woodstock fireview,quadrafire 5700,pacific summit?

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k williamson

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Mar 3, 2006
6
Hello,i am trying to decide between all 3 of these stoves as to best value and performance.Iam using a blaze king right now and looking to change out,area is 2400 sqft any help would be greatly appreciated thanks.
 
What are you looking for?
Long burns like the Blaze King?
Quick heat?
CAT or Non-cat EPA High Tech?
Fancy or functional?
This way we can narrow things a bit...

Rob
 
Did you read all of the reviews on this site?

I did, and thats why I went with the Woodstock.

I can't comment on the others, I have no experience.

And Rob asks some good questions.
 
Your stoves aren't apples-apples.

That woodstock fireview is a soapstone stove and soapstone is not like metal stoves. Soapstone takes a long time to heat up, to cool down, and does much better with constant fires. If your one that wants to come into a cool house and warm it quickly, soapstone is not for you. Because they take so long to warm up, they're also not good for "taking the chill" out of the morning. When I wake up at say 8am and my house has the morning chills and I light a fire in my soapstone unit, it's 2 hours later it begins to put out heat, 3 hours to really get it moving. By that time it's 11am and 68 degrees outside and I've now got a unit spitting 180 degree air at me on top of that. I have to open the windows. So, do your research before thinking about soapstone as it will be nothing like you're used to. I like not having it roast me out, rather spreading the heat more evenly through the burn, actually I love that and worth every penny for it. They're also gorgeous.

The pacific Energy has extremely good reviews and a following. It is well built, quality, and has no problem taking the chill out of a morning and quickly heating. Its heat is not as even as the soapstone unit, and I think the Pacific Energy Summit Classic is very attractive, probably the most attractive metal stove but soapstone stoves when it comes to attractiveness are hands down way beyond anything else out there and in my opinion you can't compare the attractiveness of a metal stove to soapstone. Soapstone stoves are the only ones that still look gorgeous and don't look out of place even in summer in my opinion.

So, just make sure you know the difference. I did research on the quadrafire before purchasing my unit and after reading reviews and researching felt the Pacific Energy was a better choice. Pacific Energy has small windows though, that was my only issue with them.
 
chief said:
Hello,i am trying to decide between all 3 of these stoves as to best value and performance.Iam using a blaze king right now and looking to change out,area is 2400 sqft any help would be greatly appreciated thanks.

Sorry, can't recommend any of those as I've never seen any of them burning, but...

Why are you getting rid of your Blaze King? Issues?
 
elkimmeg said:
Might as well throw OSborne in the mix

And Lopi/Avalon. Why not a Jotul 500 or 600?
 
As far as looks, I think the Fireview puts those other two to shame. Plus a 6 month money back garantee if it doesn't work out for you.
 
As far as Woodstock stove company. I did a tremendous amount of research last year before I went and bought a stove, and I bought a Woodstock "classic" stove. I live in CT so the company was only 2 1/2 hrs away. I went and visited them a couple times before I bought the stove. They are probably one of the BEST customer friendly Retailers I have ever been to !!!! They took me in the back and showed me how they make them and spent considerable time chatting with me and answered all my questions without any sales pressure of any kind..
Like I said before I did buy a "Classic" stove from them, I used it for a week, and I have to say I was really disappointed in its performance. The room it was in was about 600 sqft ( this includes my bedroom) and I could not get the temp over 63 degrees.
The temp outside was around 25-30 during the day and teens at night. like I said I ran it for a week straight, I called the company twice just to make sure I was doing everything correct. And Yes my wood was seasoned ( 2yrs hardwood ).

I did end up taking the stove back to them and they refunded my money. One of the big reasons I bought from them was the 6 month guaranty. I am wondering if I got a "Freak" wood stove. I would like to try one again someday just to see if it was a "Freak" stove.. I can't say enough about the customer service for that company, I just wish ( and kinda still do) that the stove I got heated better.

I just put down money on a Quadra fire 5700, I am going to pick it up next Saturday. I am hoping this stove will heat my house.. A review to come but it might be to next winter.


Jeffery D Pierce
 
Wow! That's the first bad review I've heard from a Woodstock. Too bad it didn't work out for you, I love mine. Did your stove come up to temp? If the stove top thermometer they sent with the stove was getting in the 500-700 degree range, it should be throwing out gobs of heat. If not, then there could be something wrong with the install, chimney and/or draft, firewood, or least likely the stove. Hope the Quadra Fire works out for ya.
 
Wow, that was the first negative review I have seen on a woodstock product.
I'll throw a few logs on my Fireview before bed and in the morning the house is still warm and there is still some good starter coals left in that bad boy in the morning. It does not go "cold" by any means.
I have done a sh%#load of research before deciding to drop the greenbacks on the Woodstock stove. Reading the reviews and talking to people I know with VC's and other makes,It just seems that people are replacing parts that shouldnt be cracking or warping as often as they are. (not including normal wear items such as catalytic combustors)
One other impressive note about Woodstock is that these stoves are hand built and hand fitted by the same person in America, with American parts, not slapped together on an assembly line with cheap chinese components. Anyway, thats my 2 cents!
 
Jefflee1 said:
... like I said I ran it for a week straight, ...

Jeffery D Pierce

Did you run it CONTINUOUSLY, day and night, for a week? Or did you run it for a few hours each day, starting it fresh each day?

That soapstone takes some extra time to heat up when starting a new fire. A lot more than metal stoves. You probably know that, but I had to ask.

I guess no stove is right for everyone and every manufacturer can have a compromised product now and then. But it's a rare customer that has a positive experience with a disappointing product. I'd have to agree with you. That's pretty good customer service.

I hope you like your Quad. For me, Woodstock is still on my short list for freestanding stoves. I even like the cat.
 
To ALL

To answer all your questions, YES I did run it for 3 dayslet it cool down, then ran it for 3 days more, yes I used the thermostat that came with the stove and kept it around 600 give or take.

Trust me there was no one more disappointed with this stove than me. Like most of you I did a boat load ( A year or more) of research , including phone calls to people whom I never met, before I spent the money….

I have had wood stoves in my family since I can remember ( an yes I am pushing 40)

The wood was perfect for burning; I was burning it in a older stove prior to getting the classic.

Like I said I think for some reason that particular stove must have been a fluke.
I can not and WILL not say anything bad about the company, the woodstock stove company is a outstanding company!!!

Like I said I went thru there factory twice.


Trust me, I hate to have to write such a bad thing about a wonderful company and if time and money permits I WILL get another one in a few years and hopefully thing will go as expected.


Jeffrey D Pierce
 
Jefflee1 said:
To ALL

To answer all your questions, YES I did run it for 3 dayslet it cool down, then ran it for 3 days more, yes I used the thermostat that came with the stove and kept it around 600 give or take.

Trust me there was no one more disappointed with this stove than me. Like most of you I did a boat load ( A year or more) of research , including phone calls to people whom I never met, before I spent the money….

I have had wood stoves in my family since I can remember ( an yes I am pushing 40)

The wood was perfect for burning; I was burning it in a older stove prior to getting the classic.

Like I said I think for some reason that particular stove must have been a fluke.
I can not and WILL not say anything bad about the company, the woodstock stove company is a outstanding company!!!

Like I said I went thru there factory twice.


Trust me, I hate to have to write such a bad thing about a wonderful company and if time and money permits I WILL get another one in a few years and hopefully thing will go as expected.


Jeffrey D Pierce

Not trying to insult your intellegence or anything, but I'm courious, and I bet others here are too. What kind of install did you have? Free standing, inside fireplace, hearth stove? If the stove was reading 600 maybe something else is absorbing the heat? Your quad may do the same thing?
 
Todd
I am not sure what you mean but I will try to answer the question as best as I can, The Classic is a free standing wood stove. I got it home, I took out the other stove I had, ( it replaced a older steel model " all nighter" ) put the stove pipe in the Classic, (same flue size) and cranked her up.. Like I said I am not new to woodstoves, but this was my first Cat stove, but like anything else it is common sense on how to operate it. Todd I am sure you are not trying to insult my intelligence and are just wondering why a product from such a reputable place got a bad review. I do understand that, and trust me, I wish things were different. Like I said it might have been a fluke stove , I don't know.. I would recommend there product to anyone who is interested. There isn't a company around that will stand behind there product like they do..
The All-nighter stove I had put out plenty of heat it just ate a lot of wood, but is a older stove and like most people who buy stoves are looking to get the best bang for there buck.

Respectfully

Jeffrey D Pierce
 
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