Buck 74 vs Hearthstone Manchester vs ???

[dsmyth]

Hey All,

I've been reading a ton of reviews and posts on this forum that have been very helpful.

Trying to make the final call on a new stove.

Our home is a 3 story brick shotgun style house from 1885. ~3200 sq ft. I am hoping to heat the first floor or 2 (~2300 sq ft) with the stove. We are hoping to run it consistently, all winter as a primary heat source/largely offset our use of gas.

Narrowed down to a Buck 74 and the Hearthstone Manchester (Unless there's something else I should be considering. I've read all of the reviews on here, both the good and the bad.

Buck:
Less $
Not as nice to look at

Hearthstone
Significantly higher BTU's (If this actually means much)
Soapstone (longer to heat up)

Dealer is doing the install. 6" liner + insulation up our existing 3 story flue.

Would like to stay with a medium sized firebox. We don't have the physical space in our living room to allow for a super larger stove.

Our dealer had also recommended a Hampton H300 but I think it's too small.

Is there anything else we should consider? We have also looked at PE Alderlea T5 & T6.

We are located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Thanks for reading yet another which stove should I buy thread!

 

[begreen]

The Alderlea T6 would work. Other cast iron jacketed stoves that also are worth looking at are the Jotul F55, Quad Explorer III and in catalytic, the Blaze King Ashford 30.1.

 

[HisTreeNut]

I cannot speak on the Hearthstone but I have a Buck 94NC. While Bucks may not the prettiest stoves out there, they are a solid heater, well built, and a pretty good value. I am heating 2145 sq' and it kept the house comfy most of the winter and we were able to keep the electric baseboard off all winter. There were a few times when it was pretty cold and we used a kerosene heater to help heat the far sides of the house.
If you go with the 74, they come with an optional blower. If you are looking for it to be primary heat source, it will most likely be needed given the size of your house. The 74 is a non-cat so it will need a little maintenance than a cat stove to get optimal heat.
If you go with the Hearthstone, I understand the soapstone takes a little longer to heat up but it radiates the heat longer after the fire dies down/out [and folks can correct me if I am wrong about that].
@begreen has an Alderlea T6 and can let you know all the ins & outs and from what I have read it is also a good, solid stove. Blaze Kings also are well liked and are pretty solid. Their VP is a regular on Hearth.com [ @BKVP ] and is a great help & resource if you have questions.
Welcome to the fourm & feel free to ask more questions. The people here will give honest, helpful answers.

 

[stovelark]

x2 with BG. The Buck looks like a nice steel stove, if thats the pick, if you can, I'd look at the PE Summit as well as the cast iron jacketed stoves. Enviro Kodiak and Boston deserve a look too. We sell the HS line of stoves, the Manchester is a really nice stove, albeit a bit expensive. If side loading cast stoves are a desire, I'd definitely look at Jotuls too, espec the F500 Oslo and F600 Firelight. Any of these stoves you mentioned should do the job quite nicely. Good luck hunting...

 

[heatwise]

Hi, both stoves are high up on my list of personal favorites. I like the 74 from buck due to not needing a blower and it's a proven work horse built for the long haul.
The Manchester has a great heat exchanger that puts out a lot of heat. lots of great stoves on the market making the right choice that much easier. And as always, lots of people on this site sharing knowledge of other brands they love.

 

[Stihl-ing Trees]

I have the Manchester that I bought 3 years ago. I like the stove a lot and she liked the look. Once you get the stove rolling it will really kick some tail. I love the side door and ash pan. Just wish they would have thought out a better design for the damper control because I am not a fan. But I feel in my experiences this far there are better stoves on market. I live around Dayton, Ohio area. My buddy purchased a quadrafire 4100 the exact day I purchased mine. Seems like he gets a lot better burn time and temps. But I think I also have some draft issues, so that's why I am back on site finding answers.

 

[Komatsu350]

Were practically neighbors, I live in Ross. We have a Buck 74. Its a fantastic heater, we heat 1700 sqft with it and it doesnt struggle. Puts out really nice heat and the stove holds alot of heat even after fire is out. We usually get around 8hrs off a load of hardwood with lots of coals still for an easy rekindle. We have wood walls so we went with all black but the gold and nickel trims look really nice. My family has always had bucks and they have never let down. Built like a tank. We bought from Charlies Chimney Sweeps in New Richmond.

 

[Stihl-ing Trees]

I bought a Buck 41/50 for small 2 car garage, it does the job very well. But they are completely two different stoves. Since I am pretty new to the wood burning community I am very green with stove stories. So I have done a lot of my own R&D with this stove. I really think my problems are with draft, because I only use damper on stove currently none in the pipe. I feel if I can keep all the heat going out chimney it will make a 100% believer in me.