upgrading from the smoke dragon(see pics).... BIG insert suggestions...

Don't worry about it. Mellow is speaking from experience and as am I. One poster would only go with manufacturer specs and another is willing to give the 7" liner a shot. Both have stated their reasons allowing you to determine which situation you are closer to.

Also, I'm firmly in the "don't put too much faith in an ash pan" category. I burn 24/7 in a drafty old house with three stoves. I go through 8-10 cords of wood a winter (hopefully closer to 8 now) and the ash pan is not a main feature I look at. Burn times and heat output come first.

Some disagree with that as their needs differ from mine. It is up to as to what you feel is important. My suggestion is; Go with the stove that will keep you warm. Everything else is secondary. Good luck with your purchase.

Also, I have burned Pre-EPA smoke dragons, non-cat EPA stove, and Cat EPA stoves. Some hate cat stoves, some love them. If you have dry wood and a good installation you will be fine no matter the technology the stove happens to uses.

BB, last year was the first year with a liner and there was a dramatic improvement. If I really loaded it up I could get 10-12 hours and still have plenty of coals left for the next load. We had a mild winter in a mild area of the country but the couple of times it got in the teens, I would have to shorten the cycle just to get enough heat. I was using a combination of poplar, pine and sweet gum so as my oak (about 5 cords) was only a year old. I'm really looking forward to next year when I'll start using some oak and see how it goes then. On warmer days/nights I'd load about 1/2 - 2/3 to control the heat output and still get 8 hours no problem.

well here she is . 5100i . i looked at her today in the store. nice looking stove , very different than a plain steel box that im used to . all these nooks and weird pieces of firebrick in the inside corners by the bay windows. it firebox reminded me more of a 21st century city loft apartment(windows and all) than a stove.
all and all , its nice , and this one has the silver trim i like . it only fits an 18" long NS though .. which is fine , its just i have about 7 cords of red oak thats 18-22" long. we will see about the price out the door too ....

most importantly will it fit or not .
i pulled off my home made trim last night to try to gauge if itll fit better. its difficult since my side walls taper in the fireplace, and i cant really tell the degree at which they are tapering .
all i can tell you is that the baker is 27 7/8" wide at 15" deep into the fireplace, with about 1" to spare before the bottom corners of the stove hit the brick sidewalls. i guess i should have paid attention in geometry ....
anyways , the 5100i 25 1/2" wide at the back and 17 9/16" deep ... see what im thinking? its gonna be a close one .

i think what ill do is hold off on getting anything till i get that old smoke dragon out (few weeks or so) and then figure it out.
this quadra fire is a good deal, but i cant be in any rush . i have a wanted ad right now on craigslist looking for the stoves you guys mentioned. maybe ill get a bite. hey , someone already called me and had a used quadrafire with 25' of stainless liner for 500$ ..... too bad it was a 2100i

UPDATE:
just showed the lady the brochure book of quad stoves ... she likes the voyageur better . said, "whats the point in the side windows if they wont stay clean like the front one? and it looks like an old grandma's stove" .
shes got a point(on the bay windows) , seeing how they are tucked way in the corner, and when you got a fire cookin... well you aint goin near them corners.the voyageur only has a 1.8 cu ft firebox though while the 5100i has 3 cu ft, but i would guesstimate that .5 cu ft of that is unusable in the front corners by the windows. ...

oh well, time to start searchin !

The Voyager is a small stove. The heating capacity and burn times lists on Quada's site are incredibly inflated. You must keep that in mind. It will not heat nearly as well as the 5100. If the Voyager meets your needs, great. But, do not go by the specs Quada has listed.

ya , im not gonna get a voyageur(whats with the french spelling?!?) ... im going to roll my dice and see whats out in the used stove market. its not like i need it tomorrow ya know? also , i have a stove thats pretty good now , just looking for a more efficient and bigger one. i cant tell you how many decent embers i love through the grates. my ash pan fills up in 4-5 days of 24/7 burning .
im assuming you can go 1-2 weeks in the 5100i before needing to remove ashes , no ?

Don't get too excited about an ash pan, IMO more of a PITA than a help. Its very easy to just scoop the ash out as needed. Once you get her dialed in, depending on the wood you burn and how well it is dried, you may be only scooping ash once a week or 2 or so. There are simple methods of scooping and getting the ash into a can without making much of a dust storm or mess.
And those side windows, ain't gonna stay clean very long.

a person just emailed me just east of me that has a quadra fire 5100 for 700$ obo . he bought the home in 2008 and hasnt used it , but it was used a few seasons by the previous owner before him(est 2004-2005 age?) .

it looks a bit different than the newer models , as this one has 2 pipes coming out of the back of the firebrick ? you can see in the pic .

also , i dont htink it has that automatically timed damper knob .. which isnt a big deal .

not a bad find no ?

i would like to keeps my eyes open for a buck 94 though ... kind of like the older styling better. and its a bigger firebox to boot.

This sounds like a great deal. What are you reservations about the quad 5100?

no real reservations at all . i just have a wanted ad online looking for the stoves mentioned on the first page of this post. someone just replied to my ad and i was just putting up the info.

i like the stove a lot, its easy startup feature so you dont have to start a fire and then remember to cut the air down in 20 minutes ... kinda neat .
honestly , i dont see why these quads are so popular .. must be marketing . i think theres a lot of wasted space in the 2 front cubby hole corners by the bay windows . maybe i have been sucked in by their marketing schemes

Hey fellow Ohioan..... What stove Shops are you lookin at?

There is a place in Elyira (little drive for you / 1 hr or so West) called Capell's and also a place in Brookfield called Brookfield Stoves/Kinman Stoves (about the same distance, but East of you).... Eric at Kinsman stoves is a member here and has some good stoves and also one the best dealers I have met (I drive 1 hr and 45 min to his place).

Capells has Hearthstone, Quad, Harman. Kinsman stoves sells Quad, Harman, and Heatilator.

Have you looked into Pellet Stoves. Lots of people think they dont provide heat?.?.?.?.?.? But I will be the 1st to say that Pellets are much easier and better option for me. I love my Woodstove. I can get "Free" wood (if you really call the time, work, and equipment free) all day long. To use 3-4 ton of pellets a year (Only using pellets and no Wood or Propane). I use 4-4.5 ton using just my Quad upstairs for 3 seasons... I used 2.5 ton this year using a woodstove also (Englander 30-NC). So I cut my usage in half almost.

Anyways... Good luck in your endeavors. That used Quad you found is a pretty good deal. The new air control on the Quad is a love/hate item... Some love it... Some hate it. I would personally want to control the air myself. Just because that is a mechanical part that can fail.
Just wanted to say hey and good luck.

5. blaze king princess . solid stove .