Try this link for some owner/user ****-chat. There are users and sellers that are in this group so you will get both sides of the coin on views.
[email protected]
Here is a sample of one:
"scottsworth wrote:
>
> It took me about 2 months in all, from pouring the
> concrete pad (we were doing a lot of concrete patio stuff here last
> year anyway), to collecting the boiler in our diesel PU, to having
> it loaded onto the pad with a backhoe to wiring and plumbing it.
> Then filling it with water, adding corrosion inhibitor and testing
> it, and adding the wood and firing it up...
>
> As for the hot water heat recovery, if you have a flat plate HX you
> will be fine. A side-arm takes a little longer to recover the heat
> from teh boiler to the water heater.
>
I think our total time from delivery to actually using the system was 3
months. We had our foundation ready, our dealer delivered the stove and
set it perfectly on the foundation for us. They also had all the
supplies we needed, all the PEX hose and even gave us the crimping tool
to use as long as we needed it.
The only problem we had that we couldn't find answers to easily was an
issue with water quality, we had conflicting information and were
reluctant to do anything wrong after making such a big investment in all
of this. We had to find another source for water to fill the boiler
because our well water is too salty. After calling our dealer and CB
one last time, we went ahead and filled the boiler and used one jug of
anti-corrosive, which worked out fine. After the first 24 hours of
running the pump to circulate, the pH tested 8.0 so all is well.
Apparently there has been a change in the anti corrosive but the
instruction book still has the older information. Or something.
Anyway, that was the only real problem we had. We were understandably
reluctant to "just go ahead" and fill the boiler when the book said we
had to have a starting pH of 6.5 and our water tested 6.0. I bought 5
gallon jugs of de-ionized water from a local water company to make up
the difference between the rain water we had collected and what we
needed. I think we had 140 gallons of rain water, which we ran through
a makeshift filter of clean cotton T-shirts. The first pH test after
running the pump for 24 hours was fine, like 8.0, so we knew it was OK.
We do have the side-arm water heater exchanger, and I'm happy with my
water supply. I have not yet run out of hot water, and I've tried my
best. I think the flat plate exchanger was quite a bit more expensive,
and we thought we would be fine with the side arm. I don't remember the
difference in recovery rates between the two, but we decided it wasn't
worth the extra expense for us. There are four of us in the household,
and we have a 50 gallon water heater, so we should be fine even after
our boys decide that daily showers are a real virtue. I have been using
hot water for all towel loads and anything else I want extra clean,
before when we used propane to heat our water I almost never used really
hot water.
Today is our second day of heating the house. We heated one day last
week and now today temps are low enough that the blower has come on
several times during the night. My husband installed a valve and
temperature switch so that when the thermostat calls for heat, the valve
to the heat exchanger in the furnace plenum opens and water circulates.
Then, when the temperature comes up in the heat exchanger, the blower
starts. He wanted it this way so that we weren't blowing cold air
around for a few minutes, and it is working perfectly. We are very
pleased, and our house is comfortable.
My father has heated with and indoor wood stove for about 30 years, and
he told us that we would be using double the wood that he uses. It is
not cold enough yet to know for sure, but so far I think we are *not*
using double the wood that an indoor stove uses. I know there are many
variables involved, but we are keeping a small-ish fire going most days,
and only use 3 logs per day on average. This is nice dry maple and oak,
about 20 inch logs. For sure, I don't miss all the smoke, and the bugs
and spiders that come in on firewood when it's hauled into the basement!"
.
Rant over. 
