Buying first stove - what features to look for? What brands?

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J

jckay

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Nov 9, 2007
5
Connecticut
Hi folks - I'm ready to buy my first wood burning stove (actually an insert) to increase the efficiency of my fireplace. I've been to about four dealers in my area, and I have to tell ya, this like throwing a dart. Its very hard to determine what are the really important features to have, and which brands are better. Here's what I learned so far;

Important Features to have - long burn time, bypass damper, non-catalytic, airwash, air adjustment. Other items brought up but not really conclusive were unibody construction, blowers, and cast iron vs. steel.

Some of the brands I've seen and are considering are - Lopi (Answer & Revere), Avalon (Pendleton & Rainer), Quadrafire 3100i, Hearthstone Morgan, Pacific (Vista & Pacific), Regency I2400, Hampton HI300, Harmon, Napolean (1101 & 1401), and the Cadillac seems to be Jotul (C350 & C450).

I would appreciate any guidance on the the features, brands, reputable dealers in the Connecticut area, and where else besides hearth.com is there any reference material to learn more about stoves. One fella mentioned the Vista awards. That was something.

Thanks -
 
Drop the small firebox stoves off the list, you are not going to get long burns from them. How large a space are you trying to heat? Is this just for a room or two or the whole house?
 
Ain't no simpler that that...square footage of the house, then good brand, then the looks. But then again I'm a man, everything logic related changes when the old lady gets involved.
 
Curious why non catalyitic? It gives you more heat, more efficiecnt (longer burn form the same amount of wood) and less chimney buildup.
 
Just a guess, but maybe the hassle of maint., but I wouldn't know, I have the tubes.
 
I have the PE Vista. I get a lot of pleasure and heat out of it. In hindsight, I should have gone with the next size up to give me a longer burn time. If you plan to heat almost exclusively with wood, go for the larger size units unless you want to wake up at night to put more wood on. Blower is a must for an insert because only 1 face is exposed to the room and convection is not good enough to get the heat out from the other sides of the stove. Airwash means you never have to clean the glass except to remove the odd bits of ash that stick to the glass.

No matter what stove you get, make sure you burn dry wood.
 
Hi folks - thanks for the input.

BeGreen inquired about the size I'm trying to heat. Good question. All the dealers start with that. My reply is as follows; just trying to get more efficiency out of the fireplace. Not looking to heat the whole house (2 story colonial, ~2200 sq. ft), nor burn 24x7. The room this would go in is ~16x10.

Thanks again -
 
Most folks that don't burn 24/7 want a stove to be also be a backup for power outages and reserve heat for those days when the thermometer outside drops severely. It doesn't cost much more to get a bit larger firebox and if you are concerned about too much heat, that is entirely in the hands of the person running the stove. Less wood in and/or air to the fire = less heat out. My recommendation would be to pick a stove with about a 2 cu ft firebox. You can choose the brand that you like the best for features and looks. They're all good brands.

Very important will be to choose a good dealer that has it's own installers. Have the dealer spell out in detail what is included in the installation and post it here for review.
 
It is easy to focus on the hardware (BTDT) but I agree with the comment above that finding a good dealer and/or a knowledgeable sweep who will help you plan the installation (and maybe do it), AND be there for after-installation troubleshooting, is probably the first order of business. And I would think one of hallmarks of the "knowledgeable" ones is they will be asking you things right up front about your chimney and draft and square feet and R-values and wood supply... etc etc. So asking around to get a feel for the dealer's reputations would be worthwhile -- ask here, ask wood sellers and other industry folks (to try to find woodheat people in your area), ask the local building inspector (diplomatically) assuming you are going to be working with one.

Eddy
 
Just to deviate off the product thread for a minute. Seems like most dealers are in the area are getting ~$1,000 for install. That breaks out into two categories, labor and pipe/fittings. Labor is in the $425 to $650 range. And pipe in the $450 to $660 range (with one dealer at $1124).

Thoughts on those estimates?

Would it be less expensive to hire a 3rd party, like a sweep, to install?
 
Those installation prices are very fair. And even if you could save a couple of bucks with a third party I would advise against it. With a new stove and installation contracting it turnkey through one dealer cuts out the opportunity for a dealer and installer to point fingers at each other over a stove performance issue with you stuck in the middle.
 
I always tried to size my customers stoves to their wood supply. Most of my customers did not have access to unlimited wood, so it didn't pay them to buy a big stove.

Point being if you are going to burn 1-2 cords a year, a stove in the medium size range (or even small/medium) might be fine. Of course, log length also figures in.

As far as brands, a lot of good ones out them. Most folks end up making decisions based on the local dealer....in other words, the brands easily available in their area - plus price, style, features, etc.

When it comes to inserts, there are basically the steel ones which are fairly plain (although can be dressed up), and the cast-iron faced (or solid) unit which have that more decorative look (like BeGreens avatar, etc.). Some folks express a preference for a more modern look, others for the New England traditional one.
 
Wow, a bit of mis-information in this thread and from some of the veterans too.

Craig is more on here. Small stoves can be just the ticket for you, can heat 24/7, and do not have to be reloaded as frequently as some suggest.

The Revere and Answer will fit the same opening, same for the Avalon stoves. Also, the difference in burn time between a CAT and non-CAT in the real world is not that significant, and your burn time has more to do with the type of wood and split size than anything else.

I'd buy bigger if possible, but more because of the possibility of more heat output than anything. You can also get larger splits in a larger stove, again, it gives you more flexibility. I run a small stove (Osburn 1800i) and it will do about 80% of the heating of my 2200 sqft home. We've had temps down around 25 so far this year, and haven't turned on they heat yet. 35 out at the moment and the house is around 70. I get over night burns with good wood like oak, apple or Locust, and around 6 hour burns with elm, maple and cherry, but there is always coals left to start the next morning.

I know Elk get's pretty good burn times with his Vermont CAstings CAT stoves, but I'm not sure what wood he's using.

All stoves today have airwash.

All stoves today can burn all wood with no creosote problems.

The heavier stoves like Cast iron and Soap stone will put out usable heat longer, Soapstone being the best. On the other hand, the steel stoves heat up faster.
 
I'm surprised no one has asked about the arrangement of his 16x10 room. A bigger stove might put out oo much heat for this room unless it has a lot of open doorways and open ceiling to allow heat to flow out. I have a 25x16 with peaked ceiling and I can, at times, get too hot in my room with my Jotul 3CB. This is due to the way heat tends to stay in this room because of the doorways and bar opening not meeting the ceiling. I can get some heat out with my ceiling fan and floor fan but there is usually a 5 to 8 degree difference between stove room and the rest of the house.

If your fireplace room has a continuous ceiling opening between rooms, then perhaps you can get a bigger stove. Otherwise you might want to stick with something no bigger than the 3CB. I don't know how the size of my stove compares to the ones you are looking at though.
 
wahoowad Makes a very valid point. 160 sq ft room is quite small for the PE summit or blaze king. you are not going to do both get long burn times and not be blasted out of that room.

of considering 24/7 burning that room will be unbearable hot with some of the suggested stoves If you are willing to feed your stove more often then a smaller fire box stove will become a wise choice No one here can predict how much heat filters into adjoining rooms.

the sq foot heat areas numbers manufactures publish are for completely open areas Never found in real house. How many here have no interior walls 2200 sq ft family rooms?

again one has to set realistic goals


Waren: my wood is seasoned 2 to 3 years in advance of usage 80% oak mixed with scrounge hard wood cheery maple hickory elm. ect
Though I'm inclinded to pass elm up ,just too hard to split, If hard wood were not so plentifully I could load pine every day. People in my town are allergic to manual labor.
I have little competition to gathering wood. Some even pay me to take it away
 
JC, can you describe the floorplan of the first floor? What room will the stove be installed in and how open is it to the rest of the first floor?

Agreed that a small closed off room would be a sauna - possibly even with a small stove. But no one has suggested the opposite extreme of putting in a 3cu ft Summit or Blaze King in there. This totally depends on floorplan of the house and location of the stove. If the family or living room has large openings to other main areas of the house, the heat can be distributed fairly evenly about the first floor. If there is a large open stairwell to the 2nd floor, the upstairs will also get heated. Also, this is in Connecticut. He will see a lot more sub-teen days and nights in CT than in VA.
 
I am also buying my first insert. I was thinking the Jotul 450 or 550 if it comes out any time soon. My installer said I could run the blower cord through the ash pan under the fire place and plug it in in the basement. Anyone have any idea if that is safe?
Also the room is 20 x 15 with cathedaral ceilings with a ceiling fan. There is a 10 ft opening into the kitchen and my house is 2600sf in Mass. I am not planning on burning 24/7
Is the jotul 550 to big for the room or house?
 
soxfan welcome. I would recommend reposting in a new, separate thread. You'll get more answers quicker that way. As for new stove, read Craig's wiki posting first, then describe what you want the stove to do and how you intend to use the stove.
 
Hi folks - more great input. Thanks for everyone's time and contribution.

Floor plan .... I went back and actually measured the family room this time ... turns out its 13.5x17, bigger than I estimated. 8ft ceilings. Two openings in the room that lead to the kitchen and front foyer. The door to the front foyer is over-sized @ 36", and pretty much straight across from the fireplace, so hopefully some of the heat will blow out into the front foyer, and up the stairs to the 2nd floor, or across the foyer and into the living room. There is also a big bay window in the room. The room has a paddle fan.

I am fine with buying a stove a little bigger than I need. The cost is not that bad. Just to give an estimate, the step up from Avalon Pendleton to Ranier is an extra $400, the step from Lopi Answer to Revere is $500.

Due to some of the suggestions on this forum, I think I'm leaning to the Hampton HI300. It has a large firebox at 2.3 cu. ft., has a blower, and as many have suggested is an important factor, its aesthetically pleasing. Since its cast iron, they "jazzed" up the box and surround. One of the local dealers has the enamel black finish, floor model, for $1999. I was leaning on buying a "Made in USA" box. (I'm not hard core on that position because many times there are no options today, but when there are, I do try to keep my dollars at home.) I think Hamptons are made in Canada, so close enough. Not sure how Hamptons stack up. I get the sense that they are/were mostly into gas stoves and the wood stoves may not be their main business. A little concerning. Narrowing it down, HearthStone Morgan and Lopi Revere are contenders, as well as Napolean 1101, Harmon, Pacific Vista, and QuadraFire 3100/4100. All these stoves are around the $2,000 price point. (+- $200).

Thanks all -
 
Good info. I think you'll be fine in the 2cu ft range. But try not to compare stoves by price, stick to size. There is a big difference in firebox size between the PE Vista and the Quad 4100. Better to compare the PE Pacific D1 to the Quad 3100i, Ranier or Revere. If sustained burn times is the primary criteria, I'd look at the PE Pacific.

The Hampton is a good stove, same as the Regency 2400i with different trim. You'll pay some extra $$ for the fancy trim, but it does look really nice. Last word I read was the firebox size is about 1.7cu ft usable, similar to the Morgan, but a bit smaller than the others.
 
jckay said:
Due to some of the suggestions on this forum, I think I'm leaning to the Hampton HI300. It has a large firebox at 2.3 cu. ft., has a blower, and as many have suggested is an important factor, its aesthetically pleasing. Since its cast iron, they "jazzed" up the box and surround. One of the local dealers has the enamel black finish, floor model, for $1999. I was leaning on buying a "Made in USA" box. (I'm not hard core on that position because many times there are no options today, but when there are, I do try to keep my dollars at home.) I think Hamptons are made in Canada, so close enough. Not sure how Hamptons stack up. I get the sense that they are/were mostly into gas stoves and the wood stoves may not be their main business. A little concerning. Narrowing it down, HearthStone Morgan and Lopi Revere are contenders, as well as Napolean 1101, Harmon, Pacific Vista, and QuadraFire 3100/4100. All these stoves are around the $2,000 price point. (+- $200).

Thanks all -
Click to expand...

If you have an opportunity to purchase the Hampton in black enamel for $1999 I would snatch it up!!! I just paid $2576 for the same stove in brown enamel. (included the standard surround and blower) I was quoted $2109 for the matalic/flat black, so $1999 for enamel is a steal!
I called all the retailers within a couple hours drive and even shopped on line for a better price. The quotes I got were equal to and higher than what I found locally. So if that is the stove you want and it's the whole kit and caboodle for $1999, get down there and snag it up!
 
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