I have the 12 it apparently the same size as the smaller stove that you are considering but mine is not EPA certified. let me clearly say that I have NOT burned in it yet. i bought it last spring for dirt cheap from Home Depot. If you can wait, then do, but many will tell you that if you can get it installed NOW and burn ASAP then it's not worth saving a couple of hundred bucks. If you don't have seasoned wood then you might as well start collecting and wait for the sale price next spring.
Now, here are some comments on the stove and my experiences thus far that aren't necessarily performance based.
1. Hearth requirements appear to be pretty demanding compared to other stoves (other stoves that cost more, lol) I don't know about the 30's (or the 13's) requirements, so this isn't a comparison. I think my manual says R-2. There's a post around here where I asked some questions before, do a search, maybe under my name as the thread originator, or poster.
2. Clearances listen in the manual are very fuzzy. one page says one thing, later in the book i read another. Throw pipe shields, side shields, etc into the mix and it's even more confusing. if you have the stove as is, then I know you basically need a 4'x4' hearth to set it on, and 18" from the pipe, too. (edit, just looked at the manual online and it's apparently changed since I printed mine out, seems much clearer now. basically 10.5" from pipe, but still a 4x4 hearth min 1" thick with r-2 min)
3. i can't remember where it says, but I think it takes 18" logs. Good luck getting an 18" log in there. I think you have to angle it diagonally, I've been cutting mine at 16" because once you get a hefty log and you want to get it in there an angle won't work. The firebox is about a foot deep, so if you ever want to load North-South you can have some shorter splits. Just good to know in case you are out cutting and you end up with some splits that are too long, you can halve 'em, I don't know about how this particular stove will run, but I like to get a good NS fire ablazing to pick up temps fast, and West-East to get a longer steady burn. Bricks only come up about one brick in height (what's that 9 inches or so?) I once did some math and for the actual usable space you can fill with wood i came to 12x19.5x9 = 2106cu inches, that's 1.2cuft of space for wood.
4. Customer service was Courteous and Prompt. My stove came with 4 bricks that were obviously defective from the factory (not even pieces or crumbs in the firebox, there was even black paint on the brick's break, indicating they must spray the inside of the box with the bricks in there. I called up the manufacturer, they did warranty information over the phone, mailed me out new bricks asap, and were great to deal with.
5. Customer service was not technically savvy. I could have asked for someone who knows, but it wasn't worth it at the time, because I know I have the people on this forum. They didn't offer to find someone who knows. They guy I talked to didn't have the answer and didn't offer to find someone with the answer. he tried to give an answer, it was wrong, but he admitted he didn't really know and was only guessing (not after I called him on it, he offered that it was a guess before he answered). The question and answer(shortened here) Q: What do you recommend for a hearth A: Buy a hearth pad at big box store. (obviously wrong)
6. Initial impression on quality of stove is good it looks well built. it certainly weighs a lot for such a small stove. damper is simple, but hopefully does more than just look functional, the door appears to seal nice and tight, the ash tray is small, but looks ok. I like the stove with the legs, it looks better in my old house.
