Hi - I'm new here. If I gave my entire woodburning history, and the history of the stove I'm now looking to replace, this would be a very long post. I'll give the "Reader's Digest" version here, and fill in more details if anyone is interested. I have been burning wood almost continuously since 1979. Here is the old Blaze King Royal Heir, Model RHT-2100, installed in my living room. The TV and stand have been replaced since the photo.
This stove has had at least 3 owners, and is 25 years old or more. We have owned and used it since we were finishing our new home, in the late fall of 2004. The catalyst has been replaced at least twice that I know of. It would need replacing again, if I continued to use it (there are big holes in the cat now). The stove has been overfired many times, and the top baffle is buckled badly. The pops, snaps and banging noises with temperature changes have become a bit disconcerting. My wife and I have decided to retire the poor old sweetheart, and buy a new EPA stove.
Since we had such good service from the Blaze King, we went to a local stove shop chain that sells them. At one of their stores was a Blaze King Princess. At another store, they had a King Ultra, but not in the version we were interested in. Considering that we came in the door predisposed toward buying a Blaze King, we were surprised to find that the salesman was not particularly high on that brand. He introduced us to a Jotul F 50 TL Rangely, a Regency F3100, and a Quadra-Fire F3100. I think part of the salesman's hesitation on the Blaze King was that it was about $1,000 more than most of the others. Maine people (myself included) don't usually like to spend more money than we have to.
Next, we visited a local appliance dealer that sells Napoleons. We considered the 1900 Pedestal model there. That was the lower end of the price range that we have looked at, but seemed to be a good value.
Our next stop was at a stove, canoe and kayak shop. We, and some of our relatives, have bought kayaks there. Friends of ours have also bought a stove there. They also gave us very prompt service in getting a replacement catalyst for our "oddball" Blaze King, when a closer stove shop kept putting us off for over a month. This dealer had other brands, but after listening to our discussion of what we wanted, particularly recommended the Enviro Kodiak 1700. He has been heating his store with it for almost 2 seasons. We liked that, but also priced the next larger model, the Kodiak 2100. We also looked at a Boston 1200 in this store. It is a convection stove, with the same firebox as the Kodiak 1200, but with cast iron exterior panels, similar to the Jotul Rangely.
When I got home, i checked Envio's website and learned that the Boston series is also available in the 1700 size. I asked our dealer for a quote on that. It turns out that you pay plenty for the cast iron look on a convection stove. It's $560 more than the quote we got on the Kodiak 2100. Still, if money were no object, that's probably the stove I would buy.
The new Blaze King is very interesting, but I would prefer to get a non-catalyst stove this time around. I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on an order for the Enviro Kodiak 2100. It's a step-top pedestal setup. Our house has about 1800 SF on the main floor and 1500 upstairs, which we do not use much, except three of four times a year when the kids come to visit. While the Kodiak 1700 might suffice, the 2100 will take longer wood. I am used to sizing my fire, based on how much heat I want to get. I don't think that going to a larger firebox should be a big problem.
I would welcome your comments and suggestions. I have searched this forum for the Enviros, and have found a very few comments and reviews. If you have an Enviro, this would be a good chance to give us an update.
This stove has had at least 3 owners, and is 25 years old or more. We have owned and used it since we were finishing our new home, in the late fall of 2004. The catalyst has been replaced at least twice that I know of. It would need replacing again, if I continued to use it (there are big holes in the cat now). The stove has been overfired many times, and the top baffle is buckled badly. The pops, snaps and banging noises with temperature changes have become a bit disconcerting. My wife and I have decided to retire the poor old sweetheart, and buy a new EPA stove.
Since we had such good service from the Blaze King, we went to a local stove shop chain that sells them. At one of their stores was a Blaze King Princess. At another store, they had a King Ultra, but not in the version we were interested in. Considering that we came in the door predisposed toward buying a Blaze King, we were surprised to find that the salesman was not particularly high on that brand. He introduced us to a Jotul F 50 TL Rangely, a Regency F3100, and a Quadra-Fire F3100. I think part of the salesman's hesitation on the Blaze King was that it was about $1,000 more than most of the others. Maine people (myself included) don't usually like to spend more money than we have to.
Next, we visited a local appliance dealer that sells Napoleons. We considered the 1900 Pedestal model there. That was the lower end of the price range that we have looked at, but seemed to be a good value.
Our next stop was at a stove, canoe and kayak shop. We, and some of our relatives, have bought kayaks there. Friends of ours have also bought a stove there. They also gave us very prompt service in getting a replacement catalyst for our "oddball" Blaze King, when a closer stove shop kept putting us off for over a month. This dealer had other brands, but after listening to our discussion of what we wanted, particularly recommended the Enviro Kodiak 1700. He has been heating his store with it for almost 2 seasons. We liked that, but also priced the next larger model, the Kodiak 2100. We also looked at a Boston 1200 in this store. It is a convection stove, with the same firebox as the Kodiak 1200, but with cast iron exterior panels, similar to the Jotul Rangely.
When I got home, i checked Envio's website and learned that the Boston series is also available in the 1700 size. I asked our dealer for a quote on that. It turns out that you pay plenty for the cast iron look on a convection stove. It's $560 more than the quote we got on the Kodiak 2100. Still, if money were no object, that's probably the stove I would buy.
The new Blaze King is very interesting, but I would prefer to get a non-catalyst stove this time around. I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on an order for the Enviro Kodiak 2100. It's a step-top pedestal setup. Our house has about 1800 SF on the main floor and 1500 upstairs, which we do not use much, except three of four times a year when the kids come to visit. While the Kodiak 1700 might suffice, the 2100 will take longer wood. I am used to sizing my fire, based on how much heat I want to get. I don't think that going to a larger firebox should be a big problem.
I would welcome your comments and suggestions. I have searched this forum for the Enviros, and have found a very few comments and reviews. If you have an Enviro, this would be a good chance to give us an update.
