Replacing a 1970's Ashley. Need some opinions on a couple of stoves

[missouri43]

Hello, I'm looking at replacing a old 70's ashley burner. My problem is I will be gone from 14 to 15 hours a day and often will have no coals when I return. I turn the auto damper down when I leave and as a result the stove puts out a lot of smoke which has caused my chimney to clog up quickly. I had a flue fire after I had cleaned it out only a month earlier. So I'm looking for a clean burning unit with a long burn time. Is a catalytic unit the only way to go? I was also looking for one with a nice window since the old ashley never had that option. I found a couple of units I would appreciate some feedback on and of course if anyone has any other units they like please let me know. The first stove is the appalachian 52bay. This unit claims a 15 or more hour burn time with a 77-90% efficiency. The firebox is 2.8 cu.ft The unit weighs 360 lbs. The second stove is a blaze king 1107. It claims a long burn of 40 hours with a 82.5% efficiency. The firebox is 4.32 cu.ft. It weighs in at 435 lbs. It also has a automatic thermostat. Speaking of the automatic thermostat why are they not a option on more stoves? Is there a problem with them? Thanks for any help.

 

[oregonrider]

Don't know anything about the Appalachia the blaze kings are well respected here. Thermostats seem to only be offered on cat stoves like woodstock, vermont castings and blaze kings. roben.

 

[Todd]

PM "North of 60". He has a Blaze King and loves it. If you need long burns that big 4 cu ft catalytic Blaze King would do the trick.

 

[begreen]

There's a big difference in size between the stoves. Blaze Kings are good stoves, but the Blaze King Princess is about the same size as the Appalachian. In this class you should also look at the Pacific Energy Summit with EBT. The EBT system is a secondary damper that keeps a low fire from going out. The Summit has a 3 cu ft box, is non-cat and is known to hold a good long fire.