Hi all. First off, thanks to the people that made this forum possible. From just reading the posts on here I was able to purchase, assemble, install, and build my own hearth. This is my first wood stove and the learning curve was steep but the information on here helped me do everything without even joining or posting questions!
My wife and I decided the contemporary look of the Regency Alterra would be a good fit in our house. We went to a couple local dealers and looked and asked lots of questions. We bought the stove and I (and a couple of my sons) set it on the hearth and assembled it. I found the instructions to be very easy to understand and had no issues putting it together.
I have a friend who is WETT certified here in Ontario, so he did the chimney install with me as the helper. I was fortunate with the chosen location and was able to go straight up with no elbows.
I put the stove in late in October so we started using it right away. Operation is about as simple as it gets with one lever for air control and we put a thermometer in the stove pipe to keep an eye on exhaust temps.
A blower fan is an option with this stove and came free as a promotion at the time and after using the stove I would not buy one without it. There are two settings, low and loud. Lol. Low moves the heat throughout the house with just a whisper. I sometimes use high for a short period of time when we come home from a night away and the house is cold.
The door can be hinged on either side making it versatile. One thing I like is the height. You don't have to lay on your belly to load the stove and the fire is at a nice visible level.
This stove is shielded well and all the heat just pours out the front. With even the biggest fire, I can hold my hand on the sides and back. Rear clearance is 6.5 inches from the wall, I put it 7.5 just in case but it's cool as a cucumber. There is an ash drawer that works fine, but I found it a pain with a big ash load, to stuff all the ash through the hole and into the corners of the pan. So I just shovel it out into a bucket the old fashioned way.
I have had zero issues with this stove. I have burned 7 cords of wood with it through the coldest winter we have seen here in Ontario for years. I can load it up and have a good fire going at 10 at night and when I get up there is still enough coals going that all I have to do is open the damper and add wood.
I recommend this stove, the quality is there with a warranty that can't be beat.
I initially planned on using this unit on the main level of our bungalow, to augment our propane heat. Our propane heat has never come on all winter, just for the floor heat in the basement. For $500 worth of wood, I have eliminated two tanks of propane which is $1000 a tank at this years price ($1400-1800 last year) so the pay off is in two years for me. Not to mention we are now keeping our home between 72-75 degrees instead of 64-66 like last year!
Attached is a picture of the stove and hearth and location on the main floor of our home (x marks the spot) the house is 2200 sqft main floor and 5 years old.
My wife and I decided the contemporary look of the Regency Alterra would be a good fit in our house. We went to a couple local dealers and looked and asked lots of questions. We bought the stove and I (and a couple of my sons) set it on the hearth and assembled it. I found the instructions to be very easy to understand and had no issues putting it together.
I have a friend who is WETT certified here in Ontario, so he did the chimney install with me as the helper. I was fortunate with the chosen location and was able to go straight up with no elbows.
I put the stove in late in October so we started using it right away. Operation is about as simple as it gets with one lever for air control and we put a thermometer in the stove pipe to keep an eye on exhaust temps.
A blower fan is an option with this stove and came free as a promotion at the time and after using the stove I would not buy one without it. There are two settings, low and loud. Lol. Low moves the heat throughout the house with just a whisper. I sometimes use high for a short period of time when we come home from a night away and the house is cold.
The door can be hinged on either side making it versatile. One thing I like is the height. You don't have to lay on your belly to load the stove and the fire is at a nice visible level.
This stove is shielded well and all the heat just pours out the front. With even the biggest fire, I can hold my hand on the sides and back. Rear clearance is 6.5 inches from the wall, I put it 7.5 just in case but it's cool as a cucumber. There is an ash drawer that works fine, but I found it a pain with a big ash load, to stuff all the ash through the hole and into the corners of the pan. So I just shovel it out into a bucket the old fashioned way.
I have had zero issues with this stove. I have burned 7 cords of wood with it through the coldest winter we have seen here in Ontario for years. I can load it up and have a good fire going at 10 at night and when I get up there is still enough coals going that all I have to do is open the damper and add wood.
I recommend this stove, the quality is there with a warranty that can't be beat.
I initially planned on using this unit on the main level of our bungalow, to augment our propane heat. Our propane heat has never come on all winter, just for the floor heat in the basement. For $500 worth of wood, I have eliminated two tanks of propane which is $1000 a tank at this years price ($1400-1800 last year) so the pay off is in two years for me. Not to mention we are now keeping our home between 72-75 degrees instead of 64-66 like last year!
Attached is a picture of the stove and hearth and location on the main floor of our home (x marks the spot) the house is 2200 sqft main floor and 5 years old.
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