I've seen a few posts lately requiring the assistance of members on a particular model. So as to help out in your never ending quest to find the 'perfect' stove here are my 2 cents.
This will be heresy on my part but ultimately all wood stoves are square black boxes made out of metal with no moving parts.
When everyone chip in, including myself and say "this (my) stove is the greatest and you must buy it"... at the end of the day if they are all EPA rated they will perform pretty close to one another.
Also keep in mind the person making that statement is either biased (me) or their experience with wood stoves is not objective since they only have experience with one or two models in their lifetime. But still useful since they have real life experience with their model.
What you want to look for is shopping for a wood stove is:
1) Your budget - tight and you are looking at big box store utilitarian look. But they will work. Watch out for Chinese made stuff as they tend to be lighter with less material. The Hearth shop stoves typically are better made, nicer look, some exotic material (soapstone, cast iron), better warranty etc...
2) Cubic Foot size of the firebox is a better indicator than stated burn times and square footage. The bigger the more burn time and BTU output. Unfortunately some (Vogelzang) list the size of their firebox without the bricks.
3) Fit and finish. Especially look for door handle (how loose it is, is the mechanism just a bent rod, top plate steel thickness, heavy or light duty bricks, Baffle material composition, how the door gasket to the frame match etc..)
4) Warranty: Some are limited Lifetime others are down to one year. Watch out for some warranties where if you dont register within 30 days you are out of luck forever. Things that are worthwhile on the warranty: Blower and electrical components, glass, burn tubes & baffles.
5) Most importantly: Your better half... She better like the look since there can be some fun entertainment in front of the fire :msp_ohmy:
6) Nice to have: Blowers (improves efficiencies and circulate heat), Heat exchangers (really improves efficiencies since it recuperates a lot of the heat from the stove when combined with a blower ie. like a small furnace)
7) The company that makes them: Are they made in the USA or North America (if that matters to you), Have they been around for a long time and are they financially secure (many companies are teetering right now), do they have a good reputation for supporting their customers and most importantly... Do they support AS forums?:msp_wink:
That's all I can think about right now but I'm sure others will pipe in.
This will be heresy on my part but ultimately all wood stoves are square black boxes made out of metal with no moving parts.
When everyone chip in, including myself and say "this (my) stove is the greatest and you must buy it"... at the end of the day if they are all EPA rated they will perform pretty close to one another.
Also keep in mind the person making that statement is either biased (me) or their experience with wood stoves is not objective since they only have experience with one or two models in their lifetime. But still useful since they have real life experience with their model.
What you want to look for is shopping for a wood stove is:
1) Your budget - tight and you are looking at big box store utilitarian look. But they will work. Watch out for Chinese made stuff as they tend to be lighter with less material. The Hearth shop stoves typically are better made, nicer look, some exotic material (soapstone, cast iron), better warranty etc...
2) Cubic Foot size of the firebox is a better indicator than stated burn times and square footage. The bigger the more burn time and BTU output. Unfortunately some (Vogelzang) list the size of their firebox without the bricks.
3) Fit and finish. Especially look for door handle (how loose it is, is the mechanism just a bent rod, top plate steel thickness, heavy or light duty bricks, Baffle material composition, how the door gasket to the frame match etc..)
4) Warranty: Some are limited Lifetime others are down to one year. Watch out for some warranties where if you dont register within 30 days you are out of luck forever. Things that are worthwhile on the warranty: Blower and electrical components, glass, burn tubes & baffles.
5) Most importantly: Your better half... She better like the look since there can be some fun entertainment in front of the fire :msp_ohmy:
6) Nice to have: Blowers (improves efficiencies and circulate heat), Heat exchangers (really improves efficiencies since it recuperates a lot of the heat from the stove when combined with a blower ie. like a small furnace)
7) The company that makes them: Are they made in the USA or North America (if that matters to you), Have they been around for a long time and are they financially secure (many companies are teetering right now), do they have a good reputation for supporting their customers and most importantly... Do they support AS forums?:msp_wink:
That's all I can think about right now but I'm sure others will pipe in.
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