Hello, a newbie to the site but a woodburner since 2000 with my 1970s Vermont Castings Vigilant. It is big and burns a lot of wood and can hold a fire for a day, but I think there are some pieces missing (is there supposed to be a tube that brings the air to the front from the inlet? and the metal plate that forms part of the right side damper hinge is missing, meaning that hot air can bypass the back and sneak around the hinge), and I am wondering if I ought to replace it with something more efficient. I have a small log house (900 square feet on each of two floors) and the woodstove makes it right toasty even in our Canadian winter. My father says I ought to get a Kachelofen (a ceramic heater), and I've visited KaHeat in Ontario to check them out. They look nice, but the firebox looks really small (it holds 18 inch pieces, but not a lot of them), and for my size house I can apparently get away with the smallest one he's got. But will I be reloading it every four hours?
Does anyone have one of these Kachelofens and can anyone tell me if they have seen a decrease in wood use compared to a cast iron wood stove, and whether they've had to reload them more frequently than a cast iron wood stove? Was it worth the change-over?
Other options are a pellet stove, but we have rather frequent power outages, and at 800$ for 9 bush cords (I have to cut and split though) I don't think I can get pellets at that price.
I'd love to hear from anyone who has a Kachelofen if you're out there!
Thanks,
Martin D. Ottawa, Ontario
Does anyone have one of these Kachelofens and can anyone tell me if they have seen a decrease in wood use compared to a cast iron wood stove, and whether they've had to reload them more frequently than a cast iron wood stove? Was it worth the change-over?
Other options are a pellet stove, but we have rather frequent power outages, and at 800$ for 9 bush cords (I have to cut and split though) I don't think I can get pellets at that price.
I'd love to hear from anyone who has a Kachelofen if you're out there!
Thanks,
Martin D. Ottawa, Ontario