Thinking of a wood stove upgrade,Vermont castings or jutol or other wood stove suggestion's..we have a non catalytic stove now.may want a catalytic stove but not sure? we heat about 1700 square feet any help would be appreciated.
STOVE UPGRADE
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Hey post this in the hearth room you'll get more answers there. Vermont castings = junk these days...I think most will agree. I love my jotul. Any modern stove rated for that kind of square footage will pretty much do the trick. Spend some time browsing the site, looking at the pics of installs etc. LOTS of options out there - pick what you like the looks of and go from there.
Is this a beauty stove going in a living area or a basic heater going in the basement to replace the pellet stove? I agree with the Jotul suggestion but am wondering if a basic steel stove will suffice.
MEATHEAD,So are the modern stoves getting away from catalytic? we have a small steel pacific energy,We like it for the most part just would like to have a bigger fire box, my mother in law has a dutch west Vermont castings she brags about it all the time ,I'd love to tell her Vermont castings are junk these days! so far jutol looks like a possibility for us..thanks for the input...
{thank god my mother in law is not a member}
{thank god my mother in law is not a member}
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I've got a PE Super 27 that is just awsome. I only heat 1300 sq ft, but it does it with heat to spare. Easy to light, burns even and gets 8-9 hour burns no problem. I cant imagine a stove this size doing any better.
SolarAndWood
Minister of Fire
There are many good cat and non-cat stoves on the market today. It really depends on what your goals are.
If your goal is to use wood as your sole source of heat, I would verify that anyone giving you advice does it successfully before letting it affect your decision. Something also tells me that when the wind is howling off Lake Superior, you need more to heat your 1700 sq ft than the folks printing the glossy stove brochures were thinking.
BTW, Ramsay looks like a beautiful place to live. The Apostles are on the short list of destinations after the kids get a little older.
If your goal is to use wood as your sole source of heat, I would verify that anyone giving you advice does it successfully before letting it affect your decision. Something also tells me that when the wind is howling off Lake Superior, you need more to heat your 1700 sq ft than the folks printing the glossy stove brochures were thinking.
BTW, Ramsay looks like a beautiful place to live. The Apostles are on the short list of destinations after the kids get a little older.
Ratman
Feeling the Heat
Ratman said:
Yep. Now I officially feel old. We went to see that thing on its opening night. On our honeymoon.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
You've already got some good advice . . . and here's my two bits of advice.
I agree . . . based on many reviews here and the fact that Vermont Castings seems to still be working out the kinks, as for me, I would probably lean away from those stoves right now . . . hopefully the company will rebound and come back in a big way, but right now it seems as though many folks are having issues with these stoves . . . but don't take my word for it, check out the reviews sections and do a thread search so you can get the whole picture (since some folks love their VC.)
For the record, I have a Jotul and love it . . . with one year+ it's been a fantastic stove . . . but that said, as mentioned I think there are a lot of other great EPA stoves you might want to consider . . . figure out what you need for a size and what features may or may not be important to you and then check out several stove shops.
Cat vs. non-cat . . . always a heated debate. Me, I started out anti-cat . . . now I'm not so leery of them and would give some serious consideration to a cat stove since many of my fears and concerns have been lessened after listening to many actual users here at hearth.com. While I would say most stove manufacturers have embraced the secondary burn tech over cats, I wouldn't say cats no longer have a future . . . in fact, in some ways I think the future is pretty good for them once folks realize some of the benefits. Woodstock and BlazeKing are two companies that a lot of folks mention here as good cat stoves.
Steel vs. cast iron vs. soapstone . . . the other great debate . . . I personally like the look of the cast iron Jotuls too for the record . . . although the soapstone stoves look mighty pretty too.
I agree . . . based on many reviews here and the fact that Vermont Castings seems to still be working out the kinks, as for me, I would probably lean away from those stoves right now . . . hopefully the company will rebound and come back in a big way, but right now it seems as though many folks are having issues with these stoves . . . but don't take my word for it, check out the reviews sections and do a thread search so you can get the whole picture (since some folks love their VC.)
For the record, I have a Jotul and love it . . . with one year+ it's been a fantastic stove . . . but that said, as mentioned I think there are a lot of other great EPA stoves you might want to consider . . . figure out what you need for a size and what features may or may not be important to you and then check out several stove shops.
Cat vs. non-cat . . . always a heated debate. Me, I started out anti-cat . . . now I'm not so leery of them and would give some serious consideration to a cat stove since many of my fears and concerns have been lessened after listening to many actual users here at hearth.com. While I would say most stove manufacturers have embraced the secondary burn tech over cats, I wouldn't say cats no longer have a future . . . in fact, in some ways I think the future is pretty good for them once folks realize some of the benefits. Woodstock and BlazeKing are two companies that a lot of folks mention here as good cat stoves.
Steel vs. cast iron vs. soapstone . . . the other great debate . . . I personally like the look of the cast iron Jotuls too for the record . . . although the soapstone stoves look mighty pretty too.
Like some have said, modern stoves aren't getting away from CAT technology at all. The secondary burn systems non CAT stoves use now are clean burning without a CAT...but really it depends on what you want out of the stove. Personally, I have thus far stayed away from CAT stoves. The house I grew up in had an early one that was a bear to keep going, and I have been weary of them ever since. Plus, the idea of needing to pay for a new combuster every 5 or so years always rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. Truth be told, the more I read about modern CAT stoves the better they sound to me. If the stove is going to be in frequently utilized living space, it may well be something to consider. The CAT stoves can be shut way down and still burn clean, which gives you a little more control over the temp of the room the stove is actually in than you may get with a non CAT if you have a fire going 24/7.
Look at everything and play with all of them on showroom floors before you buy anything.
Look at everything and play with all of them on showroom floors before you buy anything.
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
As someone who just replaced the cat assembly on an Intrepid II ($270 plus $120-$170 for the Catylist) and researched the pricing on catalytic parts for an Encore ($700) I say run and don't walk away from VC catalytic stoves. There is also a wait time of 3-4 weeks for parts... and you still might not have them.
In all fairness to cat stoves, EPA non-cats aren't without their maintenance items either. The baffles in a non-cat are submitted to temperatures rivaling what the cats go through and have a finite life also. And they ain't cheap either. Also the burn tubes in them have to have an end of life based on usage though I haven't seen anybody on here having to replace them but there aren't a lot of owner's of older non-cats on the forum. For an example replacing the baffle boards in my 30-NC would cost $150. Replacing the burn tubes would be another $150.
Bottom line is that you are going to have some maintenance costs with non-cat stoves too. Truth be known I had to replace the steel baffle in my old pre-EPA stove every five or six years. And if the local iron works hadn't been so kind as to bend one into shape for fifty bucks a pop I would have had major expenses with that one.
Bottom line is that you are going to have some maintenance costs with non-cat stoves too. Truth be known I had to replace the steel baffle in my old pre-EPA stove every five or six years. And if the local iron works hadn't been so kind as to bend one into shape for fifty bucks a pop I would have had major expenses with that one.
No...NO...you're wrong...everything on my stove will live forever and ever.
ok so realistically there will be some maintenance involved with any stove
ok so realistically there will be some maintenance involved with any stove
Thank you!,all the good info will come in handy! I talked to the place I bought my pacific energy stove,and they would take it in on trade so that sounds like a good option? they also sell Vermont castings stoves of course he had nothing bad to say about them.He said if we want a non cat stove go with p.e.if we want cat. go with v.c. I'll do some more research and than make a decision...thanks again..this site is awesome...
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