For those that want the short version, it's a love fest.
For those that want some more detail, then yes, I know everyone seems to love their new stove at first, and I know that 17 fires is barely getting to know your stove, and no, this is not my first stove - but my feeling is that if you're on the fence about this little stove and you're going to use it in the right application, go for it! That being said, here's my summary of how it's working out so far:
Quality: Yes. It's a nicely built and made in the USA product that really should give years of service. Will it last as long as one of Bob Fisher's old products? Probably not, but for this price point I think it is pretty darn good.
Ease of Lighting: Yes. My Simpson Duratech chimney is exactly 15' high as per the instruction booklet minimum. I'm using good wood. Draft is great. No difficulties starting up cold or re-loading and heck, it's only shoulder season.
Factory Claimed Burn Time: Yes. Using Maple for the shoulder season, I find that 3 splits get it up to temp, last for a couple hours and then the following reload of 4 average sized splits will burn 5 - 6 hours. Obviously the heat output is less during the final 2 hours and it is down to coals, but for a dinky little firebox it is doing well. Will it eat wood faster when it is actually cold? - well, time will tell.
Ease of Fire Control: Yes. The primary air intake set-up gives good, predictable control over the fire.
Giant Glass Window - does it stay clean?: Yes. The view of the fire and rolling secondaries in this stove is amazing. Corie's neat little European design puts the firebox up so the bottom of the window is 16" above my floor level hearth and gives you a great view. I think watching its secondaries is almost addictive...
Heat Output: Yes. Actually, this stove surprised me with how much heat it cranks out. I used to own an Englander add-on furnace and it was a heat monster. Never owned an Englander 30, but by all accounts they really knock out serious BTU's. Almost seems like it's an Englander Company policy that their stoves must produce prodigious amounts of heat. Sure, with a small firebox you would need to be around to keep feeding it to get constant BTU's. My application for this stove was to supplement our Lopi insert since our house is a rambling ranch-like cabin that doesn't have a layout that is great to try and heat with one stove. Since my new combo of having 2 stoves for this season will easily get my house into the 80's when it's in the 40's outside, I think I'll be warm in February.
Is there more to learn about the 17vl as it gets colder? - you bet, but I thought folks might like to know how it's been so far.
So there you have it. For me it is the right stove, at the right price and it does exactly what it should. Your results may vary, but I'm really happy.
To those who have read this far and also commented on my install thread, Thank You for having such nice things to say - you are a great group of people!
To Corie and the fine folks at his former employer Englander Stove, Thank You for designing and building a nice line of products, and most importantly, standing behind them.
Stay Warm and enjoy the heating season!
Jeeper
For those that want some more detail, then yes, I know everyone seems to love their new stove at first, and I know that 17 fires is barely getting to know your stove, and no, this is not my first stove - but my feeling is that if you're on the fence about this little stove and you're going to use it in the right application, go for it! That being said, here's my summary of how it's working out so far:
Quality: Yes. It's a nicely built and made in the USA product that really should give years of service. Will it last as long as one of Bob Fisher's old products? Probably not, but for this price point I think it is pretty darn good.
Ease of Lighting: Yes. My Simpson Duratech chimney is exactly 15' high as per the instruction booklet minimum. I'm using good wood. Draft is great. No difficulties starting up cold or re-loading and heck, it's only shoulder season.
Factory Claimed Burn Time: Yes. Using Maple for the shoulder season, I find that 3 splits get it up to temp, last for a couple hours and then the following reload of 4 average sized splits will burn 5 - 6 hours. Obviously the heat output is less during the final 2 hours and it is down to coals, but for a dinky little firebox it is doing well. Will it eat wood faster when it is actually cold? - well, time will tell.
Ease of Fire Control: Yes. The primary air intake set-up gives good, predictable control over the fire.
Giant Glass Window - does it stay clean?: Yes. The view of the fire and rolling secondaries in this stove is amazing. Corie's neat little European design puts the firebox up so the bottom of the window is 16" above my floor level hearth and gives you a great view. I think watching its secondaries is almost addictive...
Heat Output: Yes. Actually, this stove surprised me with how much heat it cranks out. I used to own an Englander add-on furnace and it was a heat monster. Never owned an Englander 30, but by all accounts they really knock out serious BTU's. Almost seems like it's an Englander Company policy that their stoves must produce prodigious amounts of heat. Sure, with a small firebox you would need to be around to keep feeding it to get constant BTU's. My application for this stove was to supplement our Lopi insert since our house is a rambling ranch-like cabin that doesn't have a layout that is great to try and heat with one stove. Since my new combo of having 2 stoves for this season will easily get my house into the 80's when it's in the 40's outside, I think I'll be warm in February.
Is there more to learn about the 17vl as it gets colder? - you bet, but I thought folks might like to know how it's been so far.
So there you have it. For me it is the right stove, at the right price and it does exactly what it should. Your results may vary, but I'm really happy.
To those who have read this far and also commented on my install thread, Thank You for having such nice things to say - you are a great group of people!
To Corie and the fine folks at his former employer Englander Stove, Thank You for designing and building a nice line of products, and most importantly, standing behind them.
Stay Warm and enjoy the heating season!
Jeeper
