Buying my first stove - A Century. Worried about quality..

[stowy65]

Hello! I am getting ready to purchase my first stove. At first, I was leaning towards a Buck. Then we changed to the Osburn 2200 because of the bay window. I do not want to spend alot of money on a house that I plan to sell in 3-5 years. Because of this, I started looking at the Century Insert
(broken link removed to http://www.century-heating.com/product.aspx?CategoId=7&Id=522)

I read the threads here about the 2 separate weld issues and fear that we are making a bad decision.

(1) Should I worry this stove is of poor engineering, that the firebox is not properly supported?
(2) Is this stove that we are considering, the same stove as VC DW2500 or Century Hearth CJW2500?
(3) Am I sacrificing safety by buying a less expensive stove?
(4) Can I fire this box up hot or should I worry the thing will fall to pieces?
(5) This unit has a door that opens from the left. Would sure be nice to open from the right. Can you flip these doors like a refrigerator door?
(6) Is this a non-catalytic stove? I see no mention of that in the manual or on the website's specs.

I grew up using my Father's Lopi in Michigan and had some hot fires. Would hate to buy a stove that I could not fire up hot...

Thank you for having this forum. We will post pictures as we progress.

- Stowy

 

[BrotherBart]

The insert should do just fine. Looks like SBI fixed that thing with the firebox being suspended in mid-air with four welds. That is where the problem came in with the inserts. This one appears to sit on the floor like God intended inserts to do.

SBI builds a lot of stoves in a lot of price ranges. This ain't no Cadillac. But it should be a decent budget insert. It ain't gonna split down the middle.

Edit: And I agree, they should put the handle on the correct side. To get that you would need to get the Englander 13-NCI. Them old boys in Monroe, Virginia know where to put a door handle.

 

[FyreBug]

Hi there and welcome to the forum!

I work for Century and please rest assured you are buying a good product! It rates 5 out of 5 stars at Northern Tools
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200442426_200442426

Its made by one of the largest wood burning appliance mfg North America. All we do is wood burning. It has a good warranty and we support it. A few of us roam this great forum and we are glad to be of assistance. Shoot me a quick email if you have any question.

 

[stowy65]

Thank you for the replies BrotherBart and FyreBug. I just placed the order for a Buck Model 21. It is getting installed on 12/29. - Stowy

 

[FyreBug]

Hello! I am getting ready to purchase my first stove. At first, I was leaning towards a Buck. Then we changed to the Osburn 2200 because of the bay window. I do not want to spend alot of money on a house that I plan to sell in 3-5 years. Because of this, I started looking at the Century Insert
(broken link removed to http://www.century-heating.com/product.aspx?CategoId=7&Id=522)

I read the threads here about the 2 separate weld issues and fear that we are making a bad decision.

(1) Should I worry this stove is of poor engineering, that the firebox is not properly supported?
As per previous post and thousands of these sold in the past few years there is nothing to worry about. Weld issue may have been related to Vermont Castings making a similar stove (not Century).

(2) Is this stove that we are considering, the same stove as VC DW2500 or Century Hearth CJW2500?
Century was purchased a few years ago by SBI. Although Vermont Casting continued to make a similar stove (VC DW2500) for a while it is not the same company and I believe they no longer make it.

(3) Am I sacrificing safety by buying a less expensive stove?
It depends on your budget and what you are after. A 'boutique' stove sold at hearth dealers will typically provide you with a longer warranty, thicker plate steel and the ability to modify the look of the unit among other things. Many low cost units are made in China with questionable quality. Century is made in North America, has a good warranty and a large company to support it.

(4) Can I fire this box up hot or should I worry the thing will fall to pieces? I work for Century and I have yet to see one of our unit fall to pieces.

(5) This unit has a door that opens from the left. Would sure be nice to open from the right. Can you flip these doors like a refrigerator door? Nope... We make some stoves with door opening on the right and left. It a question of taste, design and customers as split if it makes a difference.

(6) Is this a non-catalytic stove? I see no mention of that in the manual or on the website's specs. I'ts an EPA Certified stove with secondary burn tube for smoke combustion. If you are on a budget you will be hard pressed to find a Catalytic stove in that price range. They are typically much more expensive.

I grew up using my Father's Lopi in Michigan and had some hot fires. Would hate to buy a stove that I could not fire up hot...

Thank you for having this forum. We will post pictures as we progress.

- Stowy