Newbie With Some Questions

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T

TestDriver

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Oct 31, 2008
4
SE Michigan
Hello,

This is my first post here and I hope I've done enough research so that it does not bore/upset the fine perusers of this forum.

I moved into my Michigan house 3 years ago. It was at one time set up for a wood stove with about 15' of stainless, 6", insulated flue of the type 2 shown on this link (https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/installing_a_woodstove). It now has a propane stove, which the previous owner installed, in place of the once wood burner but the wood version is long gone. The top of the flue has about a 3' additional section of 4" galvanized, uninsulated flue.

My plan is to switch the stove back to wood as last year I had almost $2k worth of winter propane (main furnace, water heater) use. The percentage of wood use will vary with my presence as I can travel frequently during the winter and my wife won't deal with the work/mess involved. I'm not in a hurry with propane coming back down (currently $1.70 vs $2.40 last time) but, I'm sure it won't stay that way forever. Also, I have about 3.5 wooded acres with some standing dead ash and about 3-5 shag bark hickory trees falling each year. My back door neighbor has more acreage with more fee wood for the taking and there is always plenty of free wood/trees in my area so fuel is not a problem.

Now for some questions.

Was the reduction at the top of the flue necessary for the propane stove installation? Is it possible that it was needed with a wood burner if he had a super-efficient type?

Although I have plenty of wood available, I'd rather burn efficient. What is the difference between EPA certified and UL #1482?

Why are some stoves sold as "EPA Exempt" and what is their typical efficiency?

I've been looking locally for pre-owned stoves since there's a lot of wood usage here and there's lots of stuff available. However, typically the owners don't know, care or can be bothered to give out manufacturer plate information. Can someone here let me know what vintage stove this ((broken link removed)) would be and any opinions on it?

Hopefully that's not too many questions for one post.

Thanks.

Ramon
 
The 4" reduction was probably needed for the gas burner. It should more that likely be removed for a wood burning appliance.

If it ain't EPA certified, stay away. That is my opinion. You stated that efficiency is one of your concerns. Thats the best way to stay in the game.

I believe the stove in question was made by US Stoves, I hope that helps in your searches. I personally have no knowledge of the stove.
 
Jags said:
......................I believe the stove in question was made by US Stoves, I hope that helps in your searches. I personally have no knowledge of the stove.
Click to expand...

Jags,

Thanks for the lead.

I found an online US Stoves parts catalog for the stove but no further info.

What I'm looking to find out about this stove is if it is an EPA stove or not. If not, what years was it made and is it one of those "exempt" units?

Thanks again.

Ramon
 
Try and contact the seller. The tag (which is unreadable in the picture) should say if it is EPA approved or not. I did a quick search and couldn't come up with any more info than you. Personally, if its not an EPA stove, I would say to "move on", but thats me.
 
Jags said:
Try and contact the seller. The tag (which is unreadable in the picture) should say if it is EPA approved or not. I did a quick search and couldn't come up with any more info than you. Personally, if its not an EPA stove, I would say to "move on", but thats me.
Click to expand...

Yup,

That's what I ended up doing. The tag had a date of 1984 (he was not near the stove till Saturday and he could give me definite info then) and it was not an EPA certified unit so, I passed. It would have been about 275 miles round trip for me to pick it up and this factored into my decision as well.

I'll keep looking. Meantime, I also checked out some new stoves in the local lumber stores. It looks like about $800 will get me what I want with a new unit from them. The price would have had me sold if propane was still at $2.40/gal but as it is, I'll continue to look around.

Later.
 
Look at the Englanders, if they're available locally. Price, performance and quality is tough to beat, so far as I understand it. Rick
 
fossil said:
Look at the Englanders, if they're available locally. Price, performance and quality is tough to beat, so far as I understand it. Rick
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Yes, that's the brand carried by the local big stores.

If propane stays at the current level, I'll hold out till they start discounting them. That and an additional 10% for signing up for one of their store cards will get me to about the level of pricing I've seen on good used stoves on ebay and craigslist.
 
Good move. I think if you can swing it going that way, you'll be miles ahead and never disappointed. Meantime, read up on both the 13 and the 30, and determine which one is most appropriate for your heating needs. Lots of happy owners here on this forum. I don't own an Englander, but I would never hesitate to own one, from everything I've learned here. Rick
 
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