New NC-30 vs Old Earth Stove

[Whitepup]

Hello Hearth.com Thanks for the great info on this site.

After 20 years of using the Earth Stove that was here when we moved into our house, I pulled the trigger on the $649 NC-30 stove. My old stove was really getting bad this year with not being air-tight, (see pics) and the efficiency fell to nothing. I would fill the thing up, at 7:00pm and it would be 62 in the stove room by the next morning, and just barely enough coals to get a fire started. Wifey and I agreed it is time for a new stove. The new NC-30 came on a pallet, and luckily I had my family over for Easter so I got her in the stove room with the help of a dolly. The new stove looks to be the same size of the old one, except for the firebox. The Old one has a huge firebox. I am able to put 28" splits into the Earth stove. I know the NC-30 stove says it will accept 22" logs, but I measured the NC-30, and it is 18" from the firebrick in the back to the front lip next to the "doghouse", and 19" from both firebricks side to side. I will have to cut the ends of my logs to accomadate. I already put a sharpie mark on my Chainsaw bar to measure 18" cuts.

I have a huge ceiling fan in the stoveroom to push the warm air throughout the house. I am going to get a 6" to 8"
increaser with the small crimped end and attach to the 8" flue. (I was wanting to go 6" all the way up to the ceiling firebox, but cant for the life of me figure out how to detach the small 1 foot pipe from the firebox)

Question: Do you recommend keeping the 18" logs behind the "doghouse, or can I stack wood over the lip towards the front glass, and how high can I stack?

 

[Highbeam]

You can stack up onto that metal lip beside the doghouse. In fact, you can use all that room up to the glass but don't use pieces so long that the glass hits the wood when you shut the door. Really, the WHOLE firebox is yours for the taking. The closer you put wood to the glass, the more likely you are to get ash fallout when you open the door next time. Just a nuisance though. I wouldn't trim down the splits so long as you can safely close the door without making contact with the wood.

You can also load right up to the tubes. Fill her to the top if you desire. It is perfectly safe but there are some cautions there too. The fiberboard ceiling is fragile and expensive to replace so don't hit it with wood, also, the fire seems to burn a bit better with an inch or two on top to allow airflow up there but it is totally safe to load that firebox to the gills.

 

[Whitepup]

Will do thx Highbeam

 

[jeromehdmc]

Did you find the stove for that price in the KC area?

 

[Dix]

You're gonna love that stove

Welcome to the forums !!

 

[BrotherBart]

Don't know where you got 22". They have always advertised 20". But cut to 18" and it will make your day.

And here's yer shirt.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

There will be one big difference between the 2 stoves though. The 30 likes really dry wood, Your old stove probably wasn't as picky.

 

[kennyp2339]

Good luck with her, treat her good with dry seasoned wood and she'll keep you warm

 

[jeff_t]

Make up something like this to make trimming those splits a breeze.

 

[Highbeam]

Love the hand written 7900 on that dolly.

 

[begreen]

The 30 NC has different requirements, for flue, hearth and clearances. It appears to be a deeper stove too. Will you be rebuilding the hearth to accommodate the new stove? How tall is the flue from stove to cap now?

 

[jeff_t]

Love the hand written 7900 on that dolly.

The growl makes it kinda hard to keep it a sleeper after I fire it up.The sharpie is almost worn off now, so it's back in stealth mode