Large regency or grand view 230

[Walter2]

I am sick of trying to find a "good deal" on a used wood stove! Just looked at a regency 2000m that had reached critical mass. Top of stove got so hot it sagged....no I'm not kidding , the sag would have held a cup of liquid. So I'm buying new and narrowed my search down to two.
Large regency that a local dealer needs gone, or a grand view 230 that a buddy thinks he can get me a discounted price as it is a floor burn model. Both stoves seem like they would heat the space but I hate the gold trim on the regency......which is the better ? I need to know the weakness in each.
Thank you in advance.

 

[BrotherBart]

Which large Regency?

 

[Walter2]

Which large Regency?

I will get that info tomorrow , they called it the large gold door and legs if that helps.

 

[Walter2]

Regency 3100

 

[macattack_ga]

Ive got a Regency i2400. It's a nice stove.

 

[begreen]

Haven't seen the Grand View, but the Regency I checked out looked nicely built.

 

[bholler]

We just installed a regency 3100 this mourning they are good stoves the brass door is a significant upcharge over the black door I don't know anything about the grand view though. regencies gave a nice simple design with few moving parts relatively cheap replacement parts and seem pretty well built. the only thing I don't like is there is no separate startup and secondary air it works fine but takes a bit to get used to.

 

[begreen]

Single air controls are common on many stoves. What's to get used too? Personally I like KISS.

PS: What stove has a secondary air control?

 

[Walter2]

One thing throwing me off is the grand view looks like 3/16 plate while the regency looks like 5/16 plate. I need to make the best choice as this is a huge purchase for me. Not to mention the cast inset on the top of the Lennox grand view,it just looks like another gasket to change to me. But my buddy says it is very efficient .... Price $1625 after tax. the regency is $2125 plus tax.

 

[bholler]

Most quads do for one I am sure there are others

 

[Rickb]

Most quads do for one I am sure there are others

Seems like people have more issues with the quads start-up air far more then the simpler single air control. Just my observation from way to much time on here.

 

[begreen]

I thought the Quad ACC is a startup air control, not operating on the secondaries. Personally I prefer a stove without this control. The startup air control is one more thing to forget or to hang up and go wrong. Seems more of a marketing gimick, but that is my personal pov not based on actual usage.

 

[bholler]

I actually really like the separate controls personally and I have seen quite a few us stove works and other quad rip offs that did the same not saying all us stove works are quad rip offs either so don't jump on me for that.

 

[BrotherBart]

Question still remains, what stove has a secondary air control?

ETA: I have seen pretty much every US Stove model made in the last ten years and haven't seen one with startup air either.

 

[bholler]

the other lever on the older quads control the secondary air i don't like the acc on the new ones either there are to many variables as far as how long startup takes for it to work properly

 

[KB007]

We have had a Regency i3100 insert in our LR for about 4 years now and it works very well. Tons of heat, big firebox and easy to run. Only things we've had to replace are the door glass gasket (prolly have to do the door one soon - maybe) and one of the firebricks cracked (and was replaced NC by Regency). Installing the burn tubes take a bit of getting used to - the manual says to clamp a vice grip on there real tight and to whack the vice grip hard with a hammer to seat it in the hole. It takes a good whack, first couple of times I was afraid to hit it hard and they wouldn't seat properly. Now I just hit it hard. Only need to take the one tube out to remove the baffles for cleaning, so no big deal.

The gold trim on the Regency is optional, you can order with or without. We have just the gold door, not the side panels. We like the look. Door glass is big too, wife loves that.
Surprised you're not looking at the even bigger Regency - the 5100? It's supposed to be huge.

 

[Walter2]

So....back to which stove is the better performer , Lennox grand view 230 or regency 3100? I'm looking for loooong burn time and durability .
Thanks again for all input.

 

[begreen]

Check the firebox sizes. Based on the firebrick layout I suspect the Regency is about 1 cu ft larger. To compare like models I think you need to compare the Regency 3100 to the Grandview GV300 not the GV230.

 

[BrotherBart]

Gonna be hard for somebody to advise one or the other based on performance. That would take having owned and used them both. But the 3100 is a proven stove while the Grand View hasn't been at it all that long. And gimmicks like those fins in the top always give me pause.

 

[Walter2]

We have had a Regency i3100 insert in our LR for about 4 years now and it works very well. Tons of heat, big firebox and easy to run. Only things we've had to replace are the door glass gasket (prolly have to do the door one soon - maybe) and one of the firebricks cracked (and was replaced NC by Regency). Installing the burn tubes take a bit of getting used to - the manual says to clamp a vice grip on there real tight and to whack the vice grip hard with a hammer to seat it in the hole. It takes a good whack, first couple of times I was afraid to hit it hard and they wouldn't seat properly. Now I just hit it hard. Only need to take the one tube out to remove the baffles for cleaning, so no big deal.

The gold trim on the Regency is optional, you can order with or without. We have just the gold door, not the side panels. We like the look. Door glass is big too, wife loves that.
Surprised you're not looking at the even bigger Regency - the 5100? It's supposed to be huge.

I'm not big on the gold color but it just happens to be a leftover stove that I can buy cheap.
As for the bigger stove I am trying to conserve wood and am avoiding anything with a cat.

 

[Walter2]

At this point I'm leaning regency even though it $750 more.... Is it worth the extra?

 

[KB007]

If it's a floor model / "left over" see if they'll negotiate a little more on price. Regency make a pretty good product akaic.

 

[KB007]

Also, check out if Regency are having any current promotions - I got the blower NC when I bought our insert. Think the gold door was 1/2 off too.

(broken link removed to http://www.regency-fire.com/Buyer-s-Guide/Promotions/JanPromo2014-ads.aspx?media=GoogleAdwords&gclid=CPPy0cDHxrwCFfFDMgod8SAAzg)