Yes top covered and of the ground... My stacks are made as a privacy fence along my perimeter. The shady side on some stacks the ends are rotting a bit.
Kuuma vf100 vs maxcaddy
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lexybird
Minister of Fire
I have a MAX caddy and heat 2,000sq feet( soon to be 3,000 after addition is complete) in northern Pa. I have never seen a Kumma operate but I’ve had my max for a couple years so I can give you my experience on it only . I work long hours and I have no backup heatsource so I needed something that could keep up on the coldest sub zero days and also get ridiculous burn times . I generally leave about 4
In the morning and come home about 4:15 and I hate playing Boy Scout trying to re lite the stove . Who wants to do that after working 11+ hours ? The max has not disappointed me . It burns as clean as the wood you put in it . In all fairness it’s probably not as clean as the kumma models ,but if you use only dry seasoned hardwood with the right install and do regular sweeps you will get great results . The furnace is very efficient at getting every btu out of each stick of wood .i never play boy scout after 12-13 hours there’s akways enough to fire back up.on mild winter days 14+ hour burns are child’s play if it’s filled with good hardwood .even packed with maple and cherry slab wood can get 12 hour burns .ive owned several wood furnaces and this is by far the highest quality with best performance I have experienced . I can fit 27” pieces ( less cutting yay!) n it too and it holds a good hefty load .i love how I can “turbo charge” the startup by opening the ash drawer to introduce air below the coals (obviously you can’t walk away with the ash drawer open ) Makes starting or restarting fires so easy .. good materials good looking welds and having the awesome viewing window really is a benefit I would not be without .Every stove I’ve owned had a window and it’s too much of a benefit to consider anything else in my opinion .the auto variable speed blower works like magic and back up heating options are nice to know if I ever want to go electric or fuel oil . All in all I’d do it again . I love my max caddy . I researched the kumma before I decided on the caddy and for me the ability to get the long burns and heat the house in the dead of January trumped the cleaner emissions .what good is an ultra clean burn out of chimney if your wife is complaining she’s freezing everyday ? Im done dragging furnaces out of the basement so it has to do its job or it’s useless to me . I was done taking chances . I’m sure kumma is well built .im sure it’s top quality and very efficient but I wouldn’t trade my caddy for one .data and statistics ratings on paper don’t always translate into practical real world results .im just a hick from the sticks but I’ve seen where a bigger firebox means more heat , ( what a novel idea!) there’s only so many realistic Btus you can extract from 5 medium splits. I’d rather have the ability to put 8 of those in for frigid days. I burn roughly 5 cords of split cord wood a year . I heat with only wood , no propane or fuel oil . Oddly enough I burn no more wood than I did with the smaller drolet heatmax but a lot of that could be our last two winters were milder than usual. 2,000 sq feet it might not matter which furnace choice you pick ,but if your trying to heat 3,000 feet that’s a big difference and you likely need extra hp to keep up on all that area to be satisfied.ive looked at the ds stove cozy king stoves they are built like tanks . I suspect they would also do the job handily however they are clearly not as efficient even the salesmen who sells both at his shop said the max will definitely be more efficient . I really liked the kozy king lineup tho . The quality and basic design looks really top notch from a utilitarian perspective in fact I’ve never seen a wood furnace built so “tough” as the kozy Kings.
In the morning and come home about 4:15 and I hate playing Boy Scout trying to re lite the stove . Who wants to do that after working 11+ hours ? The max has not disappointed me . It burns as clean as the wood you put in it . In all fairness it’s probably not as clean as the kumma models ,but if you use only dry seasoned hardwood with the right install and do regular sweeps you will get great results . The furnace is very efficient at getting every btu out of each stick of wood .i never play boy scout after 12-13 hours there’s akways enough to fire back up.on mild winter days 14+ hour burns are child’s play if it’s filled with good hardwood .even packed with maple and cherry slab wood can get 12 hour burns .ive owned several wood furnaces and this is by far the highest quality with best performance I have experienced . I can fit 27” pieces ( less cutting yay!) n it too and it holds a good hefty load .i love how I can “turbo charge” the startup by opening the ash drawer to introduce air below the coals (obviously you can’t walk away with the ash drawer open ) Makes starting or restarting fires so easy .. good materials good looking welds and having the awesome viewing window really is a benefit I would not be without .Every stove I’ve owned had a window and it’s too much of a benefit to consider anything else in my opinion .the auto variable speed blower works like magic and back up heating options are nice to know if I ever want to go electric or fuel oil . All in all I’d do it again . I love my max caddy . I researched the kumma before I decided on the caddy and for me the ability to get the long burns and heat the house in the dead of January trumped the cleaner emissions .what good is an ultra clean burn out of chimney if your wife is complaining she’s freezing everyday ? Im done dragging furnaces out of the basement so it has to do its job or it’s useless to me . I was done taking chances . I’m sure kumma is well built .im sure it’s top quality and very efficient but I wouldn’t trade my caddy for one .data and statistics ratings on paper don’t always translate into practical real world results .im just a hick from the sticks but I’ve seen where a bigger firebox means more heat , ( what a novel idea!) there’s only so many realistic Btus you can extract from 5 medium splits. I’d rather have the ability to put 8 of those in for frigid days. I burn roughly 5 cords of split cord wood a year . I heat with only wood , no propane or fuel oil . Oddly enough I burn no more wood than I did with the smaller drolet heatmax but a lot of that could be our last two winters were milder than usual. 2,000 sq feet it might not matter which furnace choice you pick ,but if your trying to heat 3,000 feet that’s a big difference and you likely need extra hp to keep up on all that area to be satisfied.ive looked at the ds stove cozy king stoves they are built like tanks . I suspect they would also do the job handily however they are clearly not as efficient even the salesmen who sells both at his shop said the max will definitely be more efficient . I really liked the kozy king lineup tho . The quality and basic design looks really top notch from a utilitarian perspective in fact I’ve never seen a wood furnace built so “tough” as the kozy Kings.
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brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
Holy moly...you are still alive! Good to see ya!
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