuma performing better.

 

[gzecc]

Sounds like a Kuma sales person to me!

 

[Todd]

Your 35' chimney is probably the biggest contributing factor to your poor performance with the Buck. Even with all the primary controls closed, the draw from a chimney that tall is going to be pulling a tremendous amount of air though the Buck stove (primary air controls aren't really air tight + the secondaries are always wide open). Even with our short 13' liner, I normally burn with the primaries closed all the way or just barely cracked open.

The cat stoves have a built in damper in the form of the catalyst, which slows the airflow down, increasing the dwell time of the hot air in the stove.

You haven't mentioned any actual temperature readings for the Buck. Best place for surface temp readings is right above the door, since most of the outside is double wall.

I agree, that tall chimney is drafting like a Hoover and I'm betting your losing a lot of heat up the stack. Pipe damper would be a good fix. Like mentioned above a cat stove already has a built in damper and is more controlable than a non cat.

 

[rwm001]

I have a Buck 74 insert, 25 liner, ceiling fan, 10 foot ceilings in a old brick home. No insulation in the walls. I wanted to change my stove out, but the installer said not to waste my money. He said the Buck is an excellent stove. Now you have me thinking again that there may be hope for a warm downstairs if I would get a different stove. If it below 30 degrees- the front room might get to 70.
Glad to hear you have positive results with the new stove