considering a Century 2500 insert, what other inserts are available for under $1000

[trx680]

I like the Century that Northern sells for $750. I like the glass doors, and it gets good reviews here and on Northerns website. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200442426_200442426

What other good inserts are available for under $1000?


I'll be using this as a secondary heat source. I have a heat pump too, and the house is only 1000sf ft.

 

[begreen]

It's definitely low-priced, but with a shallow firebox, how large is it? Based on the firebrick layout I would guess about 1.2 cu ft. Is this big enough to do the job? Maybe.

If longer burn times and a bit more heat is required then I would look at the Englander 50-TNC13I - http://www.overstockstoves.com/50tnc13i--epa-certified-noncatalytic-wood-stove--1550131500.html

or the Drolet Escape 1400-I - http://www.dynamitebuys.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1857

 

[glenlloyd]

It's definitely low-priced, but with a shallow firebox, how large is it? Based on the firebrick layout I would guess about 1.2 cu ft. Is this big enough to do the job? Maybe.

If longer burn times and a bit more heat is required then I would look at the Englander 50-TNC13I - http://www.overstockstoves.com/50tnc13i--epa-certified-noncatalytic-wood-stove--1550131500.html

or the Drolet Escape 1400-I - http://www.dynamitebuys.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=1857

According to the published manual it's a 2.0 cu ft firebox, which is bigger than the Drolet 1400i.

here's the manual

http://www.northerntool.com/downloads/manuals/700249.pdf

 

[begreen]

I saw that spec, then looked at the firebrick layout. The floor of the stove is about 12" x 19.5". Height starts out in the back at 7.5" and goes up to 9". 1.2 cu ft usable firebox is being generous.

 

[wood4free]

Something is amiss with the capacity specs for the CW2500 on Century Heating's website. The firebox dimensions are listed as 20.5" wide x 12.5" deep x 9.0" high yet they show the capacity as 2.0 Cu ft. Either the dimensions are incorrect or 2 Cu ft. is a misprint. Simple math using the firebox dimensions gives a capacity of 1.33 Cu ft. (20.5 x 12.5 x 9.0 = 2306/1728 = 1.33) and this does not take into consideration the height of the firebox is shorter in the back than it is in the front. The Drolet 1400I is listed as a 1.8 Cu Ft. firebox dimensions are 21 x 13 3/4 x 10 7/8 which is slightly bigger than the CW2500. Note, SBI owns both Drolet and Century Heating. I have the Drolet 1400I and while it is somewhat too small for my application it is built like a tank. Note, the Drolet 1400I weighs 350lbs while the CW2500 weighs in at 235 lbs. The CW2500 did very well in the EPA soft wood tests with a BTU of 57,000 most likely due to the thinner metal used on the stove.

 

[BrotherBart]

The Century stoves have a 3/16" thick top plate where the Drolets have 1/4" for their flat top stoves. Ergo some of the weight difference. And a lesser chance of warping with the Drolet.

 

[begreen]

I may be missing something, but how can it be 20.5" wide with two 1.5" bricks sitting on top of the floor bricks? 9+9+4.5-3= 19.5"

 

[karl]

Is this the one that has the primary air feed in on the top above the glass instead of down low below the glass like most other stoves? If it is, a friend had one and it was a pain to get a fire going, and super touchy about the moisture content of wood.

 

[FyreBug]

Thanks for bringing that up to our attention guys. CFM marketing use to state Cu Ft without bricks. We never changed the specs in the Lit when we bought the company.

We will be changing them to reflect the true specs. CW2500 is actually 1.44 Cu Ft.

 

[glenlloyd]

Thanks for bringing that up to our attention guys. CFM marketing use to state Cu Ft without bricks. We never changed the specs in the Lit when we bought the company.

We will be changing them to reflect the true specs. CW2500 is actually 1.44 Cu Ft.

I had thought of that earlier but dismissed it as unlikely because that would be a very non-standard way of calculating the cu. ft.

 

[Scottydont]

Wow! I purchased the CW2500 last winter as my first ever wood stove. I was torn between the similar Drolet insert and the CW2500. I went with the century because it was a bit cheaper and because it was supposed to have a bigger firebox. If I had of known the true sizes I definitely would have gone with the Drolet. I feel kinda cheated now . I guess that would explain why I've never been able to get a burn more than 2-3 hours.

Thankfully for any future shoppers, the century website has updated the firebox size.... http://www.century-heating.com/product.aspx?CategoId=7&Id=522

 

[FyreBug]

Yes and thank you for bringing it up. Unfortunately, the MFG's are free to state Cu Ft as they see fit. I always believed it's better to state the fact from a user point of view. As stated above, there's a reason why it happened and we fixed it immediately.

As far as your burn time, 2-3 hours is quite short. You may have an overdraft issue or something else at play. at 1.4 Cu ft box while small should give your 5-6 hours (always dependent on how you define burn time. Tons of threads on this)