Hi all, new to the forum. I’m looking for some honest feedback.
I’ve been living in my current house outside of Toronto for the last 3 1/2 years. It has a Resolute III stove that was already here. The first winter I didn‘t use the stove at all. The second winter I ran it as a fireplace strictly for ambience since it’s located near the kitchen. Last winter I started to use the stove to heat the house on weekends to see if it’s worth running. The thing I’ll add here is that the damper has separated from the handle and Is now stuck in a half way position. The chimney sweeper can’t get a brush inside the chimney from inside, and a steep roofline keeps him from doing it from outside. He recommended to my wife replacing the unit since it needs to be disassembled to reattach the damper and is not a good stove to begin with. I was burning mostly wood that was already here so I didn’t mind that I was burning through the wood a lot faster than with the damper closed. Even then, the house temperature got up to 78F on the coldest days. So with a more efficient stove, I could heat the house with a similar sized stove. The other thing I’ll add is that the chimney is still clay lined.
Okay so now the questions.
1- do I need to tear the whole thing apart to get to the damper handle?
2- other than less buildup of creosote, what other advantages does adding a steel liner have?
3- would the stove work the same if I were to just hook up a stove pipe with a damper in it?
My wife wants to get a new stove, but it has to be cosmetically pleasing. She’s looking at ceramic ones which have price tags north of $3500. Plus steel liner which is now code, I’m looking at $6000+. If we do go with a new stove, my plan is to move the resolute to my workshop.
Is the hefty price tag worth it to get a newer unit? With this winter being warmer and more seasonal than the last 2 winters, I’m not using as much propane as I have in the past. If this keeps up, then the return on my investment gets smaller. I do miss not having a fire, but the chimney does need sweeping, and with a steep roofline, it needs to be done from inside. I’d be good rebuilding the resolute, but my wife took the sweep’s advice as gospel (or as a good excuse) to get a new one.
Sorry for the long winded post.
I’ve been living in my current house outside of Toronto for the last 3 1/2 years. It has a Resolute III stove that was already here. The first winter I didn‘t use the stove at all. The second winter I ran it as a fireplace strictly for ambience since it’s located near the kitchen. Last winter I started to use the stove to heat the house on weekends to see if it’s worth running. The thing I’ll add here is that the damper has separated from the handle and Is now stuck in a half way position. The chimney sweeper can’t get a brush inside the chimney from inside, and a steep roofline keeps him from doing it from outside. He recommended to my wife replacing the unit since it needs to be disassembled to reattach the damper and is not a good stove to begin with. I was burning mostly wood that was already here so I didn’t mind that I was burning through the wood a lot faster than with the damper closed. Even then, the house temperature got up to 78F on the coldest days. So with a more efficient stove, I could heat the house with a similar sized stove. The other thing I’ll add is that the chimney is still clay lined.
Okay so now the questions.
1- do I need to tear the whole thing apart to get to the damper handle?
2- other than less buildup of creosote, what other advantages does adding a steel liner have?
3- would the stove work the same if I were to just hook up a stove pipe with a damper in it?
My wife wants to get a new stove, but it has to be cosmetically pleasing. She’s looking at ceramic ones which have price tags north of $3500. Plus steel liner which is now code, I’m looking at $6000+. If we do go with a new stove, my plan is to move the resolute to my workshop.
Is the hefty price tag worth it to get a newer unit? With this winter being warmer and more seasonal than the last 2 winters, I’m not using as much propane as I have in the past. If this keeps up, then the return on my investment gets smaller. I do miss not having a fire, but the chimney does need sweeping, and with a steep roofline, it needs to be done from inside. I’d be good rebuilding the resolute, but my wife took the sweep’s advice as gospel (or as a good excuse) to get a new one.
Sorry for the long winded post.
So now it looks like we’re putting off buying a new wood stove. I’m going to open up the stove to see if I can reattach the damper rod to the damper.
