Need new wood stove looking for recommendations

[Crashdummy302]

Hello
We had a house fire(not because of wood stove) the old wood stove was an Appalachian wood stove phase 1 36BW. Insurance will be covering cost so looking for a replacement. Companies in my area so far are Jotul, Vermont Castings, Blaze King, Quadra Fire. The home is 2,300Sqft. Needing recommendations on brand and models.

 

[EbS-P]

From that list Blaze king would be my first choice. Ashford 30 looks the best IMO. If I didn’t want a cat stove then a jotul F55.

Not on your list and my absolute first choice would be a pacific energy T6.

 

[stoveliker]

How tall is your chimney? What is your floor plan, open or many doors? How high are the ceilings? Do you want to burn for ambiance or is heating the goal? Primary and 24/7 or evening and weekend? How many SQ ft of those 2300 should be heated?

And do you have dry wood. Modern stoves really make people unhappy when wood is burned that is not below 20-25 pct. This is *very* different from your old stove.

 

[Crashdummy302]

From that list Blaze king would be my first choice. Ashford 30 looks the best IMO. If I didn’t want a cat stove then a jotul F55.

Not on your list and my absolute first choice would be a pacific energy T6.

Hello
Thank you for your help
It does not look like I have a Pacific Energy dealer near me. Though I know I can look online really want to be able to see touch and feel

 

[Crashdummy302]

How tall is your chimney? What is your floor plan, open or many doors? How high are the ceilings? Do you want to burn for ambiance or is heating the goal? Primary and 24/7 or evening and weekend? How many SQ ft of those 2300 should be heated?

And do you have dry wood. Modern stoves really make people unhappy when wood is burned that is not below 20-25 pct. This is *very* different from your old stove.

Hello
Floor plan is attached sorry bad drawing. The ceiling is about 8.5 to 9 (not finished yet so don’t know finish height) it will need to be class A chimney through the roof. This would be primary heat 24/7 I work from home. This is on top floor so 1400sqft but I use fans to push heat downstairs.
I buy from local vendors seasoned firewood do not know moisture content specifically but usually bought 2 full cords a year sometimes more.

 

[stoveliker]

Ok. If there is no story above the floor where the stove is, pay attention to the total length of the chimney (some stoves need 15' others can work with less).

1400 sq ft is okay, but the bedrooms will be harder to heat. I am thinking a a 2.5 cubic foot firebox would be ok, but others may know better. No high cathedral ceilings where heat pools is good.

Pushing heat downstairs will be nearly impossible, imo.

Buying wood sold as seasoned rarely is dry enough for modern stoves. Spend $30 on a moisture meter, take a split inside to let it warm up for a day, then split it in half and measure on the inside surfaces.

The BK will work; I presume new insulation and air sealing after the fire, so the need for heat won't be as high as an older home. The BK will turn down well and has a stable output due to the thermostat.

From what I read avoid VC. I second the PE suggestion ; T5?

 

[Woody Stover]

If I didn’t want a cat stove then a jotul F55.
Not on your list and my absolute first choice would be a pacific energy T6.

Depending on the level of insulation and air-sealing, I'd think a smaller stove would work, especially since most of the heat will stay upstairs. As stoveliker said, maybe a PE Super box instead of the Summit/T6.
Hard to beat the simplicity of the PE stoves. Sounds like you might have to go get it, if there's no local dealer, but I'd definitely do that to get the stove I wanted.

This is *very* different from your old stove.

The Appalachian 36BW is a modern cat stove, if memory serves..

 

[stoveliker]

Hm, I googled it and concluded it was from the 90s. And the manual does not say anything (at all) about wood having to be dry.
Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Crashdummy302]

Ok. If there is no story above the floor where the stove is, pay attention to the total length of the chimney (some stoves need 15' others can work with less).

1400 sq ft is okay, but the bedrooms will be harder to heat. I am thinking a a 2.5 cubic foot firebox would be ok, but others may know better. No high cathedral ceilings where heat pools is good.

Pushing heat downstairs will be nearly impossible, imo.

Buying wood sold as seasoned rarely is dry enough for modern stoves. Spend $30 on a moisture meter, take a split inside to let it warm up for a day, then split it in half and measure on the inside surfaces.

The BK will work; I presume new insulation and air sealing after the fire, so the need for heat won't be as high as an older home. The BK will turn down well and has a stable output due to the thermostat.

From what I read avoid VC. I second the PE suggestion ; T5?

Thank you I will look into a moisture reader.

Though hearing what people like is one thing what are the reasons to avoid VC?

 

[Crashdummy302]

Hm, I googled it and concluded it was from the 90s. And the manual does not say anything (at all) about wood having to be dry.
Maybe I'm wrong.

Unfortunately the manual doesn’t give a lot of detail on much I have look as well to even try to compare to anything and I can’t. Lol the reason I am here

 

[stoveliker]

Many are experiencing difficulties in getting the burn stable. And customer service seems to be poor.

Ownership has changed since the good old days (before the 90s?).

 

[Woody Stover]

Thank you I will look into a moisture reader.

Harbor Fright has a moisture meter for $14. Select several large splits that you have, leave them inside for a couple days so they are at room temp. Then re-split them and jam the pins into the center of the freshly-exposed faces.

Hm, I googled it and concluded it was from the 90s.

Yep, a modern stove. But it looks like Appalachian may have gone out of business with the new 2020 EPA requirements..

 

[stoveliker]

The manual I found for the 36 WB was from 1995...

 

[Rickb]

Most wood you by from a seller will need to be stacked for 1-3 years before it is dry enough to burn.... I have 3 stacks. I rotate through 1 stack each year.

Some types of wood season faster or slower. Soft maple, cherry, ect are ussually good after 1 full summer tho not optimal. Oak, hickory, hard maple might be 3 years before they are good to burn. My firewood guy gets me all ash. it drys faster then oak and almost as fast as cherry, but has a pretty good burn especially in my BK.

 

[Woody Stover]

PE stoves breathe easy on a short stack.

 

[begreen]

Hello
We had a house fire(not because of wood stove) the old wood stove was an Appalachian wood stove phase 1 36BW. Insurance will be covering cost so looking for a replacement. Companies in my area so far are Jotul, Vermont Castings, Blaze King, Quadra Fire. The home is 2,300Sqft. Needing recommendations on brand and models.

The stove is primarily going to heat the main area. The bedrooms down the hallway will be a lot cooler unless there is some sort of convective assistance. If you haven't bought a stove yet, take a look at the Jotul F45 and Quadrafire 4300 in non-cats and the Blaze King Princess or Sirocco 30 for a cat stove.

 

[BKVP]

If you have the space, consider buying 4 cords of wood. Then each year, assuming you only use 2 cords each winter, you will always be ahead of the game with well-seasoned wood. Do you have a nice covered area? That is very, very helpful in managing your fuel inventory.

Also, from the units you are looking at, remember the 30% federal tax credit for those that qualify. With a 30% tax credit, you should be able to not only get plenty of wood for future seasons, but get some high quality venting components.

Sorry about your home fire. That can be very scary.

BKVP