BEST STOVE OPERATED? Early results! Anyone else?

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VCBurner

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Jan 2, 2010
1,509
Templeton, MA
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.
 
Sorry about the long winded post. It was probably a PITA to read. You can make your response less intricate of course. I'm just interested to know more about what's out there. I'm not done buying stoves yet. I'd like a nice Jotul in the living room. I've also been interested in the Englander 30 for a possible basement install! Maybe one of these days I'll pull the trigger on one of them. For now I'll stick with what I have!
 
No true answer. IMHO, the best you can get is "what's the best stove option for your conditions". and "what are those conditions as best as you can describe so I can compare to mine".

If there is anything I have learned here it is that every install is unique and every user has different criteria for what is "best".

Personally, I think the Hearthstone Homestead is the best stove on the market, for my needs. Which include it's looks in my living room. Appearence was a factor for us.
 
The best stove on the market is the one you own. If you don't own the stove, it isn't doing you much good.
 
MY best stove is the only one I've owned. Hearthstone Phoenix is working out just right for my situation.
 
All I know is that any Dutchwest is the worst stove ever built.



;-P
 
BrowningBAR said:
The best stove on the market is the one you own. If you don't own the stove, it isn't doing you much good.
I like your answers and I agree! Lots of people here have owned multiple stoves. For example, YOU, with a multiple stove household, can share a wealth of information on the subject. What are your likes and dislikes about the stoves you currently operate, or have operated in the past? What is your best stove and why?
 
madrone said:
All I know is that any Dutchwest is the worst stove ever built.



;-P
HA, HA, HA! :lol: I guess one man's trash is another man's treasure! ;-P
 
Personally, I think the Hearthstone Homestead is the best stove on the market, for my needs.
I love the look of the soapstone stoves. What is it you like about your Homestead? They get a lot of competition from the Woodstock guys, eh?
 
VCBurner said:
BrowningBAR said:
The best stove on the market is the one you own. If you don't own the stove, it isn't doing you much good.
I like your answers and I agree! Lots of people here have owned multiple stoves. For example, YOU, with a multiple stove household, can share a wealth of information on the subject. What are your likes and dislikes about the stoves you currently operate, or have operated in the past? What is your best stove and why?


I'm really hoping my answer will be the Heritage come next season.
 
VCBurner said:
Sorry about the long winded post. It was probably a PITA to read. You can make your response less intricate of course. I'm just interested to know more about what's out there. I'm not done buying stoves yet. I'd like a nice Jotul in the living room. I've also been interested in the Englander 30 for a possible basement install! Maybe one of these days I'll pull the trigger on one of them. For now I'll stick with what I have!

HehHeh . . . and so the addiction begins! ;)
 
creeker said:
MY best stove is the only one I've owned. Hearthstone Phoenix is working out just right for my situation.
I looked at an old Phoenix on CL for $300! The guy had bought it at an estate sale and never hooked it up. He was asking for $500 but would take $300. The thing looked really old and needed a lot of work, and that was just looking at the picture of the exterior. It's been on my mind ever since, though. It was tempting, but too much of a risk. The seller had never burned it and didn't know anything about it either. What do you like about your Phoenix?
 
Best stove I have used in my own home? The Jotul Oslo . . . heats the entire house, decent burn times, good heat output, nice view of the fire and simple to operate . . . the fact that my only two "complaints" have been the ash spilling out of the front door when I open it to clean it and the occasional sticky air control lever (which is easily fixed with graphite powder) kind of sums up the reason why I would not hesitate to buy another Jotul even though there are a lot of other great looking woodstoves out there.

The only two other stoves I had were an Ashley and Shenandoah used 1992-1995 . . . no view of the fire, over-sized for the camp (but they were free), smoked up the place . . . on the flip side they did take a lot of wood due to the large firebox . . . and they had decent ash pans (much like the Jotul.)
 
VCBurner said:
Personally, I think the Hearthstone Homestead is the best stove on the market, for my needs.
I love the look of the soapstone stoves. What is it you like about your Homestead? They get a lot of competition from the Woodstock guys, eh?

It has the looks (soapstone) that we wanted, we felt that local dealer support might be handy/good for our first stove, it's non-cat, and it allows clearances that work with the way we wanted our install to look. It heats our 2100sqft, with full unfinished basement fine, even though we are using a low btu wood and the stove is rated for a 1800 sqft space. Nearly all of those are at least somewhat unique to our situation.

as far as Woodstock vs Hearthstone, the way I see it, except for the soapstone body, they are not really in any more competition then any other two companies. Ones whole line is cat, one isn't. One has front load options on every stove, one doesn't. one is mail order only, one has a large local dealer network that they support fully. One also builds stoves that are not soapstone, one doesn't. So if any of those is a deal maker, you know what company you are going to buy from.

I am willing to bet only a few people a year in this whole country do a tear out and install like ours, and only a small percentage do it all themselves, and only ONE was dumb enough to do it during the coldest January on record where he lives..lol. and I am happy with how it is working/looking and heating.
 
Thanks for your answers Jake!

HehHeh . . . and so the addiction begins!
It's more like an obsession I would say. My wife would second that statement! :-)

Best stove I have used in my own home? The Jotul Oslo
I also love the look of those Jotuls, even more than the Duchwest! I passed up on a 25 year old Jotul firelight for $800, in ivory! It was beautiful old stove, the exterior was in excellent condition, the entire thing was rebuilt with new fireback, refractory, cement and gaskets. But, parts are becoming more difficult to find, and are expensive due to being out of production. I will own a Jotul someday! Even if it's the F100 or F3 in my living room! For the basement I would need the 500 or 600.
 
I've only burned two stoves - VC Encore NC and the Fireview. Hands down the Fireview wins between these two for me. I found the Encore to be touchy to conditions of the universe in general and I had to tweak it too much - adjust this or that to just get it to burn clean, nevermind getting anything like an optimal burn out of it. I know other folks have done well with them so it may well be my setup. The Fireview on the other hand has been easy to operate from day one and just does what I expected it to do - burn wood and put out heat. Kind of sounds boring put that way, but I don't need excitement of super-high temps and glowing metal when I am ready to go to bed like I had last season.

Now I do have the "Give me another stove to play with" bug so I'd love to have an excuse for another stove. I'd like to play with a Blaze King because I've heard so much about them but I expect there wouldn't be a lot of playing, so perhaps a nice Jotul would be fun - look at the "bowls of hell" secondary burn for a season?

Perhaps I need to get a big old house someday so I can install three different stoves in it? Better not have stairs though - if I kept on swapping stove out each season those stairs might get the best of me... of course in my fantasy I have a lift for the wood so just have to make it strong/large enough to lift a stove too :)
 
VCBurner said:
Sorry about the long winded post. It was probably a PITA to read. You can make your response less intricate of course. I'm just interested to know more about what's out there. I'm not done buying stoves yet. I'd like a nice Jotul in the living room. I've also been interested in the Englander 30 for a possible basement install! Maybe one of these days I'll pull the trigger on one of them. For now I'll stick with what I have!


you have way to much time on your hands
 
madrone said:
All I know is that any Dutchwest is the worst stove ever built.



;-P

remember, you have to be of average intellengence to operate this stove
 
The Hearthstone Homestead has the looks (soapstone) that we wanted, we felt that local dealer support might be handy/good for our first stove, it’s non-cat, and it allows clearances that work with the way we wanted our install to look. It heats our 2100sqft, with full unfinished basement fine, even though we are using a low btu wood and the stove is rated for a 1800 sqft space.
Dakotas Dad,
I saw a couple of those used on CL too. They were also too old and probably needed parts or complete rebuilds. I've seen your posts and your installation album. Lots of hard work, it all looks great!
As far as comparing Woodstock to Homestead, it's like comparing apples to oranges, only if apples looked just like oranges. I guess they are only similar in the way of the stone.
Thanks for your replies.
 
Hanko said:
you have way to much time on your hands
You're right about that Hanko! This wood heating thing has kept my mind occupied since getting laid off in November. I spent $260 on 100 gallons of oil in December and still have about 60 in the tank. The Union hall has the list of jobs, with more Spring 2010 jobs starting than jobs that are currently being worked on. This is good news. This is the best it has looked in four or five years! Hopefully not too much longer, I'll be swinging sheetrock, wood or concrete in no time!
 
Slow1 said:
I've only burned two stoves - VC Encore NC and the Fireview. Hands down the Fireview wins between these two for me. :)
Hello Slow1! Good to hear from you! I knew it wouldn't be long before we heard from some Woodstock guys. I pondered getting one used from CL. It was also tempting but it looked like too much work and especially $ to rebuild! But, that dacision will always be in the back of my mind. I love the look of the Woodstocks, the fireview in particular. If the situation was to come up again and I had the means to go for it, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. Thanks for the post!
 
I'll have to list a few, being that I may have burned over 50 different woodstoves in the past 26 years of selling them.

First Love! The Vermont Castings Catalytic Encore in the late 80s early 90s. It was installed with a thru the roof chimney in our showroom. Super easy to light by cracking the ashpan (cringe) burned great, made tons of heat. I ran that with a griddle temp of 800+ degrees for weeks on end. Long burn times. Didn't burn it for long enough to warp/destroy the refractory package and inner firebrick. Top load was very fun.

Jotul Oslo. Burned one in our showroom for a few years on Long Island. We had a bunch of stoves hooked up between our two showrooms. Myself and my salespeople would try to burn them all on different days, but it seemed that 4 out of 5 days, the Oslo was the one burning. Loved the side load, loved the long burn times, very easy to control, glass stayed clean, couldnt kill it.

Current favorite, the Hearthstone Mansfield. Super easy to load n/s. very long burn times, good heat life. Looks beautiful in the showroom. Glass stays clean. Lights up without any drama. Shows off the secondary combustion easily which helps in demonstrating to clients. I've emptied the ash 3 times this year (only burning 3 or 4 days a week and 12 hours a day) Love the stove. I dream about finishing my basement so I can have a space large enough to stick one of those babies in.
 
I'll just make a list of the stoves I can remember I've burned and tell you the best one is the one I burn currently.
Heatalator Fireplace growing up, one of those space ship looking cone shaped fireplace/stoves, Montgomery Wards potbelly, Woodsman airtight, Century, Lopi Answer, Energy King Legacy, Superior Heatform, Regency small, Hearthstone Homestead, Woodstock Fireview. These all spanned 4 different houses in Michigan and Wisconsin. I'm sure the next stove I buy will be even better!
 
VCBurner said:
Hanko said:
you have way to much time on your hands
You're right about that Hanko! This wood heating thing has kept my mind occupied since getting laid off in November. I spent $260 on 100 gallons of oil in December and still have about 60 in the tank. The Union hall has the list of jobs, with more Spring 2010 jobs starting than jobs that are currently being worked on. This is good news. This is the best it has looked in four or five years! Hopefully not too much longer, I'll be swinging sheetrock, wood or concrete in no time!

Iam an electrical contractor here is SE Michigan, your about right as far as 4 or 5 years go. If I would have known it was going to be this bad this long, I would have given up a few years ago. Hey WTF, gotta keep going now!
 
I own 3 Sunshines, boiler plate, brick lined cigar burners, take a 2 foot stick. Don't look like much but they throw some heat and hold coals for a long time. I have new EPA Jotul Oslo in camp, sucker is nice but won't take a 2 foot stick, doesn't light as easy, but will throw some heat once going. I'll take my old simple stoves over the new stuff
 
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