Newbie Help ~ Frontier Stove

[hct4all]

Good afternoon. I "found" a Frontier wood burner on the local craigslist, but want to consult more knowledgeable folks before I purchase. I am purchasing it for my cabin in Northern PA. It will be used about 20 times per year. I like the size and the looks of it but I have not been able to find out any info about it on the net. I do not want to get a "smoke dragon" as I have heard some of the stoves called on this site! It is a Frontier Model IL-30-8.

So the specific questions are?

Is this a good stove for the application?
What is it worth?

Thank you!

Rick

 

[tickbitty]

This looks like one of the many copies made of Fisher stoves, possibly in the late 70s or so? Fisher was an excellent stove for it's time but they quit making them after the EPA rules became stricter. Most folks do refer to anything that doesn't qualify under current EPA standards as a "smoke dragon" and certainly they will consume more wood and pollute more than those newer stoves. But there are ways that you can burn stoves like that to be more efficient, (there are videos on youtube and etc.) and there are plenty of folks who would not trade their fisher (or other) stoves for anything! Check out Coaly's "everything fisher" thread for example!

HOWEVER, if you really don't want a smoke dragon, and depending on what the folks on CL are asking for the Frontier stove, you might be better off trying to take advantage of some of the sales on Englander/Summer's heat EPA certified stoves at the box stores (lowes, home depot, etc) right now. People on here often get those stoves for a song, prices that definitely rival what folks on Craigslist ask for 10, 20, 30 year old stoves!

 

[BrotherBart]

It will probably make a fine cabin stove. Here is an ad from 1979 for those stoves.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...GEgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xWUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5725,4949551

I would give a hundred for one were I looking for something like that. You are going to need plenty of clearance room in the neighborhood of 36 inches on all sides from anything combustible and it is gonna eat a lot of wood.

 

[webbie]

I think this company eventually turned into Country Stoves and then to the present Lennox steel stove line.....

that is just for history sake, won't do you any good. I would use the clearances from NFPA and from the Fisher models for the basics......

 

[hct4all]

Thanks guys. I am going to take a look at it. I am intrigued. I spoke to the gentleman today and he said that the manual states approved for mobile home use. 12" clearance from combustibles. Might be perfect for camp. I will let you know. Best regards,

Rick