Thanks

[Dave_in_ABQ]

Hi all - particularly the old timers and the people who run this site. Ive been lurking here for a bit as part of researching a woodstove for my house. Used to have one and lived it. Bought a house that needs one. So Ive been shopping. Ive determined a few good candidates (Lopi, Pacific Energy, Woodstock, Kuma). Im leaning towards non-cat for simpler operation and less maintenance. Likely the final decision will come down to how i like the local dealer or installer.

At any rate, I wanted to say thank you. I appreciate the opinions, experiences, and information I found here. It seems to be getting harder to find honest information on the web.

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

I looked at local dealers today. The two dealers that correspond to Lopi and Pacific Energy (and Jotul) had multiple complaints about dishonesty, incompetence, and not standing behind the product after the sale. The next town 50 miles up the road has a PE dealer with a good rep - not so with Lopi. Dont know if they'd want to work an out-of-town install, or if I'd be able to find another installer locally. So those options dropped down on the list.

Disappointed and a bit miffed. Those were the non-cat options on my list. Perhaps this is why Woodstock sells direct. Remote service from 2000 miles away is looking better.

The local Kuma dealer does have a good reputation too.

 

[EbS-P]

I’d pay mileage/bonus/ tip up to 200$ to get the stove I wanted with a business I trusted. My stove dealer is 45 miles away and they were happy to make a sale. They just needed to pick an install date when they could do another quick job in the area.

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

yep, i agree. i did that with my car. just more headache & $. I'll have to talk to the them.

 

[xman23]

Have you considered doing the installation yourself?

 

[clancey]

They have some places that deliver stoves to your houses for free and all you would have to find is the installer in your area...I do not know if the choices of the stoves would be what four you might want but there is a variety of the different stoves out there...One would be to check out Obahiah"s and they gave me excellent service as well..On here they seem to have a thread with BK everything and I think this means Blaze King so look these people up and see what they have out there and if they deliver--just some ideas here to encourage you after you let down...old clancey

 

[begreen]

Our PE came from a stove shop 90 miles away. Why? Great price and service. I self-installed which was no big deal because it was a stove swap for the Alderlea.

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

Have you considered doing the installation yourself?

Yes, xman. That would be favorable as i trust me to do a primo job more than the average guy. I haven't gotten into figuring out what approvals i need to get from local gov. and whether installing it requires any certifications. I do need to cut a hole in my roof and install a chimney and that is more involved than just connecting up a stove to an existing system.

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

Thanks clancy. I'll take a look at Obahiah's.

yeah, I'd been considering what it would take to transport a 600 lb box of metal when looking at Woodstock. They only deliver to the closest place with facility to unload a big truck. not exactly easy to just toss it in the back of a pickup from there. A recent post went up about this - using ramps and a trailer and furniture dollys. Its an adventure. If a place would put it on my driveway, i'd be very happy.

 

[ratsrepus]

Hi all - particularly the old timers and the people who run this site. Ive been lurking here for a bit as part of researching a woodstove for my house. Used to have one and lived it. Bought a house that needs one. So Ive been shopping. Ive determined a few good candidates (Lopi, Pacific Energy, Woodstock, Kuma). Im leaning towards non-cat for simpler operation and less maintenance. Likely the final decision will come down to how i like the local dealer or installer.

At any rate, I wanted to say thank you. I appreciate the opinions, experiences, and information I found here. It seems to be getting harder to find honest information on the web.

I never felt a non cat stove was any less difficult to operate. Id rather replace a catalyst then air tubes or baffles.

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

I never felt a non cat stove was any less difficult to operate. Id rather replace a catalyst then air tubes or baffles.

I hadnt thought of a good baffle as something that wears out on the same time frame as catalysts.

 

[ratsrepus]

some do some dont

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

Twas one of the reasons I was looking at Lopi. The promoted their Endeavor as using top quality firebrick, not a pad or wool with binders that went away in the heat. Then i found they went and put pads in the Evergreen.

Cheaply made is more work & cost down the road.

A baffle also does the job of keeping hot gasses in the box longer, which transfers more heat to the stove. masonry heaters make extensive use of this.

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

So I live in a 2050 sqft house in Albuquerque, NM. Single story, moderate insulation, a crawl space, and a shape that gives more perimeter wall space than a box. Winter stastical lowest low is 5F. Record is -17F. I computed that I need 29000 BTU/hr at 5F (without substantial wind). I can do a little better on the insulation, but not lots. 4" walls are not gonna get fatter. i already added insulation around the crawl space.

In addition to spending less $ and its being a renewable resource, I like heating with wood. When i had a stove before, I'd take the dog and go out to the mountains for the day. I'd get a permit for $10 from the forest service that covered me for 2 cords of wood. They'd have already cut down trees so i just had to haul them out. Made for a great day. At home i'd cut, split, and stack it. good exercise. A fire is also very enjoyable.

So life has me back to a place where I have can re-up on a wood stove. I'd like a stove that will deal with 5F without issue, and go even colder. I also would like to run it when its warmer without being too much. At 40F, the house loses 13000 BTU / hr. Cant see a fire if any warmer.

I looked at masonry heaters but decided they werent practical for me.

So the list of stoves I came up with (still evolving):
Woodstock soapstone
Fairview or Absolute Steel
Like Progress and Ideal steel but i think they'd be too much.
I like the idea of soapstone to spread out the heating over a longer time. A kinder, gentler heat. Woodstock also makes great stoves.

Lopi
Evergreen or Endeavor
I originally liked the Evergreen as a non-cat stove that met the 26% rebate criteria. (who wouldnt want the rebate?) They seemed to make a good product. Read through a bunch of reviews here and found too many problems, although most of them seemed to be for pellet devices and fan controllers. (Putting an electronic device in a stove to determine if its hot and it fails - go figure.) Also a review or 2 about stoves mfg. incorrectly and the company kept asking was the stove being used correctly. So I'm not as enamoured.

Pacific Energy
Alderlea T5
Everything seems great about this stove. Great reviews. Still have a couple questions about construction and warranty support. PE seems to put this ALL on the distributor.

Kuma
Aspen or Ashwood
One one the smallish side, the other on the largish.
Good reviews but not enough stastically.
Great warranty and great service from the company.
Really high burn efficiency numbers. Too good?

Want good functionality, reliability, simplicity, and a company that stands behind its product.

 

[armanidog]

I looked it up, the Blaze King dealer in Albuquerque seems to be OK. I know you do not want a cat but you will save on firewood. And have a better control on burn rate.
There is a Blaze King thread you could look at on this forum. I do not have one but a Blaze King would be in my consideration on a new stove. Especially if you have a local dealer. There is a Blaze King rep that looks at this site periodically.
Check on inventory if you want a stove this time of year. I bet Woodstock and others would be shipping later this year or next year.

 

[begreen]

Id rather replace a catalyst then air tubes or baffles.

That's a rare occurrence and in many stoves it's quite easy.

 

[stoveliker]

I looked it up, the Blaze King dealer in Albuquerque seems to be OK. I know you do not want a cat but you will save on firewood. And have a better control on burn rate.
There is a Blaze King thread you could look at on this forum. I do not have one but a Blaze King would be in my consideration on a new stove. Especially if you have a local dealer. There is a Blaze King rep that looks at this site periodically.
Check on inventory if you want a stove this time of year. I bet Woodstock and others would be shipping later this year or next year.

I'm a BK fan. But savings on wood are comparable between any modern EPA stove because efficiencies are comparable. Or at least differences won't be noticed in the random average user life.

 

[Dave_in_ABQ]

I looked it up, the Blaze King dealer in Albuquerque seems to be OK. I know you do not want a cat but you will save on firewood. And have a better control on burn rate.
There is a Blaze King thread you could look at on this forum. I do not have one but a Blaze King would be in my consideration on a new stove. Especially if you have a local dealer. There is a Blaze King rep that looks at this site periodically.
Check on inventory if you want a stove this time of year. I bet Woodstock and others would be shipping later this year or next year.

thanks armanidog. I do plan on going in to look at the Blaze King stoves at the local dealer - due diligence and all. They do have a following. I mostly don't like cat-only stoves. 2ndary burn seems like a simpler, more reliable way to go. Hybrid stoves dont exclude this and do provide a capability for low burn rates.