MF Fire Nova 2 Review

[Nova2CT]

We just time it so it is mostly down to coals before reloading. We have loaded it at 10:00 pm and still has vials that easily relit at 10:00 am. We had to change our mindset of when it can be reloaded. The stove burns efficiently and we love the large viewing window that stays clean.

 

[clues]

I am not sure how exactly to measure my chimney. I’ve been talking to the installers about this and they feel like there isn’t an issue with that side of things. When I was just using the fireplace the draft was excellent so I feel like the problem isn’t there either but maybe something isn’t right and I should get someone to look at it, I’d just rather not pay since I’m still paying off the stove.
Given that other people are having similar issues I’m feeling like it’s just a sensitive stove and I’ll have to live with it? Yea I also get some ash when moving coals around but I’m less worried about that and more worried about inhaling smoke through the years and I have a small dog so I’ll also be looking to get rid of it next year. If anyone is looking for one who lives in MA. It’s a gorgeous stove and I feel like the tech support they have is incredible, but my health and families health is my number one priority.

I may be interested whenever you want to part with it :}

 

[on30on18]

According to the manual and this video -

Engage the bypass before opening the door.

 

[begreen]

Open the bypass which disengages the catalytic combustor and allows the smoke to go directly up the flue.

 

[Prem]

Now with this new winter season upon me I am dreading dealing with my Nova 2 to the point where I’m considering spending another 5,000 for a Vermont castings. My chimney sweep came today and confirmed that the install looks fine and there should not be smoke unless the stove itself has issues which he said he wasn’t surprised by because the stove looked strange to him.

I have followed all advise, people respond saying it could be the chimney, the wood, the liner, the draft, it’s none of those things, this stove should not be so difficult and yet it is. People from MFFire even try to remind me to disengage the catalyst as if I am not aware of how to use the stove…

I am looking for a buyer and if anyone out there is interested in my stove, I am in MA so let me know!

 

[kborndale]

Now with this new winter season upon me I am dreading dealing with my Nova 2 to the point where I’m considering spending another 5,000 for a Vermont castings. My chimney sweep came today and confirmed that the install looks fine and there should not be smoke unless the stove itself has issues which he said he wasn’t surprised by because the stove looked strange to him.

I have followed all advise, people respond saying it could be the chimney, the wood, the liner, the draft, it’s none of those things, this stove should not be so difficult and yet it is. People from MFFire even try to remind me to disengage the catalyst as if I am not aware of how to use the stove…

I am looking for a buyer and if anyone out there is interested in my stove, I am in MA so let me know!

In a previous post you said you check every piece of wood you put in with a moisture meter before you load the stove. So you are resplitting every piece of wood (if you don't resplit it you are not getting an accurate reading) and checking it right before you load it? What percentage does your wood average?

 

[jbart]

Now with this new winter season upon me I am dreading dealing with my Nova 2 to the point where I’m considering spending another 5,000 for a Vermont castings. My chimney sweep came today and confirmed that the install looks fine and there should not be smoke unless the stove itself has issues which he said he wasn’t surprised by because the stove looked strange to him.

I have followed all advise, people respond saying it could be the chimney, the wood, the liner, the draft, it’s none of those things, this stove should not be so difficult and yet it is. People from MFFire even try to remind me to disengage the catalyst as if I am not aware of how to use the stove…

I am looking for a buyer and if anyone out there is interested in my stove, I am in MA so let me know!

I have already started the burning season and my results are about the same as last year in regards to smoke roll out. That being said I did install an air control on the stove and have increased my burn time. I can now have a fairly good pile of coals for relight after 11-12 hours. Before I would really have to work to get a fire going again after that long of a time. It doesnt solve the smoke roll out issue but when I reload when the fire is down to coals I dont have much of an issue. If you hold onto the stove I would highly recommend looking into adding an air control. I tried to sell mine but I didnt get any real interest in. It was listed for $1,900.

 

[mellow]

I tried to sell mine but I didnt get any real interest in. It was listed for $1,900.

Is this still available? I have $100 cash

 

[jbart]

Is this still available? I have $100 cash

If you drive to Michigan its all yours

 

[Todd]

Well, if you sell it stay away from Vermont Castings. They are very finicky and draft sensitive.

 

[mellow]

I agree, if you are going to spend some $$ on a stove get a real catalytic stove like a BK or Woodstock (if you want it to look good).

 

[Prem]

I have already started the burning season and my results are about the same as last year in regards to smoke roll out. That being said I did install an air control on the stove and have increased my burn time. I can now have a fairly good pile of coals for relight after 11-12 hours. Before I would really have to work to get a fire going again after that long of a time. It doesnt solve the smoke roll out issue but when I reload when the fire is down to coals I dont have much of an issue. If you hold onto the stove I would highly recommend looking into adding an air control. I tried to sell mine but I didnt get any real interest in. It was listed for $1,900.

Now with this new winter season upon me I am dreading dealing with my Nova 2 to the point where I’m considering spending another 5,000 for a Vermont castings. My chimney sweep came today and confirmed that the install looks fine and there should not be smoke unless the stove itself has issues which he said he wasn’t surprised by because the stove looked strange to him.

I have followed all advise, people respond saying it could be the chimney, the wood, the liner, the draft, it’s none of those things, this stove should not be so difficult and yet it is. People from MFFire even try to remind me to disengage the catalyst as if I am not aware of how to use the stove…

I am looking for a buyer and if anyone out there is interested in my stove, I am in MA so let me know!

I do want to sell it but not hopeful I will get a good price so I might have to keep it for now, how do you install an air control?

 

[Prem]

Well, if you sell it stay away from Vermont Castings. They are very finicky and draft sensitive.

VC seems to be a love or hate situation? they seem ideal to me but then I hear all the bad reviews

 

[Prem]

In a previous post you said you check every piece of wood you put in with a moisture meter before you load the stove. So you are resplitting every piece of wood (if you don't resplit it you are not getting an accurate reading) and checking it right before you load it? What percentage does your wood average?

I honestly do not have a wood splitter and need to get one instead of chopping it because I am not that skilled, either way, I have used both seasoned and tested with only kiln dried and it doesn't make a difference

 

[Prem]

I agree, if you are going to spend some $$ on a stove get a real catalytic stove like a BK or Woodstock (if you want it to look good).

I would love a Jotul Oslo, it would fit perfect in my space but there are no dealers near me

 

[jbart]

I picked up a 5ft section of alumium flex hose from home depot and attached a damper to it.
I then just used a clamp to secure it to the air inlet on the back of the stove. Ill send some pictures when I get a chance

 

[jbart]

I picked up a 5ft section of alumium flex hose from home depot and attached a damper to it.
I then just used a clamp to secure it to the air inlet on the back of the stove. Ill send some pictures when I get a chance

 

[Prem]

View attachment 317410

good for you, I am not that DIY! But I posted my stove on FB marketplace for 1,500 and have had tons of interest which is interesting

 

[jbart]

If you are successful in selling it let me know.

good for you, I am not that DIY! But I posted my stove on FB marketplace for 1,500 and have had tons of interest which is interesting

 

[on30on18]

After a month with my Nova 2, the trick to avoid smoke from the door is waiting for the fire to die down to glowing embers before opening the door i.e. no flames present.

The procedure is 1. wait for embers 2. engage bypass wait a few minutes 3. crack door open for a few minutes for pressure to normalize 4. slowly open door to load.

I do get a bit of small ash that floats out. From what I've read this is common among high-efficiency catalytic stoves. I get a puff of smoke when I don't follow the correct procedure. As far as dampering, this stove was designed to run hot, efficient and simple. If you want less heat, add less wood.

 

[jbart]

After a month with my Nova 2, the trick to avoid smoke from the door is waiting for the fire to die down to glowing embers before opening the door i.e. no flames present.

The procedure is 1. wait for embers 2. engage bypass wait a few minutes 3. crack door open for a few minutes for pressure to normalize 4. slowly open door to load.

I do get a bit of small ash that floats out. From what I've read this is common among high-efficiency catalytic stoves. I get a puff of smoke when I don't follow the correct procedure. As far as dampering, this stove was designed to run hot, efficient and simple. If you want less heat, add less wood.

Yes, that is the basic procedure. The major downside being if you want to reload before bed, leaving the house, room is getting cold, etc and there are still visible flames you are out of luck. I find this to be a big inconvenience.

The big advantage to the damper is that one can extend burn times. For example, my stove burns for the 12 hr stretch while I am at work. I have found I have a much better coal bed when slowing down the burn.

 

[RIdgefireCT]

I have learned a thing or two since my initial review. With the cold start I tend to load smaller wood into the stove than what is recommended per MF Fire. I still do a top-down fire which works just fine but my bottom pieces are smaller than the diameter MF Fire recommends. The reason I started doing this was that I was having a hard time getting the bottom pieces to catch and burn well. This would result in smoke going up past the top of the door when doing my first reload. Creating a top down fire with smaller pieces does make it burn faster but creates a great coal bed when I want to load it back up. My cold start will burn for about 3-4 hours. If I do it this way, I do not get any smoke roll out. After my first reload I let it burn down to coals again and can open the door and move coals around and reload without any issue of smoke roll out. I typically reload when my stove top thermometer reads 300-400 degrees. I am not sure how accurate my gauge is but for what it’s worth that is one of my indicators.


If I load the stove up, I will get a 6-7 hour burn and be able to reload the stove without a match or paper. Most of my wood is ash cut at 16-18in so I would expect a full 21-22in piece would help me hit an 8 or 9 hour burn time. That being said, it can get a little toasty with the firebox fully loaded. Not a big deal since I like it warm, but I do think an air control would be a nice touch and could help lengthen the burn time and control the stove temp.

With the above being said the stove is a little picky about draft. If I were to throw a piece of wood in and leave the door open I will get smoke seeping out the top of the door once the wood starts to ignite or if I open the door when there is still wood burning with an open flame. This is my first stove so I am not sure how normal or common this issue is. Ultimately, I have learned how the stove works and have adapted accordingly.

So far I am enjoying it and have been happily heating my home with it. The fire is great to watch through the big window, the stove looks great, and the wife is always asking me to build a fire. That being said if I were to do it over again I would be tempted to look at some of the other offerings out there with an air control and something that would be more forgiving in regards to smoke roll out. I like the stove enough though that I do not foresee myself replacing it any time in the future.

If you have any other questions, let me know. I would love to hear about how your experience goes and how you are planning to hook up the stove.

Hello i just started using our NOVA 1 fireplace insert - have only fired it a handful of times - i find when i start it up i dont get any metallic smells any longer but as soon as i engage the combuster the metal smells come back. When i operate it in open bypass mode i dont have these issues. I havent really fired up the combuster for any reasonable length of time do i need to let this burn off as well ? any thoughts ? sorry for digressing just posting for the first time in the platform.

 

[begreen]

Yes, get the stove hot enough to bake in the paint.

 

[RIdgefireCT]

We just time it so it is mostly down to coals before reloading. We have loaded it at 10:00 pm and still has vials that easily relit at 10:00 am. We had to change our mindset of when it can be reloaded. The stove burns efficiently and we love the large viewing window that stays clean.

hi iust started using the NOVA1 Insert - did you have any "smells" mostly metallic when you first started firing the stove ? i find with the bypass is engaged an using the flu alone i dont get smells but when i engage the catalytic the "curing" smells are stronger. any thoughts here on this ?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It could be the paint curing.