Happy new year everyone.
Hopefully your input will help me select a new wood stove. In dec. 08 I installed a Harmon Oakwood cast iron wood stove in the basement of my 1700 S.F. house. The chimney is a 6" insulated SS and the stove pipe is double wall. A 500 CFM fan draws heat from above the stove and is ducted into the family room, from there it heats the entire house which is a one story rancher. Last winter the stove worked wonderfully. About a month ago it began emitting a smoke odor when the bypass damper is closed (The bypass damper provides 8 to 10 hour burns). I clean the chimney at least once a month and burn seasoned/dry red fir and tamarack. I clamped fiberglass gasket around all of the connections of the stove pipe to eliminate that as a possible source of the odor, I also replaced the top load door gasket and the odor is still present. If the bypass damper is open there is no odor. At this point I assume that one or more of many gaskets need to be replaced and I don't want spend my time doing this every year. The stove may be a lemon as a few small pieces of iron fell off last year. We heat with wood 24/7 from Oct. to March and the outside temp is generally around 25 degrees.
The dealer will exchange the stove for any stove that he has in stock. My choices are: the Harmon Oakwood, TL300 or a Harmon wood boiler that will connect to my hot water heating system. The other option is a Regency F2400m wood stove.
I really like the Oakwood though it does take some effort to get the fire hot enough to close the bypass damper. The TL300 is the same design and it may generate too much heat, plus it weighs 525 lbs. (Once it goes down the basement stairs it will be there for life). I used a Regency for 10 years, it was good but I have many scars on my arms from burns just above the welding gloves. The wood boiler is a big project and I will need hire a boiler tech to be sure it will connect to a 1959 boiler. I found one review on a Harmon boiler, the owner said it smokes upon loading. I live in the city and respect my neighbors, no smoke please!
Enough info?
Thank you
