Osburn stoves with Bay front, also - questions on sizing?

[tickbitty]

Hey y'all. I have been on a lot lately on my quest to get a stove and you guys have been fabulous answering all the questions. So now I have more! I'm looking for a reasonably priced insert, but one that sticks out onto the hearth a bit for more radiant heat. (I have a thread here with a lot of great suggestions on these!) I am looking at used and new. Finding that the hardware store brands are more my speed pricewise, plus I don't care for the local dealer (in considering the premium brands I mean- just have difficulty knowing where to start on those). I want something that will heat a 1400 sq foot house and hope to find one where that footage falls closer to the middle of a stove's stated range, rather than the top.

Looks like the hardware store inserts are pretty straight up and do not appear to extend onto the hearth more than an inch or two. (Englander, Drolet etc.) I have discovered there are also middle range priced stoves to be found on the internet that have shipping included. Like Vozelgang, Napoleon, etc. This included the Osburn stoves. Then I saw that two of their line have these cool bay window shaped glass fronts. This is a really neat looking stove and not much more than their "vanilla" style regular one. I don't see a lot on here from people with Osburns and did see one thing about the doors being difficult to seal. Any other comments? Talking about the 2200 and the 1800 on this. With shipping these are about 1500-1800. Is that putting me more in the "premium" price range like the best stoves from dealers only?

I also have questions regarding that stated sizing that a stove will heat. I see a lot of stoves listed with something like "heats 500 - 1800 sq feet." That's an awfully broad range! And in the case of the two osburn stoves above, the larger insert says it's range is "500-2000" which isn't terribly much bigger than the other one! Does it simply mean there's a bigger firebox so you don't necessarily have heat for more area, but you have longer burn times?

 

[BrotherBart]

PM member Warren. He isn't around much these days but he has experience with the Osburn 1800 insert.

 

[tickbitty]

PM member Warren. He isn't around much these days but he has experience with the Osburn 1800 insert.

Thanks BBart!

 

[Birdman1]

I have a 2200 free standing stove and I have not had to turn my heat on since last feb.
It's in a 2000 sqf colonial and it keeps the whole house warm.
Just gotta learn how to pack it so stuff don't fall up against the glass.
Have not had any issues with the door sealing other than as the gasket flattens out
you just have to adjust the door tighter(normal)
Can pack it at 11pm and usually still have enough coals at 7 or 8am to get started again.
You will prolly have shorter times with the smaller box of the 1800.
Price was around 1700 from the installer and I could not find it cheaper w/shipping on the web.
We have been very happy with ours and the view of the window is great.
does throw a lot of radiant heat with all that glass when you have it blazin.
if there is anything else you need just holler.

 

[Cedrusdeodara]

I had an Osburn 1800 for about 1 month before swapping it out for a larger Napoleon. I loved the look of the Osburn, but it fell far short of its expected heating range, in my opinion. When they say 500-2000 sqft, assume the lower end of the spectrum.

 

[Birdman1]

I had an Osburn 1800 for about 1 month before swapping it out for a larger Napoleon. I loved the look of the Osburn, but it fell far short of its expected heating range, in my opinion. When they say 500-2000 sqft, assume the lower end of the spectrum.

You must have purchased a napoleon 1900, as I have had no problems heating a 2000 sq ft colonial with an osburn 2200
I don't think the 1800 falls short of the spectrum, it just may have been too small for your needs to begin with.

 

[wg_bent]

Hey guys, I'm here!

My Osburn 1800i does a good job heating my 2200 sqft house in upstate NY. Be glad to answer any questions you have.

Warren

 

[tickbitty]

Thanks Warren! Glad you weighed in before I had to find you!
Wow, based on the other folks I was thinking I would need the larger one if I go for this type of stove, but if you can do one in NY the 1800 should work for VA! How do you feel about the size of the firebox? And did you get this stove after having another kind of stove or is it your first major woodstove?
I guess since this is such a different looking unit, I am a little concerned about the functionality of the door. Is it inconvenient for the door to open and close in this shape, does that make it more likely to get warped or anything, or any problems with the seals? How about the wood falling into it as mentioned above? Nice to hear this is a good stove.

 

[wg_bent]

I don't try to heat my house completely, as I have realistic expectations on what can be done with a wood stove in a house configured like mine is. If I could have put in a bigger one, I would have, but my fireplace was the limitation. BUT, my 1800i heats my home nearly completely until the temp drops down to about 15 degrees, then it begins to loose ground. The firebox on my 1800i appears to be SIGNIFICANTLY larger than my sisters Lopi Answer, so there may be some strangeness on how they measure size. I can get 18" logs into the stove with no problem, but generally cut to about 16" and I don't think that's much of a problem.
I did a major major amount of research and nearly bought a Lopi Revere, but I'm glad I got the Osburn as it really does look nice in the fireplace due to the large glass.
I grew up heating homes with woodstoves and coal stoves so I had decent experience with stoves, but the Osburn was my own personal ownership of a stove. If I had to do it all again would I make a different decision? Not sure, but I don't regret the Osburn in any way at all.

The door does not open quite as wide as stoves that have a straight door, but it's never a problem. Using a graphite powder seems to keep things lubricated with no fuss. Going into my 4th heating season, the gaskets are getting a little flatter than they were, but no biggy yet. I adjusted the door closer this year for the first time.. but I kind of expected it. Nothing has warped at all. The door closer on this stove is pretty cool. It's a little roller on a pin vs a latch that scrapes metal against metal.. less prone to wear I'd guess. I think in any box type stove like a lopi, Osburn, Quadrafire, or anything that doesn't have a top load feature like a Vermont castings freestanding stove will occasionally have a log fall against the door glass. Mostly I let the log burn and then push it back with a poker once burned down. Sometimes a log against the glass can leave some black soot on the glass but a hot burn will mostly remove it. The key here is ensuring that your hearth extends far enough that should a log or coal come out of the stove you won't end up with it rolling onto your carpet.. that could really end the say poorly! I just don't see this as different in any insert.. they're all configured the same in this regard. The Osburn comes with a blower and that is a really nice feature. Some other inserts have it as an option.

The glass does get a bit of an ash haze on it after a few days, but I let the stove cool down some and wipe it with a handiwipe and water and I"m back to clear glass.

Warren

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Thanks Warren! Glad you weighed in before I had to find you!
Wow, based on the other folks I was thinking I would need the larger one if I go for this type of stove, but if you can do one in NY the 1800 should work for VA! How do you feel about the size of the firebox? And did you get this stove after having another kind of stove or is it your first major woodstove?
I guess since this is such a different looking unit, I am a little concerned about the functionality of the door. Is it inconvenient for the door to open and close in this shape, does that make it more likely to get warped or anything, or any problems with the seals? How about the wood falling into it as mentioned above? Nice to hear this is a good stove.