Vermont castings.

[moresnow]

I am a fan of the Drolet products for a budget minded option that really performs well. Century is another budget friendly solid option. As mentioned above the Pacific Energy models are solid and you get some more visually appealing options. Regency has been well respected also. Jotul seems to have a happy following. There are others worth considering but these come to mind first for me.

Don't let anyone scare you away from a Catalyst equipped model as well. Woodstock or Blaze King both offer models that would likely fit your requirements. The Catalyst equipped stoves generally provide much longer burn times and smoother heat output per load. The operation is really very simple and gets about as close to "set it and forget it" as you can get. My experience.

No offense to VC owners as those stoves can certainly do the job. They have a reputation of having some intricate components that occasionally need replacing. Tough on the reputation. The new version of VC Aspen is a set burn rate stove. Zero user input/control other than load size and perhaps a pipe damper. Rather unproven model as it's a new version. Enjoy looking and definitely research plenty before pulling the pin! Good luck.

 

[SS396driver]

I love my Drolet it replaced a 30 year old Dutch West . In my manual it states that wood loaded east to west lasts longer. That's how I've been loading it.

 

[Brufab]

Yea the century s250 would be for me then the larger version of it would be for my dad. I see closest place to michigan for dealer support is by Fort Wayne indiana

 

[Huskybill]

If viewing the fire doesn’t matter I pick up the steel tempwood toploader stoves. I reline the firebrick. I been using them for 30+ years. For $100/$125 you can’t go wrong. I cooked a complete Italian dinner on the flat top.

 

[anlrolfe]

Had a few of these long ago still have 1 in a cottage basement going strong. I'm mad that I didn't buy 1 when tractor supply was blowing them out for a few hundred bucks just didn't have the room to store at the time.

We had a circulator style like this as kid. 10-12 cord per year. Did as good a job heating the outside as the inside. If you're willing to feed it, it'll churn out some BTUs

 

[Huskybill]

Using a damper on the stovepipe with a temp gauge on the stove and stove pipeI can control the air going in the stove and how much heat goes up the chimney. I burn between 2.5 to 3 cords of wood per year. Without the gauges your throwing wood into the black hole.

 

[Grateful11]

Wow thats sweet I forwarded that to my old man he is going to be installing one in a new house he is building here shortly. Move in date is January sometime I may buy one myself it's definitely in my wheelhouse $ wise

Which one are you referring to?

 

[moresnow]

Yea the century s250 would be for me then the larger version of it would be for my dad. I see closest place to michigan for dealer support is by Fort Wayne indiana

The dealer support for a Century was a non-issue when I ran one for 2 years. Zero issues. Very simple stove. I ran mine on a 15 foot vent with a damper 18 inches above the stove. The damper was really necessary for moderating this easy breathing stove. Great heat output. The variable speed blower was quiet and very effective. The blower is super cheap if it ever needs replacing. I would recommend a larger model however. The 250 has a rated burn time of 5 hrs. Loading volume is only 1.55 cu/ft. Not the handiest if you leave the house for work/errands/etc. Just a thought.
To compare Catalyst/non-Catalyst design a bit I run a Blaze King 1.8 cu/ft Catalyst equipped stove that will burn between 12 and 20 hours on a load. More food for thought. Enjoy!

 

[philwarner]

I can't speak for the aspen, but I have been heating with Vermont Casting stoves for 45 years, starting with the original Defiant in the 70s bought directly from the foundry in Randolph Vermont and now with two 90s vintage Defiant Encores, bought used and both forest green. Every year I say thanks to Duncan Syme for designing these excellent stoves. If you can find these used, don't be concerned that they are catalytic; I've never had to change the catalyst in mine and they still burn very efficiently. The bottom ash pan is easy to empty, and opening it a crack when starting a fresh fire gets things going quickly with the extra draft. My Encores can take 22 inch wood top loading, but I usually cut to 16 to 18 inches for convenience.. (Same as the bar length of my Husky for quick, easy measuring). The original Defiant is side loading as well as top loading if that's your fancy, but the Encores are so convenient I would not want to go back to emptying the ashes by shovel.

Now I have heard some criticism of the newer Flex-burn models burning too hot and I can't speak to that, but my experience with Vermont Casting products has been excellent.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Brufab, your 150 miles from me. If you want to check out a Vermont Casting top load Defiant your welcome too. Top load is extremely nice in that it is clean to load and burn, and you get full use of the fire box size if needed. We burn small hot fires as we are retired, but you can get long burns on a loaded fire box. I would suggest you get a larger stove than you think you might need and burn smaller fires even if your space is smaller. The Defiant is a flex burn, meaning you can burn in catalytic mode or non cat mode. Cat stoves do require inspecting/cleaning the honeycomb cat element.
Wood stove choices/considerations.
Steel or cast.
Cat or non-cat
6" or 8" flue.
Top load, side load, front load.
Glass door options. Does the glass keep clean when burning. Some do not.
Other considerations are installation.
Outside air supply is optional on some models, and needed, when in tight homes for proper drafting.
How does it clean out, ash pan, or shovel stove body out as with some box (long bodied) stoves, etc.
We had a box stove for several years. It required raking the coals forward when reloading, burning front to back. Our house was always quite dusty in the winter from doing this.
Aesthetics may be important along with function. You do, or may, look at it all year.
Your choices depend on how you burn and what you burn.
Shoulder season, as mentioned, we are burning for several hours or overnight to take the chill and dampness of fall off. So we don't use the cat, and leave it on by-pass, as we are letting the stove go out daily and restarting.
If you get a cat stove, they require dry seasoned wood. Burning green wood will clog up the cat and probably the cooler parts of your flue and cap, and you will not be happy with burn performance. Very dry wood actually. 20% moisture for a cat is still quite green actually. Regardless of cat or not, there are benefits to burning good seasoned wood, which will mean purchasing dry wood, or planning ahead enough to effectively season for yourself for one to two years for many hardwoods.

 

[moresnow]

Interesting collection^

 

[Sandhill Crane]

A friend borrowed one of the skulls, and brought it back painted a grey/silver. Very cool. We think it is a cat skull. When we see something we liked over the last thirty years we waited till we could afford it. The cherry display table was one of those purchases when the family was much, much younger, and finances were slim at times. Almost all the items are things Margaret has found, with a couple exception that friends have donated.

 

[moresnow]

That VC keeping any arrowheads warm?

 

[Sandhill Crane]

There is lots of things. One arrowhead somewhere.

 

[user 174033]

Holy crap! Only 14" long. Most of my wood is 16-18" in length. I was trying to buy an American made stove. Do you have any recommendations for a stove similar in construction of putting the logs in long ways instead of side to side. I'm only heating 700sqft. Thanks for the reply!

I see a lot of recommendations but yet to see one for the US made IronStrike brand - I have one of these bad boys in my basement - the stove is amazing - once you learn the load and burn process, you can get upwards of 14 hour burns from it. The large glass gives off so much radiant it is crazy!!!
This is the one I have: http://ironstrike.us.com/products/grandview-300/
A Cdn made one that I have been considering for replacing the ole wood chief in the garage is this one: https://www.jaroby.com/en/produits.php?id=95&cat=13&sec=1 (my research so-far, tells me it would be a good product (carried by both our HW store chains Home Hardware and Kent)

 

[Lowhog]

We have had this Vermont For many years.

 

[moresnow]

I see a lot of recommendations but yet to see one for the US made IronStrike brand - I have one of these bad boys in my basement - the stove is amazing - once you learn the load and burn process, you can get upwards of 14 hour burns from it. The large glass gives off so much radiant it is crazy!!!
This is the one I have: http://ironstrike.us.com/products/grandview-300/
A Cdn made one that I have been considering for replacing the ole wood chief in the garage is this one: https://www.jaroby.com/en/produits.php?id=95&cat=13&sec=1 (my research so-far, tells me it would be a good product (carried by both our HW store chains Home Hardware and Kent)

Never heard a bad thing about either IronStrike or Jaroby. Seems they have not gained much traction in the circles I keep up with. Just a occasional happy user is all I've seen. Not sure how many models each company has currently that meet the 2020 requirements in the states? Enjoy.

 

[Brufab]

Think its gonna be the 2200sqft pleasant hearth with pedestal instead of legs. We don't always have the privilege of burning dry seasoned hardwood so the catalytic stoves were not the best option. We burn alot of popple. Only thing under 1000$ made in USA that had a pretty decent build quality

 

[Brufab]

I love my Drolet it replaced a 30 year old Dutch West . In my manual it states that wood loaded east to west lasts longer. That's how I've been loading it. View attachment 938636

We looked at the drolets super nice stove. I think I'm gonna get one for my 700sqft A frame. Got a pleasant hearth 2200sqft for the big house pedestal model. The Old man was able to put eyes on it and said it was built pretty nice for the $ can always upgrade the house stove and move the pleasant hearth to the barn.

 

[Mad Professor]

Get an old Warner. The smallest would suit your needs. They are built like a tank, boilerplate steel.