Hey folks alittle background first. I currently burn a Lopi Answer, it does an awesome job when the winter weather is not to bitterly cold or windy. It usually raises my ranch house three degrees an hour. That is running it full open not closing the air all the way, just flat out letting it rip. Last night the temp was 15 outside with 50 mph winds. I leave my furnace at 60 and let the stove do the rest. Last night the thermstat on the wall moved up two degrees in three hours. I am seriously considering a new stove. The Lopi is alittle undersized for my house but I bought it because it was a good deal and a step up from a franklin fireplace. After looking on e bay and craigslist I am leaning towards buying brand new. I want to buy a stove that has a decent sized firebox. You can have a small fire in a big stove not a big fire in a small stove. I stumbled on to summers heat stoves sold at a couple big box stores. All model numbers have a NC. They remind me of Englander model numbers. So who makes these stoves? Are they one in the same? They seem pretty reasonable in price as the stove that heats 2200 square feet is anywheres from 1000 to 1200 plus another couple hundred for the blower. I want to get a stove that I can utilize. I mean burn it like it is supposed to be burnt. I.E. filling the firebox, letting the wood char, closing the air, watching the secondaries, and let the wood burn its' cycle. Like it's supposed to be done. I only can do that in my answer in the spring and fall. I know it will take more wood to fill a bigger firebox, but in the end I think I will not use more wood, because of streching out the burn time. Maybe I'm wrong. Any advice. And once again thanks for your help.
