Stove Selection

[kennyp2339]

I had looked at Englanders too when I first thought of getting a stove but I think with my small house a catalytic stove will be the best option so I don't overheat the house and have to keep restocking it through the night.

In regard to the Keystones how are they about getting replacement parts such as the Cat? I see they are out of stock of the Keystone cat at the moment. When looking at a used stove how can you tell if the cat needs replacing? Any other things to look out for when looking at used stoves?

Gotcha, Woodstock stoves and Blaze kings are the go to's as in the ability to turn them down to an almost idle while maintaining a clean burn, they will cost more though so be prepared and also require splits with a moisture content ideally between 12-18%
If money is tight you could build a hearth for the stove you are content on, buy the cheaper Englander, use it for a season, then sell it and get the more expensive stove when funds allow.

 

[Nigel459]

I have a Sirocco 20 in a similarly small-ish space. Love it. I've had other non-cat stoves in the exact same space with same flue/chimney and they have all had issues with overheating the space if "filling up" and trying to go overnight...

Love the Sirocco's thermostat and ability to go to low idle. Re: flame show and dirty glass, it's easy, and fun, to simply turn up the thermostat and watch the nice flames burn away the crud. I do this sometimes before company comes, say 45 mins or so before wanting to enjoy the ambiance. As with any stove, the dryer the wood the less the crud builds up--with very dry softwoods I used in the shoulder season this fall I really didn't get much darkness on the glass to speak of.

Fire away with any more questions!

Edit: I would have also been interested in the Woodstock Keystone, for the aesthetics and side-loading, but there are some challenges procuring one in Canuckistan.

 

[georgepds]

In the dead of winter , when I stoke the stove for overnight heating, it really gets too hot early in the burn. My solution was to shut the bedroom door...cool in the bedroom.. warm in the stove room

The rest of the time I just use less wood

Might be a solution for you

 

[begreen]

If the stove is just for cold weather with the heat pump carrying the shoulder season together with maybe an evening or weekend fire, then affordable options are good. There are smaller 1.6-2.0 cu ft stoves that will get the job done with you managing the fire. The Englander 17-VL is a nice value, it will typically have a 4hr or so burn, but with careful tending you may have hot coals 6-8 hrs later. It has I think about a 1.1 cu ft firebox. It was designed by a Hearth.com member Corie. Next size up is their 13-NC at 1.8cu ft. The 13NC is a little workhorse and a great value. Both stoves are well under $1000. Drolet makes some small stoves like the Pyropak and a bit larger like the Blackcomb and Deco. There are also the True North TN-20 and Heatilator WS18. All these stoves will be around or less than $1000.

 

[georgepds]

I'd think carefully about an all steel or cast non cat stove. I used to have a Jotul, the one that looks like an Easter island head, that had two temperature settings: blast furnace and stone cold

Perhaps the stoves begreen mentions do not have this problem ( he knows whereof he speaks)

The hybrid Woodstock, with that lovely stone shell, really keeps the room nice for a long time

Downside is price.. upside is beauty and warmth

Though for a small space I'd use one of their smaller soapstones

 

[begreen]

The Jotul Combi was designed to be a combination fireplace/stove. In stove mode it could really crank out the heat. Most true cast iron stoves are highly radiant. We are talking very different size and style stoves here so far. That said, this is one of the reasons I like a more convective stove for smaller spaces. A stove with side shields will be less radiant. That helps with closer clearances. In addition to less intense side heat I've also found that cast iron jacketed stoves are much more even for heating. The heavy jacket smooths out the temperature swings. The extra metal comes at a cost however. For smallish medium sized stoves in this group there are the Drolets mentioned above and others like the PE Neo 1.6, Vista and Alderlea T4, Jotul F45, Quadrafire Explorer I, etc..

 

[georgepds]

Any thoughts on the Woodstock Survival Hybrid steel stove. It says it heats a small space ( ~1000 ft^2) and costs $1349 ( with the $200 discount)

It’s a wood coal combo stove, which is very unusual these days

I can’t speak highly enough of Woodstock. They answer the phone, they answer your questions, and if you go up there, they will give you a tour of the factory floor. Don’t know about the steel stoves, but the soapstone ones are works of art.


(broken link removed to https://www.woodstove.com/index.php/sale)

(broken link removed to https://www.woodstove.com/index.php/sale)

 

[begreen]

That's an intriguing thought. It might work. I've only read about it and it sounds like it may need to burn coal to achieve a dependable overnight burn. Wood capacity is 1.2 cu ft. I'd love to try one of these out in a small space. For a longer burntime a Fireview or Keystone might be a bit better fit.

 

[georgepds]

Reading the blog.. the problem with coal is that the burn efficiency drops significantly ( form ~80% for wood to ~50% for coal)

They designed the coal part for the coal available on the Navajo lands ( which i read as a soft dirty coal). The drop in efficiency is to better meet the soot specs

Attached is a thumbnail of the airflow for both coal and wood

http://blog.woodstove.com/search/label/Navajo Beta Testing

 

[begreen]

Read it when first published. 1.2 cu ft of fuel is what it is.

 

[thebearded1]

So I ended up going with a used Woodstock Palladian because the price was great at $500. Its the older model with the round combustor and no ash pan. Now I just have to reline my chimney and I will be ready to rock and roll. I'm also ordering a new combustor for the stove too as the previous owner had the stove for 4 years and never replaced it and was unsure how old it was (the stove is an '88)

 

[SpaceBus]

I had this issue. We spent a month looking at stoves before finally making up our minds. We have a 1300 sqft open floor plan 70's salt box right on the water in downeast Maine. It was 10f last night and our brand new Morso 2B classic kept us warm all night. The kitchen, furthest area from the stove downstairs, was 65 with only coals left in the stove at 7:30 am and the stove was loaded at 11:45-ish. This is also a secondary burn EPA stove. A cat stove will let you get away with longer, lower burns, but you don't have to spemd that much to stay warm. Perhaps the 2B Classic isn't enough stove for your house since it isn't very tight. I wouldn't turn away from non cat stoves.

Just saw your most recent post, congrats on your find!

 

[Woody Stover]

So I ended up going with a used Woodstock Palladian because the price was great at $500. Its the older model with the round combustor and no ash pan. Now I just have to reline my chimney and I will be ready to rock and roll. I'm also ordering a new combustor for the stove too as the previous owner had the stove for 4 years and never replaced it and was unsure how old it was (the stove is an '88)

Alright, that sounds reasonable if the stove is in decent shape. You may have to replace the gaskets as well, depending on how well the previous owner stayed on top of that stuff.
I've never seen one of the older models of the Keystone/Palladian. If you can snap some pics when you replace the cat, of the bypass door/cat setup plus some pics of the inside of the fire box, I'd be very interested to see those.
So are you going to add another 4' section of Class A chimney above the masonry?

 

[thebearded1]

I will try to get some pics up when i can. I need to find out how you even change the cat in these older stoves. Woodstock has the newer Palladian cat change on their website but i may just have to give them a call.

Yup the plan is to insulate the liner, add the 4' section to the top and use a Vacu Stack wind cap since I live on the coast. That will give me 13' outside vertical and another 2' vertical inside, hopefully she will draft well! I'm trying to figure out what size stove pipe to get to hook it up to the wall thimble. The stove is about 44" from the bottom of the thimble (will double check when i get home). I've been looking at Rockford Chimney supply for getting all this stuff. Looks like they have a telescoping piece but its a lot more expensive then a 36" or 48" straight pipe.

 

[Woody Stover]

Can you just rear-vent it into the fireplace opening, then into a tee with a liner to the top? That would get rid of one 90* turn. But I'm gonna guess the older model will draw easily like mine does, and that will likely be tall enough even with the turns. I would ask them what they think.
If it's the same as the current models the flue outlet is 7" and you can use a 7-6" reducer. They permit that with mine, anyway.

 

[thebearded1]

I don't have a fireplace just a masonry wall thimble that is located about 40" above the top of the stove. Thats why I was going up then a 90. I may go up 24" and do a 45 with a short run to another 45. I'm trying to figure out how much pipe I need to get everything in the right spot with the 45s. It's just hard to visualize and measure without having the bends here.