Lower Priced Wood Stoves

[danrclem]

I'm going to buy a pellet stove but also want to buy a wood stove to replace my existing one without breaking the bank. I don't want a cat and I'm seeing that Drolet mostly gets great reviews and the price seems to be cheaper than a lot of the other good stoves. Are there any other good ones in the price range of the Drolet and if you think there is a reason to go with a more expensive stove please explain why.

One other thing. My chimney pipe is 8" so would there be any negatives to using an adaptor to bring a 6" up to 8" an pipe?

 

[kborndale]

Having a larger than recommended chimney will decrease your draft.

 

[Trevor Tahclep]

F.X. Drolet started up in 1875 in Quebec city, they are an extremely well regarded company, there is nothing fancy about their stoves, they just work very well with no frills or fancies. They are solid, well made efficient wood burners. Their customer service is excellent and you can purchase replacement parts directly from them instead of local stove dealers should you need to. Today they are part of the SBI International group which also manufacture Osburn stoves, Enerzone stoves and many other brands of fireplaces.

Although not the best solution and usually not recommended, around here anyways many new or replacement wood stoves exhaust into a 8'' chimney because if we go back in time for many many years previously here wood fired kitchen stoves and wood burning stoves had 8'' exhausts hence many many current 8 inch or larger chimneys. If at all possible to avoid all potential problems it is deffinitely far better to exhaust in to a 6'' chimney, liner, etc.

 

[EbS-P]

I'm going to buy a pellet stove but also want to buy a wood stove to replace my existing one without breaking the bank. I don't want a cat and I'm seeing that Drolet mostly gets great reviews and the price seems to be cheaper than a lot of the other good stoves. Are there any other good ones in the price range of the Drolet and if you think there is a reason to go with a more expensive stove please explain why.

One other thing. My chimney pipe is 8" so would there be any negatives to using an adaptor to bring a 6" up to 8" a pipe?

Drolet’s parent company now owns Englander stoves. Check them out. How tall is you chimney?

 

[mellow]

Got some pics of your setup? Might get some more comments on what you need, especially if the 8" is old.

 

[danrclem]

The chimney is Selkirk that I put in a couple years ago. It goes through a basement wall and has a cleanout tee on the outside. On top of that is 20 ft. of double wall Selkirk. It is probably about 3 ft. above the peak of my roof.

Right now I have an antique Fisher Grandpa Bear that I bought new somewhere around 1980. I have single wall stove pipe inside with a 90 degree bend and then through the basement wall. If I need more draft will double wall pipe inside help increase the draft very much? When I put the chimney in I didn't give any thought about buying a new stove but since I'm getting older, I need to use less wood.

I will check the Englander out but overall I'm impressed with the reviews on the Drolet. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[begreen]

I'm going to buy a pellet stove but also want to buy a wood stove to replace my existing one without breaking the bank. I don't want a cat and I'm seeing that Drolet mostly gets great reviews and the price seems to be cheaper than a lot of the other good stoves. Are there any other good ones in the price range of the Drolet and if you think there is a reason to go with a more expensive stove please explain why.

One other thing. My chimney pipe is 8" so would there be any negatives to using an adaptor to bring a 6" up to 8" an pipe?

Is the basement insulated? If not, about one cord in three is going to heat outdoors.

The Englander 32-NC is a good workhorse. American made and selling for around $1,000.

 

[danrclem]

The basement is finished with 2X framing and drywall and paneling nailed to it. Most of the basement is below ground level with a retaining wall on one side of the walkout.

I don't think I have it in me to rework the whole basement.

 

[Trevor Tahclep]

One other thing. My chimney pipe is 8" so would there be any negatives to using an adaptor to bring a 6" up to 8" an pipe?

Your Selkirk is a prefab chimney which is well insulated and will retain heat far better than a standard masonry chimney, although not optimal for a 6 inch exhaust it is better than the masonry alternative.

I wonder if anyone has ever installed a 6 inch stainless non insulated liner in a 8 inch prefab chimney, is this even doable ?

 

[danrclem]

Your Selkirk is a prefab chimney which is well insulated and will retain heat far better than a standard masonry chimney, although not optimal for a 6 inch exhaust it is better that the masonry alternative.

I wonder if anyone has ever installed a 6 inch stainless liner in a 8 inch prefab chimney, is this even doable ?

I saw some of the stainless liners but don't know it if would make the 90 degree turn at the cleanout.

 

[danrclem]

I just ordered a Drolet HT-3000 and the lady said that it should take 8 to ten days for it to arrive. I'm just hoping it cuts the amount of wood I use down quite a bit when compared to my old Fisher. Can't wait!

 

[kennyp2339]

HT-3000 has a very generous firebox and should work well with the 8" chimney since yours is about 20ft, just use 6" stove pipe to the chimney T, you will need a reducer, their fairly plentiful to find.

 

[danrclem]

I'm waiting on the stove to see exactly what pipes I need.

I also ordered a blower and a thermodisc with it. I haven't ever used a thermometer with my stove before but I'm going to use one with this stove. I'm probably going to buy one with a probe to get the actual inside temps of the pipe. I'm going to research to see which one would work best for me. I want the lowest cost I can get without it being a cheap product.

 

[danrclem]

I took deliver of my HT-3000 Wednesday. It was delivered with a semi-trailer truck so I had to hook my trailer up and drive a few miles to pick it up. I ordered a blower and a thermodisc with it but it wasn't delivered with the stove so I had to wait a couple more days to get it. The ash shelf had a kink in it so I contatacted Obadiah's and they said they would take care of it. It wasn't very bad but hey, I bought a new stove and it should look new. Drolet is supposed to send me another one soon.

Now I've got to get this heavy beast hooked up. I got it into the house and I'll probably have to wait until I can recruit some help. I'll have to pick a day that's not too cold so I can let the fire go out in the old stove and have time to get this one moved and piped up. The worst part will be getting the Fisher off of the 6 1/2" tall hearth and getting the Drolet back on it.

I really hope that it burns a lot less wood than my old Fisher.

I highly recommend Obadiah's because they're easy to work with and very willing to help with any problems.

 

[begreen]

If you get wheels on a stove it is much easier to deal with. Protect the stove with a blanket and ratchet strap it to a heavy duty appliance dolly.

 

[danrclem]

I used a hand dolly to get the Drolet inside and now I'm thinking about using a floor jack to raise the Fisher up enough to get some 2X lumber underneath it and slide it down to the floor and then I'll use the dolly to get it out of the house. I think I can use the floor jack to raise the Drolet up over the hearth and use some 2X lumber to slide it slide it the rest of the way onto the hearth. The only problem with the floor jack will be balancing the stoves but I think if I get it centered it shouldn't be too hard to balance.

I have a question for some of you that may have the same stove. I got two spatula looking things with the stove that have what looks like a spatula handle turned up at a 90 degree angle. They appear to be stainless steel. What are they?

 

[mcdougy]

Sounds like you are referring to the door handle and the air control lever that needs to be installed on the new stove? It's mentioned at the bottom of page 16 in the manual. I would like to hear what you think of the wood consumption, once you get that beast installed.

 

[danrclem]

Sounds like you are referring to the door handle and the air control lever that needs to be installed on the new stove? It's mentioned at the bottom of page 16 in the manual. I would like to hear what you think of the wood consumption, once you get that beast installed.

No, it's not those but thanks anyway. Both of those are on there and I just need to put the coil handles on them which I have. I might have to take a picture but it's a pain with my camera.

 

[reaperman1]

If the stove has a pedestal bottom you could roll the stove on some pieces of 2” pvc pipe something or similar. If you have a non carpeted floor you could also place the stove on a old rug and drag the rug across the floor rather easily. I placed my 400lb stove by myself this way

 

[kennyp2339]

Andirons?

 

[danrclem]

Andirons?

No, not those either. I'll post a picture and hopefully I won't have to resize again. The biggest part is 3" wide, 3 7/8" long. The handle is 3/4" wide and 6 1/2" long. It's just a little over 1/16" thick.

 

[kennyp2339]

Maybe some type of measuring device for the factory accidently left in the stove

 

[danrclem]

Could be. If I don't find out here what they are I'll call the manufacturer.

 

[BillBurns]

Tools to move coals around? I doubt it because they are short, but ya never know.

 

[danrclem]

Tools to move coals around? I doubt it because they are short, but ya never know.

I thought about that but the uninsulated handles would get very hot very quick. Anyway, if that's what they're for they won't get much use in my stove.