Seeking Advice from the Stove Masters.!!! Please Help

[Tyler]

I am fairly new to the site. Have been reading for about a year or so now. Wonderful site full of knowledge/ personal experience.

I'm in the notion of buying a new stove for the upcoming winter. I had a used CDW 264 that I had bought with the intention of installing it to use, but after reading on here I decided to sell it. Plus it was going to need about $200 in parts for it to make me happy. So I sold it.

I'm wanting a wood stove for my garage/man cave/ workshop. It is a pole barn that is 40' x 30' with 10ft ceilings with concrete floor. I have divided the barn into two parts via a 2x4 studded wall with R-13 insulation. Making the room 12X30 and then the rest of barn would be 28x30. The walls will have a R-8 or R-10 on them and the ceiling will have barn metal on bottom of the truss with a R-30 blown in the "attic." The wood stove will go into the 12x30 part of the barn. Also in the 2x4 studded wall I have installed 2 windows that are evenly spaced along the wall for heat to escape the smaller room to the 28x30 part. The windows are 4ft tall and 3ft wide.

-Live in Southern Ohio. Winters can get bad. Temps anywhere from low teens to 40F.

Now that you know where it is going, I have a few requirements for a stove. Would like the following

-Heat around 1200 sqft
-Blower
-Front glass to see fire
-Overnight Burns (Could be asking a lot)
-Able to get parts years down the road
-6" Flue
-Would like to spend $800-$1400 on a stove (Already have piping)
-Would like North/South loading

-Will be burning hardwoods like Oak and Hedge (Osage Orange) mainly along with some maple, locust, ash, and hickory mixed in. (Farm for a living so if a tree falls in the field it usually gets burnt the following winter lol )

-Yes I'm aware Hedge pops and cracks. Have been burning it for years in a Brunco 190 in Main shop

With all of that being said I think I have answered a lot of the questions you will have. Now the stoves I have considered/ looked at have been

- Pacific Energy True North T19 ($1195 w/blower)
-U.S Stove 1100 ($650)
-Vogelzang Defender ($700)

Kind of leaning towards the True North. What are you thoughts? Should I be looking in a different direction? Any other suggestions? Open to ideas. Doesn't have to be one of the three above.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.!!

 

[Grisu]

The PE True North is probably the ideal fit for your requirements. If you do a forum search you will find some reports here. Overall people seem to be happy with the stove although it does not get quite the long burn times of the PE Super. On the other hand, filling it with dry oak and osage orange will give you long burns for sure. They are some of the highest BTU woods out there. Btw. I would season them for 2 to 3 years (split and stacked in a sunny and windy location). One summer will hardly be enough to get to an internal moisture content of less than 20 %. If you want to save some money on the stove, skip the blower. A small desktop fan a few feet away blowing air towards the stove will be cheaper, more quiet, and be as efficient in distributing the heat.

One more option I want to mention is the new Englander Madison stove which should soon be available in your big box store (such as HD) at least online. Englander makes great stoves and has very good customer service plus one of their employees is an active member here. Here is a recent thread about the stove which includes the manual: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/madison-in-my-burn-trailer.128150/ Price is supposed to be under $1000.

 

[begreen]

I agree with the Englander suggestion and would consider going up to the 30NC because of the cold concrete floor, potential very cold winter temps, and the need for excess BTUs to bring the space up to temp in a reasonable time. If it gets too warm, open up a window or two into the rest of the space. Or get the 13NC and keep the space closed off.

 

[Tyler]

The PE True North is probably the ideal fit for your requirements. If you do a forum search you will find some reports here. Overall people seem to be happy with the stove although it does not get quite the long burn times of the PE Super. On the other hand, filling it with dry oak and osage orange will give you long burns for sure. They are some of the highest BTU woods out there. Btw. I would season them for 2 to 3 years (split and stacked in a sunny and windy location). One summer will hardly be enough to get to an internal moisture content of less than 20 %. If you want to save some money on the stove, skip the blower. A small desktop fan a few feet away blowing air towards the stove will be cheaper, more quiet, and be as efficient in distributing the heat.

One more option I want to mention is the new Englander Madison stove which should soon be available in your big box store (such as HD) at least online. Englander makes great stoves and has very good customer service plus one of their employees is an active member here. Here is a recent thread about the stove which includes the manual: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/madison-in-my-burn-trailer.128150/ Price is supposed to be under $1000.

So I could use a Regular fan and do the same thing as the blower that would come on the on the stove? What about using one of those heat activated fans?

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

What about using one of those heat activated fans?

They are more for ambiance not really for moving large amounts of air. I use mine more as an indication of the stove top temp ie the faster it spins the hotter the stove.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

The PE True North is probably the ideal fit for your requirements. If you do a forum search you will find some reports here. Overall people seem to be happy with the stove although it does not get quite the long burn times of the PE Super. On the other hand, filling it with dry oak and osage orange will give you long burns for sure. They are some of the highest BTU woods out there. Btw. I would season them for 2 to 3 years (split and stacked in a sunny and windy location). One summer will hardly be enough to get to an internal moisture content of less than 20 %. If you want to save some money on the stove, skip the blower. A small desktop fan a few feet away blowing air towards the stove will be cheaper, more quiet, and be as efficient in distributing the heat.

One more option I want to mention is the new Englander Madison stove which should soon be available in your big box store (such as HD) at least online. Englander makes great stoves and has very good customer service plus one of their employees is an active member here. Here is a recent thread about the stove which includes the manual: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/madison-in-my-burn-trailer.128150/ Price is supposed to be under $1000.

I think andy at AMFM is selling that unit for 899.00 with shipping included, though he carries the 13 and 30 as well the 30 is at $849 and the 13 at $615.
note these are "blemished' units , may have a scratched top or similar cosmetic issue. these are units which have minor cosmetic issue that we set aside from production that we would ship to our primary vendors. andy buys them from us and sells them online

 

[Tyler]

I agree with the Englander suggestion and would consider going up to the 30NC because of the cold concrete floor, potential very cold winter temps, and the need for excess BTUs to bring the space up to temp in a reasonable time. If it gets too warm, open up a window or two into the rest of the space. Or get the 13NC and keep the space closed off.

What is the going price of a 30NC or a 13NC?

 

[Tyler]

I use mine more as an indication of the stove top temp ie the faster it spins the hotter the stove.

Ok that makes sense. What brand is the one you have?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

depot is carrying them at $649.00 for the 13 and $899.00 for the 30 , I did a quick look at their website
http://www.homedepot.com/s/woodstoves?NCNI-5
I should note im skirting pretty close to my "no selling in the forum" pledge to Webbie so im not going to do any more in the thread as far as pricing and such, but if you want to PM me about my stoves i'd be happy to chat with you.

also I see you are interested in the VZ defender and US stove , check in with member "Owen1508" who is my counterpart so to speak at USSC (US Stove) on his products, im sure he'd be happy to answer any questions on his units as well.
we both work in Customer support for our companies , me at ESW and Owen at USSC

 

[Tyler]

How are the burn times on the Englander 30NC?

 

[begreen]

Good, especially with the fine hardwoods you have available. 10-12 hrs should be achievable.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

yeah, a long burn in the 30 is one of its better selling points. its a great stove

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

What brand is the one you have?

I actually have 2 - the eco-fan which is self propelling once the temp of the stove gets to ~200 (5 mins on the Country Hearth.) Its also silent in operation.

The second is a sterling motor stove fan. This actually needs a spin to get it moving and it only works when the stove is over 300 but it pumps out a bit more air but it is quite noisy.

Both are a bit gimmicky but when you try and explain them to visitors...... the stirling motor is cool.

 

[jeff_t]

So I could use a Regular fan and do the same thing as the blower that would come on the on the stove?

In my experiences with both of my stoves, no. A stove that is designed to be more convective than radiant will benefit from a blower that is designed to be used with the stove.

 

[Tyler]

In my experiences with both of my stoves, no. A stove that is designed to be more convective than radiant will benefit from a blower that is designed to be used with the stove.

That was always my Thought process with a blower on a stove

 

[Tyler]

I agree with the Englander suggestion and would consider going up to the 30NC because of the cold concrete floor, potential very cold winter temps, and the need for excess BTUs to bring the space up to temp in a reasonable time. If it gets too warm, open up a window or two into the rest of the space. Or get the 13NC and keep the space closed off.

Do you think Englander is a better built stove over the PE True North

 

[jeff_t]

Do you think Englander is a better built stove over the PE True North

They are constructed similarly. At a similar price point, the 30 is much bigger.

The more expensive PE stoves have more expensive features. Something the Englander stoves have, that PE doesn't, is Mike Holton

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Something the Englander stoves have, that PE doesn't, is Mike Holton

nice to be appreciated, but im not somthing one should base a purchase on. but i appreciate the sentiment

 

[begreen]

Do you think Englander is a better built stove over the PE True North

When you get down to the simpler, value-line stoves, they are mostly similar in construction and design. Both the 30NC and the TN19 have squarish fireboxes which I prefer. I would say the build quality is about equal between the two, but for the price you get an extra cu ft with the 30NC. In some cases the extra capacity is not necessary and the 30NC is overkill for the smaller closed off area. However, I am reading that you have designed large windows to share the heat with the rest of the building. The larger firebox will help you to more quickly take the small area up to temperature when it is say only 40F in there, and it will mean less refills per day plus a larger load for overnight. When the small area is warmed, open the windows. In milder weather just make partial load fires and let the stove go out if it's comfortable.

 

[brenndatomu]

Just FYI, the Vogelzang Defender is likely not a good fit for your shop, too small considering the 10' ceilings and concrete floor. Also, only does about a 4-5 hr burn time.
I concur with the above suggestions of the Englander NC30, a lot of fire power for the $$.