buck model 74

[steeltowninwv]

i think im leaning towards buying this insert...mostly because we have several buck dealers within 50 miles...and i like the firebox size....my house is 1600 sq feet i think it will do just fine....i grew up with buck stoves in my dads house..very dependable...one question i have is what kind of burn times are u all getting out of this stove?..ill be using it as an insert...i already have a 6 inch ss liner installed about 3 years old...if i decide to let the dealer to install it...what do u think it will run me?..should be slide the old one out and slide new one in....

 

[begreen]

It depends on how busy the dealer is. For most this is peak business time and often they don't cut many bargains. Still, for a simple install I would expect the premium to be small. Maybe an extra $150 for the installation? Just make sure it is done well and by the book.

 

[jc5922]

I've been looking at a lot of the Buck Stoves, and while they don't seem all that popular, I do think they are a pretty good stove, especially for the money. Here locally, Buck's biggest problem is there dealers. Most of them don't know squat. I've got somewhere between 8 to 10 Buck dealers within an hour of my house. I've talked with most of them and the other day I went into probably the largest dealer and talked quite a bit with them. No joke, he recomended just inserting the stove into my fireplace with no liner. Now my prefab fireplace has a a 9 and 3/4" ID flue, how well do think that 6 inch flue opening coming out that Buck is going to work going into that big of a flue opening? When I asked him about it, he said well, if you insist on doing something, I've got sections of silver stove pipe I can sell you cheap, just drop that down your chimney to the stove. I walked out.

Another local dealer, fairly good sized, sold a buddy of mine a Buck Model 85 last year. Went into an old masonary fireplace with a masonary chimney. The guy had just took out an old stoker stove. Dealer told him to insert the stove into the fireplace and use a 2 or 3 foot "starter" pipe and he'd be fine. Needless to say, my buddy didn;t have the best results. About a month ago he offered to sell me the stove for $250. A steal for a one year old 85. He said something was wrong with the stove and that it was smoking hime out of the house, burntimes were awful, and so far. Hated the stove. that's when we got to talking. He now has a 6 inch flue liner and loves his stove. Just be careful with what dealer you choose...

 

[PLAYS WITH FIRE]

This is my second year burning a 74 as an insert. I don't have much experience with inserts as my family as had freestanding stoves for years. I use mine in a masonry, exterior chimney with full liner and uninsulated. I do have Roxul stuffed up into the smoke shelf and block off plate area. I also use it to fill in the void around the insert.

I clean about once a month to get a feel for things as my wood was questionable last year. This year is a little different, alot actually!

I run it hot about 550 to 650, mostly in between and it likes it!

It is quite simple and heavy. It has nice burn times I think!

I load last night at 10:15pm about half full of, not really sure of the type of wood. Wake up at 7 am and had a nice bed of coals to get the fire rolling again easily. I am doing a test to see if the coals wil still be there when I get home, sometimes they are.... Oh, the temp in Washington PA was in the 20's last night. So, I think this is a good burn time.

But we like the stove alot!

I srtarted from a cold stove at 5:30 pm and a temp of 68 upstairs and at 7pm it was about 72 upstairs. 1600 sqft ranch.

 

[BrowningBAR]

It depends on how busy the dealer is. For most this is peak business time and often they don't cut many bargains. Still, for a simple install I would expect the premium to be small. Maybe an extra $150 for the installation? Just make sure it is done well and by the book.

Seems right. The sweep/installer I use quoted me 150-200 to swap out the intrepid for the Encore if it turned out I couldn't get it done myself.