Looking to upgrade stove...need advice

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BoilerMan1812

New Member
Sep 15, 2014
19
IN
I bought an old farmhouse 2 years ago and have been using a Fisher Grandma (I think...) that was in the house when I got it. Looking to upgrade to a newer stove...what do you all recommend?
 
Well that is like asking "Hey I've been driving a 1979 Monte Carlo and could use a new car, what do you guys recommend?" You'll get responses anywhere from a Mini Cooper to a Cadillac to a Ferrari.

Tell us a little more about your situation.
How old is your house and what is the square footage?
How many floors?
How well insulated is your house?
Where is the stove located?
How is your existing stove installed?
What type of chimney do you have? Is there a liner?
Do you plan to heat 100% with wood or just part time like nights and weekends?
What is your budget?

There will be many more questions that will follow.

When upgrading to a new stove you often have to upgrade your wood supply too. These EPA stoves don't run well at all and create a heck of a mess with wood greater than 20% moisture content.
 
Well that is like asking "Hey I've been driving a 1979 Monte Carlo and could use a new car, what do you guys recommend?" You'll get responses anywhere from a Mini Cooper to a Cadillac to a Ferrari.

Tell us a little more about your situation.
How old is your house and what is the square footage?
How many floors?
How well insulated is your house?
Where is the stove located?
How is your existing stove installed?
What type of chimney do you have? Is there a liner?
Do you plan to heat 100% with wood or just part time like nights and weekends?
What is your budget?

There will be many more questions that will follow.

When upgrading to a new stove you often have to upgrade your wood supply too. These EPA stoves don't run well at all and create a heck of a mess with wood greater than 20% moisture content.

~2000 square foot...two floors....insulation leaves something to be desired...stove is on the North side of the house on the main floor, fairly centrally located. 8" stove pipe that runs through the second floor landing. I plan to heat with wood as much as possible. I have propane/forced air as a backup, but it too is old and leaves a lot to be desired. I enjoy burning wood...love that warming heat it produces. Last winter was really rough in this part of the country...I burnt a lot of wood last year...some of which was pretty green (ash) because I was not prepared and ran short with the long winter.

I am hoping by upgrading stoves so that I will not go through as much wood and I will be able to heat more with less wood. Looking for extended burn times for when I/Wifey are not home. As far as wood supply for this year, I have some well seasoned elm and hickory...and I have some decent seasoned as...and some green ash. I was hoping to be able to mix some of the green wood in with the better seasoned wood to get by.

So far I've run across the Buck Stoves and from what I've read they seem nice...what you say?

Thanks for your help thus far...
 
The big Buck was gonna be one of my recommendations. Go BIG. That old Fisher was a known heat pusher. To mimic the output you will need a bunch of EPA stove. With the 8" already in place that will be a plus. Also look at the Blaze King King. The appearance does throw some people off (including me), but it is another proven performer and takes an 8" stack.

The big Hearthstone is another worthy of looking at.
 
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If long burn times are desired then the BlazeKing King would probably be the best choice.

Here are some other options for XL stoves with 8" flue:
Kuma Sequoia
Hearthstone Equinox
Regency 5100 (use the forum search for real world accounts about its burn times)
 
Thanks for the input!! Have a good place to start now. Keep any other suggestions coming...or personal experiences with those mentioned above. Thanks!!!
 
Thanks for the input!! Have a good place to start now. Keep any other suggestions coming...or personal experiences with those mentioned above. Thanks!!!

Try the review section: https://www.hearth.com/talk/link-forums/stove-reviews.35/ and the forum search. Not too many people need such big stoves so don't expect too much. Another little known stove with an 8" flue is the High Valley 2500. Not sure if I have ever seen a comment on it.
 
A great budget stove for this situation would be the Englander 30NC or the Drolet Baltic. A big Buck, Regency, PE, Quad, Lopi, etc. stove will also do the job if you want a bit better detailed stove.
 
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