Newbie - Lopi, Jotul or Dutchwest

[pilot-werx]

Newbie here who is looking to purchase a wood stove for our house. Currently I have it narrowd down to Lopi Liberty, XL Dutchwest or a Jotul Oslo.

The home is a total of 3900 sq feet and this will be used to supplememt the oil heat. The wood stove will be installed in a brick hearth alcove in our kitchen. I am torn as to go with the cast or plate steel. I would like something that we will have forever.

Also, if going the Dutchwest route, would you go catalytic or non-catalytic?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Pacific Energy T6 or Summit

EDIT: Non-cat. If you pay a premium for wood then maybe the cat is worth it, but to me it's just one more hassle.

 

[drdoct]

I won't give you an answer but will tell you something that's bugged me since I got the Lopi. If I was buying a new stove then I wouldn't buy from any company that forbade online sales. It's irritating in this day and age to have to pay shipping and then have to drive an hour to pick it up from a dealer just because I have to go through a 'dealer'. I'm a cheapie so I would definately not want a catalytic that I had to pay a few hundred to replace every couple of years. Maybe I'm wrong about them because I don't have any experience with them. I like my Lopi and it's nice lookin too. I've had a pretty easy time learning and getting ready for colder weather.

 

[begreen]

That's a wide range of choices Chris. My vote would be for the Liberty or the 3 cu. ft. Jotul F600. The Oslo is a great stove but you'll need as big a stove as you can fit unless the room/area to be heated is small. I can vouch for the Pacific Energy T6 as a good 3 cu ft heater. It's a cast iron/steel hybrid and is working well for us.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

I had Jotul and my old house, and a Lopi at my new one.
My wife asked me the other day if I missed the old house....said "nope, but I miss the stove"
If you have a few extra $$, I would spring for the Jotul.

Earlier poster was right about the Lopi problem with parts needing to go through a dealer. Had my installed, and the dealer only included 1 washer on the door handle...wiggles loose every 10 opens.....tried to find another washer just about everywhere, and none fit...bugs me that I have to drive a half hour to pick up a washer that the dealer forgot to put on

 

[pilot-werx]

For the money, it seems the Lopi may make more sense for the overal heating capacity. They have the Jotul on sale for $2000 and the Lopi Liberty for $2100. Is that a decent deal? I am not too concerned with parts as teh stove dealer is close by. I guess I am more interested in the best value.

In terms of logevity, how will the Lopi hold up compared to the Jotul?

Thank you for all your help..

 

[Pagey]

My dad just paid around $2,300 for a Lopi Libery, so that would seem to be a fair price. We're in Middle TN, but I have no idea how geography affects the prices of these things.

 

[begreen]

The best value is going to be the stove you feed less wood, less often, even if it cost more to start with. Go for the Liberty, you'll need 3 cu ft and then some to heat that big box. And get several cords of the very driest wood you can buy.

 

[jotul8e2]

The wood stove will be installed in a brick hearth alcove in our kitchen. I am torn as to go with the cast or plate steel. I would like something that we will have forever.

Also, if going the Dutchwest route, would you go catalytic or non-catalytic?

I do not think we have enough information here. Unless you have a plan for moving heat OUT of the kitchen, any stove mentioned above will have to be enjoyed from another room. I have an older Dutchwest Large cat and it heats 2200 sq. ft. of open shop space. I have a Jotul Oslo in our 2500 sq. ft. house and even with it located in the center of the house in a room open to five other areas through four and six foot doorways, and with a 60" ceiling fan going full time, it can get pretty warm in there burning at a mere 350 deg.

Yes, to heat 3900 sq. ft. in Maine is a daunting task for a mere wood burning stove. However, you note you are seeking only supplimental heat. Is it expected that an air handler will be circulating air througout the house? If so, is the return air good and strong from the kitchen? With cabinets and counters and restricted passageways, kitchens are notorious for being dead air spaces. Or do you mean only to provide additional warmth for the kitchen and maybe an adjacent room?

As to the Dutchwest cat vs. non cat, there are a lot of posts on this very issue. You will want to do a search on both Dutchwest and "Everburn". This will provide hours of reading, I am afraid. My own opinion, and it is just that, is that the current Dutchwest catalytic may be the very best all around product made by Vermont Castings. But when I chose for my new house it was easy - Jotul.

Hope it works,

Mark

 

[branchburner]

Based on threads here and family/friend's experience, if going the Dutchwest route, would strongly suggest you go catalytic over non-catalytic. But between Dutchwest catalytic and non-Dutchwest non-catalytic, lots to support either choice. Current state of VC corporate dysfuntion would puh me towards the latter.

 

[pilot-werx]

Since I am new at this, let me ask you this... What stove out there is going to throw the most heat?

 

[wellbuilt home]

I think you could get the most heat from a big steel box stove but i don't like the way they look , I like the library alot but it looks small for the BTU rating I like the VCDW I burned my old cat stove for 15 years 24/7 and it heated my 3000 + house (no problem) If it was o out side i would have to close off some rooms. I don't even know if my furnace works I turned it off years ago and don't use it. I have a hearthstone Equinox now and It heat like mad . I think the EQis 125,000BTU and it gives even heat. My stove is in the center of the house and the Eq could could cook me out if i fill it .

 

[firefighterjake]

Newbie here who is looking to purchase a wood stove for our house. Currently I have it narrowd down to Lopi Liberty, XL Dutchwest or a Jotul Oslo.

The home is a total of 3900 sq feet and this will be used to supplememt the oil heat. The wood stove will be installed in a brick hearth alcove in our kitchen. I am torn as to go with the cast or plate steel. I would like something that we will have forever.

Also, if going the Dutchwest route, would you go catalytic or non-catalytic?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

There's many, many good brands . . . take some time however to check out the section here at hearth.com with stove reviews . . . this helped me a lot in narrowing down my choices.

Personally, of your choices I might suggest you look more at the Lopi or Jotul . . . as you may or may not know as you peruse through past threads there have been some questions about the Vermont Castings/Dutchwest brand.

As mentioned earlier for the size of your house the Oslo might be a bit on the small side . . . unless you are only planning on heating a smaller area. It will put out the heat, but if you're only looking to "supplement" the heating by heating the entire house in place of an oil boiler or furnace for example I'm not sure if it might tax the Oslo . . . but if you're looking to "supplement" the heating by heating up part of the house (i.e. large living room and adjacent rooms) it may work great.

Cast iron, plate steel (and let's not forget) soapstone . . . one of the first questions that prospective woodburners wrestle with (right after "Should we buy a woodstove?" and right before "What color should we get?") There's an excellent wiki-article here at hearth.com that lists out some of the pros- and cons- to all these types . . . but the one conclusion that I've taken from reading that article and reading all the threads here in the short time I've been a member is that while the stove construction materials vary and the heat output may be different depending on the size and materials the fact is reputable dealers selling reputable stoves from reputable stove manufacturers will provide you and your family with a good stove that will do what you ask it to do -- namely to keep you warm.

P.S. I swear I've seen your BBS knickname somewhere else . . . have you posted at other BBS sites . . . maybe ATV sites, snowmobile sites, geocaching sites, etc?

 

[pilot-werx]

jake,

thank you for the input... i have narrowed it down to a Lopi Liberty or a PE Summit...

your name is familiar too... i lurk on man of the snowmobile and aviation sites...

thanks!

 

[firefighterjake]

jake,

thank you for the input... i have narrowed it down to a Lopi Liberty or a PE Summit...

your name is familiar too... i lurk on man of the snowmobile and aviation sites...

thanks!

Honestly I was also considering a PE . . . I liked the looks of them, but the local dealer didn't seem to be really "with it" considering I found out at the PE website that this dealer sold PEs as they didn't have any on the showroom floor . . . when I asked about them I was brought out back to look at a crated model (this kind of made me wonder if these guys would be selling PEs long-term or if they just were not that committed to the brand.)

Maybe I've seen you at Sledmaine.com . . . hardcoresledder.com (not on there as often.)

 

[Hanko]

Pacific Energy T6 or Summit

EDIT: Non-cat. If you pay a premium for wood then maybe the cat is worth it, but to me it's just one more hassle.

Why is that? Thats not what he ask

 

[pilot-werx]

Thank you for all the help.... I ended up ordering a PE Summit. The local shop ended up having 4 coming in next week so I put a deposit on one. Should be fun!!

 

[Hanko]

I think all the nice stoves in that price range are good, have fun.