Woodstove Recommendations?

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I've been using a earth stove that's at least 28 years old it has a bi metal air control. I don't believe they make these anymore. with good seasoned oak or almond it will hold a fire all night and through the next day.
 
Are you burning your stove hot enough to really get the heat out of it if it only ever reaches 200 degrees? Everything I'm reading about soapstone is that the ideal temp range for heating the house is 350*-550*. I can't see how 200* is sufficient to heat anything other than the room the stove is in.

I'm not saying you're wrong, not at all, as this winter will be my first with a soapstone stove, I'm just saying your post is contradictory to everything I've been reading elsewhere.

That's the exterior temperature of the stone. Even when it's full-blaze, you can still put your hands (heck, I even use it as a warming tray for food and coffee) on it. Sorry for the confusion. I burn it hot, but it doesn't have an internal thermometer.
 
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That's the exterior temperature of the stone. Even when it's full-blaze, you can still put your hands (heck, I even use it as a warming tray for food and coffee) on it. Sorry for the confusion. I burn it hot, but it doesn't have an internal thermometer.

I understand, but my stove isn't burning nearly as hot as it's capable of and the surface temp is at 400*. I'm not touching that. My stove is about 500 lbs, and if you've got one of those that's 1500+, I could see it not ever getting that hot, but I don't see how a 200* surface temp provides enough heat to warm the air anywhere other than than the room it's in. I intend to heat the entire house with my stove. I don't have an internal thermometer other than flue probe, and that's usually between 600-800*.
 
I grew up with Jotul's and have always had good luck with them. They are well built and have brought us years of great burning. They are a little more money, but you get what you pay for...

We bought a Jotul Rockland last year and it's great. I plan on shutting down the heat for the season and completely heating the house with the stove. With the fans on high and the stove cranking, it heats our 2,300 s/f house comfortably. The house is only two years old and is well insulated.
 
Blaze King - Princess or King Model, model / size depends on size of house & how cold your winter is. Things I like: long burn times, EXCELLENT heat control / thermostat, very clean burning which means less wood can be used as it gets the max heat possible out of wood & smoke, uses far less wood than friends with other stoves in smaller houses, DEEP fire box & firebox sits 6 inches below door level, not stupidly AT door level like many / most stoves.
 
I understand, but my stove isn't burning nearly as hot as it's capable of and the surface temp is at 400*. I'm not touching that. My stove is about 500 lbs, and if you've got one of those that's 1500+, I could see it not ever getting that hot, but I don't see how a 200* surface temp provides enough heat to warm the air anywhere other than than the room it's in. I intend to heat the entire house with my stove. I don't have an internal thermometer other than flue probe, and that's usually between 600-800*.

Oh, this thing CRANKS, trust me. It has these top vents that let the air out. The pictures don't really show that. The soapstone is 1380 lbs, and the insert is 250lbs. The stone flattens the curve out of the heat cycle if that makes any sense, and it radiates the heat after much longer. It provides radiant heat as well as convection heat.

This is from their site:

Our soapstone wood stove benefits include:

1. Soapstone woods stoves provide the most comfortable radiant heat. Conventional wood stoves, made from steel and /or cast iron, sometimes lined with thin soapstone tiles, will not provide the heat a real soapstone stove will; instead they will heat by convection, which literally means burning the air and creating a very uncomfortable heat which creates dry skin, runny noses, etc.

2. Our stoves provide even and consistent heat over a longer period of time when compared to conventional wood stoves. The soapstone stove works like a battery, you burn wood for 3 hours, the energy is stored in the thick soapstone slabs then evenly distributed over a period of about 20 hours(depending on house insulation) after the fire is out. The wood burns in the firebox, then it travels up and down through the inner channels of the stove, heating the outside stones and storing the energy.

3. The soapstone does not overheat because the material is 2 3/8" thick and is actually touchable.

4. Unlike other heaters that use thinner soapstone inside the firebox, all our heaters are manufactured with 60mm(2 3/8") thick soapstone inside and outside, improving the heat storage and capacity of the unit.

5. Our Warme24 heaters, are environment friendly because of the additional two secondary air flows to our firebox, un-ignited gases are burnt before exiting.
 
Yeah.. It will be a new installation. Start to finish.
Looking at United Brick & Fireplace and Top Hat both out of Madison area.

United has Vermont Castings, Regency and Hampton.

Top Hat has Hearthstone, Lopi, Jotul, etc.

I guess we will visit both and check out the stoves...

So the only option for buying new from dealers nowadays is EPA stoves? But it doesn't really matter though, huh?

It does matter - an EPA stove will be more efficient ( use less wood to produce the same heat) and produce less pollutants.

So, if you want a stove that's less efficient, needs more wood, is smokier, and needs the chimney cleaned out more often, you'll have to get an old stove that's not EPA certified.

Phil
 
OK thanks for the info.

Any opinions on these brands or the two dealers I listed? Or other dealers to look at?
At this point we are planning on just going to these two dealers and looking at stoves and just picking a dealer as a first step. We just moved in here a week ago. I've got to be out cutting firewood not looking at stoves.

Yeah.. It will be a new installation. Start to finish.
Looking at United Brick & Fireplace and Top Hat both out of Madison area.

United has Vermont Castings, Regency and Hampton.

Top Hat has Hearthstone, Lopi, Jotul, etc.

I guess we will visit both and check out the stoves...
 
We have been very happy with this Jotul Oslo, heats the main level and basement very well. That's about 1500 sq ft per level. The house has new windows and is well insulated.
FTqTUl.jpg
 
Got a Jotul 602, and a Jotul 118 as well. Wouldn't trade them for anything. 118 is a 1940 design, cast 1975, and burns 76% efficient on good wood. It'll go 10 hours easy on 24" logs, and will run all winter without ever going cold. Rake the coals forward, add wood, repeat. Be careful not to get one with with cracked castings- Jotuls can be overfired quite a bit, and the interior heat plates will take the beating, but chronic cranking will eventually bust the castings. For my (scarce) dollars, the finest stoves ever produced.

Morsos rock too.
 
I hadn't heard of them until I met a dealer. He said there's none finer, and he sells almost all of the brands, like filson, you might as well have the best. I don't know if there better than the others, but they are a very good stove.
 
Got a Jotul 602, and a Jotul 118 as well. Wouldn't trade them for anything. 118 is a 1940 design, cast 1975, and burns 76% efficient on good wood. It'll go 10 hours easy on 24" logs, and will run all winter without ever going cold. Rake the coals forward, add wood, repeat. Be careful not to get one with with cracked castings- Jotuls can be overfired quite a bit, and the interior heat plates will take the beating, but chronic cranking will eventually bust the castings. For my (scarce) dollars, the finest stoves ever produced.

Morsos rock too.

We have a Jotul 118 also and love it!!!
 
OK thanks for the info.

Any opinions on these brands or the two dealers I listed? Or other dealers to look at?
At this point we are planning on just going to these two dealers and looking at stoves and just picking a dealer as a first step. We just moved in here a week ago. I've got to be out cutting firewood not looking at stoves.

I really liked TopHat for their willingness to work with me in a non-standard way.

There is another supplier across town who wouldn't do business with me because he wanted to sell me a certain brand of insert - I guess he just didn't want my $3500...

I'm a huge Hearthstone fan but, as you've read here, many people are very loyal to Jotul.

BTW, I just realized from a work colleague that Jotul is pronounced "Yo-tull" or "Yodel" not "Joe-tool". You would think with all of the Germans and Norwegians here in WI (and being mostly auf Deutsch myself) I would have known that... :)

Also, look around here:http://madison.craigslist.org/search/?areaID=165&subAreaID=&query=wood+stove&catAbb=sss
 
Something to look into that I haven't seen mentioned is clearances and how big the hearth has to be. Some larger stoves require 24" clearances behind the stove and typically 16" in front. Smaller stoves with heat shields can be as close as 6" to the back wall. That makes a big difference in the size of the hearth.

We love our Quadrafire Cumberland Gap. It is basically a welded plate stove with cast iron cladding. Sealed like plate, looks like cast. Really though, I haven't seen a bad stove. It's the little personal preference things that make all the difference. Do you prefer top load? Side load? Want a square box or rectangular? Ash tray?

What ever you get, post some pics so we can see!
Dok
 
Yeah we are probably going with Top Hat although their quote just came in pretty high at about 5600 installed for the Jotul Castine (one smaller than the black bear) or they've suggested the enerzone 2.3 (?) to save a couple hundred bucks....
My vote is for the Jotul. Anybody know about Enerzone?
 
Anything Lopi makes will put out good heat, we've used ours as a primary heat source for 10+ years, not as pretty as the vermont Castings though.

:agree2:

We've been heating with a Lopi Answer 9 years now it's one of the smaller units, first in a 2 story 900 sq. ft. 2 bedroom. Now we have it in the great room of our 2,300 sq. ft. drafty farm house. Keeps half the house nice and the other side we sleep under a pile of blankets (love it).

The Endevor is a great stove with nice cook top, bypass for when your loading and a bigger box. The blowers are great if it gets really cold out.
Good Luck! Lot's of nice stoves out there.

http://www.travisindustries.com/
 
Sorry to be late to the party. I just bought a Oslo from Top Hat and really liked working with Gary there. Do Not buy a Vermont Castings!

Other good dealers (and I'm leaving out the one on Watts Rd. since they have Quadrafire steel stoves which are good since you said yo like cast). There is a really good dealer out in Highland so a little further west than you. Also a good dealer in rural Cambridge that sells Morso (excellent stoves!) and a good guy in Ft. Atkinson that sells Jotul and Pacific Energy. PM me if you want any more info.
 

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