This is the last time.....

[CaseyForrest]

Yep. I could tell it was going mid way through the season because that "jet engine" sound it would make started to fade away.

I don't think it was designed to be a primary source of heat.


Sent from a field

 

[CaseyForrest]

I'll be honest too. I really like the looks of the new Vermont castings stoves. There is just way to much proprietary "stuff" in them that looks like a maintenance headache.


Sent from a field

 

[Del_]

I've not heard anything positive about Vermont Castings. I believe the brand started going downhill a decade or more ago.

 

[windthrown]

I paid less than $700 for my Englander 30-NC from Home Depot five years ago and so far maintenance costs have been $0. It uses standard firebricks and I think the secondary tubes and baffle are under $150. Of course it fails in the looks department compared to the VC defiant it replaced. That was one good looking stove. By every other measure the Englander is a winner.

What he said. Plus...

I paid $500 for my NC 30 from HD, shipped from VA. 3 years burning now, no problems or added costs. Not even a door cord replacement yet. I like the looks of it. Simple. No BS. The only drawbacks are that I never use the ash pan and the fan that came with it is too loud, so I never use that either. I use the box fan that I set up with the Earth Stove that it replaced. Also the Englander 30 is EPA III and WA state compliant, as well as HUD compliant with an OAK, which mine has. It uses secondary injected air and not a catalyst, but I prefer secondaries over cats.

 

[firebrick43]

Bought my Jotul f100 in 06. 0$ in maintenance in these 10 years. I do need to get a smoke shelf as its sagging pretty bad. Last I look they were around 50$.

 

[CaseyForrest]

I like that.


Sent from a field

 

[stihly dan]

Jotul is a great stove, but so is the hearthstone. If its in the middle of the room, hearthstone should win on both aesthetics, and comfort as it has more mass for a more even heat. Hate to be heated ut of a room just to get heat to other rooms. Looks and function. check out woodstock as well.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

What are some of the basic questions when shopping for a stove?

Steel or cast iron? Pros/cons
Loading styles... front, side, top?
Function: What are the combustion choices? Cat/non-cat, etc? (I actually don't have a clue what they are, how they work, or how that relates to long term use/cost.)
Installation factors?
Cost?
Style?

 

[CaseyForrest]

Jotul is a great stove, but so is the hearthstone. If its in the middle of the room, hearthstone should win on both aesthetics, and comfort as it has more mass for a more even heat. Hate to be heated ut of a room just to get heat to other rooms. Looks and function. check out woodstock as well.

I have looked hard at Woodstock because I absolutely love the idea of a catalytic stove.

I just can't seem to find one that meets our criteria. But I haven't looked since last winter.


Sent from a field

 

[CaseyForrest]

What are some of the basic questions when shopping for a stove?

Steel or cast iron? Pros/cons
Loading styles... front, side, top?
Function: What are the combustion choices? Cat/non-cat, etc? (I actually don't have a clue what they are, how they work, or how that relates to long term use/cost.)
Installation factors?
Cost?
Style?

For my wife, the key factor is aesthetics. Even if the stove was tucked into a corner, she wouldn't want a stove that looks like a stove. She wants it to look like a piece of furniture.

For me, its about long term maintenance. I do not want something that is going to need consumables replaced on a regular basis.

I prefer cast iron. Wrapped in soap stone would be very cool.

If we were to go buy a Jotul tomorrow, it would be the F500 with the gothic arches in the door and ivory enamel.

Hearthstone would be the Heritage 8022

 

[CaseyForrest]

Well, the decision just got easier. I found a crack in the firebox where it looks like the cast got hot and popped.

I did show the wife the Woodstock stove site and she actually liked one of the designs.


Sent from a field

 

[VW Splitter]

I am still using a Englander I bought back in 1981. That makes it 35 years of trouble free use. I replaced the fire bricks and the door gasket one time. I used to replace the stove pipe every other year. About 20 years ago I welled up a heavy stove pipe that should be good for another 30 years or so. That should see me out.

 

[chiefs584ever]

I have the Hearthstone Heritage and the stove has served me well for the 9 years I have owned the home. Soapstone is a great heat store and when you wake up in the morning, the stove is still throwing out heat thru the stone when the fire is out.

Sent from my SM-N920R4 using Tapatalk

 

[Marine5068]

Sounds like you could have paid for a Blaze King by now at this rate.

Well not quite for a Blaze King as they start at about $2200-$2400 and the King model is over $3200. But a good Drolet or Englander would have been paid for by now and are around $1000-$1500 CAD.

 

[CaseyForrest]

We walked into the local stove store and they were getting ready to mark down their floor displays 20%. They had a Heritage with a left hand door, no ash pan and black painted cast what we walked out with for $2400. Well, didnt walk out with it, Ill pick it up next Sat.

Think Im going to order the ash pan kit as well. I liked that on the VC stove and it seems cleaner than scooping and dumping into a can inside the house. Our Jotul insert I have to scoop out the ashes and without a vacuum the finer ash tends to scatter.

 

[Marshy]

We walked into the local stove store and they were getting ready to mark down their floor displays 20%. They had a Heritage with a left hand door, no ash pan and black painted cast what we walked out with for $2400. Well, didnt walk out with it, Ill pick it up next Sat.

Think Im going to order the ash pan kit as well. I liked that on the VC stove and it seems cleaner than scooping and dumping into a can inside the house. Our Jotul insert I have to scoop out the ashes and without a vacuum the finer ash tends to scatter.

What will you have into it after the ash pan kit?

 

[CaseyForrest]

Ash pan kit Ive found goes for around $350. Same price ordering it as a kit or it already being on the stove when purchased.

 

[Marshy]

So almost $3K into the stove on sale. Did you know the BK King is $3400?

 

[CaseyForrest]

Yes. They even sell BK stoves. Some that would work for us significantly cheaper.

But there's that whole "lookin at the back of the stove" thing. It visible from the main floor bedroom, kitchen and dining room. The back of the stove.

And the back of a BK stove is ten fold uglier than the back of our old VC stove.

Sure, it seems a bit odd to base a purchase decision on what the back of the stove looks like, but we aren't sticking it in a corner or backed up against a wall. And even though its not a BK, we will likely double our burn time and reduce our usage.

I'm glad the BK units work for you. I love the engineering in them. They just aren't the right stove for us when all things are considered.

 

[trukn2004]

Great choice! I agree, aesthetics are pretty important for a stove when its in the house. There were a lot of stoves I considered before I settled on the Jotul Oslo. A big factor for the wife was the look and feel of the stove. It is smack dab in our living room, you see it every day. I narrowed the choices down for her to ones that would work and she picked based off of looks.