stoves that don't have secondary tubes, vermiculite board

[BWS001]

So I've owned a couple stoves... I've got a PE super and owned a Spectrum at the last house.. the shop had a drolet... and I've had something else don't remember what it was.. as it was somewhat useless and I got rid of it..

Long story short.. I like my PE's with the baffle and reburn/air wash system.. I need another stove... but I don't wanna waste my time looking at every model out there.. I detest the tubes and vermiculite boards.. They make the stove seem cheap they are a another place to fail.. ie moving logs around and the tube is hot and boom there is a dent and they don't work right anymore.. or worse the cheap cotter pin breaks and the tube falls out.. the vermiculite breaks... I'm sure for some people they work just fine.. we burn 5-6 cords a years and the stove runs continuously from late October to mid march..

So who else has a system that doesn't have pieced together tubes or easily moving parts (like the vermiculite board above them) It doesn't have to be a PE and I'm not sure I want a catalytic... we don't have a lot of hardwood available...

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

So no secondary burn tubes or a catalyst? Better start cruising facebook for old smoke dragons.

 

[BWS001]

So no secondary burn tubes or a catalyst? Better start cruising facebook for old smoke dragons.

really, nobody else has a system like PE?

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

really, nobody else has a system like PE?

I won't claim that I don't know enough manufacturers. But most secondary burn systems seem to use tubes, catalysts, or both(Like my Kuma which has tubes that bolt in snug and a metal baffle with insulation behind). You can run a catalyst stove on softwoods BTW.

 

[Todd]

If you can find a Jotul F45 or F55 they use a stainless baffle system with no tubes or fragile ceramic boards. They were discontinued last year but some dealers can still find them in warehouses.

 

[brenndatomu]

the cheap cotter pin breaks and the tube falls out

Stainless cotter pins...problem solved

 

[Highbeam]

My tubes are bolted in with hex head fasteners. No cotter pins.

I burn tons of softwood in my cat stove, works great. Another steel roofed stove is the woodstock line but they have catalysts.

Anymore, most stoves seem to have been switched to cat stoves in the last several years.

Hey nothing wrong with another PE if it checks your boxes.

 

[bholler]

Stainless cotter pins...problem solved

Most dont use cotter pins anyway

 

[brenndatomu]

Most dont use cotter pins anyway

Right...but he said his did, so...

 

[EbS-P]

Tubes and vermiculite's work and are cheap. My F400 has a SS baffle. It’s an ok design. You can destroy anything. PE has a good system. My next stove will be PE. But that wont happen in this house.

 

[bholler]

Right...but he said his did, so...

His doesn't but he may have experience with one that does. I absolutely hate the cotter pin ones BTW. Horrible design

 

[Highbeam]

My old lopi had these pound in spring pins like you would have on a dozer track. I'm sure there's a name for them. Those sucked. That Lopi freedom actually used fire bricks on top of the tubes for a baffle, pretty stout.

The hearthstone design clamped the tubes in place with a big cast iron secondary air manifold but fragile vermiculite looking board.

So I guess the point is that there are lots of designs. The soft baffle boards are a weak spot for sure.

 

[brenndatomu]

My old lopi had these pound in spring pins like you would have on a dozer track

That would suck for sure!

 

[bigealta]

Yes the jotul f400 has secondary burners made from strong bent plates that also work as a baffle. You can hit them with splits and they will be fine.
But you would have to find a used one as they don't make them anymore.

 

[bholler]

The vermiculite boards are actually pretty durable the 1/2" ceramic fiber board ones suck. Extremely fragile after a couple years

 

[brenndatomu]

And the better baffle boards that Drolet went to a few years ago...don't recall the name right now, but they're supposed to be fairly tough.
I think Osburn had them all along
Edit: C-cast

 

[TreeCo]

Are vermiculite boards available for the Jotul F600 CB? Mine are cast iron cover by an insulation blanket.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Century when it was made by CFM had a secondary system that was not tubes and had firebricks as the baffle. I don’t think they make them like that anymore, but since they were made in Canada, you should be able to find them.

While not as clean burning as the current stoves, they are still pretty clean.

 

[Sealcove]

Are vermiculite boards available for the Jotul F600 CB? Mine are cast iron cover by an insulation blanket.

When I had an F600 I could not find any manufactured option, but perhaps that’s changed. My cast iron plates warped and I just got new plates. That said, you could probably make something pretty easily.

 

[TreeCo]

When I had an F600 I could not find any manufactured option, but perhaps that’s changed. My cast iron plates warped and I just got new plates. That said, you could probably make something pretty easily.

My plates are looking good. I replaced them about ten years ago. I likely over fired our Jotul years ago when it was heating a larger space and we had more people living here.

 

[stovelark]

All secondary burn systems last well if care is taken not to beat and bang on them when reloading or trying to get that last piece of wood in there. I do agree though that if the op was happy only with PE's design, why would you not stay with it... PE makes fine stoves indeed. Jotul systems always held up pretty well, I don't think the cast baffles were a bad design (my Oslo had them too), they lasted as long as you did not overfire the stove, and especially by not opening the ashpan door to rev up wood that wasn't dry enough. With the F500 and F600, it was much better for the stove to crack open side loading door to give a little boost of air, while staying with the stove to monitor things. My now older 1700 Kodiak still has the original tubes and 2 piece ceramic baffles and they seem fine, but it's probably only had about 20-25 cords of wood burned through it. I am very aware when reloading to not hit them if possible. Having a spare set on hand is always a way of not needing things too. Stay warm.