New stove dealer for Lowes? No more Englander?

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I see they are carrying them under a "Forrester" name. Those are not what I've been seeing in my store. I need to run over there today, hopefully they have the larger ones out. The "Pleasant Hearth" stoves are pretty interesting.

Matt
 
BeGreen said:
Not sure about the 2000, but I think the Magnolia is made in China. Given that you can get a heavier duty stove made in the US by Englander or Canada by Drolet for the same price range, I would think about service, longevity and the jobs connected with the stove.

I would rather have an Englander 30 but there is a slight problem. The manual says the chimney can't be more than 30' tall from where the stove is connected to the top. Since I would have it in my basement and it's a two story house I am over 30'. I know it's probably not really a big deal but the real problem is that for my home owners insurance I need the fire department to inspect the stove and they go through every detail of the manual to make sure everything is setup right. I know they would ding me on this and refuse to pass my inspection.

These stoves at Tractor Supply/Lowes do not say anything about a max chimney hieght, just that the chimney needs to be taller than 12'. The Magnolia seems to be related to Drolet, in the manual it says "Licensed by Drolet Stoves and Fireplaces". The other one says Country Hearth in the manual.
 
albertj03 said:
BeGreen said:
Not sure about the 2000, but I think the Magnolia is made in China. Given that you can get a heavier duty stove made in the US by Englander or Canada by Drolet for the same price range, I would think about service, longevity and the jobs connected with the stove.

I would rather have an Englander 30 but there is a slight problem. The manual says the chimney can't be more than 30' tall from where the stove is connected to the top. Since I would have it in my basement and it's a two story house I am over 30'. I know it's probably not really a big deal but the real problem is that for my home owners insurance I need the fire department to inspect the stove and they go through every detail of the manual to make sure everything is setup right. I know they would ding me on this and refuse to pass my inspection.

These stoves at Tractor Supply/Lowes do not say anything about a max chimney hieght, just that the chimney needs to be taller than 12'. The Magnolia seems to be related to Drolet, in the manual it says "Licensed by Drolet Stoves and Fireplaces". The other one says Country Hearth in the manual.

Darn Firefighters. ;) I'm just surprised they can read. ;)
 
firefighterjake said:
Darn Firefighters. ;) I'm just surprised they can read. ;)

Sounds like something a cop would say. :lol:
 
BrotherBart said:
firefighterjake said:
Darn Firefighters. ;) I'm just surprised they can read. ;)

Sounds like something a cop would say. :lol:

HehHeh . . . somewhere on the internet is a whole bunch of videos with firefighter and cop puppets going back and forth on who is better . . . it's actually pretty funny stuff (and kind of cuts a bit close to the truth)
 
The two firemen who came to inspect my current stove were great guys and were very thorough. They must have read every single page of the manual and checked every measurement. The only thing they didn't do was go up on the roof but they said they sometimes do on older houses to check the chimney.
 
albertj03 said:
BeGreen said:
Not sure about the 2000, but I think the Magnolia is made in China. Given that you can get a heavier duty stove made in the US by Englander or Canada by Drolet for the same price range, I would think about service, longevity and the jobs connected with the stove.

I would rather have an Englander 30 but there is a slight problem. The manual says the chimney can't be more than 30' tall from where the stove is connected to the top. Since I would have it in my basement and it's a two story house I am over 30'. I know it's probably not really a big deal but the real problem is that for my home owners insurance I need the fire department to inspect the stove and they go through every detail of the manual to make sure everything is setup right. I know they would ding me on this and refuse to pass my inspection.

These stoves at Tractor Supply/Lowes do not say anything about a max chimney hieght, just that the chimney needs to be taller than 12'. The Magnolia seems to be related to Drolet, in the manual it says "Licensed by Drolet Stoves and Fireplaces". The other one says Country Hearth in the manual.

PM "stoveguy2esw" and see what he says about the max height. Maybe he can help you out or write an exemption?
 
albertj03 said:
The two firemen who came to inspect my current stove were great guys and were very thorough. They must have read every single page of the manual and checked every measurement. The only thing they didn't do was go up on the roof but they said they sometimes do on older houses to check the chimney.

I would think that an inline key damper could address the long pipe issue. Give Mike at Englander tech support a call or PM him with the question as Todd suggested.
 
firefighterjake said:
BrotherBart said:
firefighterjake said:
Darn Firefighters. ;) I'm just surprised they can read. ;)

Sounds like something a cop would say. :lol:

HehHeh . . . somewhere on the internet is a whole bunch of videos with firefighter and cop puppets going back and forth on who is better . . . it's actually pretty funny stuff (and kind of cuts a bit close to the truth)

This series?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jezSeQnfCg



Back to the stoves. I went back and looked today and the one at my Lowes has a keystone at the top of the door like the US Stoves do. Do the other US stoves have built in side heat shields? The pics on the US site don't show any.



Matt
 
EatenByLimestone said:
firefighterjake said:
BrotherBart said:
firefighterjake said:
Darn Firefighters. ;) I'm just surprised they can read. ;)

Sounds like something a cop would say. :lol:

HehHeh . . . somewhere on the internet is a whole bunch of videos with firefighter and cop puppets going back and forth on who is better . . . it's actually pretty funny stuff (and kind of cuts a bit close to the truth)

This series?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jezSeQnfCg



Back to the stoves. I went back and looked today and the one at my Lowes has a keystone at the top of the door like the US Stoves do. Do the other US stoves have built in side heat shields? The pics on the US site don't show any.



Matt

That would be the one. There's a whole series.
 
The one I saw had the keystone and also had the same legs as the US Stove stove.
 
Took a pic of it last week and forgot to post, here is the one they have at my local Lowes.
 

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That's the one at mine also. IMO, it looks like a good stove, but really small inside. I'd like to look at larger versions.

Matt
 
Personally as an Englander stove owner Lowe's dropping them as a stocking item pisses me off. Great stove at a great price. And I want England's Stove Works to keep selling a bunch of wood stoves. Like they have for 35 years.

No connection with the company except for the couple of stoves I bought but I want a successful American stove maker to keep on keeping on.
 
The Lowes here has one of the larger $999 ones. I'll try to get over there tomorrow and take a picture of it. It did look like a nice stove when I saw it before. The $899 Magnolia stove at Tractor Supply seems to be the same exact stove. Interestingly enough both of these stoves are almost identical to the Drolet 1800 stove.
 
Here is the larger version for $999 at Lowes. After a closer inspection I wasn't impressed with the way the handle is attached or the how cheap the feet are. It does have a very large firebox and door opening. The $899 stove at Tractor Supply is much nicer but the door opening is kind of small which seemed strange.

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For me. cost is a big issue. 649 is not too bad with a 5 yr warranty and made in the USA (so the clerk says Indiana per his training meeting), heats 1200 sq. ft., blower included. Can anyone tell me a better stove for 649? For me its this stove or an englander for 699 which heats up to 1,000 sq. ft. As Long as its not made in China , Im happy.
 
Aren't US stoves really made in China? A lot of "made in USA" is not true but semantics, as in, all the pieces shipped in from China or wherever and some final assembly is done in the US so they can claim "Made in USA" - very dicey. I understand price point is very important to many if not most of us but if I can get something TRULY made in the US for just a couple bucks more I would go for that when possible! I wish these manufacturers had to be even more up front about this stuff. I was personally so impressed that the Englanders were made in Virginia! I wish I could have found one that works for my application. If Lowes stops carrying them hopefully people can head over to Home Depot.
 
IndianaTech said:
Ha, thats great !!! Hopefully I made the right choice with the 30. My house is 1350 square with vaulted ceilings in the great room where the stove will be. I just finished my hearth frame, and will be covering it with 2 layers of Micore 160 this weekend :)



your gonna love that 30! i can heat my 1300 sq. ft. cape with that bad boy in the basement
3 cords and 200 gallons of oil
 
robertjp said:
For me. cost is a big issue. 649 is not too bad with a 5 yr warranty and made in the USA (so the clerk says Indiana per his training meeting), heats 1200 sq. ft., blower included. Can anyone tell me a better stove for 649? For me its this stove or an englander for 699 which heats up to 1,000 sq. ft. As Long as its not made in China , Im happy.

Not sure where it's made but the $699 stove at Tractor Supply seems to be a much nicer stove than the $649 stove at Lowes and they say it heats up to 2,000 sqft.
 
robertjp said:
For me. cost is a big issue. 649 is not too bad with a 5 yr warranty and made in the USA (so the clerk says Indiana per his training meeting), heats 1200 sq. ft., blower included. Can anyone tell me a better stove for 649? For me its this stove or an englander for 699 which heats up to 1,000 sq. ft. As Long as its not made in China , Im happy.

It looks like U.S. Stove company makes both of them and has cheaped down a few things to get Lowe’s business. Looks to be a version of the USSC AP1100. Be sure to check and see if the baffle in any stove you buy is replaceable. If not you could be buying a throw away stove. I used to have to replace the steel baffle in my old non-EPA stove every four years or so. Luckily the local iron works would make them for me for sixty bucks. If it had been permanently attached to the stove I would have been screwed.

And do not buy the 1,000 sq. ft. capacity Englander. It is a non-EPA certified stove that I wish they would quit making.
 
Brother Bart,

Thanks for the info. Can you tell me what a baffle is and where I locate it? I will check it out. Good point. Also funny the 1000 sq. ft Englander was my other choice. Why would they make a stove in 2010 that is not EPA rated? Which of those 2 stoves would you recommend. I dont have alot of choice in my price point and where Im gonna buy it near the Adirondak Mts. Thanks
 
The baffle is where the secondary burn takes place mostly in the EPA stoves. Some are tubes in the top of the firebox and some or like metal boxes at the top. After a while the baffles can burn out from the high heat being produced and need to be replaced. Some of the inexpensive stoves have the baffle or tubes welded right into the firebox and they cannot be replaced. You could run the stove with a busted baffle but it won't burn well and will not be as efficient.
 
robertjp said:
Brother Bart,

Thanks for the info. Can you tell me what a baffle is and where I locate it? I will check it out. Good point. Also funny the 1000 sq. ft Englander was my other choice. Why would they make a stove in 2010 that is not EPA rated? Which of those 2 stoves would you recommend. I dont have alot of choice in my price point and where Im gonna buy it near the Adirondak Mts. Thanks

There is not a track record for this series of "value" stoves that Lowe's seems to have picked up this year. Won't be for a good while until people buy them, burn in them and then show up here to tell us about it. You just may be the guinea pig.

The baffle is in the top of the stove firebox and keeps the gases from going up the chimney before they have a chance to be burned and become heat instead of smoke in your neighbor's nose and creosote on his car.

I am going to start expecting a commission from overstockstoves.com real soon but take a look at their re-branded Englander 13-NC 1,500 sq. ft. EPA stove here.

http://www.overstockstoves.com/50epacenowos.html

If you can use the tax credit available until year end you will get the stove for a net cost of five hundred bucks.
 
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