Looking at upgrading our old stove....

[Mr4btTahoe]

Hey guys...

So 3 years ago when we purchased our home, I picked up a large used stove locally and did the install. After some modifications (secondary air, fire brick), I've been able to get decent burn times out of it (12-15hrs on a full load).

The stove is fairly large... 4 cu. ft. box. 8" vertical flue (double wall from stove to ceiling, stainless double wall class a from ceiling to rain cap).

This stove has severed us well.. but it has seen some abuse over the years. The firebox walls are no longer straight, etc. It is pushing 35yrs old so it's somewhat to be expected.

With all that said, we are looking for a large stove with 8" flue that can get LONG burn times while producing decent heat. Our house is ~2k sq ft. and the old stove could keep up fairly well until temps got below zero.. after that, it would struggle but would still be comfortable without overfiring.

I'm leaning towards the BK - King... only issue is the closest dealer is 2.5hrs out. Are there any other stoves I could look at of similar size, burn times, etc? I like idea of being able to run the King in the lower settings during the off seasons (40s-50s) as our current stove will have the house at 85 if it isnt below freezing out.

The other thing that kinda concerns me is the pickyness of these new stoves when it comes to wood. Our wood supply is typically stacked for 2 years but there have been times that we've ran down a bit and had to tap into stuff that wasn't as dry as it should be. The old stove didn't mind at all but these new stoves... not so sure.

Anyways... thanks for any input.

 

[begreen]

The King is the first thing that came to mind as you described the setup, but there are others that could work. However, all will want fully seasoned wood to perform well. The difference in wood consumption will make you a believer.

Other stoves to consider would be the Woodstock Ideal Steel, Kuma Sequoia and Regency 5100.

 

[Mr4btTahoe]

Ill look into those as well. I'm going to call that dealer here in a bit and see what kind of pricing they are doing on them.

 

[begreen]

Sounds good. You best be sitting down. New cat stoves are not cheap. That's why I included the Woodstock Ideal Steel.

 

[Mr4btTahoe]

Just got off the phone... not as bad as I thought. He said they could do the king ultra with black surround for ~3500 out the door. They knocked 10% off because I asked them if they could drop ship as I'm 2.5-3hrs from them... said they couldn't but offered a discount. I've got to take some measurements to make sure the stove is roughly the same height as mine.

My current stack is using a double wall telescopic pipe from the stove top to the ceiling... if the stove is much taller, I'll have to replace that pipe as it's nearly fully collapsed at the moment.

We just did a DIY grid tied solar install a few months back so we've got 30% of the install costs coming back at tax time. Hoping to reinvest that in making the house more efficient. Stove upgrade would be a nice investment I'd say.

 

[Ashful]

Since the pipe is telescoping anyway, why not just pull it apart and whack 6 inches off each telescope half, re-paint, and reassemble? That’s an advantage of the telescoping pipes, no need to re-form the ends.

What’s the construction of the house, and layout? That would help with the advice on suitable stoves.

There are several stoves similar in size and horsepower to the King, but none touch it on burn time and turn-down capability.

 

[Mr4btTahoe]

The main house is a permanent 80x16 manufactured home with a stick built 800sq. addition on the back. The stove is located in the addition which is our main living room (large open room). The main house is fairly open layout so air moves around nicely. The manufactured home is a "northern built" unit with 2x6" insulated walls and fully insulated belly. Windows aren't the best.. but they are insulated. I'll be replacing them in the next year or 2.

We use a small fan in the doorway to the living room during winter to push cool air into the room. Also use a automated timer on the blower in our main air handler that cycles the hvac blower on for 15 minutes every 45 minutes or so.

Didnt know that I could disassemble the telescopic pipe completely. Never tried. That would solve any issues with fitment.

 

[NVHunter]

Looks like your in the Tahoe area? I'm down in Reno and ordered an Ideal Steel from Woodstock and it heats our 2300 square foot house from the daylight basement with ease. I love the stove and it can run all night with a good load of nice dry wood. Keep the far corner of the house upstairs and away from it at 73 degrees...

It was $2300 with shipping and I picked it up at the local freight station in Mustang.

Definitely a great stove to look into too.

 

[NVHunter]

Looks like your in the Tahoe area? I'm down in Reno and ordered an Ideal Steel from Woodstock and it heats our 2300 square foot house from the daylight basement with ease. I love the stove and it can run all night with a good load of nice dry wood. Keep the far corner of the house upstairs and away from it at 73 degrees...

It was $2300 with shipping and I picked it up at the local freight station in Mustang.

Definitely a great stove to look into too.

View attachment 230966

***Edit***

Never mind me saying your in the Tahoe area.... Indiana your freight price for Woodstock would probably be even cheaper than Western Nevada where I'm at...

 

[begreen]

Looks like your in the Tahoe area? I'm down in Reno and ordered an Ideal Steel from Woodstock and it heats our 2300 square foot house from the daylight basement with ease. I love the stove and it can run all night with a good load of nice dry wood. Keep the far corner of the house upstairs and away from it at 73 degrees...

It was $2300 with shipping and I picked it up at the local freight station in Mustang.

Definitely a great stove to look into too.

View attachment 230966

Agreed, the IS should be considered.

(The wood on the hearth is too close to the stove.)