Hi folks,
I came to this forum earlier in the year to do some research on what to replace my old Fisher with. I wanted just a hot iron box, nothing fancy, no windows or special attachments. Bruce Wolfe saw my question and invited me to check out the Sedore. I'm so glad I did. This stove is a marvel both because of how even it heats and L-o-n-g the burn time is. With my fisher I had to feed it every couple hours and it would blast furnace for half the time and then go cold fast. With the Sedore, I fill it in the evening and then open the draft to get it cranked up again in the morning.
I ended up buying the Sedore 3000 from Bruce. In order to install it my wife and I had to chisel apart a large brick and mortar pedestal that the Fisher sat on. The Sedore is top-loading so it is best if it sits on the floor. Even then, it is a bit too tall for my 5' wife to fee comfortable about. She is just careful and so far so good.
I simply laid out a rug and rolled the new stove into the room, then 'walked' it into position. It is pretty heavy but the weight is well distributed so I was able to handle it on my own.
My house poses some unique challenges. First, it's round with a center-peak roof. About 1000 Round Feet in area, we like to say. This means that the chimney is just stovepipe and it isn't very tall. This makes maintaining a good draft both very important and sometimes hard to do. My initial installation I kept the same chimney height as I had been using with the old Fisher. The Fisher had an 8" throat and the Sedore is 6". Also, the unique design of the Sedore means the chimney temp is much lower than it ever was with the old Fisher. That also makes the draft tricky to maintain.
After some initial trials and tribulations, I have finally settled on a chimney configuration that has been good for the past couple weeks.
First, I took the pipe up an additional 3 feet. Now the chimney is 13' tall from the top of the stove. I know 13' isn't much but even so it is pretty far above my roof. Far enough that I had to tether it down. I may have to strap a length of angle iron onto it to prevent the wind from just bending it sideways but for now I have it secured such that the wind isn't likely to just blow it into Kansas. I don't dare to take the pipe up any higher so if this doesn't work well enough I'm going to have to spend some money to make a better chimney.
Next, I put a new Vacu-Stack chimney topper on. The old one was 8" and the new one is 6". Having the right size has made a huge difference. I've heard people who love the Vacu-stack and those who hate it. I figure it is just a tool and for my location and wind profile, the Vacu-stack is worth 10 times what they cost. I couldn't have a fire when I need it most without that gadget.
I live at 9200 ft elevation and experience up to 110 MPH winds on a regular basis, any time of year. Even when the wind isn't so extreme, it gusts and swirls and rattles the house quite often. The gusts change the air pressure so dramatically and continuously that some days it makes me dizzy. It also pushes water from the toilet bowl down the drain like a plunger. Without the Vacu-stack it is impossible to keep a positive draft under those conditions. With the Vacu-stack, I only have a handful of nights when I have to douse the fire or smoke myself out.
Finally, I fiddled with the stove and fuel. Living in the mountains of Colorado I burn primarily Lodge Pole and Ponderosa Pine and some Douglas Fir and a little Aspen.
These woods smoke more than hardwoods so I had a couple blow-backs into the room when the smoke in the fuel box ignited after just filling the fuel box. I've gotten around this by using smaller splits in the bottom of the fuel box so they burn hotter. I've had to run the stove a bit hotter than Bruce recommended but I've gotten it figured out now so my draft is good and I know how to avoid blow-backs. After the thing is chugging along, the firebox is around 400 degrees and the pipe is about 160 at 2' above the stove. This is with the air intake about 1/4 open. Once this stove gets going I keep closing the intake more and more so the house doesn't over heat.
I can't use much kindling because everything smokes so much. I can't burn aspen except as a small part of a full box. Aspen smokes like crazy.
Lighting the Sedore is interesting because the fuel is loaded from the bottom up then lit from the top down. It is fun and interesting to see how the design makes this all work so well. With my situation as I've described, I set my fire with 1x1 - 3x3 splits of good dry pine in the bottom, then put a couple hands full of chips from around my chopping block, then a couple sticks of fatwood on top of that. Then a few wads of news paper. Then I light the fire per the Sedore's documented lighting procedure. It works like a charm.
Once the main fire is going, I take the stack temp to 450-500 by keeping lid propped up. Then I shut the lid and close the air intake to 1/2. After the stack temp comes down below 300 I close the intake and prop the lid until the smoke in the fuel box clears. Then I open the lid and load the fuel box to the top. Once the fuel is loaded I open the air intake wide open and leave the lid propped up until the stack temp starts going back up. Then I close the lid and throttle back the intake about 1/2 way. Then I keep throttling back until it is comfortable without the doors wide open.
What I like about the Sedore:
1. It is a smart stove. Smart design, efficient burning, it is a stove that makes me feel smart for using it.
2. It holds a LOT of wood.
3. It heats evenly for 14 hours, easily on a full load with outside temp around 30 degrees.
4. It looks way cool!
5. It should last the rest of my life.
Check them out at www.SedoreUSA.com.
I recommend the Sedore.
I came to this forum earlier in the year to do some research on what to replace my old Fisher with. I wanted just a hot iron box, nothing fancy, no windows or special attachments. Bruce Wolfe saw my question and invited me to check out the Sedore. I'm so glad I did. This stove is a marvel both because of how even it heats and L-o-n-g the burn time is. With my fisher I had to feed it every couple hours and it would blast furnace for half the time and then go cold fast. With the Sedore, I fill it in the evening and then open the draft to get it cranked up again in the morning.
I ended up buying the Sedore 3000 from Bruce. In order to install it my wife and I had to chisel apart a large brick and mortar pedestal that the Fisher sat on. The Sedore is top-loading so it is best if it sits on the floor. Even then, it is a bit too tall for my 5' wife to fee comfortable about. She is just careful and so far so good.
I simply laid out a rug and rolled the new stove into the room, then 'walked' it into position. It is pretty heavy but the weight is well distributed so I was able to handle it on my own.
My house poses some unique challenges. First, it's round with a center-peak roof. About 1000 Round Feet in area, we like to say. This means that the chimney is just stovepipe and it isn't very tall. This makes maintaining a good draft both very important and sometimes hard to do. My initial installation I kept the same chimney height as I had been using with the old Fisher. The Fisher had an 8" throat and the Sedore is 6". Also, the unique design of the Sedore means the chimney temp is much lower than it ever was with the old Fisher. That also makes the draft tricky to maintain.
After some initial trials and tribulations, I have finally settled on a chimney configuration that has been good for the past couple weeks.
First, I took the pipe up an additional 3 feet. Now the chimney is 13' tall from the top of the stove. I know 13' isn't much but even so it is pretty far above my roof. Far enough that I had to tether it down. I may have to strap a length of angle iron onto it to prevent the wind from just bending it sideways but for now I have it secured such that the wind isn't likely to just blow it into Kansas. I don't dare to take the pipe up any higher so if this doesn't work well enough I'm going to have to spend some money to make a better chimney.
Next, I put a new Vacu-Stack chimney topper on. The old one was 8" and the new one is 6". Having the right size has made a huge difference. I've heard people who love the Vacu-stack and those who hate it. I figure it is just a tool and for my location and wind profile, the Vacu-stack is worth 10 times what they cost. I couldn't have a fire when I need it most without that gadget.
I live at 9200 ft elevation and experience up to 110 MPH winds on a regular basis, any time of year. Even when the wind isn't so extreme, it gusts and swirls and rattles the house quite often. The gusts change the air pressure so dramatically and continuously that some days it makes me dizzy. It also pushes water from the toilet bowl down the drain like a plunger. Without the Vacu-stack it is impossible to keep a positive draft under those conditions. With the Vacu-stack, I only have a handful of nights when I have to douse the fire or smoke myself out.
Finally, I fiddled with the stove and fuel. Living in the mountains of Colorado I burn primarily Lodge Pole and Ponderosa Pine and some Douglas Fir and a little Aspen.
These woods smoke more than hardwoods so I had a couple blow-backs into the room when the smoke in the fuel box ignited after just filling the fuel box. I've gotten around this by using smaller splits in the bottom of the fuel box so they burn hotter. I've had to run the stove a bit hotter than Bruce recommended but I've gotten it figured out now so my draft is good and I know how to avoid blow-backs. After the thing is chugging along, the firebox is around 400 degrees and the pipe is about 160 at 2' above the stove. This is with the air intake about 1/4 open. Once this stove gets going I keep closing the intake more and more so the house doesn't over heat.
I can't use much kindling because everything smokes so much. I can't burn aspen except as a small part of a full box. Aspen smokes like crazy.
Lighting the Sedore is interesting because the fuel is loaded from the bottom up then lit from the top down. It is fun and interesting to see how the design makes this all work so well. With my situation as I've described, I set my fire with 1x1 - 3x3 splits of good dry pine in the bottom, then put a couple hands full of chips from around my chopping block, then a couple sticks of fatwood on top of that. Then a few wads of news paper. Then I light the fire per the Sedore's documented lighting procedure. It works like a charm.
Once the main fire is going, I take the stack temp to 450-500 by keeping lid propped up. Then I shut the lid and close the air intake to 1/2. After the stack temp comes down below 300 I close the intake and prop the lid until the smoke in the fuel box clears. Then I open the lid and load the fuel box to the top. Once the fuel is loaded I open the air intake wide open and leave the lid propped up until the stack temp starts going back up. Then I close the lid and throttle back the intake about 1/2 way. Then I keep throttling back until it is comfortable without the doors wide open.
What I like about the Sedore:
1. It is a smart stove. Smart design, efficient burning, it is a stove that makes me feel smart for using it.
2. It holds a LOT of wood.
3. It heats evenly for 14 hours, easily on a full load with outside temp around 30 degrees.
4. It looks way cool!
5. It should last the rest of my life.
Check them out at www.SedoreUSA.com.
I recommend the Sedore.
