First off, I want to say thank you to all of you on here (Jags and other IR owners). I have been a stalker for many years and you guys (unknowingly) helped me select my stove back in 2009.
At the time I was looking to replace an 80s Vermont Castings Defiant (Beast). I was new to burning when I purchased my current home and this beast came with the home. I used it for 3 seasons before I replaced it.
My criteria, at the time, for the replacement stove was:
-Top Loader (for those of you out there with this on their "wish list" and haven't had it before, don't bother, I think I used it twice when I first got it, and I really wanted it)
-Side load would have been nice, but not required (liked it on the VC) -this is a nice feature I still with I had
-No Cat (being new to stoves, I didn't want the added hassle of maintenance and replacement)
-Cast Iron (like the look, and more importantly, wife likes the look)
-Large enough for my home
quick notes on my home - Colonial, post and beam, forced hot air propane, not heat on the second floor (never noticeable as the ceiling on the first floor is the floor on the second, literally same boards), main part of home is around 2000 sq ft. Then there is an addition of around 1500 off to the side. The addition is heated with 2 register rinnai propane heaters.
-Longer burn times and output the better (typically goes with size)
I am not sure there is much more I can add that the others on here haven't already said.
Bottom Line - am I happy with my choice? Absolutely! Great, solid, reliable, workhorse.
Pros:
It is easy to use
No Maintenance (just empty the ash pan)
Throws serious heat. As others have noted, it is not shy of the 700 mark (with thermometer on the left/front of the griddle, as others seem to use on here).
Burn times in the 8hr-12hr range are certainly possible (see below)
Folding andirons are a nice design and easy to use
Glass stays clean, and is easy to wipe down if it does get a little dirty
Cons:
Fiber Board broke soon after install, but was replaced ASAP, so a none issue
As noted by others, the firebox gets narrow in the back so you need shorter pieces if you want to fill the stove
Performance
Burn times:
So I use wood, canawick bricks, and canawick blocks. I won't get into the debate about the bricks/blocks vs wood as it serves a different purpose (in my mind). Pros and Cons to each. Well...I guess the only pro to the bricks/blocks is the convenience (it sits at the bottom of the stairs in the basement, which some in the house prefer on really cold days) but they loose on cost and performance.
Anyway, having said that, I have been using mostly the bricks/blocks this year for 2 reasons. One, my wood is not seasoned to my liking, and two, I wanted a consistent fuel that I could compare the IR performance with something else (talk about later).
So with 40lbs of bricks (2lb bricks) and a cold stove with an outside temp of 40 this is what I got:
11- am start 68 inside
11:30- air down stove temp 450
12- 500
12:30- 550
1- 600
2- 550 72 inside
3:30- 450
5- 350
6- 300 74 inside
7:30- 250 usable heat gone (anything below 300 is not enough heat to do anything)
So about 7-8 hrs with a cold start on a 40 degree day
another day 40lbs of bricks with a warm stove (250) and a much colder day (ranges from -10 to 10)
4- am start 250 65 inside
5- 700 air all the way down (with coals in the stove, things escalate quickly) 67 inside
8- 600 open air slightly 70 inside
12- 350 open air more 72 inside
2- 300
3- 275
4- 250 even though this is beyond usable heat the house was still 72 inside
So on a cold day it kept the house warm for 12 hrs starting with a nice bed of coals.
Trying to think of anything else I can share. Please feel free to ask questions about any of this. I am sure I missed something.
It is great stove, and thank you guys, again.
Kurt
At the time I was looking to replace an 80s Vermont Castings Defiant (Beast). I was new to burning when I purchased my current home and this beast came with the home. I used it for 3 seasons before I replaced it.
My criteria, at the time, for the replacement stove was:
-Top Loader (for those of you out there with this on their "wish list" and haven't had it before, don't bother, I think I used it twice when I first got it, and I really wanted it)
-Side load would have been nice, but not required (liked it on the VC) -this is a nice feature I still with I had
-No Cat (being new to stoves, I didn't want the added hassle of maintenance and replacement)
-Cast Iron (like the look, and more importantly, wife likes the look)
-Large enough for my home
quick notes on my home - Colonial, post and beam, forced hot air propane, not heat on the second floor (never noticeable as the ceiling on the first floor is the floor on the second, literally same boards), main part of home is around 2000 sq ft. Then there is an addition of around 1500 off to the side. The addition is heated with 2 register rinnai propane heaters.
-Longer burn times and output the better (typically goes with size)
I am not sure there is much more I can add that the others on here haven't already said.
Bottom Line - am I happy with my choice? Absolutely! Great, solid, reliable, workhorse.
Pros:
It is easy to use
No Maintenance (just empty the ash pan)
Throws serious heat. As others have noted, it is not shy of the 700 mark (with thermometer on the left/front of the griddle, as others seem to use on here).
Burn times in the 8hr-12hr range are certainly possible (see below)
Folding andirons are a nice design and easy to use
Glass stays clean, and is easy to wipe down if it does get a little dirty
Cons:
Fiber Board broke soon after install, but was replaced ASAP, so a none issue
As noted by others, the firebox gets narrow in the back so you need shorter pieces if you want to fill the stove
Performance
Burn times:
So I use wood, canawick bricks, and canawick blocks. I won't get into the debate about the bricks/blocks vs wood as it serves a different purpose (in my mind). Pros and Cons to each. Well...I guess the only pro to the bricks/blocks is the convenience (it sits at the bottom of the stairs in the basement, which some in the house prefer on really cold days) but they loose on cost and performance.
Anyway, having said that, I have been using mostly the bricks/blocks this year for 2 reasons. One, my wood is not seasoned to my liking, and two, I wanted a consistent fuel that I could compare the IR performance with something else (talk about later).
So with 40lbs of bricks (2lb bricks) and a cold stove with an outside temp of 40 this is what I got:
11- am start 68 inside
11:30- air down stove temp 450
12- 500
12:30- 550
1- 600
2- 550 72 inside
3:30- 450
5- 350
6- 300 74 inside
7:30- 250 usable heat gone (anything below 300 is not enough heat to do anything)
So about 7-8 hrs with a cold start on a 40 degree day
another day 40lbs of bricks with a warm stove (250) and a much colder day (ranges from -10 to 10)
4- am start 250 65 inside
5- 700 air all the way down (with coals in the stove, things escalate quickly) 67 inside
8- 600 open air slightly 70 inside
12- 350 open air more 72 inside
2- 300
3- 275
4- 250 even though this is beyond usable heat the house was still 72 inside
So on a cold day it kept the house warm for 12 hrs starting with a nice bed of coals.
Trying to think of anything else I can share. Please feel free to ask questions about any of this. I am sure I missed something.
It is great stove, and thank you guys, again.
Kurt
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