Rear venting stove brand suggestions

[timfromohio]

I checked out a Harman Oakwood and a couple of Jotuls today. Have been looking at Hearthstone online. Not too keen on the looks of Woodstock (I know they are great stoves, don't like the vertical glass window protectors in all the stoves and prefer non-cat.).

What else is out there that is non-cat, rear vent?

Thanks for suggestions.

 

[Grisu]

Other rear-vented stoves I am aware of:

Quadrafire Explorer 2 (new release, successor to the Cumberland Gap)
Morso 3610
Buck 261
Lopi Leyden (downdraft stove, not really recommended)
High Valley 1600
Vermont Castings stoves can usually be rear-vented but I think you are aware of the problems with their stoves especially their non-cats.

 

[jeff_t]

Harman Oakwood is also a downdraft stove. Harman seems to have this figured out, and they work well, but there are still somewhat fragile parts in there. I've heard they improved on this in recent years. It just seems like a costly, overly complicated secondary burn technology.

Too bad you don't like the Woodstocks. I think I would be looking hard at Jotuls.

How much are you wanting to heat?

 

[timfromohio]

Yeah, Woodstock seems to have such a great reputation. Just don't like the looks. Total square footage will be ~2300, with 1500 on first floor and the remainder on second. We'll have a finished basement, but I'll put a smaller stove down there later. The first floor isn't all that open, so I was considering the Hearthstone since it's supposed to be a more "gentle" heat and thought it might not cook us out of the room. We're finishing off the second level and I hope to install some vents directly through the floor to get heat up there.

Keep the recommendations coming. I forgot about Morso - 3610 looks nice. I like the Jotuls, but my wife thought they might be too ornate. Quadrafire looks nice too.

 

[Grisu]

For that amount of space you may want to go a size up to a 3 cu ft stove. Quadrafire Isle Royale and Hearthstone Manchester would be good options if you like the Jotul. Have you checked out the Jotul F55, too? That line is more plain looking. I am not sure if there in any other rear-vented stove out there. If you don't like any of those options, an insert would be your next best choice. Btw. What is your lintel height? That alone may determine which stove(s) you can install.

 

[timfromohio]

Not sure of lintel height yet. We in the process of purchasing a new home - there is currently an insert with a surround, once closing is finalized I be taking out the existing insert and will find out. I'm not opposed to some heath remodeling. I don't want an insert - ran a PE for almost a decade in NEOhio winters. It was great, but next to useless without the blower going and we got tired of hearing the blower. I like the way the F55 looks online, but the dealer we went to today did not have one. It looks like it has a deep firebox to accommodate N-S loading.

The Manchester is a beast! Based on reading threads here it seems that Hearthstone customer support is lackluster which makes me hesitant of them.

Grisu - funny, I had the predecessor to the Super (I think they called it the Pacific), also have a MS290, a Fiskers X27, and 2 sons to help me stack. No DR splitter though ....

 

[Grisu]

I am running my PE Super insert most of the time without the blower but I also have an interior brick fireplace which acts like a masonry heater then. Nice gentle radiant heat hours after the fire has been out. Since you are used to N-S loading from the PE, the F55 would be a good choice in that regard. However, the Jotuls have about the largest lintel requirement from the stoves mentioned. Maybe take some measurements first before setting your heart on a particular model.

 

[timfromohio]

Our old house was a split level and the insert was in the downstairs level which was partially underground. Made it cold year-round. This was great in the summer, but more of a challenge in the winter. The insert was in a large brick fireplace, but we still needed to run the blower to get the heat out of it. It worked well, just needed the blower. The middle level I remodeled and opened up to make big kitchen/living area. Installed a Napolean 1150p - it was great having a free-standing stove. I won't go back.

I just showed my wife some of the other options - she really liked the looks of the Quadrafire, but also thought the Morso and High Valley looked good. Do you know anything about the automatic combustion control of the Quadrafire? Can you turn it off?

 

[Grisu]

I just showed my wife some of the other options - she really liked the looks of the Quadrafire, but also thought the Morso and High Valley looked good. Do you know anything about the automatic combustion control of the Quadrafire? Can you turn it off?

I have never operated a Quad so can not help you there but the search function should give you some good threads about the ACC. The Morso is a nice looking stove but only medium size; you may want to go larger. Btw. Someone mentioned here that Quadrafire is about to replace the Isle Royale with a new version similar to the Explorer 2 succeeding the Cumberland Gap. If you like the look of the Isle Royale you may need to decide soon. The High Valley 1600 will be the budget choice of the options mentioned: (broken link removed)

 

[timfromohio]

Grisu - thanks for the additional info. It's the Explorer 2 that we like the looks of a lot - there is a dealer close by, but I won't be able to check it out until Saturday.