Possible New Stove

[cuttingedge]

Hello everyone,

I did a short introduction yesterday in the old stoves section of the forum.
Just so you don't have to go read it:
My name is Jason, I currently live in NJ with my wife and two dogs. We have decided that we want to move and have been blessed with the opportunity to move into a nice house with almost 100 acres of land in Maine. We already started moving some of our stuff up there (some furniture, small appliances, log splitter, woodworking tools) etc. We are planning on making the final move sometime around January 1st. Yes we are very excited!
The current set-up in the house is a Thor Metal Works insert w/ blower in the living room. There is also a beautiful Cawley/ Lemay 600 in the basement. We really want to move towards primarily heating with wood and it is my understanding that the insert and stove that we have may not be enough for the Maine winters. What I am asking is if this set-up does not adequately heat the house, we will probably close up the fireplace and add a freestanding stove next year. I am very partial to not having to use power in order to have heat so I would like a large stove that could heat the house without having to use a blower if possible. I of course would like to have a blower but would in case of a power outage not have to rely on it. What stove(s) would any of you suggest to make this happen? I have only operated one stove in my life besides the Cawley and that was at my parents house which was an old Vermont Castings Vigilant. I have zero experience with modern stoves. I really like the look and top loading ability of the Vermont Castings Defiant but am open to other suggestions/ recommendations.
Here is a basic floor plan of the house

Thank You and sorry for the long story,

Jason

 

[aansorge]

Avoid Vermont castings.

Woodstock hybrid...http://www.woodstove.com/progress-hybrid

Blaze king princess

Lopi

Maybe a kuma?

 

[begreen]

Welcome Jason. It looks like the stove will be heating about 1200 sq ft.. The master bedroom may get the short end of the stick without fan assistance. A 2.0-2.5 cu ft stove should handle this area. There are lots of stoves in this category. What is your goal? To heat 24/7 with wood or to have a good back up system for power failures?

 

[aansorge]

Some used possibilities...

(broken link removed to http://maine.craigslist.org/hsh/4117622449.html)

Here is a good deal...(broken link removed to http://maine.craigslist.org/hsh/4113147884.html)

 

[mliiiwit]

I have a Woodstock Progress Hybrid and my parents have had a Fireview for many years. If you need or want a TON of heat and good efficiency, the PH delivers. I've never bought another stove, but cannot imagine a better customer service & support experience. Based on unsolicited testimonials here and my own experience, I believe they do set the standard of customer satisfaction.

"I have zero experience with modern stoves."

Don't by shy of catalytic stoves. The maintenance required cleaning the cat is far more than returned by the reduction in fuel needs. I like to c/s/s, but I'm getting older and cleaning the cat every few weeks is a heck of a lot easier and less time consuming than handling more wood.

 

[weatherguy]

You're in Woodstock territory, I'd consider the PH or the fireview, that ad posted above looks like a pretty good deal on the fireview.

 

[cuttingedge]

Thank you all for the replies.
As stated I will not be doing anything this year and hopefully the set-up that we have will be enough to at least reduce our oil usage.
My goal is to be able to heat the house primarily with wood and understand that a blower will greatly help with this. We do have a bunch of fans that we are going to bring up with us to circulate some of the warm air towards the master bedroom and we will try different things like leaving the basement door open while the stove is going as well as the fireplace. Is there a reason that I should avoid a Vermont Castings stove? I understand that they had some issues but most seem to be happy with the newer models. I am mostly interested in a stove that will heat the house without "having" to use a blower and one that will last a long time without having to replace expensive parts. I have done the gaskets in a an old V.C. Vigilant and that does not scare me. What scares me is having to replace things like secondary burn tubes and catalytic converter units. I am partial to the V.C. classic style but would not rule out something like a Lopi Liberty if it would heat the house without the blower having to run constantly. I have a friend that has a country stove that looks like the Lopi Liberty and has been very happy with it but states that without the blower he would need to turn his heat on or constantly run numerous fans. This is what I am trying to avoid.
I am also not a very big fan of Soapstone stoves as I also have a friend that has a Hearthstone that has suffered numerous cracks throughout the years although he swears by its performance.

Thanks

 

[eclecticcottage]

First, sounds like an awesome place you've got there!

Next...Do you have a budget in mind? Is burn time a big factor? If you'd close off the fireplace I imagine you're building a hearth pad in front of it-are clearances any sort of issue? (for instance, we can't have a side load stove because we can't get the side clearance because there's a door right there)

If you like the looks of the VC stoves, you might also like those in the Jotul line. Or maybe the BK Ashford, I can't recall the firebox size off hand though.

We have the the sister stove to the Endeavor, which is the stove one size smaller than the Liberty (the Endeavor basically looks like a smaller version of it). We do run our blower, but our layout, while it LOOKS ideal for air flow, just doesn't seem to flow (even in the summer with windows/doors open it doesn't flow, so it's not an issue with the stove itself). Using fans/blowers isn't just a stove related issue all the time, sometimes it's just how the air dlows (or doesn't) in the house.

 

[begreen]

The need for a blower can depend on the house design as much as the stove design. Our house is easy to heat without a blower because of it's open floorplan, central stove location and large open staircase to upstairs. But not everyone has this advantage. Some situations, like when the stove is at one end of the house, may benefit from running a blower.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

I'm here to represent the Jotul folks...A castine or Oslo may also fit the bill. I have the burn tubes in the Oslo and after 5 years of use they are still in great shape. But like anything else, maintenance is required for upkeep. I have done door seals and a side burn plate (this year). Other than yearly sweeps maintenance costs on wood stoves is low.

 

[cuttingedge]

Thanks for the replies,
I have done a lot of research on different manufacturers as well as designs of current model stoves. If I decide to go with something other than a Vermont Castings, it will most likely be a Lopi. I am considering the Liberty and the Endeavor. Due to the fact that the house is only 1654 Sq Ft which would be a better fit? The stove will be going where the existing insert is and I will close up the opening and put down a bigger hearth pad. Without being at the house I can only provide whatever pictures that I have if anyone needs to see the rooms.
Here is the current insert.

ETA: I don't think that I will run into problems with clearances.

 

[mliiiwit]

I read quite a bit on soapstone stoves - specifically Woodstock stoves due to my parents never-ending comments about how much they loved their Fireview - before I bought my PH, and I never came across any mention of soapstone cracking. Since I bought my PH, I've read of one instance of the top stone cracking when it was, evidently, still a single piece, frameless stone top cover. Mine was originally a 3 piece frameless stone top and now the design is 3 thinner stones with a cast iron plate (cooking surface) that they lay on. They provided the last configuration to me after it came out - completely free of charge and shipped on their dime - after I'd had my stove for about 16 months. And the stones and a piece of sheet metal were shipped twice because the a-holes at BROWN did their usual thing with the package and turned the stones in the first shipment into talcum POWDER and mangled the sheet metal piece. When I called Woodstock about it, they didn't even ask for pictures of the damaged stones or sheet metal or for me to file a claim with BROWN. They just shipped a new set without question.

 

[Tenn Dave]

I read quite a bit on soapstone stoves - specifically Woodstock stoves due to my parents never-ending comments about how much they loved their Fireview - before I bought my PH, and I never came across any mention of soapstone cracking. Since I bought my PH, I've read of one instance of the top stone cracking when it was, evidently, still a single piece, frameless stone top cover. Mine was originally a 3 piece frameless stone top and now the design is 3 thinner stones with a cast iron plate (cooking surface) that they lay on. They provided the last configuration to me after it came out - completely free of charge and shipped on their dime - after I'd had my stove for about 16 months. And the stones and a piece of sheet metal were shipped twice because the a-holes at BROWN did their usual thing with the package and turned the stones in the first shipment into talcum POWDER and mangled the sheet metal piece. When I called Woodstock about it, they didn't even ask for pictures of the damaged stones or sheet metal or for me to file a claim with BROWN. They just shipped a new set without question.

I too had a very positive experience with Woodstock and the Progress Hybrid stove. I purchased the stove in the summer of 2012 but was not able to install it until May of 2013. After it was installed, I sent an email to Woodstock asking if there was anything new with the Progress Hybrid. They quickly informed me that there had been 3 improvements made to the stove - 1). a new cat design, 2) a new cat ash screen, and 3) a new shielded cooktop. They said they would immediately ship the upgrades to me at absolutely no charge! I was blown away............Good luck with whatever you decide, and welcome aboard.

 

[firefighterjake]

Welcome to the hearth . . . and to Maine.

If I might be so bold to ask . . . since Maine is a rather big state . . . which town or county are you moving to?

 

[cuttingedge]

Welcome to the hearth . . . and to Maine.

If I might be so bold to ask . . . since Maine is a rather big state . . . which town or county are you moving to?

I sent you a private message

 

[aansorge]

The reason we recommend against Vermont castings is that they tend to have more problems,are expensive to fix, and the company is currently in rough shape.

 

[firefighterjake]

If you like the looks of the Vermont Castings . . . as others said . . . it might be worth checking out the Jotuls. Similar looks, near bullet proof stoves and made/assembled here in Maine.

 

[lopiliberty]

I am considering the Liberty and the Endeavor. Due to the fact that the house is only 1654 Sq Ft which would be a better fit?

As a fellow Liberty owner I will tell you right now it is too big for 1654 sq ft. I keeps my 2400 sq ft house in the mid to upper 80s. and stove temps usually run 650 to 750. The endeavor would be a better fit

 

[cuttingedge]

As a fellow Liberty owner I will tell you right now it is too big for 1654 sq ft. I keeps my 2400 sq ft house in the mid to upper 80s. and stove temps usually run 650 to 750. The endeavor would be a better fit

Any major differences between the Liberty and Endeavor? How long have you had your stove? What kind of realistic burn times can I expect with the Endeavor?

 

[lopiliberty]

No major difference in the liberty and endeavor one is just bigger than the other. This is year 4 with my liberty and can get 8 to 12 burns depending on how much I fill it. I would think you could get 8 to 10 hours out of the endavor