Need to replace my old pot belly

[mis3gal]

We've decided to replace our very old pot belly stove. Normally we only use it when the electricity goes out, but it is smoky and bothers my allergies a good deal. The only dealer I can find for stoves around here is at the link below. Can some of you look at it and recommend an air tight stove. I've read through threads and frankly I'm confused. It won't be our only source of heat, but we will be relying on it as a constant source of heat for obvious reasons. We have several acres of woods too, so it seems like the logical choice. Thank you (broken link removed) Also, if any of you have a stove that doesn't bother your allergies, please let me know what it is and where we might be able to buy it.
Missy

 

[begreen]

Need to replace my old pot belly..... yeah, so do I, time for a diet.

Welcome Missy. It looks like Tall Pines carries several good stoves. if you can give us some details about the house and the room the stove is in we can make a more helpful and appropriate suggestion for the size stove and options.

 

[trailblaster]

I have allergies and asthma and my non cat EPA stove doesn't bother me. Surprisingly, 2-stroke exhaust from chainsaw and snowmobiles barely bothers me but cigarette smoke sets me off. I don't think you'll have a problem(inside or outside) burning seasoned wood in a modern stove unless you are alergic to wood.

 

[mis3gal]

Thanks for the welcome.

We live in an 120 year old (2500 sq ft) farmhouse in the northeast. Right now the old stove is in a room off the kitchen, backed up to a flagstone wall. The floor in that room isn't insolated and it's not over a basement, but the rest of the room is as is the rest of the house. Most of the homes around us were designed so that the heat from their stoves would easily move upstairs, but that isn't the case with ours so I doubt this is something that could be used to heat the second floor.

"non cat EPA stove"
What does that mean?

 

[cmonSTART]

Ok, someone jump in and correct me if I get it wrong. New wood stoves today are required by the EPA to burn cleaner than older stoves which means they all must have some means of reburning the smoke from the fire. There are catalytic stoves, in which the smoke passes through a catalytic chamber (like in your car) which does the job, and there are non-catalytic stoves which use insulation and baffling within the firebox to redirect the smoke over the fire again and make it burn.

So, a non-cat EPA stove would be an EPA approved new model, without a cat in it. I use one and I love it. Works pisser.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Ok, someone jump in and correct me if I get it wrong. New wood stoves today are required by the EPA to burn cleaner than older stoves which means they all must have some means of reburning the smoke from the fire. There are catalytic stoves, in which the smoke passes through a catalytic chamber (like in your car) which does the job, and there are non-catalytic stoves which use insulation and baffling within the firebox to redirect the smoke over the fire again and make it burn.

So, a non-cat EPA stove would be an EPA approved new model, without a cat in it. I use one and I love it. Works pisser.

nope start , you got it correct , im going to expound on it just a bit. a "catalytic" stove is designed so that once the catalyst heats above a certain temperature the "smoke" is incinerated inside the cells of the cat. most all of these units have a "bypass" system which is needed for easier starting once the cat ignites the bypass is closed and the entire exhaust is ducted through the cat for reburning. during this process the catalyst can operate at temps of several hundred to over a thousand degrees F. this allows the stove to burn a low long burning fire and use the cat for a large portion of the heating chore.

a "non-cat" essentially carries out the reburn in the firebox itself or in specially designed chambers that the exhaust is ducted through (mostly the former) heat from the fire is reflected back down into the top of the firebox where fresh air is introduced through tubes or perforated plates. this heat along with the added unburned air allows the unburned fuel that usually leaves through the flue to be consumed this also allows for some pretty impressive BTU numbers.

both stove types have their advantages and disadvantages but both work very well to not only reduce emmissions , but also to generate much more heat while doing so.

 

[RedRanger]

Ok, someone jump in and correct me if I get it wrong. New wood stoves today are required by the EPA to burn cleaner than older stoves which means they all must have some means of reburning the smoke from the fire. There are catalytic stoves, in which the smoke passes through a catalytic chamber (like in your car) which does the job, and there are non-catalytic stoves which use insulation and baffling within the firebox to redirect the smoke over the fire again and make it burn.

So, a non-cat EPA stove would be an EPA approved new model, without a cat in it. I use one and I love it. Works pisser.

nope start , you got it correct , im going to expound on it just a bit. a "catalytic" stove is designed so that once the catalyst heats above a certain temperature the "smoke" is incinerated inside the cells of the cat. most all of these units have a "bypass" system which is needed for easier starting once the cat ignites the bypass is closed and the entire exhaust is ducted through the cat for reburning. during this process the catalyst can operate at temps of several hundred to over a thousand degrees F. this allows the stove to burn a low long burning fire and use the cat for a large portion of the heating chore.

a "non-cat" essentially carries out the reburn in the firebox itself or in specially designed chambers that the exhaust is ducted through (mostly the former) heat from the fire is reflected back down into the top of the firebox where fresh air is introduced through tubes or perforated plates. this heat along with the added unburned air allows the unburned fuel that usually leaves through the flue to be consumed this also allows for some pretty impressive BTU numbers.

both stove types have their advantages and disadvantages but both work very well to not only reduce emmissions , but also to generate much more heat while doing so.

Thanks a lot Mike!! Now you are making me feel even worse about not spending the extra 1400 hundred to buy that beautiful Princess Blaze King. :lol: Oh, well, maybe if I can convince the wife one day to put another insert upstairs? There will be no penny wise and pound foolish next go-around It will be the Princess. Like North-of-60 says-"the rest are just toys"

 

[Jerry_NJ]

Ok, I reply simply because I want to get notice when "mike" response on the Princess Blaze King remark. I got lost somewhere along the reading of this thread. I did enjoy reading mike's explanation of how the new EPA stoves/inserts produce more btu per pound of wood, I'm looking forward to that additional heat out of my wood dollar (sweat and real). Now if I made a mistake not buying the Princess Blaze King I'm going to feel real bad.

Edit: Oh yes! the reason I opened this thread was I was looking for some way to getting rid of my old pot belly, guess I'll have to read elsewhere

 

[RedRanger]

[quote author="Jerry_NJ" date="1215318659"]Ok, I reply simply because I want to get notice when "mike" response on the Princess Blaze King remark. I got lost somewhere along the reading of this thread. I did enjoy reading mike's explanation of how the new EPA stoves/inserts produce more btu per pound of wood, I'm looking forward to that additional heat out of my wood dollar (sweat and real). Now if I made a mistake not buying the Princess Blaze King I'm going to feel real bad..

Sorry Jerry: but I just have to respond myself. cause I do feel bad. Think about this??-north of 60 in the north heats his home with about 6 cords of softwood per year with his blazeking. You can double that amount of cordwood without the cat. That is why I said if we get another for the upstairs it will be the Princess. In my climate, probably no more than 2 cords per season, in addition to the wood burned downstairs. but of course that would be cut dramatically. I know that Mike sells the Englanders, but I know that he will espouse the benefits of the blaze king. he is an honest guy.

Take a look at their site. she is also a beauty to look at. But very, very, pricey %-P Not really Mike`s domain me thinks, they sell a quality product for a decent price. As for the Princess, yep, I look forward to his comments as well.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

Thanks sonnyinbc, I missed several clues: "north of 60" is one of "us"? I looked up the Blaze King Princess, nice looking but I like the looks (on paper) of my Quad 4100-I better, well I can see my Quad in the "flesh" but not the Princess, so I compare pictures only. The efficiency of 82% looks good for the BK, and it reads well in the description, but the Quad is spec'd at 76%, only a little less and no Cat to worry about. Both are close on emissions/clean-burning. Still the Cat stove now appears to my learning curve to be better for long low burns, it will continue to burn the secondary fire whereas the Quad may just let the gases/particle pass on by if it is run too cool/low. I didn't see the price on the Princess either, but it does look expensive.

 

[RedRanger]

Thanks sonnyinbc, I missed several clues: "north of 60" is one of "us"? I looked up the Blaze King Princess, nice looking but I like the looks (on paper) of my Quad 4100-I better, well I can see my Quad in the "flesh" but not the Princess, so I compare pictures only. The efficiency of 82% looks good for the BK, and it reads well in the description, but the Quad is spec'd at 76%, only a little less and no Cat to worry about. Both are close on emissions/clean-burning. Still the Cat stove now appears to my learning curve to be better for long low burns, it will continue to burn the secondary fire whereas the Quad may just let the gases/particle pass on by if it is run too cool/low. I didn't see the price on the Princess either, but it does look expensive.

Yes, if I understand it correctly, the cat convertor can take massive heat without burning up the wood, while still burning up the secondary gasses. wheras, with the insert I have it goes to secondary burn , and of course will naturally burn wood more quickly. If ya haven`t bought yet , and have the loot to spend, best to go with that blaze king. Maybe try pm-ing north of 60 for more informed info than I can give you?

It will be for sure more money up front, but I think you only have to replace the cat every 3 or 4 years at a cost of about 200 to 300 bucks? I`m thinking though,that if you have hardwood to burn, man, oh, man you will be laughing all the way to the bank once you own the princess. Less wood consumed by far.