Napoleon hmf 200 furnace

[Rb_Mac]

Does anyone out there own or know anything about a Napoleon Hybrid 200 wood furnace? Talked to a salesman about them the other day. Not to much for reviews or comments about them on the Internet.
We're are looking at replacing the PSG mini caddy that the previous owner put in with a bigger furnace. The mini caddy doesn't heat a 2000sqf two story all that well in a northern Ontario winter. Getting a list of potential new replacements. And have narrowed it down to a couple.
The Napoleon hmf 200(200,000 btu)
And the Kuuma vapor fire 100
The Kuuma seems like the cats meow from what everyone says online. The only thing is shipping it to ontario and exchange rate$ and using it in Canada
The Napoleon has the convenience of having a dealer in town and being cheaper $$. One thing I don't like about the hmf 200 is the wood box is only 13 1/2" high( not a fan of that) with the same secondary air tubes that the our mini caddy has. It makes it a pain to fit wood in to fill it up. Always seems like there is lots of space up front but then hit the tubes half way in or at the back
Any words of wisdom out there?

 

[brenndatomu]

Haven't heard too much about the Napoleans, but what I have heard has been spotty at best.
On the other hand, I have never seen/heard a single bad thing about the Kuumas, other than maybe price. Get what ya pay for I s'pose.

 

[Rb_Mac]

I think I might be ruling out the Napoleon. Been looking into the blaze king/ valley comfort furnaces. Like the apex reviews but also like the comfort valley vc 120. Not to much info out there about them though. The dealer for them king didn't know to much about them but is willing to help. Which is another nice thing about having a dealer in town

 

[JRHAWK9]

I think I might be ruling out the Napoleon. Been looking into the blaze king/ valley comfort furnaces. Like the apex reviews but also like the comfort valley vc 120. Not to much info out there about them though. The dealer for them king didn't know to much about them but is willing to help. Which is another nice thing about having a dealer in town

FYI:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/blazeking-apex-reviews.142745/#post-1927892

 

[Rb_Mac]

Ah bummer! Thanks for the info though. I thought I did read that but I've been doing so much reading and researching it must have been put on the back shelf. I guess the apex is out then unless there is one out there in a warehouse. I guess the vc 120 is the one I'll get more info for. It's got a monster of a fire box.

 

[Rb_Mac]

Does anyone have any experience or info pro/ con on the charmaster bearcat? Sorry I know I got furnace ADD and am all over the place. Just a lot of product out there! And I'm just trying to pick some wise experienced brains being a fairly young and newish homeowner myself

 

[STIHLY DAN]

In my opinion there is only 2 ways to go, max caddy or Kuuma. you already had a caddy so I am willing to bet anything, that if you get anything else except for the Kuuma you will be disappointed. It really is nice to have heat and not have worries or always screwing with your unit. The caddy is a really good unit, the Kuuma is better, Imho the 2 things you don't cheap out on are snow blowers and heaters.

 

[laynes69]

He has a Mini-Caddy, they are quite a bit smaller than the Caddy. At 2000 sqft, that's a good match for the Caddy. The HMF 150 Napoleon would be a match to a Caddy and the HMF 200 would match the Max Caddy. The Mini-Caddy you have now has a small firebox.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Isn't that what I said? If he is looking into the 200, he would be happier with the max caddy. In northern ontario I'm thinking it probably gets pretty damn cold.

 

[laynes69]

You said he already has a Caddy, which is different from a Mini-Caddy but it doesn't matter. Depending on how the Mini-Caddy handled the home, the Caddy may be a better option. Not knowing any details of the home and climate it would be a guess. I would rather have something slightly undersized than something oversized. If it's oversized, it will be the entire season. Ours is slightly undersized, but it handled this house at 20 below zero. If they got thru winter on a mini caddy in a 2000 sqft home, the Caddy would do just fine.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

Ah, yes I did say caddy not mini. But my point was more on quality, burning ability, and efficiency. I was trying to say he had a really nice unit and going with the others he mentioned, he may regret it. It's hard to go backwards when burning.