My grandmother has offered me her 1994 Regency F3000L for only $200 and it's in great shape. From what I figure it is just like the F3100 Classic that Regency still sells. Its the same size etc. If that's true that means it is a 80,000 btu stove. It also has secondary combustion tubes (must have been state of the art for 1994 right?). That's the good news. The bad news is our home is only 1,250 sq ft. I think that I would be ok loosing some space in my living room to install it as compared to a smaller stove (it's worth it, lots of great memories around this stove as a kid), but wouldn't it heat us right out of our little home?
Too big of a stove?
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fortunately, you can build "smaller" fires. learn the stove. you don't have to fill it when you reload.
Just make smaller fires?joecool85 said:
That said it would be tough to get a longer burn out of it that way.
Put another layer of fire brick in it if it heats to much?
That's why I like a cat stove. They will cruise for a day or more set way down low.
HotCoals said:
I'm concerned with the smaller fires not keeping my chimney clear of creosote. Not an issue?
i am speaking from expierence. i have a oversized stove (much like a fisher) in a small square foot dwelling. when i need to, that sucker will get the cabin to t-shirt temp in no time. but on days like today (20's) i just burn not as much in it. although, it is a non-cat/secondary burn stove. i couldn't say for sure how those type would perform. but i'm not concerened about building creosote in the flue, just because i didn't load the stove to the gills.
Actually smaller fires burning hotter would be better then a huge load burning to slowly for a tube stove is my opinion.joecool85 said:
Cat stove can handle the long slow burns on big loads pretty good.
I burnt a BK king for 24 years..bout 13-14 fc a season.
Just installed the same stove last Oct. but with a cat. I think I will be at 9 fc when the season is over..maybe 9.5.
I have not cleaned the chimney yet this season..I only cleand once a season in the summer before.
I have looked down it and it looks cleaner then before at this point in time..I'll let people know how it fared this summer.
For two hundred bucks for the stove it sure won't cost much to see how it works out in your place.
As to not getting long burn times with a smaller load, well you wouldn't get long burn times with a smaller stove either. Two cubic feet of wood burn just as long in a three cubic foot stove as it does in a two cubic foot stove. I have had small two split fires burning all day today in my 3.5cf stove.
Dry wood is the key.
As to not getting long burn times with a smaller load, well you wouldn't get long burn times with a smaller stove either. Two cubic feet of wood burn just as long in a three cubic foot stove as it does in a two cubic foot stove. I have had small two split fires burning all day today in my 3.5cf stove.
Dry wood is the key.
Yup,probably too big for your place. Give me the address and I'll be more than happy to take the problem off your hands. Seriously, it will work just fine with properly seasoned wood. Go for it..................................
Dooo iiit! At least Grandma has you thinking about something larger than a 0.75-cu-ft EZ Bake Oven. 
p.s. Lowes is offering 0% for 18 months. Get your SuperVent chimney there in Sept-Oct, and you can have two seasons of savings with wood heat before you have to pay off the chimney. 
I know.I was referring to a cat stove if you wanted a long slow burn.joecool85 said:
Still I think you will be good to go with grandmas.
It's hard to beat the price and if grandma visits, you may want to be able to heat the house to 80F. I'd accept it gratefully and invite grandma over to visit anytime she wants a nice warming. You'll be ok with smaller fires in fall and spring. When it is zero outside and blowing a gale, you'll be sending kisses to granny.
I'd accept it gratefully and invite grandma over to visit anytime she wants a nice warming. You'll be ok with smaller fires in fall and spring. When it is zero outside and blowing a gale, you'll be sending kisses to granny.
Go for it.
Tough stove to kill and it's almost free in terms of what stoves are worth new.
Regency makes a great product.
Tough stove to kill and it's almost free in terms of what stoves are worth new.
Regency makes a great product.
If it was me, I'd explain to Gramda that the stove is not really suited for your house and list all the reasons why. Then confess that you still need to keep the family warm in the winter and could try and work around the problems, and counter that you would be willing to take that old stove off her hands for say $100? ;-)
Yeah, I know I'm a cad, I'm not above low balling Gramda. :coolgrin:
Yeah, I know I'm a cad, I'm not above low balling Gramda. :coolgrin:
joecool85 said:
Absolutely not an issue. It doesn't take a huge fire to keep the flue warm enough and like BB stated, dry wood is the key to no creosote. I've said it many times that dry wood will cure over 90% of all woodstove problems. If you don't have next year's wood on hand already, you are late already. You should have 2-3 years wood on hand at all times. It is better than money in the bank.
We have a little over 4 cords that are ready to burn right now (cut and split over a year ago, some two years ago) and and we will be cutting again soon.
As for the stove, we've decided against it. It will probably go to my parent's house or my brother's house as they have larger houses and more importantly, more available floor space. This stove would take up a 4' x 5' chunk of our living room. Ends up being about 1/4 of our floor space just for the stove. Between me, my wife, the cat and dog and a kid on the way for this fall...that wouldn't leave much space to hang out/play etc. So we'll be going with a smaller stove option. That said, it has opened out eyes to at least consider something in the 2 cubic ft range instead of just 1 cube stoves.
**edit**
To put the 4' x 5' space into perspective, the 17VL only takes 38" x 38" of floor space. Roughly 9sq feet compared to 20sq ft for the F3000.
As for the stove, we've decided against it. It will probably go to my parent's house or my brother's house as they have larger houses and more importantly, more available floor space. This stove would take up a 4' x 5' chunk of our living room. Ends up being about 1/4 of our floor space just for the stove. Between me, my wife, the cat and dog and a kid on the way for this fall...that wouldn't leave much space to hang out/play etc. So we'll be going with a smaller stove option. That said, it has opened out eyes to at least consider something in the 2 cubic ft range instead of just 1 cube stoves.
**edit**
To put the 4' x 5' space into perspective, the 17VL only takes 38" x 38" of floor space. Roughly 9sq feet compared to 20sq ft for the F3000.
Joe, be sure to check out the Woodstock stoves. The Fireview is my favorite but some like the looks of the Keystone better. The Keystone is a little bit smaller. Check out some of Todd's posts as he now has 2 Keystone stoves in his house! We just like the looks of the Fireview much better and it has proved to be a much better stove than we thought it would!
Backwoods Savage said:
I'll keep those in mind. If I can get one for less than $550 (the price of the 17VL direct from Englander) than we'll have to consider it.
I think the "Is the stove too big?" question is similar to the "Do I have too many bullets?" query.... which pretty much answers itself,
You can also take less shots... and you can always build smaller fires. But if the clip is empty and the stove is full....
You can also take less shots... and you can always build smaller fires. But if the clip is empty and the stove is full....
Ended up picking up an Amesti N380 from Lowes for $399. N/S loading, 35k btu output, plate steel non-cat stove with secondary combustion. Made in Chile. Everything about it seems to be nice quality with the possible exception of what I consider to be a thin plate steel door. If that becomes an issue I can always weld in some supports to brace it up. Price was right and clearances are good.
$399 huh? Wowser...good luck to you.
After buying a stove too small for my house (though pretty suited to the room its in and not cooking us out), here's the thing:
1. You can always build smaller fires
2. You can let more heat go up the flue and less into the room through air control
3. You can add less dry wood to temper the burn
4. You can open up a window a crack (which can help draft and air quality anyway)
When you have a smaller firebox:
1. You can't make it bigger or add more wood than it can hold
2. You can't close the air down more to retain more heat than its maximum
3. Adding less seasoned wood doesn't help when you are chilly
4. Opening a window makes your wife curse at you.
My stove performs admirably and is a great stove. In a 1500 square foot house with a good flow, I'd probably use about 25 gallons of oil a year and I wouldn't have to push the stove. But upon 2000 square feet, with a poor flow to the house for wood burning, my stove is too small for the job. I wish I had that excess capacity.
It's like having a muscle car that can spin the wheels in 3rd gear - you don't need it, but its sure nice to have it there when you want it
After buying a stove too small for my house (though pretty suited to the room its in and not cooking us out), here's the thing:
1. You can always build smaller fires
2. You can let more heat go up the flue and less into the room through air control
3. You can add less dry wood to temper the burn
4. You can open up a window a crack (which can help draft and air quality anyway)
When you have a smaller firebox:
1. You can't make it bigger or add more wood than it can hold
2. You can't close the air down more to retain more heat than its maximum
3. Adding less seasoned wood doesn't help when you are chilly
4. Opening a window makes your wife curse at you.
My stove performs admirably and is a great stove. In a 1500 square foot house with a good flow, I'd probably use about 25 gallons of oil a year and I wouldn't have to push the stove. But upon 2000 square feet, with a poor flow to the house for wood burning, my stove is too small for the job. I wish I had that excess capacity.
It's like having a muscle car that can spin the wheels in 3rd gear - you don't need it, but its sure nice to have it there when you want it
Congrats, Joe! Not much info available on the Amesti stoves. I've seen a grand total of 1 thread on them. Let us know how it goes. If your Lowe's doesn't stock the SuperVent class A pipe, you can order it from Selkirk and have it sent there.
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