# Looking for a new wood stove.



## WVhunter (Dec 12, 2010)

I am in the market for a new wood stove, I currently have a Wonder Wood and it eats wood like crazy. I want something more efficant that puts out good heat, with good burn times, as this is my primary heating meathod, my house is about 1450 sq. ft. I have narrowed it down to 4 stoves and was wanting your advice on these stoves, Jotul, Buck, Pacific Energy and Hearthstone. I have did a lot of reading using the search feature but I am trying to get everthing in one place to compare the pro's and con's. I live on a farm and have about 100 acres that is hardwood timber, so I have plenty of fire wood, just want to get the most out of it. Thanks


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## Marine5068 (Dec 12, 2010)

I'd go with the Pacific. But Envirofire makes some good no-nonsense large, high efficiency burning wood stoves too. I'm looking at the Kodiak for a replacement of my old Century wood stove which is getting close to twenty years old now.
Of course lots of companies make good stoves. Jotul stoves are pretty small so no good for my 2400sq ft house. And cast iron stove is ok but not necessary if you have a good burn chamber with secondary burn ports like a Pacific Energy stove.
It's a lot of what styles and options you want too. 
I like the basic looking black steel stoves that have good burn efficiencies.
Good Luck.


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## Cliniford (Dec 12, 2010)

Check out regency. We just bought one and love it. Looked at the pacific energy and wasnt impressed!


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## WVhunter (Dec 12, 2010)

Thanks guys, I will check out both of those. I am going to have to do something before long as the Wonder Wood is killing me, plus it has about had it.


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## sunfish (Dec 12, 2010)

The major brands are all good. 

Out of 4 or 5 stoves in 30 years, the Jotul F118CB is the best stove we've ever used.


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## stint (Dec 12, 2010)

Jotul F600 Firelight heats my 150 year center hall old farmhouse very satisfactorily for past 8 years.

Had one of original Vermont Castings Defiants before that.... circa 1975 model

Secondary burn and increased efficiency of F600 was like night and day


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## lmbeachy (Dec 12, 2010)

Just bought a Jotul 400 for a supplemental heat source,Our house is 1568 square ft. We have the stove in the basement(full basement) and let the heat rise up the stair case. Or we can turn the hot air fan on, cold air return is right behind the stove. It pretty well heats the whole house, and burn very clean, almost no smoke at all. We really like it.


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## climberjones (Dec 12, 2010)

WVhunter said:


> I am in the market for a new wood stove, I currently have a Wonder Wood and it eats wood like crazy. I want something more efficant that puts out good heat, with good burn times, as this is my primary heating meathod, my house is about 1450 sq. ft. I have narrowed it down to 4 stoves and was wanting your advice on these stoves, Jotul, Buck, Pacific Energy and Hearthstone. I have did a lot of reading using the search feature but I am trying to get everthing in one place to compare the pro's and con's. I live on a farm and have about 100 acres that is hardwood timber, so I have plenty of fire wood, just want to get the most out of it. Thanks



I have a 117 000 max btu wood burning furnace with a 2 stage distrabution blower and a draft blower for 1300 dollars on craigs list kansas city but that probabley a little to far to drive for you eh! its an ashley 24 af very good condition nice lookin


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## jerryw66 (Dec 12, 2010)

Marine5068 said:


> I'd go with the Pacific. But Envirofire makes some good no-nonsense large, high efficiency burning wood stoves too. I'm looking at the Kodiak for a replacement of my old Century wood stove which is getting close to twenty years old now.
> Of course lots of companies make good stoves. Jotul stoves are pretty small so no good for my 2400sq ft house. And cast iron stove is ok but not necessary if you have a good burn chamber with secondary burn ports like a Pacific Energy stove.
> It's a lot of what styles and options you want too.
> I like the basic looking black steel stoves that have good burn efficiencies.
> Good Luck.



I certainly wouldn't call the Jotul Oslo or the Firelight small, our Oslo heats 2 levels of 1500 sq ft each with no problem in any conditions if we run it hot and feed it generously. The OP needs to look at all the major brands and styles and make his own decision, that is why there is chocolate and vanilla.


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## sunfish (Dec 12, 2010)

jerryw66 said:


> I certainly wouldn't call the Jotul Oslo or the Firelight small, our Oslo heats 2 levels of 1500 sq ft each with no problem in any conditions if we run it hot and feed it generously. The OP needs to look at all the major brands and styles and make his own decision, that is why there is chocolate and vanilla.



Well said. Jotul makes small and large stoves. We have a smaller model and it's too much for our 1200 sq ft. But nice when it's real cold.


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## woodbutcherNYS (Dec 12, 2010)

I have a few friends with hearthstones. Neither one would do business with hearthstone again. I have owned a PE Alderlea T5 for less than a year, but it has been heating our 2000 sq ft ranch so far down to 8 degrees no prob. The firebox and baffles seem bulletproof to me. I have heard good things about Quadra-fire stoves too


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## WVhunter (Dec 12, 2010)

I have local dealers that sell Jotul, Buck, and Pacific, so I have looked at all of them. I did not think that the Jotul's were small in comparison to the others. The one dealer sale's Jotul and Pacific and really spoke high of the Jotul. I grew up with a Buck and really liked it. The 2 main reasons I like the Jotul is the side door feed and the ability to change the flew to come out the back, which is how my flu comes in now. I think I am leaning towards the Jotul F500 Oslo right now. I would still like to check out the soap stone stoves though. I have been reading about the different types, cast iron, plate steel, and soap stone. I guess each has their own pro's and con's. Just trying to find out as much info as I can before I buy.


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## WVhunter (Dec 12, 2010)

woodbutcherNYS said:


> I have a few friends with hearthstones. Neither one would do business with hearthstone again. I have owned a PE Alderlea T5 for less than a year, but it has been heating our 2000 sq ft ranch so far down to 8 degrees no prob. The firebox and baffles seem bulletproof to me. I have heard good things about Quadra-fire stoves too



I looked at those PE Alderlea's and really like the looks of that stove also, but like I said I have to be able to bring the flu out the back. That is the kicker.


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## Ronaldo (Dec 12, 2010)

*New Woodstove*

I have been heating my 2000 sq. ft. home with a Pacific Energy Super 27 for just over 10 years now and I absolutely love it! The secondary burn system works well and doesnt eat up the wood (seems to be efficient). I really enjoy watching the active flames that a non-cat stove produces,too. One of the features that sold me on the P.E. stoves is their floating firebox-the firebox floats or moves independently from the outside plates of steel. This contributes to no cracking of the stove corners as it expands and contracts from heating and cooling cycles. Keeps us very toasty through the Iowa winters and holds a fire very well overnight.Its 2 degrees outside right now and 75 inside.Good luck with your decision process.


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## Richard_ (Dec 12, 2010)

Cliniford said:


> C Looked at the pacific energy and wasnt impressed!



me either , what sold me was the price and performance , I first looked at Lopi and Avalon (same company) but way more expensive , I use my PE for heat ! and it does it's job very well


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## Marine5068 (Dec 12, 2010)

I think a lot of good wood stove makers out there now. 
I guess a new purchase depends on the size you need and the style you like(and cost of course).
I'm not much into colonial looks so wood stoves like Jotul don't interest me.
I prefer more modern or classic contemporary looks.
Not much of a country bumpkin' kind of person I guess.
Good luck with the purchase.


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## gpsman007 (Dec 13, 2010)

*i would go with pacific energy*

i have one...very efficient...will hold all night and then some...
a great stove for sure


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## branchbuzzer (Dec 13, 2010)

WVhunter said:


> I am in the market for a new wood stove, I currently have a Wonder Wood and it eats wood like crazy. I want something more efficant that puts out good heat, with good burn times, as this is my primary heating meathod, my house is about 1450 sq. ft.



Is there anything structurally wrong with the stove you have currently? Like rust holes, firebrick etc.? I have an old King metal stove, which I believe is basically the same design, and it certainly doesn't eat wood like crazy. As for how efficient the stove is compared to a modern EPA burner I couldn't say, but it does put out a tremendous amount of heat. I usually get 3+ hours on the initial burn with a load of oak and 8 hours or more of useful heat from the coals.

Are you sure you are setting the air intake correctly and all? Those stoves can be tricky to use, it took me a few years to learn all the quirks of mine. ( Air control stuck in the open position? The chain holding it can sometimes get fouled up, just an example )

I'm not saying you shouldn't get a new stove, by all means go for it, I'd just want to be sure it wasn't just the way I was operating the stove first. Otherwise, you might end up with the same results with your new stove.


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## WVhunter (Dec 13, 2010)

branchbuzzer said:


> Is there anything structurally wrong with the stove you have currently? Like rust holes, firebrick etc.? I have an old King metal stove, which I believe is basically the same design, and it certainly doesn't eat wood like crazy. As for how efficient the stove is compared to a modern EPA burner I couldn't say, but it does put out a tremendous amount of heat. I usually get 3+ hours on the initial burn with a load of oak and 8 hours or more of useful heat from the coals.
> 
> Are you sure you are setting the air intake correctly and all? Those stoves can be tricky to use, it took me a few years to learn all the quirks of mine. ( Air control stuck in the open position? The chain holding it can sometimes get fouled up, just an example )
> 
> I'm not saying you shouldn't get a new stove, by all means go for it, I'd just want to be sure it wasn't just the way I was operating the stove first. Otherwise, you might end up with the same results with your new stove.



I grew up with wood heat from a Buck Stove, I have a stove in my hunting cabin, and have several friends with wood stoves. I have never seen a stove burn wood like this. I put a damper in my flu, and have tried several ways of controling the air and it stiil eats it. I loaded the stove last night at 11pm before I went to bed (white and red oak) and it was out this morning at 6am when I got up, stove was already almost cool. The stove is about 5years old, fire box warping pretty bad, couple of fire brick cracked, it does put out the heat if you are there to feed it. I think I would do better replacing it before next winter, but it has served it's purpose.


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## WVhunter (Dec 13, 2010)

TreeCo said:


> I've got a Jotul F600CB and am happy with it. If you've been looking at Jotuls I'm sure you've noticed that the side door on the Oslo is on the left when you are facing the stove........and the side door on the Firelight is on the right. I much preferred the side door on the right due to the layout of our hearth....lots of bricked floor on the right side....so I chose the Firelight 600. I also liked the slighter higher btu output of the Firelight over the Oslo and the fact that it can take up to 24 inch wood Vs. the Olso taking 22 inch.
> 
> Take it for what it's worth buy my advice is to go BIG with free standing wood stoves, what ever brand you decide on. I let the house temperature fluctuate quite a bit and having a larger stove gets the house up to a nice temperature faster.
> 
> ...




Thanks Tree,
I looked at the 500 and the 600 also, I liked the 500 for the same reason you liked the 600. For me it works out better with the door on the left. The 500 heats up to 2000 sq ft and my house is about 1450 so I thought that would work pretty good. I saw a video on that new stove, I thought about one of those also, the top load feature sounds easy.


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## branchbuzzer (Dec 13, 2010)

WVhunter said:


> I grew up with wood heat from a Buck Stove, I have a stove in my hunting cabin, and have several friends with wood stoves. I have never seen a stove burn wood like this. I put a damper in my flu, and have tried several ways of controling the air and it stiil eats it. I loaded the stove last night at 11pm before I went to bed (white and red oak) and it was out this morning at 6am when I got up, stove was already almost cool. The stove is about 5years old, fire box warping pretty bad, couple of fire brick cracked, it does put out the heat if you are there to feed it. I think I would do better replacing it before next winter, but it has served it's purpose.



That was one thing I was going to ask and forgot was how old it was, since I think the brand has been around for a while. TSC is selling Wonderwood stoves new. I had been eyeing these and wondered how they compared to the older ones. Mine is at least 25 years old, so it seems odd ( or maybe not so odd considering the times we live in ) that yours isn't lasting well.

Didn't mean to imply you were a rookie burner, but it's good to make sure it's not something easily fixed first.

One more thing about the burn time on these stoves and the thermostatic air control. To get a long burn cycle out of the coals, one has to turn back the air completely at the end of the initial burn, so that as the stove begins to cool off the stat won't put the flap wide open again. For me it's the difference between getting 4 hours of heat or 8 hours. Tough to do when you fill it right before bed, of course.


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## pook (Dec 13, 2010)

been reading "EPA stoves are finicky about moisture in wood" =15%-25% MC per manual. This might be from parrots that memorized the manual but i dunno.
Englander [US] & Vogelzang {kinda china} seem like best deals for new & theres craiglist & theres an expiring tax rebate worth exploring...good lux


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## Swamp Yankee (Dec 13, 2010)

sunfish said:


> The major brands are all good.
> 
> Out of 4 or 5 stoves in 30 years, the Jotul F118CB is the best stove we've ever used.



Agreed

Really nice feature on the F118 is the long firebox. As long as the wood is under 24 inches it will fit. I have customers with stoves that are supposed to take 18 inch length that I have to cut 17 inch max for or they have a very difficult time getting the firebox full.

My F118 is in the unfinished basement / workshop. Basement usually runs around 80 or so while the upstairs is a comfy 65 to 70. Total area heated on both floors around 1800 square feet. Fully loaded productive heat burn time is around 8 to 10 hours.

Take Care


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## sunfish (Dec 13, 2010)

Swamp Yankee said:


> Agreed
> 
> Really nice feature on the F118 is the long firebox. As long as the wood is under 24 inches it will fit. I have customers with stoves that are supposed to take 18 inch length that I have to cut 17 inch max for or they have a very difficult time getting the firebox full.
> 
> ...


Yep! The 24" box is very nice!


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