Which stoves have the following qualities....

[ray milosh]

Hi there,
Nice forum. I have been a wood splitting burning geek for decades. never realized there were fourms for us.
Anyhow, i recently moved in to a very large house in central NC with an open floor plan and a 3 story living room ceiling with an open fireplace a massive 4 by 10 ft chimney. In October, I installed a Fisher grandpa bear to see if it was possible to heat this space. It is possible, even on a 20 degree night. The Fisher has no internal baffle, however and I estimate I'll go through over 10 cords to heat the house for a winter. I want to decrease wood consumption as much as i can by getting a better stove.

I intend to replace the stove with one that has the following qualities (in order of importance):
1. capable of heating over 2000 ft sq/over 70 K btu
2. very efficient
3. rear chimney exit (the fireplace opening is 31 inches high so the stove pipe either
needs to be rear exit and elbowed up or the stove must be backed into the fireplace
4. cook top
5. glass door
6. beautiful
7. cheap (A used older stove is fine, so long as it is efficient and in decent shape)

Things to note: This year i will be burning 1 year old clearcut scraps for firewood, so it is not well seasoned.
Also, the hearth extends out 3 feet and is over a foot high, so a stove sitting out on the hearth will be easier to load and to cook on than one that sits back into the fireplace...hence the rear exit chimney.

Here come the questions:
What stoves fit the bill?
Are catalytic stoves simply more efficient than modern secondary burning stoves?
Should I get a cat stove bc the cost to replace the cat will be less the the time cost of acquiring extra wood?
should I stay away from a cat stove if i am burning poorly seasoned wood?

Here's a list of stoves i have found that at seem to at least partially fit the bill. Lemme know if you have strong recommendations for or against any of these:
lopi liberty,
jotul f 500, 8 and F 12
Hearthstone shelburne
Pacific Energy Alderlea T5
Blaze King King
Woodstock Progress
Englander 30 nch

thanks, all
ray

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I intend to replace the stove with one that has the following qualities (in order of importance):
1. capable of heating over 2000 ft sq/over 70 K btu
2. very efficient
3. rear chimney exit (the fireplace opening is 31 inches high so the stove pipe either
needs to be rear exit and elbowed up or the stove must be backed into the fireplace
4. cook top
5. glass door
6. beautiful
7. cheap (A used older stove is fine, so long as it is efficient and in decent shape)


Here come the questions:
What stoves fit the bill?
Are catalytic stoves simply more efficient than modern secondary burning stoves?
ShouldI get a cat stove bc the cost to replace the cat will be less the the time cost of acquiring extra wood?
should I stay away from a cat stove if i am burning poorly seasoned wood?

Here's a list of stoves i have found that at seem to at least partially fit the bill. Lemme know if you have strong recommendations for or against any of these:
lopi liberty,
jotul f 500, 8 and F 12
Hearthstone shelburne
Pacific Energy Alderlea T5
Blaze King King
Woodstock Progress
Englander 30 nch

thanks, all
ray

Welcome to the forum Ray.

You certainly described the Progress stove with your list! Let me just say, on the cat stove, that we were very reluctant to buy one when we made our last purchase. We had been heating with an old non epa stove but were not satisfied with the amount of heat we got. Long story short though, we did buy a cat stove, the Woodstock Fireview. Here are some of the benefits we received:

1. Although we used to close off part of the house during the winter, we no longer have to do that.
2. We cut our wood needs in half.
3. Even though we cut our wood needs and no longer close off part of the house, we stay much, much warmer.
4. Chimney cleaning. We used to do this many times every year. Now we rarely do it. We did clean after 2 full winters just to see and got about a cup of brown soot; no creosote. We have not cleaned the chimney since then. We are now going into our 4th winter since the last cleaning.
5. We have a beautiful stove that, when not in use, just fits in looking like a fine piece of furniture.
6. We dealt and are still dealing with a company that is second to none on customer service and satisfaction. Any time we call Woodstock the phones are answered by friendly folks and they are happy to answer any questions. And do not forget about that fantastic Woodstock guarantee. If in 6 months you are not happy with the stove, send it back for a full refund.

Good luck.

 

[begreen]

Some of the stoves like the 30NC and T5 aretop flue connectors. You also have a mix of 2 and 3 cu ft stoves listed. If this is a large old barn and you had to stoke the Fisher frequently, you re probably going to want to focus on 3 cu ft stoves like the Jotul F600 or Quadrafire Isle Royale. Or set a top vent stove back in the fireplace.

 

[mattjm1017]

Just thought you might be interested Woodstock is having a nice sale right now (broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/sale)

 

[BrowningBAR]

In terms of cheap, you can find used Jotul F12 and F600 Firelights and Vermont Castings Defiants for well under $1,000. In some cases under $500. Be warned, it could take a while to find a good one and you need to be prepared to drive to go get it.

Also, if you go with the Defiant, you must understand the maintenance needs to follow the stove.

Those are the three used stoves that fit all of your criteria.

If you can afford a new stove, then your options open up. The Woodstock Progress would be at the top of my list based on your requirements.

 

[wkpoor]

Would this work for you?
I talked to this guy last yr. He said it was heating this space very nicely.
That Fisher was a very big ole heating monster. Most EPA stoves, though very efficient, won't have near the BTUs. 2000sqft with very high ceilings is going to be outside what most people have had experience with. At least the open floor plan will help. I have an 18' ceiling on the first floor and that may not be near what you have. I am able to keep the average temp in the house at 70 degrees with the temps in the 20s. Below that I loose ground with one 30" Elm in the basement(2800sqft total).The largest EPA (not certified) stove available I know of is the Elm.

 

[David Tackett]

My Buck 91 meets most of that criteria.

 

[BrowningBAR]

lopi liberty, DOES NOT OFFER REAR EXIT
jotul f 500, TOO SMALL 8 and F 12 F12 CAN BE FOUND USED AND MEETS YOUR REQUIREMENTS
Hearthstone shelburne TOO SMALL
Pacific Energy Alderlea T5 DOES NOT OFFER REAR EXIT
Blaze King King DOES NOT OFFER REAR EXIT
Woodstock Progress GOOD CHOICE, NOT CHEAP AND NO USED OPTIONS
Englander 30 nch DOES NOT OFFER REAR EXIT

 

[ray milosh]

Holy cow,
thank you all for the responses. i have adjusted the list accordingly. Sounds like Woodstock Progress would be the absolute perfect stove for me. I'll continue the search for any of the 6 stoves below.
Being a cheapskate, barter, non-consumer, used kind of guy, I'll be looking for a used stove in good condition. In my recent search, I found nothing on Craigslist or on Ebay or on this site's want ads for any of the stoves I'm looking for.
Any advice of where to look for a :

Jotul f12 or F600
Woodstock Progress
Buck 91
24" Clean Air Elm
Quadrafire Isle Royale?

ray

 

[firefighterjake]

It will be mighty tough to find a PH since this stove just came out last year and it seems as though most PH owners are very pleased . . . other stoves may or may not be available . . . but this is a tough time of year to look for a used woodstove since folks that have 'em are mostly using 'em right now.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Would this work for you?
I talked to this guy last yr. He said it was heating this space very nicely.
That Fisher was a very big ole heating monster. Most EPA stoves, though very efficient, won't have near the BTUs. 2000sqft with very high ceilings is going to be outside what most people have had experience with. At least the open floor plan will help. I have an 18' ceiling on the first floor and that may not be near what you have. I am able to keep the average temp in the house at 70 degrees with the temps in the 20s. Below that I loose ground with one 30" Elm in the basement(2800sqft total).The largest EPA (not certified) stove available I know of is the Elm.

Wkpoor, that is a beautiful home.

 

[Pallet Pete]

Holy cow,
thank you all for the responses. i have adjusted the list accordingly. Sounds like Woodstock Progress would be the absolute perfect stove for me. I'll continue the search for any of the 6 stoves below.
Being a cheapskate, barter, non-consumer, used kind of guy, I'll be looking for a used stove in good condition. In my recent search, I found nothing on Craigslist or on Ebay or on this site's want ads for any of the stoves I'm looking for.
Any advice of where to look for a :

Jotul f12 or F600
Woodstock Progress
Buck 91
24" Clean Air Elm
Quadrafire Isle Royale?

ray

Be aware that if you burn unseasoned wood in a cat it can harm the catalyst and gum it up. They are really the way to go for long heat output and I think you would really like it a lot. Just be aware that they are great if you understand how to use one.

Pete

 

[Pallet Pete]

Would this work for you?
I talked to this guy last yr. He said it was heating this space very nicely.
That Fisher was a very big ole heating monster. Most EPA stoves, though very efficient, won't have near the BTUs. 2000sqft with very high ceilings is going to be outside what most people have had experience with. At least the open floor plan will help. I have an 18' ceiling on the first floor and that may not be near what you have. I am able to keep the average temp in the house at 70 degrees with the temps in the 20s. Below that I loose ground with one 30" Elm in the basement(2800sqft total).The largest EPA (not certified) stove available I know of is the Elm.
View attachment 83230

That is GORGEOUS


Pete

 

[wkpoor]

That is GORGEOUS

That is an Inn in NY state. I believe it was installed sometime last yr to replace a VC.

 

[remkel]

Just a warning on the F-600......it is not a cook top stove. That being said, it is a monster heater that would have no problem with a mere 2000 sq ft.

 

[northwinds]

None of the modern EPA stoves are going to like less-than-stellar wood. The Isle Royale doesn't seem to be the flavor-of-the day anymore, but it meets all of your criteria except for cheap. I don't have any suggestions where to find an older one. Maybe you can find one on craigslist that was purchased by someone who didn't have good seasoned wood and thought the stove didn't work right.

 

[ddddddden]

Holy cow,
thank you all for the responses. i have adjusted the list accordingly. Sounds like Woodstock Progress would be the absolute perfect stove for me. I'll continue the search for any of the 6 stoves below.
Being a cheapskate, barter, non-consumer, used kind of guy, I'll be looking for a used stove in good condition. In my recent search, I found nothing on Craigslist or on Ebay or on this site's want ads for any of the stoves I'm looking for.
Any advice of where to look for a :

Jotul f12 or F600
Woodstock Progress
Buck 91
24" Clean Air Elm
Quadrafire Isle Royale?

ray

The Buck is top-venting (Elm too?), but it's short for it's size, because it's designed to be used as either freestanding or insert. It would easily fit under a 30" lintel. Since they're made in NC and sell well in this part of the country, that's probably going to be your best bet in the local used market. I've seen a few for $800-1200 on Craigslist, and several members here have found used Buck 91's.

I understand the "non-consumer" stance, but if you want to spend the $ for new, Woodstock is not a typical company. They sell only factory-direct, 6-month money-back guarantee. If you call them, they *talk* with you; they don't try to *sell* you. . .none of the "Are you going to buy today?" business. The Progress would be my first choice, but to be sporting, the Hearthstone you want to look at is the Manchester, the Shelburne's big brother.

(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hsmanchester.htm)

http://www.woodstove.com/progress-hybrid

(broken link removed to http://www.buckstove.com/wood/model91.html)