Actually, Vogelzang does carry a line of EPA certified stoves, but this is a fairly new development, and we haven't heard much about them from our membership yet. They might be worth a look. But they ain't no $125, that's fer sure. Rick
http://www.vogelzang.com/browse.cfm/epa-certified-stoves/2,34.html
Just installed a Vogelzang Durango in a leaky house @ 7,200 ft in Central Colorado. House is 2 story approx 1,300 ft^2. Substandard attic insulation, R-30 at best, cellulose probably R-30 when they blew it in 30 years ago. Windows doublepane, but leak like a sieve. Mostly open floor plan with 2 bedrooms upstairs, close off upstairs beds when not in use.
First time heating with wood, last season was an old Quadrafire P1000 (last manufactured in '97 I saw), with a gap where stovepipe meets collar (created extra draft). Fixed that, and sealed two attic hatches and 2 out of 10 windows...Still got more house leaks to fix.
Got it installed after the Artic Splurge over New Years, so have yet to test it in extreme cold (been sunny and 50/20 to 30/0 here {day/night}).
My biggest take so far is the difference in radiant heat versus the air to air of the pellet stove.
In a leaky house, that constant heat is the winner. I'm sure a good pellet stove in a tight/insulated house is awesome, I can imagine, but old leaky sub standard insulation house, this thing has been sweet. Got the house up to 80 a few times.
About the stove: (besides the fact I need to get a proper set of tools, which would help with some of the below) (also my inexperience could be aiding this)
1) Front to back burner, so if you don't have a ditch through the coals, it is somewhat hard to get a full burn of the box without a lot of coal raking.
2) If you don't load full the 2.2 ft^2 box then you have a hard time maintianing the high temps in the box for the secondary combustion (has a tendency to want to fade away when not being kept hot)
3) Important to load the sucker full of kindling, not just a little stack, when starting a cold one. Must have at least 60 pounds of firebrick in it. Takes a moment to get hot and pull that stuff out the flue, instead of the door when opening.
4) Gotta choose you carefully when and how you open the door. If you need to open it all the way to load, then you need to open the choke for a few minutes, slightly open the door, rake the coals, let that flare up and burn, then you can open the door all the way without filling you house with smoke.
5) Ash buildup seems to affect the reflection of heat in the box for secondary burn, in addition to the slowing of oxygen through the coal bed, so running again in the morning without cleaning first is a little more difficult. (working on a hot ash vac design [all steel], so I can attend it better in the middle of February)
6) Bit of a balancing act between choking the air supply to reduce flue uptake and maintaining secondary burn. When have a good bed of coals, and a full load, chokes down all the way with a firebox full of flame and pumping out the heat.
7) Fan is a little 'loud', but for me it is more a little too high pitched and not that 'loud'. And you don't always want the fan running at full, if the stove isn't that hot.
8) Fan is insufficient for moving all that heat and only moves from back of stove, not the large sides. Therefore need ceiling fan in room to push it around.
With that being said, from a cold start I pile in the kindling, choke open (sometimes open the door a crack for a minute or two to help startup), then door must be closed to circulate the gases for secondary combustion, usually starts 1/3 to 1/2 way through kindling burn, then when they burn down enough to make some coals and not flare up when I open the door, I load it up with my smaller wood, after that burns down there is usually enough coals and the bed hot enough, to put in the big ckunks. And when it's hot and choked down, get a good hour or two of heat without much/any tending.
Puts out smoke like a normal stove until gets hot, then when secondary combustion is hitting, nice a clean.
So a little overkill during more temperate weather, but I have a feeling I'll be good and toasty for the next Artic Vomit. Happy with the purchase, worth the $920 delivered.
