How are Aspen C3 stoves now? Did they fix the issues?

[Danbro5000]

Has anyone bought an Aspect C3 recently and could you report how it is performing.

Have they really fixed whatever issues there were (ie, clogged air intakes, etc).

Does the air thermostat intake system work?

I am pondering an ASPEN C3 or possibly a more expensive Morso.

Thanks

 

[skitten]

Had one installed this week, and so far I'm conflicted.

We chose it due to similarity in size to the old stove so it would be an easy swap; although this was all done online as they weren't actually in stock and we had to wait three months for the dealer to get it. When they turned up to install it we worried we'd screwed up as it was somewhat smaller than we expected, but our 16" wood does fit and it puts out enough heat, and uses about half the amount of wood the janky old 1950s stove it replaced did. Also it's getting 75% paid for by county clean air rebates.

I've now read about the issues with this stove - I don't know if they fixed the cement issues as I'm not about to take it apart to find out.

Experience so far has been it's great once it gets going, but getting it started has been a learning experience. I'm finding I need to spend more time and kindling getting it hot before adding wood. And while it's getting warm it will back smoke into the room when I open the door and the glass on the door ends up opaque from soot. From reading forums this might be because I have only maybe 10' of exhaust.

 

[wjohn]

I must have missed this thread when it started. I'm on year 2 with mine now. Which Morso (2B?)? What's the price on those these days?
My Aspen C3 was $1250 a year ago and I think the Morso was $1500-$1800 at the time, but I'm not sure on that. The Aspen C3 is now $1800 so I can only guess at what the 2B is.

I don't think there's much if any cement in the Aspen C3. Mine is almost entirely gasketed everywhere so the clogged intake from the factory doesn't seem like it could even be an issue. I'm not sure if that was an issue on a very early run of them, and then they redesigned for gaskets, or if the overcementing issue was on the previous Aspen model (not C3). Either way, looking at mine, I'd say it's not an issue anymore.

Ultimately I didn't give much more thought to the 2B because the closest dealer was over 3 hours away and didn't have one on hand. It's a smaller firebox but has manual air control which I would've preferred. It's also slightly more efficient than the C3, although they're both very efficient little stoves. I don't regret getting the C3 but I would rather have manual air control. Sometimes it's a little bit of a pain getting the air to do what you want. Good dry wood is a must.

Overall I'm happy with my Aspen C3 so far.

 

[30WCF]

OP’s first post on 10/08, and last log in was 10/11. I doubt this is useful anymore to him, but I’ll bite.
It seems like a decent stove that likes to be run hot to stay clean. Maybe they overcorrected on the draft issue based off some threads in the Vermont Castings Stoves section.
I’m still trying to learn mine. I’ve had it a few weeks and I got behind on my wood two years ago, so I’m burning a mixed bag of overly dry, slightly wet and some pithy or decomposing woods, so I’m all over the radar with my results at the moment. I got caught up on wood this spring, but it will probably be next year until I can get a good read on it. In the mean time, check out the VC sub forum under wood stoves. The “Wood Stoves By Manufacturer” tab is easy to miss if you generally scroll right past the stickies even though it’s first thing right at the top I’ve the page.

 

[Danbro5000]

Thanks for the replies. I got an Aspen C3 installed last week and so far I'm happy. I have maybe 9-10 feet of stove pipe from top of stove to chimney cap and once it gets going chimney flow hasn't been a problem.

Sometimes it it does get too hot and it would be great if there was a way to slow it down at that point. I'm considering putting something on the rear air intake to reduce air flow when it gets like that. It would probably increase burn times. It's usually when it's windy outside. I'm guessing it was calibrated for no wind situations. Manual control or a manually settable thermostat would have been nice. You're basically stuck with their one-size fits all built-in thermostat, which doesn't shut it down enough when it gets super hot.

They didn't have stock of the morso stove I wanted. It was about 600 more expense though. This was the cheapest wood stove that qualifies for the tax credit that I could get and it's nice being able to cook on it too.

So, it does appear they have fixed whatever issues there were and I concur it looks like it's gasketed now with no cement to clog the passages.

 

[30WCF]

I’m thinking about a key damper and the damper addition to the intake on mine. I can really only run 2 splits at a time and have to load it about every 3 hrs to keep it even. I can get it to go through the night and still have coals in the morning to relight off of, but it wasn’t really putting out useful heat in the wee hours.

 

[MaineCoastHomestead]

I’m thinking about a key damper and the damper addition to the intake on mine. I can really only run 2 splits at a time and have to load it about every 3 hrs to keep it even. I can get it to go through the night and still have coals in the morning to relight off of, but it wasn’t really putting out useful heat in the wee hours.

This is almost my exact thoughts. Just got a C3 a month ago. Have to start the fire with heavy kindling, once coals are going, two logs every 2-3 hours. I am nervous to fill the box overnight, so far he most i have done are 4 medium splits before bed to have good coals in morning.

 

[30WCF]

I usually run two or three at night. When it’s real cold I’ll fill it up more, but if it’s not 20 or less, 2-3 is plenty hot.