Need Advice About Getting a Wood Stove

[pab1953]

I had a Lange woodstove on loan but I've had to return it so now I need to find a replacement and I'm looking for suggestions and advice.

I was just burning wood. And my home, a split level, has a living room/dining room/kitchen on the main floor, which is where the woodstove would be located. There's also a spare room, a laundry room and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. In a nice small package, the Lange did a good job of heating the house.

I don't see any Lange's around but a place nearby (I'm in southern New England) had some Jotuls and Hearthstone models.

What sort of things should I be considering and looking for? And what's a reasonable and an unreasonable price?

Thank you.

 

[begreen]

Welcome pab. Nice stoves. Do you remember which model Lange it was? That would help with recommending a similarly sized Jotul, Morso or Hearthstome. What size house are you heating? How do you intend to use the new stove - 24/7 or mostly nights and weekends?

Here's a link to some pictures and specs for Langes. Can you see the stove here?

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Lange_Stoves/

 

[eernest4]

First, choose stove that heat 1400 sq ft ,1800sq ft or 2000sq ft

second, do you want to spend under $1000.oo, or 1000.oo --2000.oo or 2000.oo to 3000.oo

third a plain jane black stove ok or do you want it to come with gold earings and a silver necklace.

englander stoves @homedepot 800.oo to 1400.oo depend on model and earing styles
summerheat @lowes I ALMOST FORGET ,ENGLANDER AND SUMMERHEAT SAME STOVE MADE SAME FACTORY WITH SAME PARTS, only lowes regular price is cheaper than depot's but both stores have sales,now & again.
these good quality,lower priced epa rated stoves.
now ,if you pay 2or 3 times more for a stove , is the quality 2 or 3 times higher?
I would expect there is some significant improvement in quality, but is it directly proportional to price?
Good questions, I wish i knew the answers.

any other dealer showroom/ brand name stove cost way more but a little or a sugnifagent amt
more efficient and way better looking. Many people here are in love with their expensive stoves, so I wont say much.

I can understand it, sometimes i just sit and look at my car and say ,I own it,its mine, not some rich guys. Damn,it looks sexy. (see upper left hand coner )

So,I can imagine them sitting in their living room, all warm and cozy, with the heat pouring out of the stove and looking at this drop dead georgious stove and thinking : thats mine, i own it
and boy is that stove pretty.

But, im not sure i could feel that way about a stove. Maybe what i need is a trip to a high end stove store to change my mind. ;-P

 

[elkimmeg]

any other dealer showroom/ brand name stove cost way more but a little or a sugnifagent amt
more efficient and way better looking

Well the Englander NC 30 tested at 1.6 GPH happens to be one of the cleanest large firebox stove even made the EPA top ten cleanest list

You can spend 250% more and get a dirtier burning Jotul if you prefer

 

[Angus]

Hello there,
There are 2 main things to consider, what size of stove you need and what style.
The best stove I ve had is a Jotul 118. It has a long burn time, its one of the few stoves that keeps the fire going overnite, you come down in the morning , rake the ash and throw on another stick, then away it goes. so that equates to 24/7 heat rather than the house going cold overnight and you having to rebuild a new fire in the morning. Whether this is big enough for your needs or not, I dont know.
Hope this is usefull,
Angus

 

[wg_bent]

All good advise so far. There are little differences in stoves that make them more expensive. Most of that is cosmetic. Little roller balls on the door closing mechanism, gold trim doors, larger glass, Decorative paint etc etc etc.

Sometime look at a Lopi next to an Englander. You'll see that one is a more finished stove... BUT, as pointed out, the engineering that designed the two is equally as good, if not better on the Englander as far as performance.

Step up another notch to a Woodstock soapstone, and you've got a pretty ornate stove that also performs well.

Next up to something like a High end Scan, and you've got a modern looking, and very well made stove that also performs well, and will fit your more modern decor, but we could be talking about a $4500 stove now, and as far as I'm concerned, that's not saving you much money

 

[Gunner]

any other dealer showroom/ brand name stove cost way more but a little or a sugnifagent amt
more efficient and way better looking

Well the Englander NC 30 tested at 1.6 GPH happens to be one of the cleanest large firebox stove even made the EPA top ten cleanest list

You can spend 250% more and get a dirtier burning Jotul if you prefer

:lol: LMAO :lol:

 

[begreen]

No offense to Mike, but a big black steel box would not make it within 50 yds of our living room. My wife would move out of the house first. And I'll bet the Jotul will hold its value about 2x as well as an Englander.

 

[Dunadan]

Sometime look at a Lopi next to an Englander. You’ll see that one is a more finished stove… BUT, as pointed out, the engineering that designed the two is equally as good, if not better on the Englander as far as performance.

Just curious where you get this from?

 

[webbie]

Dang,. this place is getting to be more and more like the local bar - and with as much BS flying. Yeah, my dad can beat up yours.....

Friend, if you had a lange you had one of the best. The brands you are looking at are great, and also the Morso line is quite similar to the Lange stuff - both were European cast stoves of high quality, and available with enamel finishes, etc.

Size DOES matter, and so does the local dealer. Can I make a guess that you are in the eastern CT, RI area...and if so, did you visit Preston Trading post? Gabe, the sales manager there, comes from a long line of stove people (including myself)......his dad was/is my buddy and we used to work together on stoves and central heaters.

I guess a question we would ask is "which lange did you have and how much wood did you burn in a year?".

Please pardon some of my compatriots for their lack of understanding. Very few people graduate from a Lange to an Englander just as most folks don't go from a BMW to a Ford....but some do, I guess. There is an arse for every seat in this industry (like others) and the good news is that most of the stoves out there are pretty good as far as the burning goes. So we get to pick based on budget, style, dealer...and, yes, even brand name! I had some customers at my old store that would not even think of buying anything except one of the top four or five brands.....although that may not be the way I shop all the time, it does have a certain appeal.

 

[webbie]

No offense to Mike, but a big black steel box would not make it within 50 yds of our living room.

Same here - and same with Elk, I guess.....cause he has nice filigreed cast stoves in his house!

Here's a joke for ya. A guy stops in the Car Enthusiasts Forum and says he has a Mercedes on loan but has to give it back. He wonders what car to buy to replace it. Folks tell him......hey, get a Focus, an Escort or a stripped PT Cruiser or Corolla. They will go just as far and cost less.

(I shouldn't talk, with two Subarus).

 

[Angus]

Hello Guys,
I havent seen or heard of a New Englander, they are not available in Europe so the 2 prominent brands I know are Jotul and Morso, there is also another brand worth a look at and thats Austroflamm, from Austria, they do however only make 3 cats iron stoves with the rest of the range being steel, I m no fan of steel, gives of a differant heat feel and I ve seen a steel stove buckle,
Angus

 

[webbie]

Englander is a steel stove made in the US and sold at large home centers. I think in Scotland you will be good with the brands you mentioned......we usually suggest using the brands available locally because of parts, service and getting your questions answered.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

No offense to Mike, but a big black steel box would not make it within 50 yds of our living room. My wife would move out of the house first. And I'll bet the Jotul will hold its value about 2x as well as an Englander.

none taken BG, jotul is a different market anyway. besides, i wouldnt be able to have one of them in my living room either , it would be unbearable in there,rooms too small. then if i had one in my basement i wouldnt need any stove in my living room. as for holding value, if i buy a stove , its leaving on a stretcher if it leaves before i do, which is unlikely , my dad has an englander built and installed in 1977 which is still in virtually pristine shape today, though it could use some paint. heated the 3600 square ft house i grew up in by itself from the basement up until i replaced it with a 28-3500 last winter (dad liked the look and the ash pan). stove will likely be moved to his woodshop outside when i can gather all the male members of the family to move it up out of the basement. its awfully hard to hurt an englander stove, and staying functional for that kind of duration is the best form of holding value in my mind.

 

[Jimbob]

One thing I would look for is a stove with a replaceable baffle. Baffles do eventually wear out, and some stoves have welded-in steel baffles, which means when the baffle gets used up, the stove is done.
If the stove is used lightly or just for occasional heating, this isn't an issue.

As far as brands go, I would pick one that is sold locally, in case you need parts.

There are LOTS of threads on here about CAT vs. NON-CAT stoves to help you make up your mind (or confuse you more)....:lol: