New stove opinions

[tehans]

I am going to get a new stove and I want an external ash pan (tired of scooping ashes and coals into a bucket, what a mess) , top loading, high efficiency long burn times. Probably non catalytic or a catalytic that is easy to remove because the one on my Englander 24 ACD is a major major pain to remove .
I am thinking about Harman TL 2.0 but read a few bad things about them. Are they good? I am open to suggestions.

 

[begreen]

The 24 ACD is a decent stove from what I have read, but I have never changed a cat in one. If top loading is a priority I would look at the Jotul Rangeley F50.

 

[Bub381]

The only thing is if i remember right the internal opening for top loading wood in the 50 is 6" wide.I'd seriously think over the 55 though it has a bigger firebox.If your wood by any means hasn't been drying for at least a year or better i would get the cat.Just my opinion.I've had both and the Rangeley was 1 and you will get about an hour of 2ndary burn and that's about it,with the cat you can adjust for it.Also about the ashpan,when you pull it out you will scrape the top of the ashes off and they will fall down behind the pan and you'll have to shovel em out.I wanted the ashpan and got sick of this and just let it fill and shoveled it out when need be.The new stove now has no ashpan.Yay!

 

[tehans]

Yea my wood is dry. I don't mind the cat as long as it can be easily removed. Good to know about the ash pan

 

[mellow]

Top loading really cuts the list down, if you could deal with side loading the Woodstocks can't be beat, especially when it comes to removing the cat.

The ash pan in theory is great, I had one in my stove but decided to seal it up due to air leaks and I never used it like I thought I would, an ash rake and ash shovel with a metal bucket has served me well for years.

 

[tehans]

Top loading is not a must have,it just looked nice. I am dreading having to take the
cat out of my current stove. I have to lay on the ground and can barely fit my arms inside. Putting the flame impingement plate back it even worse

 

[mellow]

I hear you on that, it is a royal pain on my stove as well, even more fun when the bolts are locked up and break.

 

[tehans]

Well after having it for 15 years I put copper anti cieze on the bolts and the flange of the collar that holds the cat. I was looking at Blaze King, are they good?

 

[mellow]

Blaze King are very good if you do not mind the look. How many sq feet you looking to heat?

 

[tehans]

about 2400

 

[mellow]

Blaze King King or the Woodstock Progress Hybrid would be two to look at.

 

[mellow]

What size is your current chimney? 8" or 6" ?

 

[begreen]

If you want simple with long burns in a non-cat 2 cu ft stove I would look at the Pacific Energy Spectrum or Super 27.

 

[tehans]

I appreciate the inputs. I have 6"

 

[mellow]

6" would not work on the Blaze King King, you would have to look at the Princess, however it would work on the Progress.

 

[tehans]

It's only 6" for the single wall to the ceiling so I could replace it

 

[mellow]

If you have 8" class A then you could install 8" double wall from the ceiling to the blaze king king, the BK cat stoves like to have an insulated pipe all the way up due to lower exhaust temps. Plenty of threads on that stove.

If you are looking for a non-cat stove take a look at the Kuma Sequoia , it runs on 8" as well and is a big heater.

Edit: Kuma Sequoia is a cat stove, my fault.

 

[tehans]

How hard is the cat to access in the King?

 

[jeff_t]

How hard is the cat to access in the King?

It's simple, you just need a new gasket on hand. If you treat it nice and burn dry wood, there is no need to remove it unless the gasket needs to be replaced. A simple brushing with a soft-bristled brush, or a careful pass of the vacuum is all that's needed. That can be done by removing the flame impingement shield, which just lifts out. The back side is accessed from the flue collar.

Besides the King and Princess, the is also the Chinook 30. Sirocco 30 is rumored to be available, and there is supposed to be a cast iron clad steel stove coming, the Ashford.

 

[begreen]

The King is expensive and could be overkill. How large an area are you heating? How well did the Englander do this job?

 

[mellow]

about 2400

 

[begreen]

Thanks mellow. Seems like the Princess would do the job.

 

[tehans]

What about the Harman, really liked this stove when I was it in the shop. Can anyone share their experiences? I read a few thing about the secondary combustion chamber needing replaced and some problems with the gaskets

 

[begreen]

I'm not a big fan of downdraft stoves, especially with refractory assemblies. They are touchier to burn in and higher maintenance over the life of the stove.

 

[tehans]

OK thanks. Less maintenance is what I want, not more