need help deciding

[snowscoming]

Hi,

I have read through a number of posts on other people's experiences and have done lots of research talking to local stove folks, but my husband and I are still unable to come to a decision on what stove to buy. We have managed to decide on and purchase a car in the time that we have been deliberating on what stove to get, and I am worn out from the considerations! We are replacing an old warm mornings coal/wood stove that has worked fine, but burns out completely by morning, or often in the middle of the night. As you might imagine, it is not very efficient. We have a leaky, two story house with a fairly open layout- 1800 square feet, although we only intend for the heat to reach maybe 14-1500 sq.ft. We have electric base board heat to supplement when needed.

We are currently considering the Dutchwest medium cast iron non-catalytic and the Lopi 1750. We have considered the Jotul F3B (maybe too small?), the Jotul F400 (more $ than we wanted to spend), and the medium sized englander stove (our newly constructed hearth doesn't have a high enough r value- I know, not too smart to construct before deciding). So, my concern with the Dutchwest is that it will be too tricky to operate and that the Lopi might just be too big.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,
Emily

 

[central_scrutinizer]

This may help...

How to choose the right stove

(broken link removed)

 

[ansehnlich1]

Well, I'm going to tell you, I wouldn't buy a Dutchwest non-cat, period. I might catch some grief for sayin' that, but hey, I'm not into the science of trying to figure out how to burn a woodstove.

I looked at the Lopi you mention, that would be fine in my opinion.

Several will post here likely later this evening, hang in there and you'll get numerous replies.

Some say Englander makes a good, reasonably priced stove.....

http://www.englanderstoves.com/30-nc.html

Remember, when a stove company advertises the square footage that the stove heats, you can figure 2/3 of that number is likely more reasonable as far as the space it will heat.

 

[polaris]

Geez talk about your one sided biased articles! I take it this guy only sells cat stoves. "put in the largest cat stove you can fit on/in your hearth/fireplace" That's probably the most idiotic blanket advice I've heard in a while. Can you imagine "the biggest stove you can buy" in an 800 sq. ft. home?
He also talks about cats lasting for 12 years and then replacing the cat with a "firebrick"(although he says he does not endorse this practice)

 

[begreen]

Have you looked into a mid-sized Napoleon 1400 or Pacific Energy Super27 stove? I believe their hearth requirements are minimal. I'd also look to see what Buck's requirements are.

 

[central_scrutinizer]

Geez talk about your one sided biased articles! I take it this guy only sells cat stoves. "put in the largest cat stove you can fit on/in your hearth/fireplace" That's probably the most idiotic blanket advice I've heard in a while. Can you imagine "the biggest stove you can buy" in an 800 sq. ft. home?
He also talks about cats lasting for 12 years and then replacing the cat with a "firebrick"(although he says he does not endorse this practice)

Had you bothered to look, you would have noticed that 5 of the 13 stoves offered on the page are non-cat stoves. Also, he doesn't talk about replacing the catalyst with firebrick, he said it had been reported to him that some people are doing it, and he doesn't recommend it. I guess his "bias" is no more egregious than a "blanket" misrepresentation of facts or lack of reading comprehension skills. May we assume that you sell only non-cat stoves?

 

[snowscoming]

Thanks for the replies. I am limited by what is available nearby. We are not inclined to purchase a stove without being able to see it first. I should take another look at the Buck stoves, I believe there are several dealers around. The Pacific Energy stoves look like they perform well- I'll call around. Also, thanks for the article on the catalytic stoves. Of course, that just makes it more complicated- I had kind of written them off. I think most are out of my price range, though.

One thing that we liked about the Dutchwest is the 20" firebox. From what I am seeing in the medium stoves, this is not typical?

Thanks-
Emily

 

[ansehnlich1]

I have the Jotul Oslo and it takes a 22 inch split.

I see you mentioning that dutchwest again, now, I highly recommend you research that bad boy right here on this site prior to making the decision to purchase one.

There's also a "ratings" page on this site, check that out too, it has some good info.

 

[snowscoming]

I mention the dutchwest because that is what we had decided on (and built the hearth to spec) and now are having second thoughts about (after reading about different people's experiences). Thanks for your suggestion. I guess it is worth a continued search.

 

[savageactor7]

snowscoming I'd only recommend a wood stove if you have your own source of free wood...otherwise I consider coal if there's some in your area. Coal is bulletproof and requires a lot less time all around. All newer non cat wood stoves burn well so it's whatever you're willing to pay.

 

[snowscoming]

While we do have a lot of coal in the area, we also have free wood from friends that own property. I prefer wood to coal for environmental reasons. I have heard that coal produces a nice, warm and steady heat.

 

[snowscoming]

So, now I am considering a Buck stove- I see the following advantages: local-ish company, relatively inexpensive, Hearth will work with it, good (but not numerous) ratings, and should be available locally (if I can find it without a gold door!). I am looking at the FS21, which says it heats 800-1800. I saw another thread that referred to this as a smaller stove. Is this considered a medium sized stove? Any opinions on whether this would work with my description of my house? Anyone with any experiences with a Buck stove?

Thanks, again!
Emily

 

[zzr7ky]

In my experience you need about 3 cubic feet of volume in the stove to get consistant overnight burns. VC Encore works like I want, VC Resolute Acclaim burns great but is just a bit small.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the replies. I am limited by what is available nearby. We are not inclined to purchase a stove without being able to see it first. I should take another look at the Buck stoves, I believe there are several dealers around. The Pacific Energy stoves look like they perform well- I'll call around. Also, thanks for the article on the catalytic stoves. Of course, that just makes it more complicated- I had kind of written them off. I think most are out of my price range, though.

One thing that we liked about the Dutchwest is the 20" firebox. From what I am seeing in the medium stoves, this is not typical?

Thanks-
Emily

The constraint is cost and the hearth. Jotul's Castine or Oslo would work, but it'll cost you.

 

[polaris]

Geez talk about your one sided biased articles! I take it this guy only sells cat stoves. "put in the largest cat stove you can fit on/in your hearth/fireplace" That's probably the most idiotic blanket advice I've heard in a while. Can you imagine "the biggest stove you can buy" in an 800 sq. ft. home?
He also talks about cats lasting for 12 years and then replacing the cat with a "firebrick"(although he says he does not endorse this practice)

Had you bothered to look, you would have noticed that 5 of the 13 stoves offered on the page are non-cat stoves. Also, he doesn't talk about replacing the catalyst with firebrick, he said it had been reported to him that some people are doing it, and he doesn't recommend it. I guess his "bias" is no more egregious than a "blanket" misrepresentation of facts or lack of reading comprehension skills. May we assume that you sell only non-cat stoves?

I don't sell anything.(well except for that semester in grad school when I did sell some burning products to help make ends meet) If I ruffled your feathers I'm sorry. At the time I did not realize that you were posting a link to a store your selling stoves from(are you the owner or an employee??) I was not trying to slam your store nor cost you a sale. I was just surprised at the blanket endorsement of large cat stoves. As for my apparent lack of reading comprehension skills I'm sure plenty of my former students and current educators would agree with that statement. Joe

 

[Prada]

Hi snowscoming!
You were asking if anyone else has any experience with a Buck.......Yep, we bought one in the middle of last winter and we just love it. It's a 'workhorse' of a stove. We considered the Model 21 but we were troubled with the size of the firebox on that one so we went with the Model 81. The size of the firebox can really mean a lot to you for longer burn times and 'getting in' those longer logs. Both Models take the same size log lengths but in the 81 you can catty-corner the log and get in a much longer piece of wood. Plus the Blower on Model 21 is an OPTION and it comes standard on Model 81. With our Model 81, the blower is a joke cause we NEVER turn it on! The stove puts out so much heat that all we can think about is trying to get more of it out of the family room (windows are open a lot LOL) with the proper placement of fans for heat distribution throughout the rest of the house. Our home is pretty good size and our furnace has NOT turned on once since we purchased our Buck! Our Propane company is crying. lol We open all of our bedroom doors and our stove heats the whole house, with the bedrooms a bit cooler but still very satisfactory with no problem! Our home is all on one floor and our stove is NOT centrally located either. We also ordered the optional shield that fits around the sides and back of the stove and it reduces the clearance quite a bit. The Model 21 also doesn't have an ash pan while the Model 81 does. That would not bother me to tell you the truth because we NEVER use our ash pan either. lol We just shovel the ash out of the firebox into a bucket with a lid. We also used double wall pipe to help reduce the clearance. The only downfalls I can say about our Buck is that it is a BRUTE of a stove and learning the correct placement of fans in the house can be somewhat frustrating. If indeed you need to use the blower for any reason (Which you NEVER will), I do have to admit that it is pretty noisy too. Our decision to buy a non-cat was pretty much based on 'less parts' to ever have to replace, but I have to say that I have a good friend down the road that bought a Cat-VC and she seems to have longer burn times than we do.......BUT within 5 years from purchasing it and with VERY good maintenance she has already had to replace her Cat Converter.
The Buck manufactures are very helpful and they are great customer support if you have any questions or want to check on any optional parts also.

 

[central_scrutinizer]

To Joe,

No problem at all. I was not trying to sell anything. I was just trying to provide some information from one professional's point of view. The owner of the establishment has been selling wood stoves for 30 years and knows a thing or two about them. As with all opinions, personal experience weighs in heavily. My feathers are not ruffled.

 

[snowscoming]

Prada, thanks for posting your experience with the Buck stove. It probably would have been a little too big for our house. Buck is making a model- the 361, I believe, that had a nice large firebox that we considered.

We finally decided on the Lopi 1750- it should be here in 2 weeks! Thanks to all who had advice-

Emily

 

[Prada]

Emily : Your more than welcome and Congrats on your new stove!