Opinions wanted - new stove

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Soggy

New Member
Oct 18, 2016
1
SE Alaska
Greetings. Thanks to all who make these forums possible.

I am looking for some opinions from those with wood stoves.

I'm looking for some recommendations on modern cat or non cat welded steel stoves. Looking for a large capacity unit, roughly 3cu ft firebox... I'm partial to flat top units, front load, with ability to run fans/blowers. Appearance isn't an issue as were not putting it on the main living level. We live on an island in SE Alaska and burn softwoods.

Application:

I have a 1926 Victorian, with a centrally located chimney that once serviced an old fuel oil boiler in the partially finished basement. I'm planning on putting in a new rigid stainless steel flue and want to install the stove in the basement in the same place the furnace was installed. The chimney connection is 44 inches above bare ground (I know I'll have to poor a pad or install something level for a new stove... bricked, gravel pad, etc.), thus stove height is of interest. Other Clearance issues should not be a problem, as the only nearby walls are not load bearing and will be relocated to accommodate a new layout in the basement (there is a family room down there which we'll use, assumng the stove doesn't cook us out). Our goal is to heat the 2 floors above by passive transfer (and maybe some forced fan assistance) through the old plenum and duct work that the furnace used.

Narrowing down a few potential units that have good reviews, and meet my objectives will help me pick what size flue I need to install. We don't have a good dealer in town as most everyone switched to resistance electric heaters when fuel shot up years ago, so am looking to users for their experiences.

Recommended units and west coast retailers would be super helpful. Thank you!

Also, I've owned a quadrafire and 2 blaze kings in previous houses... pretty sure they're made out of gold, but that might just be the price of a quality stove.

Thanks for your help.
 
There should be some AK Blaze King dealers up there. In non-cat, budget stoves Home Depot sells Englanders. The 30NC and the SSW02 are 3.0 cu ft stoves. The Pacific Energy Summit can be shipped up from Bellingham if no dealers there. www.chimneysweeponline.com. Woodstock sells direct. Their Ideal Steel would be worth checking out. www.woodstove.com
 
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