What do you put under a stove

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Yeah but there are nine Lowes stores within 40 miles. I would be making some calls and seeing if they have one of the Century stoves left at one of the stores.
 
Flint, Michigan - Home of the Rivethead and Michael Moore....I love it!

Better not mess with Gorg........they are tough as nails up there!

So it sounds like:
1. The taiwan stove should be scraped or sold - it is not worth much....mostly as a decoration, etc.
2. A deal can be searched for - perhaps for a leftover at a great price. These prices are really cheap if you can find them!
3. Relatives may be able to help get the right type of chimney installed. They will know what "Class A" chimney is, and they can get it wholesale at the plumbing supply.

At least it sounds like things are getting sorted out.

And, Gorg, excuse some of my cohorts. We are used to bantering back and forth among ourselves....grumpy old men and a few ladies who are very experienced in dealing with us. It is rare to have a teenager coming in....but we do like it because you will learn a lot early in the game before a problem can occur.
 
All good advice here Gorgeous. Seems since I'm back at work now and working 120 hrs every two weeks I miss a great deal of conversation on the forum, lol. Welcome aboard. 18 and 21 is very young to buy and operate a home, or are you perhaps renting? (that opens another bag of worms). When I was at that age I was working in NYC and taking bong hits at night, lol. Ahhhh, the good old days!

Here's my advice... Weather the remainder of the winter without a stove and look for a good used deal on a stove/chimney deal in the off season. Although installations can be done on a budget, a stove is an investment and will require some upfront money before savings can be achieved. For example, my own stove and installation cost roughly $1500 all said and done. You might be able to get something going for $700 or so, it just depends on the requirements of your installation, your sweat equity and initial cost of the stove, chimney, hearth, etc. My point is this: Don't skimp on something you plan to use for years to come. Not only do not skimp on your budget, but definately do not make any compromise concerning your safety. In the end you'll be far happier and safer in years to come starting out with a quality stove and install.

Also, I would strongly consider your lifestyle requirements. Working with a woodstove is a great deal of work. Even after the stove is up and running you must consider the time and/or cost of sourcing wood. Furthermore, perhaps a pellet stove is a better option?

I feel from your above posts you and the BF are struggling to make ends meet. There is nothing wrong with that, we have all been there. But please consider that a stove in most cases is a luxury item. It's my opinion you folks would be far better off to work on the home budget, build a nest egg for emergencies (auto repair and maintainence, a broken water heater, etc.) and THEN think about adding a woodstove to your home.

-Kevin
 
i relize im young and yes we own the house we bought it a year ago when i was 17 and he was Just 20 we are doing our best i just wish people wernt so rude just cuz im a girl and im young we are trying hard here i guess keep your eyes out in my area for a nice stove in my range
 
Gorgeous said:
i relize im young and yes we own the house we bought it a year ago when i was 17 and he was Just 20 we are doing our best i just wish people wernt so rude just cuz im a girl and im young we are trying hard here i guess keep your eyes out in my area for a nice stove in my range

Oh, no one has been that rude Gorgeous. Thicken up that skin a little bit, and learn to disarm people without the use of name calling. Forums in general can get pretty heated and folks with short fuses (myself included) have needlessly gotten involved in pointless arguments/conversations. At the end of the day there are far better things to occupy your life than the opinions of strangers in far off places talking on a computer, right?

Before we talk about price ranges and stoves, let's learn a little more about your lifestyle. What is your work schedule like? Do you want a heater you can "set and forget"? Are you looking for 100% heat from the appliance or just supplementing your heating oil bill? Do you desire the asthetic of an open fire or are you looking purely for heat? If you are dead set on a woodstove... where will you source the wood? Do you plan on buying the wood or collecting it yourself? If you plan to collect it yourself, how close is the available supply? Do you have a chainsaw? Do you have a good vehicle to pick up the wood? Do you have the space to store the wood you will need?

-Kevin
 
Gorgeous, if you're serious, get on the phone and call your local Lowes tonight. We've seen some of these Century stoves going for incredibly good prices - under $200 as they clear out inventory for spring. But this won't last for long. In the meantime, get the family involved and work out how to get a proper - safe - flue installed. Word of warning though, promise them beer, but not until the end of the day when the job is done.
 
gorgeous I an a nationaly certified building inspector and mechanical inspector. I did not know your age or gender. I told it like it was according to code.
Same thing I have been doing on this forum the past 4/5 years. I don't thing any post was made without being worried about your own personal safety.
If I do my job, I prevent life threatening situations from happening. I canot advise you to compromise you persomnal safety or risk your home.
Nobody else should advise you of the same. I know that is not what you expected, you expected help. We cannot tell you how to install a stove that maybe questionable.

Its your very stove that instituted the goverment involvement in regulation a standard all manufactures had to adhere to.
In 1979 all stoves had to be tested to certaint safety standards set forth by UL. No stove could be sold or installed from that date forward that was not tested, listed and labled.
In 1990 the EPA stepped in and mandated all stove ssold in USA hade to meet certaint emissions standarsds and effeciencies. Many states adopted these regulation other did not.
the emphisis was to promote clean effecient burning and to encourage eliminating or replacing ineffecient poluting beast of the past. Maybe I did not explain it the best way to that you took exception. At know point was I not concerned about your presonal safety.. I also pondered if I would reply to your post again. Over the years I thing I have prevented a few personal disasters. Part of my response was to get you re-thinking shock efect I did not call you stupid or idiot, that you interpeted. However I am willing to help you obtain a safe installation
 
There is an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience among the members here; all of whom are more than willing to share and help. Part of the problem I see is that many times the answers are not the ones that people wanted to hear. Everyone here has safety as a high priority and at times, the answer just has to be that you cannot accomplish what you are trying to do in a safe manner. Remember, heating with wood can be dangerous if not done properly. You are on the right track by starting here with questions and I hope you will not give up.

I would suggest that you spend some time reading past threads and the information in the HearthWiki. Get familiar with the terminology associated with stoves and their installation, ask questions. I am sure you can make it through the rest of this heating season without the stove. Once you have a bit more knowledge you can look for a deal in the off season. In the long run, you will be much better off and more well informed. It's not about picking on your age, gender or hair color; I'm over twice your age and that's exactly how I approached the decision to install a fireplace insert last November.

I think we have come to a consensus here on a couple of points:

1. Your current stove cannot be installed safely or legally.

2. Your current budget leaves you a bit short for the stove and installation materials you will need at a minimum.

3. There are more things to consider than just the stove, hearth and chimney.

Don't give up, keep asking questions and doing research, you'll get there. Also, toughen up a bit and don't get so upset when you don't get the answer you're looking for.
 
Hi Gorgeous,
My wife and I are doing research to buy a stove too. There is so much to learn. I don't know if you've seen the www.woodheat.org site, but there is a ton of good information there. I keep reading it, and re-reading it catching stuff that I missed before.

We're just slightly older than you and your bf (I'm 29, my wife is 25), but we just bought our home about a year and a half ago. Last winter wasn't too bad, but this winter, I got a crash course in the cost of propane. My propane tank is down under 25% right now, and depending on what the weather does, I don't know if that will be enough. I sweet talked my propane dealer into delivering another 100 gallons of propane this week, even though I still owe them a few hundred dollers from the last delivery (they generally won't deliver if you owe them money). I won't have them paid off untill about June, but at least I'll have heat untill the weather warms up.

I really want to install a stove this summer/fall to use for heat next winter. I'm not sure I'll be able to scrape together the money, but I'm going to try. I started out looking at cheap stoves at the local Tractor Supply store, and then I found this forum and started reading.

Now... I'm trying to decide beween a free standing stove and an insert in our existing fireplace. I'm leaning towards the free standing stove in a more cenral location in the house.

The ones I like are:
http://www.quadrafire.com/products/stoves/woodStoveDetail.asp?f=3100act-ST
http://www.quadrafire.com/products/inserts/woodInsertDetail.asp?f=3100Iact

The ones I like will not be cheap, but in the long run, I think it's the right thing, so I'll be doing some extra odd jobs this summer to make some extra cash for this projects. I might have to go through another winter on propane. I'm going to get on the budgeted propane plan this year, so that should be a little easier for me to handle next year.

Good luck. I feel your pain. It's hard to make ends meet, and this winter was expensive compared to what I was used to from last year.

-SF
 
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