Replace Harman Oakwood with Englander NC30 or Madison

[JLR99]

Hello all. New here but not to burning wood. Be warned, this may be a long winded post. Late this summer I bought a new home. 2700 sq ft raised ranch, including finished basement. The previous owner was a friend and used only wood for a heat source. His stove was a Harman Oakwood. It worked well for him but for a number or reasons I am not keeping the stove. Bottom line I want a simple baffle tube stove for the wife. In previous homes I have had a PE Summit and Lopi Endeavor. Loved both stoves but the Lopi firebox was too small.

In the spring we are installing two heat pumps so I cannot justify spending $2400+ on a new PE Summit since moving forward we will only be burning 1 to 2 cord per year. After researching here the Englander seems to be the budget answer.

On paper the square footage would seem to lean towards the NC-30 but this home is very tight and heated with just the Harman no problem. The stove will only be used during the coldest nights of the winter and a few day arctic stretches or during occasional power outages. In the meantime and also in the future we are keeping the two direct vent Rinnai propane heaters. One on each floor.

So would the Madison suffice or should I just get the big boy NC-30? Also, how big of a stick will the Madison take front to back (or N/S as some prefer to say)? Thank you all in advance.

The stove will be in the basement. About 20' total 6'' chimney.

 

[firefighterjake]

HehHeh . . . "long winded post" . . . you should see some of my novellas that I post here.

Welcome to hearth.com.

Was the old woodstove in the basement as well . . . and is the basement insulated?

Honestly, I would lean more towards the larger stove due to our climate, square footage and the fact that you can always build a smaller stove in a bigger woodstove . . . building a bigger fire in a smaller woodstove isn't possible unless you have the TARDIS model.

 

[JLR99]

Thanks for the reply. That is the direction I am leaning. I am not sure why the Madison piqued my interest so though. Yes the basement is insulated. I am just removing the Harman and extending the double wall pipe up or down to the height of the new stove.

 

[Jags]

I would also lean towards the 30. 2700 sqft is still 2700 sqft - thats a bunch of footage to heat with one stove.

 

[Silenced38]

I like my Madison but if i was in a colder climate i would have gone with the 30. Im heating 1800 sq ft. in south east Oklahoma not Maine. It is 18" from the glass to the fire bricks and 18" across. i try to cut my wood at 16".

 

[Highbeam]

Go big, nc30.

 

[begreen]

30NC or the Drolet HT2000 or Legend II if the hearth doesn't meet the R=1.5 requirement for the 30NC.

 

[JLR99]

Cement floor so no hearth issues. Where are you guys finding the Drolets at competitive prices to the NC30? The NC30 is $900 here and the Drolet is usually $1200 plus shipping.

 

[JLR99]

I am going to shift the subject matter in herr a bit. I can get the NC30 locally for $900. And the Drolet HT2000 on sale for $1200. I have heard the Drolet is less finicky to run. Is it worth the extra $300 over the NC30?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Having both a harman and 2 NC-30s i dont think you will get near the burn times out of the NC-30 that you get from the harman.
The harman is rated up to 17 hrs and the englander much less. Given usable heat output is probably 2/3 of that time period . My englander would never heat 3 floors of a 3000 SF drafty home like my harman does and the englander requires much more frequent loading. In my experience with both. Englander is a little simpler to operate though.

 

[begreen]

Where are you guys finding the Drolets at competitive prices to the NC30? The NC30 is $900 here and the Drolet is usually $1200 plus shipping.

Northern Tool. They have gone up in price which is very odd considering that the dollar is now 30% stronger than the Canadian dollar. The Austral and Myriad are the cheapest because they lack side shielding.

 

[JLR99]

Having both a harman and 2 NC-30s i dont think you will get near the burn times out of the NC-30 that you get from the harman.
The harman is rated up to 17 hrs and the englander much less. Given usable heat output is probably 2/3 of that time period . My englander would never heat 3 floors of a 3000 SF drafty home like my harman does and the englander requires much more frequent loading. In my experience with both.

I am sure you are right but the Harman is going to be gone. The CP needs to be replaced and so does the shoe brick. Looking at over $500 there. And i have all the receipts from the stove. Those were replaced often. I dont want to have to do that kind of maintenace on a stove. Plus, I will not be burning it 24 hours a day much like the Harman prefers. A lot of starting a fire after work when it gets cold enough. And the Harman does not excell at that. The Harman is the superior stove but not for my situation.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

If you must go englander , they have a new model with a huge gorgeous front door that provides a fabulous fire view for only $749
http://www.lowes.com/pd_669022-76845-50-SHSSW01_0__#BVRRWidgetID
THinking of selling one of my 30s and getting one of these ,the fire show is a high priority for me and this stove is a like a big screen TV. In fact the price is already dropping , last week it was $899

 

[begreen]

Read the comments too. Got a nod to Hearth.com. Thanks Eric!

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I am sure you are right but the Harman is going to be gone. The CP needs to be replaced and so does the shoe brick. Looking at over $500 there. And i have all the receipts from the stove. Those were replaced often. n.

Must be a different design ,I have my TL-300 Harman for 7 years with No maintenance issue yet. I did hear they improved the design over early models.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Read the comments too. Got a nod to Hearth.com. Thanks Eric!

Just saw that,,,cool.

 

[JLR99]

Drolet Legend is available locally for $1000. Nearly the same size firebox as my previous Summit. I am picking it up next week.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

If you must go englander , they have a new model with a huge gorgeous front door that provides a fabulous fire view for only $749
http://www.lowes.com/pd_669022-76845-50-SHSSW01_0__#BVRRWidgetID
THinking of selling one of my 30s and getting one of these ,the fire show is a high priority for me and this stove is a like a big screen TV. In fact the price is already dropping , last week it was $899

I have to retract that price drop, The $749 price is for a slightly smaller stove which is about 4 Inches narrower. The $749 is for the Summers heat 2000. The summers heat 2400 is about 40 lbs heavier and 4" Wider with an even BIGGER fire view ,is still $899. I m still thinking about getting the larger one at $899.

 

[JLR99]

I just finished installing my new Drolet Legend and lit a small fire to start curing the paint. The difference in height was less than half an inch between the stoves so I ALMOST didnt eveb have to change the length of my telescoping DVL. Draft is not a problem at all even at 30 degrees out.

 

[spirilis]

Madison glass-to-firebrick is around 17" when I measured it with measuring tape. I use 16" for the stove as well. Burns great N/S.

Madison is the "2000sf" model, the new larger 2400sf or whatever stove is being nicknamed the "Monroe" around here.

 

[Silenced38]

Madison glass-to-firebrick is around 17" when I measured it with measuring tape. I use 16" for the stove as well. Burns great N/S.

Madison is the "2000sf" model, the new larger 2400sf or whatever stove is being nicknamed the "Monroe" around here.

Im not sure where i came up with 18" but it was sure stuck in my head.

 

[spirilis]

Im not sure where i came up with 18" but it was sure stuck in my head.

It's just a hair over 18" E/W but something like 17+1/4" straight from back firebrick to edge of front opening where the door gasket sits.

 

[bholler]

Must be a different design ,I have my TL-300 Harman for 7 years with No maintenance issue yet. I did hear they improved the design over early models.

no you are just either really good at running it or you are very lucky. Most we work on average about 5 years out of the combustion unit some much less a few more

 

[branchburner]

no you are just either really good at running it or you are very lucky. Most we work on average about 5 years out of the combustion unit some much less a few more

And that shoe brick crumbles and cracks pretty fast, too!

 

[Seasoned Oak]

And that shoe brick crumbles and cracks pretty fast, too!

Mine is like new yet , i burn mostly pine and that brick gets cherry red hot . I do try to keep those
air holes open , that may be a factor.