Help Me Evaluate Used True North 20

[StoveHopeful]

Hi there! I am interested in buying a True North 20 (TN20) for our 20 foot yurt in Vermont. I found one for sale used for $750, but it's a 4 hour drive away (8 round trip). It is apparently almost new, used for 2 months but too small for their house.

1. What should I look for to evaluate this used stove? Anything in particular that might be broken and expensive to replace?

2. Would the stove fit in the back of my Subaru Forester? I do not have a truck, but could rent one if necessary. I don't want to make the drive if it won't fit.

Thank you!

 

[begreen]

It's a good choice for a yurt stove. Can you get pictures that you can post here first? Pictures should be of the exterior and interior of the stove. It's 28" tall so it should fit in the back of the Forester.

 

[StoveHopeful]

It's a good choice for a yurt stove. Can you get pictures that you can post here first? Pictures should be of the exterior and interior of the stove. It's 28" tall so it should fit in the back of the Forester.

Thank you, this is very helpful! I will ask for photos of the inside, I do have photos of the exterior and will try to attach them here.

I noticed the back has drips down it. I was told the new stove pipe from home Depot dripped on it - I was thinking maybe it's creosote? You can see it in the photos.

 

[EbS-P]

Are you prepared to drive Home empty handed? I drove 2.5 hours one way to find the stove had been left outside and needed a new paint job. (It wasn’t a total loss we got some shopping done at LL bean). Looks like they had the pipe installed backwards and water or creosote dropped down on it. Don’t expect a perfect paint job. The install looks questionable. Raises a small flag for how they might have run the stove.
I don’t know how much a new baffle and tubes are if they are damaged less than $200 maybe.

 

[StoveHopeful]

Are you prepared to drive Home empty handed? I drove 2.5 hours one way to find the stove had been left outside and needed a new paint job. (It wasn’t a total loss we got some shopping done at LL bean). Looks like they had the pipe installed backwards and water or creosote dropped down on it. Don’t expect a perfect paint job. The install looks questionable. Raises a small flag for how they might have run the stove.
I don’t know how much a new baffle and tubes are if they are damaged less than $200 maybe.

Very helpful information and perspective, thank you! I am prepared to come home empty handed, but have asked for inside photos to try and make it less likely that I come home without the stove due to unforseen circumstances. I'm definitely concerned about how the stove was run based on that install, I'm just not sure how I can tell if the stove is damaged or not based on over firing or anything else. Any suggestions on what to look for?

 

[EbS-P]

Very helpful information and perspective, thank you! I am prepared to come home empty handed, but have asked for inside photos to try and make it less likely that I come home without the stove due to unforseen circumstances. I'm definitely concerned about how the stove was run based on that install, I'm just not sure how I can tell if the stove is damaged or not based on over firing or anything else. Any suggestions on what to look for?

Cracks, warping and gray paint. Paint is enough to fix. Warped replaceable parts are too. Cracks are harder to fix.

 

[begreen]

The stovepipe was installed upside down. The crimped end always faces the stove so that any creosote drips back into the pipe and not outside. So far I don't see red flags. See if you can get a shot that includes the stove top too. If the interior shots of the stove look good then I think the drive is justified. The market is going to get very hot any day now and good deals will disappear very quickly. Just make sure they don't sell the stove while you are on your way.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'd look at a trailer for the haul. Putting a few hundred lbs hunk of metal in the back of a car and then taking it out sound like a bunch of chiropractor visits to me. Renting a trailer you could load with a dolly sounds cheaper.

 

[EbS-P]

I'd look at a trailer for the haul. Putting a few hundred lbs hunk of metal in the back of a car and then taking it out sound like a bunch of chiropractor visits to me. Renting a trailer you could load with a dolly sounds cheaper.

That amount of weight would be fine in the back. It’s less than two of my cousins that would fit in the back besides towing for 8+ hours of your not used to it is a CHORE. It’s not a 650 pound beast.

Take the baffle out, take the bricks out. Move it lay it down on its back with the second row folded. 4 persons job or 1 if you have an engine hoist.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Ok, I’m not going to argue, lol.

I suppose pulling a trailer for that long, especially in traffic, can be nerve wracking. I wouldn’t want my wife to do it. Everybody is made differently!

 

[begreen]

@StoveHopeful did you go for it?

 

[StoveHopeful]

Thank you everyone for your excellent advice and @begreen for checking back in as well!

After a lot of consideration and taking into account all of your thoughts and advice, including the time, cost, and hassle of getting the stove loaded into a car or renting a trailer or returning empty handed like @EbS-P mentioned, we decided to purchase a brand new TN20! It was delivered on Wednesday and we got it installed right away.

It has simply been amazing. The stove gets hotter more quickly than our old, air leaky intrepid 1. Fires are easier to start, we are burning way less wood because things heat up faster and each piece lasts longer, and we have lots of coals without the need for frequent reloading. Our larger pieces of wood fit much easier and stay lit for a lot longer (they would not stay lit well in the old Intrepid). The improvement has been so amazing I haven't gotten up at all overnight to reload and my wife, for the first time ever, worked from home because it was so easy for her to manage keeping the fire going while working.

We had a few quality control issues with the stove but I can write up a full review when I get more experience with the stove. Customer service from North country fire has been excellent, really exceeded my expectations.

For now time to go fire up the stove - thank you everyone! You made a big difference in my life this winter!

 

[EbS-P]

Thank you everyone for your excellent advice and @begreen for checking back in as well!

After a lot of consideration and taking into account all of your thoughts and advice, including the time, cost, and hassle of getting the stove loaded into a car or renting a trailer or returning empty handed like @EbS-P mentioned, we decided to purchase a brand new TN20! It was delivered on Wednesday and we got it installed right away.

It has simply been amazing. The stove gets hotter more quickly than our old, air leaky intrepid 1. Fires are easier to start, we are burning way less wood because things heat up faster and each piece lasts longer, and we have lots of coals without the need for frequent reloading. Our larger pieces of wood fit much easier and stay lit for a lot longer (they would not stay lit well in the old Intrepid). The improvement has been so amazing I haven't gotten up at all overnight to reload and my wife, for the first time ever, worked from home because it was so easy for her to manage keeping the fire going while working.

We had a few quality control issues with the stove but I can write up a full review when I get more experience with the stove. Customer service from North country fire has been excellent, really exceeded my expectations.

For now time to go fire up the stove - thank you everyone! You made a big difference in my life this winter!

View attachment 319968 View attachment 319969

I like happy endings!

 

[begreen]

That's great news, thanks for the update. You'll get the best burns by loading the wood N/S with the splits tightly packed with little air space between them. The stove will burn differently than the Intrepid. Try closing down the air, in increments, as quickly as possible without extinguishing the flames. A flue thermometer is really helpful for getting the best burn.

Starting a fire and running an EPA stove

Questions about starting a fire and avoiding a runaway stove come up so frequently I decided to document starting our stove. This is a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 with about a 3 cu ft firebox. The stove is connected to a straight-up, 20' interior flue. The outside ambient temperature is 34ºF. The...

www.hearth.com

 

[StoveHopeful]

That's great news, thanks for the update. You'll get the best burns by loading the wood N/S with the splits tightly packed with little air space between them. The stove will burn differently than the Intrepid. Try closing down the air, in increments, as quickly as possible without extinguishing the flames. A flue thermometer is really helpful for getting the best burn.

Starting a fire and running an EPA stove

Questions about starting a fire and avoiding a runaway stove come up so frequently I decided to document starting our stove. This is a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 with about a 3 cu ft firebox. The stove is connected to a straight-up, 20' interior flue. The outside ambient temperature is 34ºF. The...

www.hearth.com

Thank you for this helpful information @begreen ! So far I've not put more than one or two splits in the stove at a time because it has not been cold enough and the TN20 will cook us out of the Yurt fast in anything above 10 degrees (tonight and tomorrow are the first nights below 10, so stay tuned!) But it's been awesome! I had a fire going for about 2 hours tonight, added a split, turned down the air half way, went to sleep, and woke up 3 hours later with a nice bed of coals. Added another split just now at 1am and it lit quickly. With the intrepid I would have to restart the fire at this point, but the TN20 is cruising right along.

I think I'll slowly learn and get the hang of this stove, but feel I need to get the hang of it before I really load it up before bed on cold nights so I don't end up awake in a 90 degree tent, haha!!

I have one of those cheap thermometer disk things on the stove top, is there one you recommend for the flue? I've read about probe ones, is there a difference between all the options? Does it matter if it's 12, 18, etc inches up? I'll buy whatever you recommended.

Update: I'm seeing you and others post about the condor and at100. I like the simpleness of the condor style, but obviously it's not as accurate or responsive (especially over time). I can't find the electrical draw (watt/amp) of the at100, except that it runs off AC with a 12VDC adapter. I live off grid with a very small solar system so I'm trying not to add too many electrical draws. Do you happen to know the draw of the at100, or has anyone hooked it up to a kilowatt meter?

 

[peakbagger]

You may want to give a BBQ (not BBW) grille monitor a try, they are cheap and battery powered.

 

[EbS-P]

Only reason I see for the AT100 is the temp alarm. And if you want the alarm it’s probably worth the 5-15watts. While the stove is running.

 

[StoveHopeful]

Only reason I see for the AT100 is the temp alarm. And if you want the alarm it’s probably worth the 5-15watts. While the stove is running.

What do you think is a good alternative? Condor? The alarm would be nice but I don't know if it's worth it for me because I'd probably have to add another solar panel which is a whole thing.

 

[StoveHopeful]

Update: I stayed up all night playing with the stove. I made it too hot in the yurt by adding a large piece of ash, and ended up opening the door to the yurt for a while at 3am when it was about 10 degrees outside to cool off the house. I added a few medium size splits and closed the air lever all the way and watched the secondaries burn magically for at least an hour or two without any primary flames (video attached). After an hour or two it got hot again in the Yurt, and without any primary flames the ash pretty much just turned to coals.

Is it "good" to have lots of secondaries and no primary flames? Or should I always have at least some primaries?

My wife put a split on at 930am and I got back from work at 6pm. I came home to a good bed of coals (photo attached) and the top was still 150 degrees. Added two splits and the fire started right back up without any kindling needed - amazing! I can't imagine having any coals in my old leaky intrepid after a whole day of work.

 

[begreen]

The

Is it "good" to have lots of secondaries and no primary flames? Or should I always have at least some primaries?

Yup, that's fine. The video is a beautiful example.

Sounds like you are getting it dialed in nicely.

Condar probeflue thermometers are good, though much slower to respond. I plugged the AT100 into the KiloWatt meter, it read .01 amp. If you have 12 vdc in the yurt then it could have it's own battery supply, or just put it on a switched receptacle that is only on when you want it to be.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

A snap disc would turn it off when the stove was cool/cold.

 

[StoveHopeful]

A snap disc would turn it off when the stove was cool/cold.

I've never heard of those, I'll look it up!

 

[EbS-P]

I've never heard of those, I'll look it up!

I think the condor would be fine. It’s not like you will be in another room or on another floor. And if you are very far outside you can’t hear the alarm. 18 inches above the stove is the preferred height.