Recommendations for a modern wood burning stove - Quadrafire Discovery 2, Pacific Energy Neo 2.5, or something else

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joefrompa

Minister of Fire
Sep 7, 2010
810
SE PA
Hi all:

I joined this forum nearly 11 years ago which led me to buy a Lopi 1750. In 11 winters of burning, that 2.2 CF firebox has been excellent. It drafts poorly on cold starts but I blame that on an exterior masonry chimney on a short one-story run. Never needed a thing - not even new door gasket. The black metal got splotchy over time and the fan started to make some noise....but that's it.

Now I'm building a house - or at least going to be building a house - and it's time to plan a new wood burner. My wife and I are desiring to move to a free-standing wood burning stove for ambiance, warmth, and emergency heat. The house will be brand-new construction and ~3,800 square feet. Not looking to heat the whole house. The stove will be sitting in a ~1,200 sq/ft great room (i.e. kitchen/dining/great room open concept) on the first floor and will have exposed pipe running up into the ceiling whereby the chimney will continue to run INSIDE the building envelope until it exits the roof. ~25-30' total chimney length, straight except for a single 30 degree bend. The stove will be in a center-space with no immediate walls to either side, wide open in front, and as close as possible to the wall behind it.

Since this is going to be a more modern build, we are looking for a more modern designed freestanding stove and I'm looking for something that offers a ~2.5-3.0 CF firebox. I'll probably burn ~2-2.5 cords a year. Here's what we've seen so far that we liked:

- Quad discovery 2 with the under-stove wood storage and option to either inset tile or paint the sides - or just leave it black. Attractive, simple, and my understanding is MOST quads are fantastic stoves that tend to light and burn easy. This is attractive to me as my Lopi for 11 years has been a pain to get started, often needing the door to stay open for 5-10 minutes, because it doesn't start with a good draft. I like this doesn't require a fan - less to break, less sound/noise, and doesn't require electricity to give off good heat.
https://www.quadrafire.com/products/discovery-ii-wood-stove

- Pacific Energy Neo 2.5 LE with the porcelain enamel side options (like the ivory). I like this also has a 5" clearance to combustibles for the backside assuming a double wall pipe. Very attractive, a bit more than the Quad in pictures at least to me, but requiring a fan is not ideal.

Any recommendations or considerations between the two? Any other similar modern looking stoves in this "sweet spot" of size, look, etc.

Thanks for your time and thoughts,

Joe
 
Here's a few more options I can think of:

Osburn:
Matrix
Inspire

BlazeKing:
Boxer 24.1
Chinook 20.2
Chinook 30.2

Supreme:
Novo 24
Novo 38 (massive firebox)

Enerzone used to make the Destination 2.3, IMO it was a better looking version of the Osburn Matrix, but I can't see it on their website anymore.

I think all these modern stoves run a blower, most have jackets on the stoves and blowers are pretty much required to ensure proper heating. I own a Matrix, I never run it without the blower.

I'd also be expecting to put a flue damper in with any of these stoves on a 30ft vertical chimney.
 
I got the P.E. neo 2.5 this fall and its been great. I love the modern look. Its well built, the fire sits up higher so you can see it better, don't have to stoop to load and clean it and it has 3 in to combustibles in the corner. I have mine in the basement family room with 2 90 degree elbows and an outside chimney . Throws out great heat without a fan, no problems with draft, good stove.
 
If I'm reading it correctly neither the neo 2.5 nor the quadrafire discovery II classify for the 26% new tax credit. For what it's worth, the dealer I went to saturday quoted me:

$2100 for the Quad
$1300 for install
$3700 for chimney/piping/cap to run double-wall from a first floor up through the roof with a single bend - seems a bit crazy high but I need to check current prices

That's a fair chunk of change on a total install that I don't want to walk away from casually.

I see the Supreme Novo 24 and 38 offer a similar look at apparently >75% efficiency and same for blaze king referenced above. Good stuff - that's why I come on here!
 
If I'm reading it correctly neither the neo 2.5 nor the quadrafire discovery II classify for the 26% new tax credit. For what it's worth, the dealer I went to saturday quoted me:

$2100 for the Quad
$1300 for install
$3700 for chimney/piping/cap to run double-wall from a first floor up through the roof with a single bend - seems a bit crazy high but I need to check current prices

That's a fair chunk of change on a total install that I don't want to walk away from casually.

I see the Supreme Novo 24 and 38 offer a similar look at apparently >75% efficiency and same for blaze king referenced above. Good stuff - that's why I come on here!

I forgot about that 75% efficiency for the rebate. The Supreme models don't qualify, the EPA rates them somewhere around 67%. That really only leaves the BK models, but then you are moving to a CAT stove.
 
I didn't know it until I read more carefully.

I have no experience with cat stoves but I generally understand the concept. I'm a big fan of slow and low burning and it fits my lifestyle and preferences, assuming I can get it right :)

I am finding SOME non-cat (I believe) stoves that it looks like get to 75% efficiency.
 
Any other recommendations? These have been some really good ones I didn't know about.
 
I would recommend checking out the Nova 2 (bigger version). Nice modern look. It can come with wood storage underneath if you like it to. It qualifies for the tax credit too.

My wife and I have the Nova. Trying to get some more folks on here to get the Nova stoves. We love it.

 
Wow, I never heard of Nova or MF Fire before your suggestion. Read up on them - sound like amazing folks. I always worry about quality control with an upstart company that is scaling vs. a stable brand that has a fairly stable volume of business. That being said, look at all the quality issues posted on here about a variety of long-term stove manufacturers, particularly with their newer stoves.

Their Nova 2 tower is quite attractive. I downloaded the manual and see it's a 9" clearance to the back wall using a double-wall pipe. Not ideal but not bad either. If I understand correctly, you can "buy" a share of equity in MF Fire for $288 and get a one-time 15% discount on their stove - about $500 off. SO basically, it's a ~2.3 CF cat stove in free-standing modern design for ~$3,300 (not including taxes) + EPA discount.

Definitely adding it to the list and may call them and discuss a bit with them.