What is the best stove you have ever burned and why?Burn times, heating capability, ease of use, durability?
Compare it to other stoves you've owned.
If you feel confident enough your stove is the best on the market today, feel free to say so!
2007-08 season My first experience with wood heating was in a fireplace. 3 years ago, we didn't have $400 to get a minimum 150 g. oil delivery and bought a half a cord. It lasted about a month and we delayed having to dish out the oil$ for that long. We had the thermostat at 64, and heated the house all day above that temp with the fireplace. The only time the furnace went on during the day was to heat the hot water.
2008-09 season A friend and co-worker gave me an antique cast iron box stove. I was in the process of restoring it, when the ice storm hit us. December '08. We were without power for six days. I wish I had the thing hooked up back then, it would have allowed us to stay in the house. I stayed home, four out of six nights, while the rest of the family was at the inlaws. The fireplace kept the pipes from freezing. In February, I bought my Surdiac 513 Gotha off CL for $80. I burned a few bags of coal in it, because I didn't have any firewood yet. The box stove was installed in the fireplace around the same time. We continued to partially heat with the furnace, because I had not figured out how to burn coal properly. Come to find out, the Surdiac only needed a few minor maintenance repairs to have a nice coal fire. Gaskets and some furnace cement on the sides of the hopper did the trick. The shoulder season is also not the best time to start learning how to burn coal. Later that spring, I started gathering my firewood supply for the next burning season. I collected almost two cords from ice storm damage, in our one acre yard, alone!! Our house appeared on the local news cast, while we were at the inlaws watching TV. The front yard looked like a war zone!! There were snapped telephone poles every 1/4 to 1/2 mile around here. Trees on top of cars, houses and powerlines. The state had to ask for federal assistance to help clean up the mess. By the summer I had 6 cords stacked in the yard. I should have had 12 cords to be ready for two seasons.
2009-10 season With my wood supply ready and two stoves installed I was ready for the cold. We started by burning a lot of wood in the old box stove upstairs. This was our biggest mistake! We were burning 2-4 totes of wood/day in the shoulder season. That is ~4-8 cubic feet of wood, to heat the house during October and November. We could have heated the house with less than half of that amount, using the Surdiac in the basement. I hurt my back in November, and my wife decided she was sick of bringing in that much wood to feed the old, inefficient box stove. She went down to the basement and removed the hopper from the Surdiac, a task in itself for an inexperienced person. She had that thing cranking out the heat in no time. The Surdiac stoves were really popular in the 70's and 80's. Late in the decade they were purchased by Jotul and taken out of production isn the early 90's. They were produced in the Foundry du Leon in Belgium. Mine was build in 12 of 1980. The quality, craftsmanship, and design were superb for its time. The foundry still produces Efel and Nestor Martin stoves today. It took me a while to learn how to maximize the heat output and minimize the wood consumption. The thermostat was broken at the time of purchase, so all controlls had to be done by hand. It was pretty easy to learn because the primary air controlled the fire, and that was it. The well built, single wall firebox only has a few cast iron parts to protect the lower fire box. The air intake is below the ash grate, behind the ash pan in the back of the stove. This thing maximizes heat output, by circling the smoke, inside a large ceramic coated steel heat exchanger, located in the back of the stove. The Surdiac is rated to heat 13,400 cubic feet with a firebox that is slightly bigger than a cubic foot. This thing put out incredible heat in short amounts of time. However, the six hour burns were not enough to keep it going 24/7. Loading the tiny firebox proved to be difficult. I had to start a new fire every morning. What a pain that was! On February 23rd, my son's birthday, I got my 6 year old Dutchwest Large Cat 2461, for $500. It was completely taken appart and cemented, painted and fitted with new gaskets. I'm still learning how to operate it, but can already see the benefits of a larger fire box. With wet wood, it does not throw as much intense heat as my old pre-EPA Surdiac. But temps are more constant with less frequent re-loads. I have get more than twelve hours between re-loads without a match. The thing was still putting out heat! It is difficult to learn how to operate, but once I learn, with dry wood, I'll be more than OK. I have semi-seasoned wood and can now get cat temps of up to 900. Some people have 1000-1200 cat temps with this stove. Normal range is 600-1400. I believe with dry wood I'll be on cruise control with this thing for next heating season. It backpuffs when the cat doesn't have enough air. The Dutchwest is the best stove I've ever owned.
2010-11 heating season. My plan is to have 6 cords stacked by Spring and a total of 18 cords stacked by the end of Summer. The other plan is to have the old Surdiac connected in the new dinning room. By next season, we will have over 2000 ft. of heated living space. I've pondered installing the Magic Heat in the pipe connector that will be going through the garage. Or back in the basement where we would benefit more by the 30,000 BTU's it can throw. The Dutchwest will stay in the basement. That set up would put out 120,000 BTUs.
Compare it to other stoves you've owned.
If you feel confident enough your stove is the best on the market today, feel free to say so!
2007-08 season My first experience with wood heating was in a fireplace. 3 years ago, we didn't have $400 to get a minimum 150 g. oil delivery and bought a half a cord. It lasted about a month and we delayed having to dish out the oil$ for that long. We had the thermostat at 64, and heated the house all day above that temp with the fireplace. The only time the furnace went on during the day was to heat the hot water.
2008-09 season A friend and co-worker gave me an antique cast iron box stove. I was in the process of restoring it, when the ice storm hit us. December '08. We were without power for six days. I wish I had the thing hooked up back then, it would have allowed us to stay in the house. I stayed home, four out of six nights, while the rest of the family was at the inlaws. The fireplace kept the pipes from freezing. In February, I bought my Surdiac 513 Gotha off CL for $80. I burned a few bags of coal in it, because I didn't have any firewood yet. The box stove was installed in the fireplace around the same time. We continued to partially heat with the furnace, because I had not figured out how to burn coal properly. Come to find out, the Surdiac only needed a few minor maintenance repairs to have a nice coal fire. Gaskets and some furnace cement on the sides of the hopper did the trick. The shoulder season is also not the best time to start learning how to burn coal. Later that spring, I started gathering my firewood supply for the next burning season. I collected almost two cords from ice storm damage, in our one acre yard, alone!! Our house appeared on the local news cast, while we were at the inlaws watching TV. The front yard looked like a war zone!! There were snapped telephone poles every 1/4 to 1/2 mile around here. Trees on top of cars, houses and powerlines. The state had to ask for federal assistance to help clean up the mess. By the summer I had 6 cords stacked in the yard. I should have had 12 cords to be ready for two seasons.
2009-10 season With my wood supply ready and two stoves installed I was ready for the cold. We started by burning a lot of wood in the old box stove upstairs. This was our biggest mistake! We were burning 2-4 totes of wood/day in the shoulder season. That is ~4-8 cubic feet of wood, to heat the house during October and November. We could have heated the house with less than half of that amount, using the Surdiac in the basement. I hurt my back in November, and my wife decided she was sick of bringing in that much wood to feed the old, inefficient box stove. She went down to the basement and removed the hopper from the Surdiac, a task in itself for an inexperienced person. She had that thing cranking out the heat in no time. The Surdiac stoves were really popular in the 70's and 80's. Late in the decade they were purchased by Jotul and taken out of production isn the early 90's. They were produced in the Foundry du Leon in Belgium. Mine was build in 12 of 1980. The quality, craftsmanship, and design were superb for its time. The foundry still produces Efel and Nestor Martin stoves today. It took me a while to learn how to maximize the heat output and minimize the wood consumption. The thermostat was broken at the time of purchase, so all controlls had to be done by hand. It was pretty easy to learn because the primary air controlled the fire, and that was it. The well built, single wall firebox only has a few cast iron parts to protect the lower fire box. The air intake is below the ash grate, behind the ash pan in the back of the stove. This thing maximizes heat output, by circling the smoke, inside a large ceramic coated steel heat exchanger, located in the back of the stove. The Surdiac is rated to heat 13,400 cubic feet with a firebox that is slightly bigger than a cubic foot. This thing put out incredible heat in short amounts of time. However, the six hour burns were not enough to keep it going 24/7. Loading the tiny firebox proved to be difficult. I had to start a new fire every morning. What a pain that was! On February 23rd, my son's birthday, I got my 6 year old Dutchwest Large Cat 2461, for $500. It was completely taken appart and cemented, painted and fitted with new gaskets. I'm still learning how to operate it, but can already see the benefits of a larger fire box. With wet wood, it does not throw as much intense heat as my old pre-EPA Surdiac. But temps are more constant with less frequent re-loads. I have get more than twelve hours between re-loads without a match. The thing was still putting out heat! It is difficult to learn how to operate, but once I learn, with dry wood, I'll be more than OK. I have semi-seasoned wood and can now get cat temps of up to 900. Some people have 1000-1200 cat temps with this stove. Normal range is 600-1400. I believe with dry wood I'll be on cruise control with this thing for next heating season. It backpuffs when the cat doesn't have enough air. The Dutchwest is the best stove I've ever owned.
2010-11 heating season. My plan is to have 6 cords stacked by Spring and a total of 18 cords stacked by the end of Summer. The other plan is to have the old Surdiac connected in the new dinning room. By next season, we will have over 2000 ft. of heated living space. I've pondered installing the Magic Heat in the pipe connector that will be going through the garage. Or back in the basement where we would benefit more by the 30,000 BTU's it can throw. The Dutchwest will stay in the basement. That set up would put out 120,000 BTUs.
