Stove shopping

[Waterwitch]

Hi all,

I am shopping for a new stove to replace my welded steel hand made stove which is like an old top loading
Glenwood heater stove in design. I would prefer a top loader, but see the Enviro Kodiak 1700 qualifies for a tax credit. I am told at the stove shop the Enviro Kodiak gets hot enogh on the top to cook off of too. Are there any
new UL listed cook stoves with about that many BTU's of heat output that also efficency rated to qualify for the 2011 tax credit?

 

[leeave96]

If you want a nice looking top loader, two stoves come to mind, the Jotul Rangeley - see this link: (broken link removed to http://www.jotul.com/en-us/wwwjotulus/Main-menu/Products/Wood/Wood-stoves/Jotul-F-50-TL/)

and the Quadrafire Isle Royle - see this link: (broken link removed to http://www.quadrafire.com/Products/Isle-Royale-Wood-Stove.aspx)

Good luck,
Bill

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

for top loaders, try the Lopi Leyden ((broken link removed to http://lopistoves.com/productuide/detail.aspx?id=240)) or Avalon Arbor ((broken link removed)).

Almost all wood stoves, with the possible exception of soapstone stoves, get plenty hot enough to cook off of.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Correction: Almost all woodstoves get plenty hot enough to cook off of.

Not sure why you would make that assumption on soapstone stoves. My wife does the majority of her cooking on the top of our soapstone stove.

 

[MishMouse]

For top loaders also check out the Harman Stoves, TL 300, Oakwood and Oakleaf.

(broken link removed to http://www.harmanstoves.com/products/products.asp?cat=stoves&prd=wood-stoves)

I have the TL-300 and the grill feature is something I use quite often during burning season.

 

[Waterwitch]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far
I looked at the Quadrafire Isle Royale today, Although it is listed as a 3 cubic foot firebox, it does not look like it can hold alot of wood from the shape of the contours inside the fire box, once you flip the heat tube secondary burn assembly back down after top loading. Nice looking stove though. Looked at the Vermont Castings offerings too.

The Harman looks like an intrigueing design. What prevents the fire from really taking off if you crack open the top to grill, or open the front door to put in a fireplace screen? You would think alot of air should be
rushing into the stove with the doors wide open. I will try to look at one of those tomorrow.

Do the new EPA style stoves really heat that much more than the antique designs? The fire boxes in modern stoves look tiny in comparison, except for the Vermont Castings Defiant.

 

[MarkinNC]

I am far from an expert but I thought I read last year that the Top Loaders were finicky to run. I don't know if they are all down draft stoves or not. I almost bought a Lopi Leydon but it had to many doors and gaskets for me and did not look simple to clean. I don't want to come across as negative rather I wanted to put this out there for the OP to consider.

 

[begreen]

The Jotul Rangeley is an updraft stove, so is the Quad Isle Royale. They should both be easy to run.

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

Correction: Almost all woodstoves get plenty hot enough to cook off of.

Not sure why you would make that assumption on soapstone stoves. My wife does the majority of her cooking on the top of our soapstone stove.

guess I was thinking about the lower surface temps on soapstone stoves vs. steel or iron stoves... wasn't sure if it was still enough for cooking or not (which is why I said possible exception). I unfortunately haven't had the chance to be around a soapsone stove in action... glad to hear they are good to cook off of.

 

[raybonz]

Correction: Almost all woodstoves get plenty hot enough to cook off of.

Not sure why you would make that assumption on soapstone stoves. My wife does the majority of her cooking on the top of our soapstone stove.

Now you know why you eat sushi every day! Fish sushi, hamburger sushi, pork sushi etc... You get the picture and now you know it wasn't just the Missus being creative lol... Soapstone is for defrost only! :lol:

Ray

 

[Fsappo]

You can certainly cook on top of a soapstone stove. I wouldnt, just because I'd be scared of splattering on a beautiful stove. Although I am not a fan of Vermont Castings, the company, I remember the Encore being a VERY easy to use top loader that was great to cook on and very capable of heating about 1500 square feet.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Correction: Almost all woodstoves get plenty hot enough to cook off of.

Not sure why you would make that assumption on soapstone stoves. My wife does the majority of her cooking on the top of our soapstone stove.

Now you know why you eat sushi every day! Fish sushi, hamburger sushi, pork sushi etc... You get the picture and now you know it wasn't just the Missus being creative lol... Soapstone is for defrost only! :lol:

Ray

Gee, I guess we'll have to give you a demonstration sometime Ray! ;-)

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far
I looked at the Quadrafire Isle Royale today, Although it is listed as a 3 cubic foot firebox, it does not look like it can hold alot of wood from the shape of the contours inside the fire box, once you flip the heat tube secondary burn assembly back down after top loading. Nice looking stove though. Looked at the Vermont Castings offerings too.

The Harman looks like an intrigueing design. What prevents the fire from really taking off if you crack open the top to grill, or open the front door to put in a fireplace screen? You would think alot of air should be
rushing into the stove with the doors wide open. I will try to look at one of those tomorrow.

Do the new EPA style stoves really heat that much more than the antique designs? The fire boxes in modern stoves look tiny in comparison, except for the Vermont Castings Defiant.

You can count on it. Or, if not more heat, then for sure less fuel for the same amount of heat. We used to always heat with a large stove and 4 years ago bought the Fireview. We cringed at the size of the stove because it is so much smaller but we finally bought it. We have not been sorry either! We now can stay a lot warmer in the house and use only 50% of the amount of wood we used to burn.