saying hello and getting started

[Brianv1980]

Wanted to say hello, been lurking for a while now trying to read as much as possible... I live in Northern NJ and looking to lower my gas bill... Plus i frequently loose power so an alternate heat source not relying on my generator would be awesome...

house is a split level 3 bedroom 1800 sq ft. poor insulation but i am going to be insulating attics this fall... wood stove would be installed in 1st floor corner. room is 18x25 2 ceiling fans... 2nd floor is kitchen and dining room./ third floor (above 1 st floor ) 3 beedrooms... I like my bedrooms cooler but would like the stove to be able to maintain upper 60s low 70s inside...

I will be doing install with a friend which is a general contractor .... i will be doing tile and stone work floor and walls...

looking for advise on a good stove that will not break the bank. I am NOT in a rush as i am finishing my kitchen so this may be next year.... I would prefer to wait and buy a better quality stove and only do this 1 time..... I have heard a lot of good on the englander from homedepot.... not sure of their quality though

any advise is welcome

thanks in advance

Brian

 

[begreen]

Englander and Drolet make good value stoves. Their quality is decent.

 

[kennyp2339]

Brian, if you know your going to heat with wood, start collecting firewood now, it takes a while for it do dry out to burn efficiently. Your going to be in the ball park of 4 - 6 cords a season if you plan on heating 24/7 from Nov thru April.
Don't be fooled by the firewood dealer selling seasoned wood, its hardly ever the case around here, although there have been exceptions.
Englander makes a great stove (if your on a budget) A 30NC will heat your bottom floor and parts of the second floor no problem, it maybe tough to get heat up to the bedroom floors, but if your realistically heating to reduce costs and not totally cut out the gas bill then your on the right path.
Remember that in NJ the town will want you to pull a permit for the install, also your homeowners insurance will want to see that the install is code compliant.
Good luck, and lurk around here, tons and tons of great information, the woodshed is also great for everything firewood related, we also love threads that have tons of pictures.

 

[Ludlow]

My brother burns a Country Hearth 2500. It is a very nice stove and heats his whole house that is comparable to yours. He got the leg model but they make a pedestal as well I believe. Bought at TS.

 

[Dix]

I'll vouch for the quality of Englander stoves, love my 13, but you will need bigger.

Ditto on the firewood NOW. Don't get caught with unseasoned.

Welcome to the forums !

 

[kennyp2339]

My brother burns a Country Hearth 2500. It is a very nice stove and heats his whole house that is comparable to yours. He got the leg model but they make a pedestal as well I believe. Bought at TS.

I use to have that same model, it was a good heater, but it literally fell apart on my on my 3rd season, cracks started forming by the door on the firebox, no replacement gasket would fit the door, the baffle board started cracking from the center out. All the screws that hold the air tube mounts broke and had to be re-tapped. You have to remove the baffle and air tubes to do a proper clean out, the stove became a useless boat anchor with no customer support from either tractor supply or US stove company. But you get what you paid for when everything is made in china.
Englander stoves are made in the US, have excellent customer service, and are made using thicker steel (look at the weights between the NC30 and the Country Hearth 2500.
Now there is a member here @VirginiaIron that has the country hearth 3000 and has nothing but pleasant things to say about it, I do believe there entering there 3rd heating season with that stove.

 

[bholler]

I will second englander or drolet. I would avoid us stove company. As kenny said they heat well but from what i have seen they are not very durable. Many develop cracks in the corners of the door pretty quickly. And many other problems.

 

[Ludlow]

My brother has been burning 24/7 with it entering his 4th season. No hint of problems yet but sheesh, something to watch out for. It is a pretty stove with the plated door, cast legs and radius corners. I guess he will see. Thanks for the insight.

 

[bholler]

My brother has been burning 24/7 with it entering his 4th season. No hint of problems yet but sheesh, something to watch out for. It is a pretty stove with the plated door, cast legs and radius corners. I guess he will see. Thanks for the insight.

I have never seen one with a plated door. Are you sure it is a country hearth 2500 they are pretty plain looking stoves. I have seen a few last quite a while. But most are in pretty bad shape within 5 years or so.

 

[Ludlow]

Sorry. Its listed as the Magnolia 2500 but has an emblem on the front that says Country Hearth.

 

[xman23]

Brian, To heat the complete the stove needs to produce a lot of heat. It overheats a small room. So pick the biggest room where you spend most of your time. A good view of the fire helps a lot. Poor insulation is a big issue. The rooms far from the stove will be hard to heat.

I saw this happen in a very rural town in PA. A few years ago, what I understand they banned wood stoves. The downtown is like most, buildings right on top of each other. I'd check with your town.

 

[bholler]

Sorry. Its listed as the Magnolia 2500 but has an emblem on the front that says Country Hearth.

View attachment 229316

Ok i haven't seen that variation. It does look pretty nice. But it looks like the same stove body so i would keep an eye on it.

 

[Brianv1980]

I definitely know about permits for the town and for homeowners but thank you. I am hoping to CUT DOWN on gas not do away with. I figure in a worse cas scenario power outage for 5- 10 days mid winter I can run wood none stop and nat gas furnace a few hours off the generator.

The upstairs (farthest from the stove) is the bedrooms which I prefer cooler to sleep. I often have a window in my bedroom open mid winter sub 20F outside to sleep. But the bedrooms are also directly above where the stove will be placed so I know some heat will rise


I was wondering if saving for a Jøtul or the like is worth it or go grab the Englander at Home Depot and replace if needed. Basically half the price. Is there a benefit in the extra money spent.


As far as wood 4-6 cords for non stop or for supplemental burning. I would think that is for non stop.

 

[begreen]

I'd get the Englander or Drolet and put the savings directly into improving insulation and sealing leaks.

 

[edyit]

Sorry. Its listed as the Magnolia 2500 but has an emblem on the front that says Country Hearth.

I had a Magnolia 2500, I replaced it with the Englander in my signature. We used the magnolia for 3 years or so it heated well, looked decent, but the spot where the top of the door seals against the stove body started to flex when it got up to temp forming an air gap and some scary fires that were hard to shut down. when cool everything was tight and straight when checked with a straight edge. Customer support was next to worthless, was told to weld angle iron inside it to brace it. When I brought up the fire box warranty and the fact that there's already a brace factory installed there they said it must be the cast iron door that flexed.....
So instead of fighting with "support" and cobbling something that has a fire in it in my house, I upgraded to the Englander and couldn't be more happy.

 

[Ludlow]

I had a Magnolia 2500, I replaced it with the Englander in my signature. We used the magnolia for 3 years or so it heated well, looked decent, but the spot where the top of the door seals against the stove body started to flex when it got up to temp forming an air gap and some scary fires that were hard to shut down. when cool everything was tight and straight when checked with a straight edge. Customer support was next to worthless, was told to weld angle iron inside it to brace it. When I brought up the fire box warranty and the fact that there's already a brace factory installed there they said it must be the cast iron door that flexed.....
So instead of fighting with "support" and cobbling something that has a fire in it in my house, I upgraded to the Englander and couldn't be more happy.

The Chinese probably make them out of recycled tin cans. The Englanders are comparable in price so maybe a better choice. I will say that my brother doesnt fire his very high. Makes the family room unbearable to sit in if he does. I will let him know what to watch for. Like I said he burns 24/7 and the stove still looks new after 3 seasons. We were talking about stove temps just the other day and he said if he tries to get the single wall temp gauge in the burn range it will drive you out of the room. He barely licks the bottom line on the burn range. Where'd you run yours?

 

[bholler]

The Chinese probably make them out of recycled tin cans. The Englanders are comparable in price so maybe a better choice. I will say that my brother doesnt fire his very high. Makes the family room unbearable to sit in if he does. I will let him know what to watch for. Like I said he burns 24/7 and the stove still looks new after 3 seasons. We were talking about stove temps just the other day and he said if he tries to get the single wall temp gauge in the burn range it will drive you out of the room. He barely licks the bottom line on the burn range. Where'd you run yours?

For a tube stove you need to run up to the top of that burn range for 10 mins or so then start shutting back. Making sure you maintain secondaries as you do it.

 

[edyit]

Where'd you run yours?

When burning in the dead of winter Jan / Feb the magnetic flue gauge (16" from top of stove) would get to the middle of the burn range and I would start to back down the air in stages. The flue gauge would go down to about the beginning of the "burn zone" and the stove top temp would rise when the secondaries started firing. It was a nice looking stove, and it heated really well for us, if the door seal hadn't been an issue I'd still be burning it, unfortunately that didn't work out for us.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Yes, we're going on the third season and no problems so far. I just checked everything quickly before posting this. There is one cracked brick to the center right- no doubt from fuel installation sticking the back of the stove.
One thing I have noticed is if you are not careful with some pieces of wood you can damage the baffle boards. Mine are original and holding up. The rounded corners of the plate and the tube screws appear intact this morning. Quality counts, and so does the quality of wood and owner operation. There are nicer and more expensive stoves available but a lot of the reviews seem to be all over the place which leads me to believe there are quality control issues. With the exception of one brand we looked at, but I feared the darn thing is so expensive that the reviewers would be embarrassed to say anything negative about it. And, now I know why these stove manufacturers recommend the dollar bill test. Because that is what you are left with as they are holding the other $99. We'll see- satisfied so far.

 

[kennyp2339]

And, now I know why these stove manufacturers recommend the dollar bill test. Because that is what you are left with as they are holding the other $99.

Best line I've heard here in a while!