need new stove

[wellbuilt home]

Hi all, I am new here .I have a 3200 sf house on 2 floors .I have been heating with a VCDutch West 55000but unit. My son left the flue open over night and over fired the stove. My stove is 15years old and needs about 800 bucks worth of parts to make it burn good again . I was thinking i would get a new one but i read that Vermont castings is going under. I would like to get a larger stove but i could use some help picking one out. I like the hearthstone and jotul makes a stove that puts out 72000 btu .my Dutch west was real sweet and only burned around 80lbs of wood a day.I am a builder and get all the wood i want but splitting is lots of work I dont want to feed it all day .It seems like the hearth stone burns more wood in less time.What do you think? P/S I have not turned my gas heat on in years so i need a good stove

 

[savageactor7]

Welcome WH. There's a lot of good stoves out there. The newer EPA rated stoves re-burn the smoke so you end up burning (splitting) less wood while staying warmer. We have a QF4300 that heats the sf+ that you have...but truthfully I wish we would have gotten the next size larger...it was a wife deal.

The Quada Fire is one of many non catalytic stoves that I would recommend if you are worried about proper procedures being followed. Otherwise CAT stoves are even more efficient and will hold a fire longer.

VC is going through reorganization so it might be a good idea to pass them up for the time being.

Good luck with finding a good or better replacement stove...I found it to be a pleasurable experience shopping for stoves (even though I didn't want a new stove) and was amazed how much simple wood burning tech changed...I still amazed they can burn smokeless.

 

[begreen]

That's impressive that the Dutchwest could heat that large space well. The house must be well insulated and tight. Good job!

Hearthstone and Jotul both make great stoves. You should be happy with either brand. I was also going to suggest the Woodstock Fireview as a soapstone catalytic stove, but it sounds like you want a bit more firepower. You might consider a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6. This season we switched to this cast iron/steel hybrid and are very pleased with it. It burns well with a half-load of wood, yet has the reserves for some serious burning and holds a fire well for a long time.

 

[Todd]

For a big place like that I would consider the Hearthstone Equinox with it's big 4 cu ft firebox or the Blaze King cat stove has a huge firebox and bragging rights for one of the longest burns.

 

[wellbuilt home]

I was looking at the equinx and i think it nice but it big bucks .I could have bought a new floor model for 2700 in the spring , now im kicking myself.I use about one rack of wood a day les when warm more if its around 10deg out side .My rack holds 2 foot logs about 2' by 2' square about 8 cub feet of wood.a cord lasts me around 20 days but when its in the 30s we only burn at night .I think i use around 4 or 5 cord a year.I wish i could tell how much wood the larger soap stone stove will burn per day to heat my house?If the fire box is 4 sq feet and i fill it twice a day it should be around the same as my DW It is a pain to fill the DW to the top plus the logs need to be split real small I can haul 31/2 cord of wood at a time. so two trips with the truck and im done .I am a builder so i get payed to cut trees and take them away I take the spliter to the job and cut the wood into 1/4s so thay can dry .My wife has a home day care so i have to get the wood small so the kids can carry it in the back yard. I guess a large fire box could take large logs so it mite not be a big deal .I do have 3 sons that haul the wood in the house.I am thinking about adding a 20x20 family room off the side of the house.I do have a 8" ss flue and most stoves take 6 "now could i just adapt it to the 8" or should i sleve it to the roof 32'? Ive been in the wood burning game for a long time but theres lots of new stuff out now. How long dose a SSflu last ? Ive burned around 80 cord of wood in my DW since new and it runs hot most of the time Ive replaced the cat twice and some door gaskits and ive painted it a few times.will the soap stone last for 80 cords of wood ? Thanks for the help guys .

 

[SteveT]

It seems that you'd like a soapstone stove but worry about it burning more wood and possibly not lasting a long time. In my opinion neither concern should sway your decision. How much wood the stove burns is based on the efficiency, not the material. Efficiency is simply how many BTU's get into the house vs. how many BTU's worth of wood go into the firebox. So for whether you have steel, iron or soapstone you get the same heat if the stove efficiency is equal. What will vary is how quickly you get heat. Soapstone has greater thermal mass so it will absorb heat for awhile before heating the room but it will eventually release that heat into the room. A soapstone stove heats long after the fire goes out.

I don't think 80 cords will even begin to wear out any stove, soapstone or other. As you found out one overfiring can drive a major repair but twenty year (or more) stove lives seem to be common if the stove is properly operate. Hearthstone is a top quality brand and they provide a strong warranty (lifetime on the soapstone) so I wouldn't avoid it if you like the other aspects (aesthetics, size, price etc.)

 

[begreen]

If the 55000 btu Dutchwest was doing a good job, the Equinox seems like it might be overkill.

 

[BrotherBart]

I think that if you are a happy cat stove camper that you should stay with cat stoves. Woodstock makes some very nice looking soapstone cat stoves. The Fireview being one them:

http://www.woodstove.com/pages/wood_stove_fireview.html

 

[trailblaster]

I like how you said" my wife has a home daycare so I have to get the wood small so the kids can carry it in the backyard." The future wood burners of America.

 

[wellbuilt home]

The room that my stove is in is about 2000 sq feet it a foyer' kitchen , dr, FR, large stair case to the bed rooms on the 2nd floor with the bed rooms all around..My wifes day care has two doors with fans in the wall to pull heat in .I do sit about 7' from the stove but the ceiling is around 18' hight .All my ceilings,floors, and walls are insulated inside and out so i could and do close off rooms if it gets cold .(around +10deg )The washer pipes in the bacement will freeze at -15 but we dont see that very often.Could i burn the Equinox with 16" loges in the center of the fire box to lower the heat out put and still burn clean and be effecient.I think I could use small hot fires in the spring and fall and let them go out. Man i would like to heat some hot water with wood how about a coil around the chimneyunder a heat shield and run to my hot water heater and tee it off to the hot and cold lines ? Will it go boom ? My wife would kill me.

 

[Todd]

You can always build a smaller fire in a big stove for less heat output and fill her up when you need it. Better to have too much stove than not enough.

As far as hot water goes, I wouldn't do it, seems dangerous to me with all the pressure that could build up.

 

[wellbuilt home]

Well i went to the stove store today and i think im doing for the equinox its look real nice and it only comes in black .
The stove is very big and has a hefty price to go with it 2900+ tax but my old CDW is around 1600 .

 

[Todd]

Congrats, That Equinox looks like a real heating beast. I wouldn't worry so much about the sticker shock. It will pay for itself.