I'm Back! Who Makes the Best Stove Nowadays?

[BurnIt13]

Okay, I know that can be subjective. Long story short...I installed an Englander 30NC in our 1,600 sq.ft. house 12 years ago and it helped us out tremendously. If was too big of a stove, but it was cheap. Our 1885 house was uninsulated and the stove wasn't that bad.

Fast forward 12 years and the house is about as well insulated as an 1885 house is going to be and we hardly use it anymore. It cooks us out! With the new regulations (I just learned existed) I'm a bit lost on who makes the good stuff these days.

So I'm in the market for a small stove this time! It is a corner installation with somewhat tight clearances (6" or less to the corner). Just looking for a good combination of quality and cost. I don't need long burn times anymore, so a small 1.6-2.0 square foot fire box. Open to catalytic and non catalytic versions.

So who makes the good stuff? My memory brings me to Blaze King and Pacific Energy. The BK Ashford 20.2 and the PE Vista Classic LE look nice!

Who else should I be looking at? Thanks!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

What is your chimney height and budget? Anything special you like such as style?

 

[BurnIt13]

I have a double wall insulated 6" chimney pipe, roughly 22' tall. Not looking for anything too fancy or ornate, traditional steel or cast iron is fine though I'm open to options. I'm even open to some of the more contemporary styles of stoves. Ideal corner clearance has to be 6" or less. 1.5-2.0 sq.ft. firebox.

Budget? Less than $3k... ideally closer to $2k. Thanks!

 

[brenndatomu]

Along the lines of the NC30, Drolet makes a nice line up of "bang for your buck" stoves...they actually own the Englander line now too.
MFP has free shipping to most people on all their stoves too...this is basically the SBI (Drolet) factory store.

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[begreen]

Welcome back and kudos for tightening up the old house.
Is the problem one of circulation of the heat due to closed-off areas of the house? If so, some judicious usage of a fan or two could help move the heat.
If downsizing is the final goal then it sounds like a PE Vista (or Alderlea T4) or Jotul F35 would work out well. Or for a period look in the old house maybe a Woodstock Fireview, but that would be a budget breaker.
The title said "Best stove, but it sounds like the goal is the best small, budget stove. If that is the case, look at the Drolet Spark II or their Deco Nano.

 

[BurnIt13]

@begreen The house doesn't circulate air well due to the small rooms and odd layout. Fans help but the stove room will easily be 90 degrees and uncomfortable..the Englander 35NC is such a heat monster! Small, fast fires don't work so well in that stove. With such a large firebox it really needs a decent amount of wood to be efficient... and that makes alot of heat!

I do love the Woodstock stoves but the room the stove is installed in is somewhat awkward and the corner clearances are too large, even with wall protection. Plus I really need it to be a front loader.

Although a little outside my initial price range, what about the Hearthstone Shelburne and Castleton? Both 1.9-2.0 fireboxes and have decent clearances. The soapstone and catalytic converter might allow me to run it a bit slower for a more even, softer heat.

Their Green Mountain 40 and 60 also look very nice!

 

[begreen]

What is the floor layout like? Colonial style with a central hallway and stairwell? If so, in some cases it's possible to enhance circulation and reduce heat in the room by blowing in cooler air down low, from an adjacent space.

The Green Mountain may work ok. They tend to like stronger draft. If a sooty window is ok, then low and slow is possible. Also look at Blaze King options.

 

[BurnIt13]

What is the floor layout like? Colonial style with a central hallway and stairwell? If so, in some cases it's possible to enhance circulation and reduce heat in the room by blowing in cooler air down low, from an adjacent space.

The Green Mountain may work ok. They tend to like stronger draft. If a sooty window is ok, then low and slow is possible. Also look at Blaze King options.

Thanks again begreen! Three 16x12 rooms on the first floor. The actual rooms footprint isn't 16x12 as there are oddly placed closets in each room but you get the idea. The stove is in the middle room. There is a 12x12 addition off of one of the outside rooms. All rooms are connected to the adjacent rooms via a single doorway.

There is a staircase on one of the outermost rooms heading to the upstairs. We actually do have fans on the doorway of each room blowing cool air INTO the stove room. It helps...but still cooks us out.

If I do get a new stove my old Englander won't be put to rest... it will be going my neighbors basement to replace his 40 year old Papa Bear that goes through 10 cords per year.

And I have an Outdoor Air kit and intend to use that with the new stove as well.

 

[begreen]

Based on all that has been described in this thread and the others, I stand by my recommendations. Low budget - Drolet Spark II or their Deco Nano. Or if the budget permits, a PE Vista or Alderlea T4, or a Jotul F35. The downside of the Vista/T4 is that it's an E/W loader. You may miss the big belly of the 30NC in that regard, but maybe the smaller loads will make this matter less?

 

[Wood Rat]

+1 on the Deco Nano. Less footprint with closer tolerances to combustibles and budget friendly. Just my opinion. What stove did you buy?

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Okay, I know that can be subjective. Long story short...I installed an Englander 30NC in our 1,600 sq.ft. house 12 years ago and it helped us out tremendously. If was too big of a stove, but it was cheap. Our 1885 house was uninsulated and the stove wasn't that bad.

Fast forward 12 years and the house is about as well insulated as an 1885 house is going to be and we hardly use it anymore. It cooks us out! With the new regulations (I just learned existed) I'm a bit lost on who makes the good stuff these days.

So I'm in the market for a small stove this time! It is a corner installation with somewhat tight clearances (6" or less to the corner). Just looking for a good combination of quality and cost. I don't need long burn times anymore, so a small 1.6-2.0 square foot fire box. Open to catalytic and non catalytic versions.

So who makes the good stuff? My memory brings me to Blaze King and Pacific Energy. The BK Ashford 20.2 and the PE Vista Classic LE look nice!

Who else should I be looking at? Thanks!

I heat a small square footage (sub 1000 Sq feet) new construction with my Kuma Aspen LE. It has tremendously close to wall clearances and can be dialed down to a lower output burn.

 

[begreen]

I heat a small square footage (sub 1000 Sq feet) new construction with my Kuma Aspen LE. It has tremendously close to wall clearances and can be dialed down to a lower output burn.

Good suggestion.

 

[stoveliker]

I am late to the game but I see that the Deco Nano has a low end output of ~12000 BTU per hour.
That is the same as a BK (which can sustain that for 20+ hrs on one load for a 20 model).

Edit: In fact the 20 model does 11340 BTU/hr. That is only three and a third of a standard (1.5 kW) plug-in electric heater!
Quite amazing (for both stoves): burning a fire, but having an output of less than 4 of those heaters.

Pricing of the BK is a bit higher, and I don't know how clearances compare.

Nevertheless I thought this useful to mention.

 

[Wildflush]

Okay, I know that can be subjective. Long story short...I installed an Englander 30NC in our 1,600 sq.ft. house 12 years ago and it helped us out tremendously. If was too big of a stove, but it was cheap. Our 1885 house was uninsulated and the stove wasn't that bad.

Fast forward 12 years and the house is about as well insulated as an 1885 house is going to be and we hardly use it anymore. It cooks us out! With the new regulations (I just learned existed) I'm a bit lost on who makes the good stuff these days.

So I'm in the market for a small stove this time! It is a corner installation with somewhat tight clearances (6" or less to the corner). Just looking for a good combination of quality and cost. I don't need long burn times anymore, so a small 1.6-2.0 square foot fire box. Open to catalytic and non catalytic versions.

So who makes the good stuff? My memory brings me to Blaze King and Pacific Energy. The BK Ashford 20.2 and the PE Vista Classic LE look nice!

Who else should I be looking at? Thanks!

I have a corner install PE Vista LE and we love it. Love the tight clearances. No problem heating our 1,900 sqft cape. For a smaller stove it can cook us out. Easy breather. 4-6 hour burn time but the way I load it I’m in the 4-5 hour camp. Paid $2,300 March of 2022 with upgraded legs added.

Takes 18” splits 16” preferred.

Excel 23’ chimney. Top of stove to top of cap.