Vogelzang The Colonial

[Corriewf]

Hello all,


Been around here reading and all for about a month and decided to register and post. I just recently purchased my first wood stove insert a couple weeks ago and installed it last week. I figured I would share some pics of it and my opinion of it. I couldn't afford a nice Jotul or Hearthstone Clydesdale like I wanted. Well I guess I COULD have afforded it but just couldn't part with 4.5k - 5k for the stove, pipe and installation. I came across this Vogelzang The Colonial insert on Northern tool for $899 and decided it would be my first baby (not counting my son..err or my wife). I then purchased an Everguard SS for 700 (including some insulation, rain cap etc). A buddy and me did the installation ourselves and the entire project cost about $1,800.

The firebox for the Colonial is small. I measured about 1.78 cubic feet versus the 1.28 something the manufacturer stated it is. Still it is small. However I do feel that I am getting plenty of heat from it for the little amount of wood I actually use. I have a 1,800 square foot house and it keep the tempts well into the 70s through most parts with the exception of the far off bedroom that sits around 69-70 on a 30 something night. My house is very boxy so I might have to get a tad creative about getting the heat spread around. The 6-8 hour burns times are easy enough to achieve and I have found myself with firestarting strength coals 16-24 hours after last full load. Despite the " you can always have a small fire in a big firebox but not a big fire in a small box " mentality, I have found the small firebox to actually output similar heat to my friends Clydesdale and use a lot less wood to do so. Smaller firebox for me means smaller area for the warm air to escape versus a large firebox and trying to do a smaller fire. Sure I would take a larger firebox if I could, but it is nice to conserve.

So far the only negative I have found with this unit is the blower. It is not regulated by heat and is poorly designed. It does attempt to pull air from a similar area it is trying to push. the unit attaches to the stove just below the ash guard and I have found loosening the screws so that it is no longer flush with the body of the insert solves the design flaw.

All in all it has been a great value for my money. I guess time will tell if the parts hold up to be durable or not. Everything looks quite easy to replace. Being new to wood stoves, I am still learning and all so I hope she hangs tough for me.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the post and pics. She looks like she's burning well.

 

[raybonz]

Hello all,


Been around here reading and all for about a month and decided to register and post. I just recently purchased my first wood stove insert a couple weeks ago and installed it last week. I figured I would share some pics of it and my opinion of it. I couldn't afford a nice Jotul or Hearthstone Clydesdale like I wanted. Well I guess I COULD have afforded it but just couldn't part with 4.5k - 5k for the stove, pipe and installation. I came across this Vogelzang The Colonial insert on Northern tool for $899 and decided it would be my first baby (not counting my son..err or my wife). I then purchased an Everguard SS for 700 (including some insulation, rain cap etc). A buddy and me did the installation ourselves and the entire project cost about $1,800.

The firebox for the Colonial is small. I measured about 1.78 cubic feet versus the 1.28 something the manufacturer stated it is. Still it is small. However I do feel that I am getting plenty of heat from it for the little amount of wood I actually use. I have a 1,800 square foot house and it keep the tempts well into the 70s through most parts with the exception of the far off bedroom that sits around 69-70 on a 30 something night. My house is very boxy so I might have to get a tad creative about getting the heat spread around. The 6-8 hour burns times are easy enough to achieve and I have found myself with firestarting strength coals 16-24 hours after last full load. Despite the " you can always have a small fire in a big firebox but not a big fire in a small box " mentality, I have found the small firebox to actually output similar heat to my friends Clydesdale and use a lot less wood to do so. Smaller firebox for me means smaller area for the warm air to escape versus a large firebox and trying to do a smaller fire. Sure I would take a larger firebox if I could, but it is nice to conserve.

So far the only negative I have found with this unit is the blower. It is not regulated by heat and is poorly designed. It does attempt to pull air from a similar area it is trying to push. the unit attaches to the stove just below the ash guard and I have found loosening the screws so that it is no longer flush with the body of the insert solves the design flaw.

All in all it has been a great value for my money. I guess time will tell if the parts hold up to be durable or not. Everything looks quite easy to replace. Being new to wood stoves, I am still learning and all so I hope she hangs tough for me.

Nice looking fire you've got going! Keep us posted on how the stove performs.. Looks nice from the pics..

Ray

 

[Corriewf]

Thanks for the post and pics. She looks like she's burning well.

Thanks BeGreen. Been reading a lot of your posts, quite an informative guy you are.

 

[fossil]

Vogelzang has kind of a sketchy rep among a lot of savvy (and even not-so-savvy) woodburners, because of some of the "junk" they consistently peddled in the past (and still do). In recent years, however, it seems they're making an effort to put out some products of acceptable quality. They now have a line of woodstoves and inserts that are tested and proven to the same standards as all the other mainstream manufacturers' offerings. Your insert is an EPA approved, UL listed woodburning appliance. That means it should burn efficiently and serve you well. As you gain experience with it, it would be helpful to folks here for you to keep in touch on the forums and share with us all how this insert performs over time. It sure does look nice there in the pics! Thanks for posting! Rick

 

[Corriewf]

Hello all,


Been around here reading and all for about a month and decided to register and post. I just recently purchased my first wood stove insert a couple weeks ago and installed it last week. I figured I would share some pics of it and my opinion of it. I couldn't afford a nice Jotul or Hearthstone Clydesdale like I wanted. Well I guess I COULD have afforded it but just couldn't part with 4.5k - 5k for the stove, pipe and installation. I came across this Vogelzang The Colonial insert on Northern tool for $899 and decided it would be my first baby (not counting my son..err or my wife). I then purchased an Everguard SS for 700 (including some insulation, rain cap etc). A buddy and me did the installation ourselves and the entire project cost about $1,800.

The firebox for the Colonial is small. I measured about 1.78 cubic feet versus the 1.28 something the manufacturer stated it is. Still it is small. However I do feel that I am getting plenty of heat from it for the little amount of wood I actually use. I have a 1,800 square foot house and it keep the tempts well into the 70s through most parts with the exception of the far off bedroom that sits around 69-70 on a 30 something night. My house is very boxy so I might have to get a tad creative about getting the heat spread around. The 6-8 hour burns times are easy enough to achieve and I have found myself with firestarting strength coals 16-24 hours after last full load. Despite the " you can always have a small fire in a big firebox but not a big fire in a small box " mentality, I have found the small firebox to actually output similar heat to my friends Clydesdale and use a lot less wood to do so. Smaller firebox for me means smaller area for the warm air to escape versus a large firebox and trying to do a smaller fire. Sure I would take a larger firebox if I could, but it is nice to conserve.

So far the only negative I have found with this unit is the blower. It is not regulated by heat and is poorly designed. It does attempt to pull air from a similar area it is trying to push. the unit attaches to the stove just below the ash guard and I have found loosening the screws so that it is no longer flush with the body of the insert solves the design flaw.

All in all it has been a great value for my money. I guess time will tell if the parts hold up to be durable or not. Everything looks quite easy to replace. Being new to wood stoves, I am still learning and all so I hope she hangs tough for me.

Nice looking fire you've got going! Keep us posted on how the stove performs.. Looks nice from the pics..

Ray

Thanks Ray! Yeah I am kind of worried about the durability of the stove. It looks great, but how long will she hold up versus the more expensive units. I will give her a nice very thin coating of oil in the off season and hope she stays great for me.

The bad thing about the smaller firebox is that a lot of my firewood is too long or too thick. I don't mind it being too thick. I love using the maul, but the length pieces are gonna have to be re-cut. I was pretty concerned about how long she would really keep a fire in her having such a small firebox but was pleasantly surprised. I do get to coals seemly fast though and it does seem to lose that nice 400+ degree temp after a few hours if I don't keep her fed. Ahhh well. Can't beat it for 899...Unless your that guy that got the Jotul for free...damn you.

 

[Corriewf]

Vogelzang has kind of a sketchy rep among a lot of savvy (and even not-so-savvy) woodburners, because of some of the "junk" they consistently peddled in the past (and still do). In recent years, however, it seems they're making an effort to put out some products of acceptable quality. They now have a line of woodstoves and inserts that are tested and proven to the same standards as all the other mainstream manufacturers' offerings. Your insert is an EPA approved, UL listed woodburning appliance. That means it should burn efficiently and serve you well. As you gain experience with it, it would be helpful to folks here for you to keep in touch on the forums and share with us all how this insert performs over time. It sure does look nice there in the pics! Thanks for posting! Rick

Oh I am not going anywhere buddy. You guys are an amazing group here. This wood heat bug has got me bad man... I LOVE IT! The heat just seems to penetrate you. I can actually warm up, go outside and stay warm for a few minutes. No other heat can touch it! I recently got a kidney infection and this wood stove has been like a heating pad on my back.

As far as the woodstove, I picked it over the other cheap brands because of the BTUs (69k) and " The Colonial " branding on the door. I would have loved a gold plated door though. Ah well. : -/

 

[Corriewf]

I forgot to add, do most wood stove inserts have slots on the sides and the top that blow out the hot air into the room? I was kind of surprised to see that...Although the sides do not blow out at nearly the amount of pressure as the top, they seem to be contributing.

 

[Rougement]

I'd love to hear more about this mod you did to the blower. I read about a similar mod on the reviews section of the northern tool site. What exactly is the flaw?

I've got a colonial also, I posted a mini review here a month or two back. I guess I'm not as pleased as you are by it but we're warm, I'm in better shape and the propane tank is still half full.

 

[fossil]

I forgot to add, do most wood stove inserts have slots on the sides and the top that blow out the hot air into the room? I was kind of surprised to see that...Although the sides do not blow out at nearly the amount of pressure as the top, they seem to be contributing.

Woodburning inserts, by their very nature of being buried into what would ordinarily be a totally inefficient open wood burning fireplace, need the blowers to produce forced convection around the hot firebox and get that warm air out into the living space, so that it's not just all lost up the flue. Freestanding woodstoves don't need that to the same extent, because they radiate and convect out to the space better than inserts, but they very often benefit from the addition of a blower. Hearthstove installations, as well, benefit from the installation of a blower, as they're kind of a cross between a freestanding and an insert. In any case, yes, your insert needs to have a blower installed, and the difference in airflow you describe may simply be that the "sides" are the air intakes for the blower, and the "top" is the exhaust. Rick

 

[Corriewf]

I forgot to add, do most wood stove inserts have slots on the sides and the top that blow out the hot air into the room? I was kind of surprised to see that...Although the sides do not blow out at nearly the amount of pressure as the top, they seem to be contributing.

Woodburning inserts, by their very nature of being buried into what would ordinarily be a totally inefficient open wood burning fireplace, need the blowers to produce forced convection around the hot firebox and get that warm air out into the living space, so that it's not just all lost up the flue. Freestanding woodstoves don't need that to the same extent, because they radiate and convect out to the space better than inserts, but they very often benefit from the addition of a blower. Hearthstove installations, as well, benefit from the installation of a blower, as they're kind of a cross between a freestanding and an insert. In any case, yes, your insert needs to have a blower installed, and the difference in airflow you describe may simply be that the "sides" are the air intakes for the blower, and the "top" is the exhaust. Rick

The air intakes for the blower are on the bottom of the stove. I was going to get a free standing woodstove to start with, but figured it would be too dangerous for my son and animals. The area the insert is in is kind of a small room and we often walk right through that area. If it was in the corner, I would have gone for a free standing. Those hearthstones are made with soapstone exterior as well right? I remember seeing a couple and god were they perwty. I bet the heat coming off those bad boys is amazing.

 

[Corriewf]

Gotta a question for you guys (gals too ). In the winter when I need to run this stove 24/7, how do I get the ash out without letting the coals go out first? Same question with cleaning the glass. Do I have to bite the bullet and just let her go out, get a little cold in the house and do everything real quick to get a fire going?

 

[Pagey]

Gotta a question for you guys (gals too ). In the winter when I need to run this stove 24/7, how do I get the ash out without letting the coals go out first? Same question with cleaning the glass. Do I have to bite the bullet and just let her go out, get a little cold in the house and do everything real quick to get a fire going?

If it's like most EPA stoves, it will burn from front to back. In the morning, you should find any substantial coals in the back of the fire box and ash in the front. Scoop the ash, rake the coals forward, relight with kindling or small, dry splits on the coals you raked to the front.

 

[Adam_MA]

Nice review, and nice looking stove. As a Vogelzang owner it makes me happy when others are as pleased with their stove as I am with mine! As for the 24/7 burning, Pagey is correct, in the morning, you simply scoop a bit of ash from the front, then rake the coals to the front and get your fire back up and running. You will most likely lose a small bit of burning coals, but that's just a simple fact of life. Good luck with your insert!

 

[Jags]

Congrats on the new stove. It looks nice and toasty from here. I am glad to see that Vogelzang has changed its tune a little in the past few years. Their EPA stoves look like a viable option for the lower end of the burn boxes (it didn't always used to be that way). It appears that they have several boxes that now pass the EPA Cert. Kudos to them.

Remember - with all new stoves there is a learning curve. If your willing to pay attention to the stove and learn from it, it should perform even better after a little time under your wing.

 

[highmark800]

I too just recently purchased a new EPA stove from Vogelzang called the Performer model, it does what it was advertised to do. We are heating our 2400 sq ft house with it and this morning the outside temp was -20 °F . Inside the house was a comfotable 68 with plenty of coals left to refire the stove. We live @ 10,000 feet in Colorado and the high today is forcast to be 10 °F new record low today and predicting new low again tomorrow. Inside the house we are at 70.

 

[Corriewf]

Thanks guys! The pics could have come out better, but that living room is always hard to light right. It's known as the cave in my house, no natural light penetrates. I also took them with my iphone so.

The problem I have found quite a few times is that I can't get a good even burn out. Maybe I didn't get the stove up high enough before I set back or too much ash, but the back coals will sometimes build up and not want to burn. Most of my good coals are in the middle and I have to rake the back ones into the middle with the good ones to get them burning.

Adam when I was searching for Vogelzang opinions, yours was one that kept coming up. Thanks for posting about yours, I might not have bought mine without your posts. Something I like about mine is how easy it looks to replace everything. The secondary pipes are held on by two screws, which once removed look like I can easily remove the boarding above them. The fan is mounted by two screws just below the ash guard and is sold as a whole unit including housing. Some of the stoves I looked at had the blower motor in the back which would require pulling the wood stove out some. As long as Vogelzang keeps making parts for this, I should be fine. I do worry about the steel warping and maybe the welds. How long have you had yours Adam?

 

[raybonz]

Thanks Ray! Yeah I am kind of worried about the durability of the stove. It looks great, but how long will she hold up versus the more expensive units. I will give her a nice very thin coating of oil in the off season and hope she stays great for me.

The bad thing about the smaller firebox is that a lot of my firewood is too long or too thick. I don't mind it being too thick. I love using the maul, but the length pieces are gonna have to be re-cut. I was pretty concerned about how long she would really keep a fire in her having such a small firebox but was pleasantly surprised. I do get to coals seemly fast though and it does seem to lose that nice 400+ degree temp after a few hours if I don't keep her fed. Ahhh well. Can't beat it for 899...Unless your that guy that got the Jotul for free...damn you.

You're welcome Corie! It's good to hear they've improved that brand stove only time will tell the whole story.. Lots of folks don't care for my stove and yes they have their problems but mine is still going strong after 20 yrs. and has only needed one part for $20.00 beside one cat for $100.00.. Pretty good for 20 yrs service if you ask me.. I paid $650.00 for it new and it came with an ash bin, gloves, a canvas wood tote, all the tools (really good welded wrought iron tools) along with the stand, everything to convert it to coal if I want to and some spare parts! Hopefully you can make this statement someday too..

Best of Luck,
Ray

 

[Corriewf]

You're welcome Corie! It's good to hear they've improved that brand stove only time will tell the whole story.. Lots of folks don't care for my stove and yes they have their problems but mine is still going strong after 20 yrs. and has only needed one part for $20.00 beside one cat for $100.00.. Pretty good for 20 yrs service if you ask me.. I paid $650.00 for it new and it came with an ash bin, gloves, a canvas wood tote, all the tools (really good welded wrought iron tools) along with the stand, everything to convert it to coal if I want to and some spare parts! Hopefully you can make this statement someday too..

Best of Luck,
Ray

Wow man! That is quite a nice stove. I thought the cats need to be replaced more often than that! You must take real good care of your stove. I heard the cats burn really nice, but have to be replaced every 6-9 years and sometimes can be every 3. I know I will have to replace the blower motor and wanted to avoid replacing a cat. If I had heard your story though. ahaha!

 

[Adam_MA]

Adam when I was searching for Vogelzang opinions, yours was one that kept coming up. Thanks for posting about yours, I might not have bought mine without your posts. Something I like about mine is how easy it looks to replace everything. The secondary pipes are held on by two screws, which once removed look like I can easily remove the boarding above them. The fan is mounted by two screws just below the ash guard and is sold as a whole unit including housing. Some of the stoves I looked at had the blower motor in the back which would require pulling the wood stove out some. As long as Vogelzang keeps making parts for this, I should be fine. I do worry about the steel warping and maybe the welds. How long have you had yours Adam?

Glad I could help. My stove is going to turn 1 year old this month. I wouldn't worry too much about warping or the welds, these things are made to burn! My stove is a bit smaller than yours. I have the Defender model, but I have a small house, and in the coldest parts of last winter, with WAY less than seasoned wood, I could keep the house in the mid 70's no problem. I'm really looking forward to the cold weather this winter, with seasoned wood to see how she does. Here's a link to some Vogelzang porn in case you haven't see it. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/43371/

Enjoy your stove

 

[BrotherBart]

The only people I have seen here that bad mouth Vogelzang stoves, don't own Vogelzang stoves.

 

[fredarm]

The only people I have seen here that bad mouth Vogelzang stoves, don't own Vogelzang stoves.

I think we're going to have to distinguish between the Vogelzang EPA stoves/inserts (Defender, Colonial, etc.), and the EPA-exempt stoves like the Boxwood. The VZ EPA stoves seem to be a good value, but the non-EPA stoves still scare me!

 

[Corriewf]

Adam when I was searching for Vogelzang opinions, yours was one that kept coming up. Thanks for posting about yours, I might not have bought mine without your posts. Something I like about mine is how easy it looks to replace everything. The secondary pipes are held on by two screws, which once removed look like I can easily remove the boarding above them. The fan is mounted by two screws just below the ash guard and is sold as a whole unit including housing. Some of the stoves I looked at had the blower motor in the back which would require pulling the wood stove out some. As long as Vogelzang keeps making parts for this, I should be fine. I do worry about the steel warping and maybe the welds. How long have you had yours Adam?

Glad I could help. My stove is going to turn 1 year old this month. I wouldn't worry too much about warping or the welds, these things are made to burn! My stove is a bit smaller than yours. I have the Defender model, but I have a small house, and in the coldest parts of last winter, with WAY less than seasoned wood, I could keep the house in the mid 70's no problem. I'm really looking forward to the cold weather this winter, with seasoned wood to see how she does. Here's a link to some Vogelzang porn in case you haven't see it. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/43371/

Enjoy your stove

You surer that Defender is smaller? Looks to be about the same size firebox to me. How many pieces of decent splits can you get in her? Thanks for the link. Those flames sure are memorizing.

 

[Corriewf]

The only people I have seen here that bad mouth Vogelzang stoves, don't own Vogelzang stoves.

So just about everyone? ahaha! BB you seen the Vogelzang drum stove kits? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYPqqBuDEI&feature=PlayList&p=5BD8EC27F2C56F72&index=2

 

[Jags]

The only people I have seen here that bad mouth Vogelzang stoves, don't own Vogelzang stoves.

So just about everyone? ahaha! BB you seen the Vogelzang drum stove kits? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYPqqBuDEI&feature=PlayList&p=5BD8EC27F2C56F72&index=2

Heck, I'll bet ya a 6 pack of Dog Fish Head beer that he owns one of them kits.