# Vogelzang The Colonial



## Corriewf (Dec 3, 2009)

Hello all,


Been around here reading and all for about a month and decided to register and post. I just recently purchased my first wood stove insert a couple weeks ago and installed it last week. I figured I would share some pics of it and my opinion of it. I couldn't afford a nice Jotul or Hearthstone Clydesdale like I wanted. Well I guess I COULD have afforded it but just couldn't part with 4.5k - 5k for the stove, pipe and installation. I came across this Vogelzang The Colonial insert on Northern tool for $899 and decided it would be my first baby (not counting my son..err or my wife). I then purchased an Everguard SS for 700 (including some insulation, rain cap etc). A buddy and me did the installation ourselves and the entire project cost about $1,800. 

The firebox for the Colonial is small. I measured about 1.78 cubic feet versus the 1.28 something the manufacturer stated it is. Still it is small. However I do feel that I am getting plenty of heat from it for the little amount of wood I actually use. I have a 1,800 square foot house and it keep the tempts well into the 70s through most parts with the exception of the far off bedroom that sits around 69-70 on a 30 something night. My house is very boxy so I might have to get a tad creative about getting the heat spread around. The 6-8 hour burns times are easy enough to achieve and I have found myself with firestarting strength coals 16-24 hours after last full load. Despite the " you can always have a small fire in a big firebox but not a big fire in a small box " mentality, I have found the small firebox to actually output similar heat to my friends Clydesdale and use a lot less wood to do so. Smaller firebox for me means smaller area for the warm air to escape versus a large firebox and trying to do a smaller fire. Sure I would take a larger firebox if I could, but it is nice to conserve.  

So far the only negative I have found with this unit is the blower. It is not regulated by heat and is poorly designed. It does attempt to pull air from a similar area it is trying to push. the unit attaches to the stove just below the ash guard and I have found loosening the screws so that it is no longer flush with the body of the insert solves the design flaw. 

All in all it has been a great value for my money. I guess time will tell if the parts hold up to be durable or not. Everything looks quite easy to replace. Being new to wood stoves, I am still learning and all so I hope she hangs tough for me.


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## begreen (Dec 3, 2009)

Thanks for the post and pics. She looks like she's burning well.


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## raybonz (Dec 3, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Hello all,
> 
> 
> Been around here reading and all for about a month and decided to register and post. I just recently purchased my first wood stove insert a couple weeks ago and installed it last week. I figured I would share some pics of it and my opinion of it. I couldn't afford a nice Jotul or Hearthstone Clydesdale like I wanted. Well I guess I COULD have afforded it but just couldn't part with 4.5k - 5k for the stove, pipe and installation. I came across this Vogelzang The Colonial insert on Northern tool for $899 and decided it would be my first baby (not counting my son..err or my wife). I then purchased an Everguard SS for 700 (including some insulation, rain cap etc). A buddy and me did the installation ourselves and the entire project cost about $1,800.
> ...



Nice looking fire you've got going! Keep us posted on how the stove performs.. Looks nice from the pics..

Ray


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## Corriewf (Dec 3, 2009)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> Thanks for the post and pics. She looks like she's burning well.



Thanks BeGreen. Been reading a lot of your posts, quite an informative guy you are.


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## fossil (Dec 3, 2009)

Vogelzang has kind of a sketchy rep among a lot of savvy (and even not-so-savvy) woodburners, because of some of the "junk" they consistently peddled in the past (and still do).  In recent years, however, it seems they're making an effort to put out some products of acceptable quality.  They now have a line of woodstoves and inserts that are tested and proven to the same standards as all the other mainstream manufacturers' offerings.  Your insert is an EPA approved, UL listed woodburning appliance.  That means it should burn efficiently and serve you well.  As you gain experience with it, it would be helpful to folks here for you to keep in touch on the forums and share with us all how this insert performs over time.  It sure does look nice there in the pics!  Thanks for posting!  Rick


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## Corriewf (Dec 3, 2009)

raybonz said:
			
		

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Thanks Ray! Yeah I am kind of worried about the durability of the stove. It looks great, but how long will she hold up versus the more expensive units. I will give her a nice very thin coating of oil in the off season and hope she stays great for me. 

The bad thing about the smaller firebox is that a lot of my firewood is too long or too thick. I don't mind it being too thick. I love using the maul, but the length pieces are gonna have to be re-cut. I was pretty concerned about how long she would really keep a fire in her having such a small firebox but was pleasantly surprised. I do get to coals seemly fast though and it does seem to lose that nice 400+ degree temp after a few hours if I don't keep her fed.  Ahhh well. Can't beat it for 899...Unless your that guy that got the Jotul for free...damn you.


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## Corriewf (Dec 3, 2009)

fossil said:
			
		

> Vogelzang has kind of a sketchy rep among a lot of savvy (and even not-so-savvy) woodburners, because of some of the "junk" they consistently peddled in the past (and still do).  In recent years, however, it seems they're making an effort to put out some products of acceptable quality.  They now have a line of woodstoves and inserts that are tested and proven to the same standards as all the other mainstream manufacturers' offerings.  Your insert is an EPA approved, UL listed woodburning appliance.  That means it should burn efficiently and serve you well.  As you gain experience with it, it would be helpful to folks here for you to keep in touch on the forums and share with us all how this insert performs over time.  It sure does look nice there in the pics!  Thanks for posting!  Rick



Oh I am not going anywhere buddy. You guys are an amazing group here. This wood heat bug has got me bad man... I LOVE IT! The heat just seems to penetrate you. I can actually warm up, go outside and stay warm for a few minutes. No other heat can touch it! I recently got a kidney infection and this wood stove has been like a heating pad on my back. 

As far as the woodstove, I picked it over the other cheap brands because of the BTUs (69k) and " The Colonial " branding on the door. I would have loved a gold plated door though. Ah well. : -/


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## Corriewf (Dec 3, 2009)

I forgot to add, do most wood stove inserts have slots on the sides and the top that blow out the hot air into the room? I was kind of surprised to see that...Although the sides do not blow out at nearly the amount of pressure as the top, they seem to be contributing.


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## Rougement (Dec 3, 2009)

I'd love to hear more about this mod you did to the blower. I read about a similar mod on the reviews section of the northern tool site. What exactly is the flaw? 

I've got a colonial also, I posted a mini review here a month or two back. I guess I'm not as pleased as you are by it but we're warm, I'm in better shape and the propane tank is still half full.


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## fossil (Dec 3, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> I forgot to add, do most wood stove inserts have slots on the sides and the top that blow out the hot air into the room? I was kind of surprised to see that...Although the sides do not blow out at nearly the amount of pressure as the top, they seem to be contributing.



Woodburning inserts, by their very nature of being buried into what would ordinarily be a totally inefficient open wood burning fireplace, need the blowers to produce forced convection around the hot firebox and get that warm air out into the living space, so that it's not just all lost up the flue. Freestanding woodstoves don't need that to the same extent, because they radiate and convect out to the space better than inserts, but they very often benefit from the addition of a blower.  Hearthstove installations, as well, benefit from the installation of a blower, as they're kind of a cross between a freestanding and an insert.  In any case, yes, your insert needs to have a blower installed, and the difference in airflow you describe may simply be that the "sides" are the air intakes for the blower, and the "top" is the exhaust.  Rick


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## Corriewf (Dec 3, 2009)

fossil said:
			
		

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The air intakes for the blower are on the bottom of the stove. I was going to get a free standing woodstove to start with, but figured it would be too dangerous for my son and animals. The area the insert is in is kind of a small room and we often walk right through that area. If it was in the corner, I would have gone for a free standing. Those hearthstones are made with soapstone exterior as well right? I remember seeing a couple and god were they perwty. I bet the heat coming off those bad boys is amazing.


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## Corriewf (Dec 3, 2009)

Gotta a question for you guys (gals too  ). In the winter when I need to run this stove 24/7, how do I get the ash out without letting the coals go out first? Same question with cleaning the glass. Do I have to bite the bullet and just let her go out, get a little cold in the house and do everything real quick to get a fire going?


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## Pagey (Dec 3, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Gotta a question for you guys (gals too  ). In the winter when I need to run this stove 24/7, how do I get the ash out without letting the coals go out first? Same question with cleaning the glass. Do I have to bite the bullet and just let her go out, get a little cold in the house and do everything real quick to get a fire going?



If it's like most EPA stoves, it will burn from front to back.  In the morning, you should find any substantial coals in the back of the fire box and ash in the front.  Scoop the ash, rake the coals forward, relight with kindling or small, dry splits on the coals you raked to the front.


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## Adam_MA (Dec 3, 2009)

Nice review, and nice looking stove. As a Vogelzang owner it makes me happy when others are as pleased with their stove as I am with mine! As for the 24/7 burning, Pagey is correct, in the morning, you simply scoop a bit of ash from the front, then rake the coals to the front and get your fire back up and running. You will most likely lose a small bit of burning coals, but that's just a simple fact of life. Good luck with your insert!


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## Jags (Dec 3, 2009)

Congrats on the new stove.  It looks nice and toasty from here.  I am glad to see that Vogelzang has changed its tune a little in the past few years.  Their EPA stoves look like a viable option for the lower end of the burn boxes (it didn't always used to be that way). It appears that they have several boxes that now pass the EPA Cert.  Kudos to them.  

Remember - with all new stoves there is a learning curve.  If your willing to pay attention to the stove and learn from it, it should perform even better after a little time under your wing.


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## highmark800 (Dec 3, 2009)

I too just recently purchased a new EPA stove from Vogelzang called the Performer model, it does what it was advertised to do. We are heating our 2400 sq ft house with it and this morning the outside temp was -20 °F . Inside the house was a comfotable 68 with plenty of coals left to refire the stove. We live @ 10,000 feet in Colorado and the high today is forcast to be 10 °F  new record low today and predicting new low again tomorrow. Inside the house we are at 70.


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## Corriewf (Dec 3, 2009)

Thanks guys! The pics could have come out better, but that living room is always hard to light right. It's known as the cave in my house, no natural light penetrates. I also took them with my iphone so. 

The problem I have found quite a few times is that I can't get a good even burn out. Maybe I didn't get the stove up high enough before I set back or too much ash, but the back coals will sometimes build up and not want to burn. Most of my good coals are in the middle and I have to rake the back ones into the middle with the good ones to get them burning. 

Adam when I was searching for Vogelzang opinions, yours was one that kept coming up. Thanks for posting about yours, I might not have bought mine without your posts. Something I like about mine is how easy it looks to replace everything. The secondary pipes are held on by two screws, which once removed look like I can easily remove the boarding above them. The fan is mounted by two screws just below the ash guard and is sold as a whole unit including housing. Some of the stoves I looked at had the blower motor in the back which would require pulling the wood stove out some. As long as Vogelzang keeps making parts for this, I should be fine. I do worry about the steel warping and maybe the welds. How long have you had yours Adam?


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## raybonz (Dec 4, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Thanks Ray! Yeah I am kind of worried about the durability of the stove. It looks great, but how long will she hold up versus the more expensive units. I will give her a nice very thin coating of oil in the off season and hope she stays great for me.
> 
> The bad thing about the smaller firebox is that a lot of my firewood is too long or too thick. I don't mind it being too thick. I love using the maul, but the length pieces are gonna have to be re-cut. I was pretty concerned about how long she would really keep a fire in her having such a small firebox but was pleasantly surprised. I do get to coals seemly fast though and it does seem to lose that nice 400+ degree temp after a few hours if I don't keep her fed.  Ahhh well. Can't beat it for 899...Unless your that guy that got the Jotul for free...damn you.




You're welcome Corie! It's good to hear they've improved that brand stove only time will tell the whole story.. Lots of folks don't care for my stove and yes they have their problems but mine is still going strong after 20 yrs. and has only needed one part for $20.00 beside one cat for $100.00.. Pretty good for 20 yrs service if you ask me.. I paid $650.00 for it new and it came with an ash bin, gloves, a canvas wood tote, all the tools (really good welded wrought iron tools) along with the stand, everything to convert it to coal if I want to and some spare parts! Hopefully you can make this statement someday too..

Best of Luck,
Ray


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## Corriewf (Dec 4, 2009)

raybonz said:
			
		

> You're welcome Corie! It's good to hear they've improved that brand stove only time will tell the whole story.. Lots of folks don't care for my stove and yes they have their problems but mine is still going strong after 20 yrs. and has only needed one part for $20.00 beside one cat for $100.00.. Pretty good for 20 yrs service if you ask me.. I paid $650.00 for it new and it came with an ash bin, gloves, a canvas wood tote, all the tools (really good welded wrought iron tools) along with the stand, everything to convert it to coal if I want to and some spare parts! Hopefully you can make this statement someday too..
> 
> Best of Luck,
> Ray



Wow man! That is quite a nice stove. I thought the cats need to be replaced more often than that! You must take real good care of your stove. I heard the cats burn really nice, but have to be replaced every 6-9 years and sometimes can be every 3. I know I will have to replace the blower motor and wanted to avoid replacing a cat. If I had heard your story though. ahaha!


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## Adam_MA (Dec 4, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Adam when I was searching for Vogelzang opinions, yours was one that kept coming up. Thanks for posting about yours, I might not have bought mine without your posts. Something I like about mine is how easy it looks to replace everything. The secondary pipes are held on by two screws, which once removed look like I can easily remove the boarding above them. The fan is mounted by two screws just below the ash guard and is sold as a whole unit including housing. Some of the stoves I looked at had the blower motor in the back which would require pulling the wood stove out some. As long as Vogelzang keeps making parts for this, I should be fine. I do worry about the steel warping and maybe the welds. How long have you had yours Adam?



Glad I could help. My stove is going to turn 1 year old this month. I wouldn't worry too much about warping or the welds, these things are made to burn! My stove is a bit smaller than yours. I have the Defender model, but I have a small house, and in the coldest parts of last winter, with WAY less than seasoned wood, I could keep the house in the mid 70's no problem. I'm really looking forward to the cold weather this winter, with seasoned wood to see how she does. Here's a link to some Vogelzang porn in case you haven't see it. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/43371/

Enjoy your stove


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## BrotherBart (Dec 4, 2009)

The only people I have seen here that bad mouth Vogelzang stoves, don't own Vogelzang stoves.


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## fredarm (Dec 4, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> The only people I have seen here that bad mouth Vogelzang stoves, don't own Vogelzang stoves.



I think we're going to have to distinguish between the Vogelzang EPA stoves/inserts (Defender, Colonial, etc.), and the EPA-exempt stoves like the Boxwood. The VZ EPA stoves seem to be a good value, but the non-EPA stoves still scare me!


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## Corriewf (Dec 4, 2009)

Adam_MA said:
			
		

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You surer that Defender is smaller? Looks to be about the same size firebox to me. How many pieces of decent splits can you get in her? Thanks for the link. Those flames sure are memorizing.


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## Corriewf (Dec 4, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> The only people I have seen here that bad mouth Vogelzang stoves, don't own Vogelzang stoves.



So just about everyone? ahaha! BB you seen the Vogelzang drum stove kits? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYPqqBuDEI&feature=PlayList&p=5BD8EC27F2C56F72&index=2


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## Jags (Dec 4, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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Heck, I'll bet ya a 6 pack of Dog Fish Head beer that he owns one of them kits.


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## BrotherBart (Dec 4, 2009)

Jags said:
			
		

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There is a brand new kit sitting on the shelf in my garage. My last barrel stove was a double decker. Took it to the dump years ago. It did duty for a long time in the basement then I added the top barrel with racks in it and doors on each end and made a smoker out of it. You could put half a hog in that sucker.


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## Jags (Dec 4, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

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Maaannnn - you didn't give him time to take the bait.  I was already tasting that beer.  Crap - going home to a Miller Lite.


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## Corriewf (Dec 5, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

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How was the kit? I bet those barrels put off crazy amounts of heat. You ever catch a vid of it in action?


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## Corriewf (Dec 5, 2009)

Guys another question since I am new to this. You see how I have the thermometer in the top right of the stove. Do you think that is the best place to have it? I have not a clue where to put to tell the most accurate temp of the stove.... On inserts I guess it is harder to pin point a good location. Thanks for your help and advice.


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## begreen (Dec 5, 2009)

Being the first proud poster with this stove, you will have to tell us. Try the other corner for a few days for a comparison. It's all relative.


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## Corriewf (Dec 5, 2009)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> Being the first proud poster with this stove, you will have to tell us. Try the other corner for a few days for a comparison. It's all relative.



Damn buddy, I dont know. Ahahaha! I did try putting it close to the SS entry and got the same temp as where it is now. I guess there is no better spot that *I* know of. 


Here is a video of the secondaries kicking in a few minutes ago. Ignore the new Super Mario Brothers going on in the back ground. Mrs and me love that new Mario Brothers, but I get mad and let her take over. Video games seemed a lot easier in the late 80s early 90s.


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## BrotherBart (Dec 5, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> How was the kit? I bet those barrels put off crazy amounts of heat. You ever catch a vid of it in action?



The kit was fine for its purpose. In those days videos involved large clunky boxes with a Beta tape inside. Never owned one. In fact I don't have a camera in my cell phone these days either.


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## Corriewf (Dec 5, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

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Yeah, I used to be like that. I worked for the cell phone company back in 2000 and refused to even get a highly discounted cellphone. Ended up getting one back in 2006 when I got married and now with a 2 year old, I'm taking videos all the time. I use an iphone for my pics and vids.


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## raybonz (Dec 5, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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Very nice mesmerizing fire that stove puts out Corrie! Do you know if that stove is made in the USA and what sort of warranty does it some with?

Ray


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## Corriewf (Dec 5, 2009)

raybonz said:
			
		

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Comes with Manufacturer Warranty: 12 months limited parts / No labor. It is made in China, however it is a American company based out of Michigan. I have read some solid reviews on their customer service being pretty good. Have yet to find out myself. The stove imo is a steal at 899 via Northern Tool. I have read that they might go on sale in a couple months and be 150 off. The Vogelzang site list them at 1299.

Here's what I found about Vogelzang from their site: 



> The Vogelzang organization is committed to offer ONLY the finest selection of Wood and Coal Stoves, Accessories, and related Hearth Products in today's marketplace.
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> This company has a history of integrity dating back to 1907 when our Dutch ancestors settled in Holland, Michigan.
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I kind of like a company that doesnt shy away from the lord. Hope it isn't just marketing though.


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## myzamboni (Dec 5, 2009)

Jags said:
			
		

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I love Dog Fish Head Ale.  Had it at the Brickskeller in DC last time I was back that way.


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## Rougement (Dec 6, 2009)

"Our Testimony as a Company:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"
John 3:16 [/quote]

I kind of like a company that doesnt shy away from the lord. Hope it isn't just marketing though.[/quote]"

Funny, their religious stuff nearly stopped me buying my colonial.


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## kevinmerchant (Dec 6, 2009)

I don't know anything about the Vogelzang, but it looks and performs identical to my avalon pendleton.
I purchased it used this spring and started using this Oct. Everything you have said about the performance of the Vogelzang is exactly what mine does. And from what I can see in the pics it looks like the same stove.


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## kevinmerchant (Dec 6, 2009)

Never-mind, just got a look at it on their web site. But they perform the same.


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## Corriewf (Dec 6, 2009)

Rougement said:
			
		

> "Our Testimony as a Company:
> 
> "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"
> John 3:16



I kind of like a company that doesnt shy away from the lord. Hope it isn't just marketing though.[/quote]"

Funny, their religious stuff nearly stopped me buying my colonial.[/quote]

Well to each their own. How do you like the stove thus far? Where do you keep your thermometer? How do you run yours to get it up to 400+ if you dont mind me asking?


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## Corriewf (Dec 6, 2009)

burn it said:
			
		

> I don't know anything about the Vogelzang, but it looks and performs identical to my avalon pendleton.
> I purchased it used this spring and started using this Oct. Everything you have said about the performance of the Vogelzang is exactly what mine does. And from what I can see in the pics it looks like the same stove.



Hey man, I would love to see some pics of yours in action. How much do the avalon's run ($$)?


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## Adam_MA (Dec 7, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> You surer that Defender is smaller? Looks to be about the same size firebox to me. How many pieces of decent splits can you get in her? Thanks for the link. Those flames sure are memorizing.



When I read your first post, I didn't know that your 1.7 was your own measurement. As it turns out, they are the same size firebox. I don't think I've ever counted how many splits I can get in there, but on occasion I have packed it right up back to front to the tubes on top. This past weekend, I put my last load in at about 2am, Just added 3 medium sized splits, cut it back once the wood was caught, then back to the air all the way closed about 15 minutes after that. At about 1230pm the next day, there were enough coals left to just throw a split on and get it going again.


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## highmark800 (Dec 7, 2009)

It's like anything, Chevy vs ford vs dodge or Polaris vs Kawasaki or arctic cat. Yes there is some junk out there but these companys dont stay long unlees they are doing something right. I love my new stove and it has done what I have hoped for. Would recommend it to any one and guess what only paid $899 from northern tool. Have money left over for other toys.


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## Rougement (Dec 7, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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"

Funny, their religious stuff nearly stopped me buying my colonial.[/quote]

Well to each their own. How do you like the stove thus far? Where do you keep your thermometer? How do you run yours to get it up to 400+ if you dont mind me asking?[/quote]

I keep the thermometer (magnetic condor) on the upper left, alongside the secondary air housing. 

I'm not totally in love with the stove but the wood I have is less than optimal. I guess all EPA stove will be picky about wood but I'm still learning. I can get it up to 400 but very rarely over that, it seems to be more luck than science at this point but with dryer wood and more experience I'll get there. 

I'm more concious of what I'm doing wrong than right to keep the temps up:

don't block the lower air intake (tough as when the fire burns down splits tend to roll from the back and cover it. I cut all my wood to 18" or so for an east/west fire but now I'm thinking this stove might handle shorter splits placed north/south better.  

I've re-split much of my firewood. This stove isn't big enough to accomodate a big split or two and the smaller ones around it for an overnight burn. Because of the smaller splits I'm reloading often. The next stove will have a much bigger firebox. 

I'm also wary that I'm alway hitting the air tubes when I reload because of the tiny firebox. I hope they can take the abuse.

I was also wary of the wooden door handle when I first saw it. Now it's starting to brown where the metal enters it. I'll see what Vogelzang have to say about it. 

Still, for the money it's ok. I think I'll have recouped the money after one winter's burning by not using propane. Plus, when it comes to shopping for the next stove I now know what I'm looking for - bigger firebox and quieter blower for a start.


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## Corriewf (Dec 7, 2009)

Adam_MA said:
			
		

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Yeah, I have had coals after 16 hours that surprised me. Tried to shut it down to get the ash cleared out and glass cleaned and couldn't do it due to coals. I do seem to have a problem with the coals not burning off fast enough. You have that problem?


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## Corriewf (Dec 7, 2009)

piney said:
			
		

> It's like anything, Chevy vs ford vs dodge or Polaris vs Kawasaki or arctic cat. Yes there is some junk out there but these companys dont stay long unlees they are doing something right. I love my new stove and it has done what I have hoped for. Would recommend it to any one and guess what only paid $899 from northern tool. Have money left over for other toys.



Heck yeah. I won't lie, I wanted the hearthstone clydesdale, but the local dealer wanted almost 5k for the stove, pipe, and install. I just don't have that kind of cash. It works for 899.  I am happy to have any epa approved stove for that price.


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## Corriewf (Dec 7, 2009)

Rougement said:
			
		

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Well to each their own. How do you like the stove thus far? Where do you keep your thermometer? How do you run yours to get it up to 400+ if you dont mind me asking?[/quote]


> I keep the thermometer (magnetic condor) on the upper left, alongside the secondary air housing.
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> I'm not totally in love with the stove but the wood I have is less than optimal. I guess all EPA stove will be picky about wood but I'm still learning. I can get it up to 400 but very rarely over that, it seems to be more luck than science at this point but with dryer wood and more experience I'll get there.
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I have the same problem with temps. I think there is not a very accurate place to put the thermometer as I believe the temp is much higher than my readings. It take 400+ to get some good secondaries going and I do get them going. I often read between 325-350. I was somehow able to get it up to 400+ on the gauge last night, but I don't know how. I can say I don't notice much of a difference when the primary air is blocked by ash and such. I just try and keep it clean since the firebox is small. I found it better for a good even burn to split most of my wood to about a 1/2 to 1/3 of a normal size split and try to cross them in the firebox. It is funny to hear you worry about the air tubes as that has been a constant bother for me. I am also pretty worried about the boards up there as well. Must say though, they look like they would be easy to replace if need be, and I don't think they will be very expensive. Did you try taking your blower off? I took mine off the unit and pull it about a half inch from the stove. The unit itself just rest on the floor. I get at least double the airflow doing that. Not too sure about the noise of the blower compared to others, but the Mrs wasn't too happy about it at first. 

Well the good thing is like you said, for 899 it's a good stove to save some money for a few years and learn the ways of a woodstove. Maybe in a few years with all the money we saved, we can afford something bigger. The good thing about these fireboxes is at least we are not using too much wood.


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## Corriewf (Dec 8, 2009)

Ok for those fellow Vogelzang owners. Tonight I came across a pretty big round chunk that was quite short, so I split it and tried a north to south fire. The results imo were a faster heat up time for the stove. My chainsaw is down and out but I think it is worth cutting some pieces to do north to south fires. I took a quick video to show the results after about 30 minutes. The secondaries were already kicking in with about 15 minutes. This is a the fastest I have got the stove up since I have been running it.



So if you have not tried north to south, give it a shot and let me know what you think.


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## Adam_MA (Dec 8, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Yeah, I have had coals after 16 hours that surprised me. Tried to shut it down to get the ash cleared out and glass cleaned and couldn't do it due to coals. I do seem to have a problem with the coals not burning off fast enough. You have that problem?



Generally I don't. What I do, is when the logs have burned down and have started to break up, I open the air back to full, open the door, and use a fire poker to break up the big chunks. I then spread them evenly through the firebox, and leave the door open just a crack for a little while. This makes them burn down pretty fast. Then I just simply load the stove back up on top of the remaining coals, leave the door open a crack until I see something has caught good, close the door, and once the fire is going good I just start working the air closed until I get the fire I want.


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## Rougement (Dec 8, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Rougement said:
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> I keep the thermometer (magnetic condor) on the upper left, alongside the secondary air housing.
> 
> I'm not totally in love with the stove but the wood I have is less than optimal. I guess all EPA stove will be picky about wood but I'm still learning. I can get it up to 400 but very rarely over that, it seems to be more luck than science at this point but with dryer wood and more experience I'll get there.
> 
> ...



I have the same problem with temps. I think there is not a very accurate place to put the thermometer as I believe the temp is much higher than my readings. It take 400+ to get some good secondaries going and I do get them going. I often read between 325-350. I was somehow able to get it up to 400+ on the gauge last night, but I don't know how. I can say I don't notice much of a difference when the primary air is blocked by ash and such. I just try and keep it clean since the firebox is small. I found it better for a good even burn to split most of my wood to about a 1/2 to 1/3 of a normal size split and try to cross them in the firebox. It is funny to hear you worry about the air tubes as that has been a constant bother for me. I am also pretty worried about the boards up there as well. Must say though, they look like they would be easy to replace if need be, and I don't think they will be very expensive. Did you try taking your blower off? I took mine off the unit and pull it about a half inch from the stove. The unit itself just rest on the floor. I get at least double the airflow doing that. Not too sure about the noise of the blower compared to others, but the Mrs wasn't too happy about it at first. 

Well the good thing is like you said, for 899 it's a good stove to save some money for a few years and learn the ways of a woodstove. Maybe in a few years with all the money we saved, we can afford something bigger. The good thing about these fireboxes is at least we are not using too much wood. [/quote]

what's your reasoning behind taking the blower off? Does it suck air in from all around the blower too as well as through the unit itself? Have you experimented with distances to find the best position? I'm not doubting it works but mine is installed in a wall about 3' off the ground so I'll have to do some work to get the blower away from the insert.


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## Corriewf (Dec 8, 2009)

Rougement said:
			
		

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what's your reasoning behind taking the blower off? Does it suck air in from all around the blower too as well as through the unit itself? Have you experimented with distances to find the best position? I'm not doubting it works but mine is installed in a wall about 3' off the ground so I'll have to do some work to get the blower away from the insert.[/quote]

Well, this is just with the vogelzang the colonial. I probably wouldn't do it with other inserts. The blower and it's housing come as one piece and connect under the ash guard. When I connected it tight to the the body of the insert with the two screws, I noticed very little air being pushed out. When I closely examined the fan and how the housing is designed, I noticed that it was poorly designed. The fan is trying to take air from the same place it is trying to blow the air which was causing a conflict. So I tried loosing the screws and having it set off a little and noticed it pulled air from the gaps on the sides where it was no longer flush with the insert, more air flow. I then took the screws off and just let it sit on the hearth about a half inch from the insert and noticed even more air being pushed through the insert. I would say it definitely needs that gap to pull air from the sides so it can push the max air through the unit. I read another review of the insert on Northern Tool where someone did the exact same thing so it must be a problem in all of these units. It's a problem I can live with. The housing has enough weight to it that being unscrewed I don't have to worrying about it moving much laying on the hearth. 

I will take a pic of the housing and upload it in a bit for those that are curious what it looks like and what I might be talking about.


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## Rougement (Dec 9, 2009)

I put some washers between the blower housing and the insert, the supplied screws aren't good for much more than a 1/4" gap but it does seem to have helped push some more air out if the top. Putting a lighter next to the gap does confirm air is now being drawn in from the sides. 

One thing I'm noticing and getting annoyed at now it's getting colder and I'm trying to crank the insert: after a reload the temp quickly plummets from 350 down to 200 or less, even with a good coal bed. It could be the small firebox, thin steel or firebrick, cold wood or maybe I need to kill the blower after a reload. I have no basis for comparison so maybe someone else can chime in but I wish it wouldn't drop so dramatically.


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## Corriewf (Dec 9, 2009)

Rougement said:
			
		

> I put some washers between the blower housing and the insert, the supplied screws aren't good for much more than a 1/4" gap but it does seem to have helped push some more air out if the top. Putting a lighter next to the gap does confirm air is now being drawn in from the sides.
> 
> One thing I'm noticing and getting annoyed at now it's getting colder and I'm trying to crank the insert: after a reload the temp quickly plummets from 350 down to 200 or less, even with a good coal bed. It could be the small firebox, thin steel or firebrick, cold wood or maybe I need to kill the blower after a reload. I have no basis for comparison so maybe someone else can chime in but I wish it wouldn't drop so dramatically.



I have the same exact problem with temp fluxes. I got to thinking today, what if the blower is not supposed to pump that much air through. Maybe it is cooling the firebox due to too much air circ. I have attached the blower back and am going to experiment with it tonight. If the blower blows less air and that makes the firebox get or stay hotter than the smaller amount of air that is getting blown should be hotter. I bought a thermostat for the wood stove room and will let you know what I find out. 

Yeah, I do turn the blower off for a good 20 minutes after reload. I THINK it helps to keep the temps up, but mainly I do it so no smoke gets in when I open the door or leave the door cracked. The research I did before purchasing this stove did indicate that steel stoves do lose heat a lot faster than cast iron, however they do heat up faster. It is a trade off. With a smaller firebox to boot, I am sure that is effecting us quite a bit.


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## Rougement (Dec 11, 2009)

I just got word back from Vogelzang. They will be sending out a replacement door handle free of charge. Nice.


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## Corriewf (Dec 12, 2009)

Rougement said:
			
		

> I just got word back from Vogelzang. They will be sending out a replacement door handle free of charge. Nice.



Huh. I am actually looking forward to mine getting a little discolored. Sounds like yours was burning though. I wonder if the wood handle is safe. 

Update on fan: had to remove housing again. Bought a couple 1 inch screws and a bunch of washers to reconnect with a half inch gap. So far so good.


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## Corriewf (Dec 15, 2009)

Another update. I have tackled the 350 limit I kept getting stuck at. The trick to for me was to keep the blower off until the stove hits at least 425. Also, try and keep the air closed down. I noticed that the stove heats up much much faster when the air is cut back. Crack the door, open the air to get some flames going good and as soon as you do, shut her down. The flames will go down quite quickly, but after about 10-15 minutes the secondaries will start to kick in. If you are reloading on a nice coal bed, just crack the door for a minute or two and keep the air closed off. I never open the air unless I am starting a fire with a small coal bed or from scratch. 

So far I am hitting 450-500 easily now and maintaining these temps for hours.  Now I am getting quite a bit more heat than I was before.


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## Jags (Dec 15, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Another update. I have tackled the 350 limit I kept getting stuck at. The trick to for me was to keep the blower off until the stove hits at least 425. Also, try and keep the air closed down. I noticed that the stove heats up much much faster when the air is cut back.



Yep, that can sometimes be a tough thing to get your head wrapped around, but with the primary air at wide open throttle, it allows  all that extra air to sweep away a large amount of heat also.  After a good charring burn, start backing down on the primary and watch the stove top temps go up.  Finding the "sweet" spot is just part of the learning curve.


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## Corriewf (Dec 15, 2009)

Jags said:
			
		

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Yeah, the thing that surprised me with this stove though is that it wants the air shut down all the way as fast as I can. I was doing it in increments, but that wasn't working. Now I am going pretty much straight from wide open to close once I get a good burn going (10 min maybe). Maybe I have to good of a draft.


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## Jags (Dec 15, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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Thats pretty much how mine works also.  Like I say, its just finding the sweet spot.


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## Corriewf (Dec 15, 2009)

Jags said:
			
		

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The funny thing I couldn't believe was how much the blower effected the temps as well. I was turning the blower on as soon as I got a good fire going and that was really slowing down the stove getting up to temp. Simple mistake I didn't even think about over the last couple weeks.

I called my buddy up last night that got a Hearthstone Clydesdale ( See Jealous in the dictionary please ) and he has been making the same mistake. After a couple months of running the stove this way, he told me last night he has never achieved secondary burns. I was shocked. Told him to keep that blower off until it hits temp. I made his whole winter with another tip I learned from here. He has been trying to heat adjacent rooms by blowing a fan from the stove room into the other rooms. He was complaining last night that he couldn't get enough heat into those rooms. I told him to put his fan on the floor and blow the cold air from those rooms INTO the stove room and watch the temps rise. Blew his mind as he watched the temp rise 4 degrees in 40 minutes time.


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## mikepinto65 (Dec 15, 2009)

Just found this thread. Nice stove Corriewf, like the vids of the secondary's. I got a kick out of the Mario comment, sounds just like me and my wife....we both take turns, get mad, and give up! Its an addicting game, 2 player mode sure is hard tho!


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## Corriewf (Dec 15, 2009)

mikepinto65 said:
			
		

> Just found this thread. Nice stove Corriewf, like the vids of the secondary's. I got a kick out of the Mario comment, sounds just like me and my wife....we both take turns, get mad, and give up! Its an addicting game, 2 player mode sure is hard tho!



Thanks man! I'm proud of my cheap purchase. YEAH I regret not having a larger firebox at times. 

I got all the way to the end of that Mario game and can't beat bowser. The game is just overall hard for me but damn my wife is no help at all. She has continued 40 times at at least 5 lives each, man I would guess she has died 250+ times. She can never stay alive long enough for me to come back to life. It's like she looks for places to kill luigi. After years of being happily married, this is the first time I thought about divorce. I mean if I can't trust her to keep luigi alive how the hell can I trust her for anything else?!?! I definately am not letting her anywhere near my new wood stove.

Only way she is redeeming herself is if she can beat bowser herself.


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## mikepinto65 (Dec 15, 2009)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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LOL too funny. I'll have to give that to my wife as an ultimatum.....beat the game or we're finished!  :lol: 

Heck a larger firebox is always nice, but im sure you'll be able to fine tune your burning technique and really maximize it for all its worth. My Oslo only has 2.0cf and, like you, I wish I had gone bigger and just gotten the Firelight at times. But I am getting GREAT heat and enough coals in the morning and when I return from work to keep it purring 24/7.

Good luck with it, and PM me if you need a good divorce lawyer (a uncle of mine is in the business)!


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## Corriewf (Dec 16, 2009)

mikepinto65 said:
			
		

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Well in a 1948 house with centerblock walls that get cold as as my wife after reading my mario comments, it keeps the stove room at 74 and the back bedroom at 68. It's about 1800 sqf house. However I will say once the stove gets cool, my house cools down pretty fast. Thats where I wish I had the larger firebox for longer burn times.


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## FireAnt (Dec 18, 2009)

Do you have the 24" clearance off the front of the stove? This is the one thing that is stopping me from buying the stove. Mine is 16". This is the only stove I have seen that requires that much clearance.


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## Corriewf (Dec 18, 2009)

FireAnt said:
			
		

> Do you have the 24" clearance off the front of the stove? This is the one thing that is stopping me from buying the stove. Mine is 16". This is the only stove I have seen that requires that much clearance.



NO!  I have 18 inches. So far the hearth get hot but the heat isn't getting to my hardwood floor. Seems to stop before it gets to the edge. I think the minimum by code is 16 inches. Not sure why this stove ask for 24.


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## FireAnt (Dec 18, 2009)

Thanks! 16" is what I have seen everywhere also. I may put a slab of Blue stone down if I decide to get the stove. How hard was the install with the 45* back on the stove? Did you have to cut your damper to fit the pipe?

Sorry for all the questions... I have been looking at this stove for 2 months now.

Thanks

Anthony


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## Corriewf (Dec 19, 2009)

FireAnt said:
			
		

> Thanks! 16" is what I have seen everywhere also. I may put a slab of Blue stone down if I decide to get the stove. How hard was the install with the 45* back on the stove? Did you have to cut your damper to fit the pipe?
> 
> Sorry for all the questions... I have been looking at this stove for 2 months now.
> 
> ...


 
Wasn't hard at all. I used flex SS liner with a 5.5 inch to 6 inch adapter and it went right on in.


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## Corriewf (Jan 6, 2010)

Just a heads up for others with this stove. I recently was inspecting the air control eve and decided to, oh what the hell, take the housing off of it. The lever for the air control has always been a bit jiggly, but I thought it was just the way it was supposed to be. Once I got the housing off, I noticed that both screws that connect the slider were loose. One was quite loose and about to fall off. The entire time I have been running this stove, the air was not getting cut off all the way due to that. Now with those tight, I am hitting 500+ easily and keeping the temps in the stove a lot longer due to less air going through it.

Be sure you take the housing off and check. It's just two screws, one on each side and then two screws to check on the slider.


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## sbowers22 (Jan 6, 2010)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Just a heads up for others with this stove. I recently was inspecting the air control eve and decided to, oh what the hell, take the housing off of it. The lever for the air control has always been a bit jiggly, but I thought it was just the way it was supposed to be. Once I got the housing off, I noticed that both screws that connect the slider were loose. One was quite loose and about to fall off. The entire time I have been running this stove, the air was not getting cut off all the way due to that. Now with those tight, I am hitting 500+ easily and keeping the temps in the stove a lot longer due to less air going through it.
> 
> Be sure you take the housing off and check. It's just two screws, one on each side and then two screws to check on the slider.



I was just jiggling that handle last night wondering if it should be that loose so thanks for the heads up. Can you do this while the stove is warm or do you have to cool it off first? I just got my Colonial up and running this past Saturday night and I am very pleased with it thanks to all the knowledge from this forum. I paid $799 for it and received a $50 gift card at Northern Tool. Then I saw this past weekend that they have them online for now for $749, so I took my receipt back up there and got another $50 dollars back. So I basically got this stove for $699 plus the $700 liner kit w/insulation and self install the whole project was less than $1500. Heck the local hearth store wanted $1750 just for install and they don't even insulate the liner(I only knew to ask that because of this forum). Well I have no history with using wood burning stove other than hearing about them so getting the chief financial officer(the wife) to go along with a $4k to $5k stove wasn't going to happen. I figure I will easily recoup the $700 on the stove and I have a liner waiting on a new insert if this one wears out. I have a 2300 sqft house and it does a good job of keeping most of the house pretty worm. I noticed a significant reduction in heater usage which I hope will drop even further when we get our new windows installed which should be any day now. Thanks for all the info on the stove it has helped me learn how to operate mine more quickly.


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## Corriewf (Jan 6, 2010)

sbowers22 said:
			
		

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Wish I had known you could take the receipt and get money back, it went down 100 bucks a week after I bought mine. I paid 899. Yikes! I paid 700 for my kit as well. I had to get a 5.5 inch liner and even ovalize that to get it down. Being my first stove, for me paying 4k was just too much. I know those stoves are great and have larger fireboxes, but that is a lot of money to spend on a iron/metal box. Maybe when this one goes out, I will have a lot more money to spend. 

A 2300 sqft house is a large house to heat with this stove. I am surprised to hear of your success to be honest. You must have a newer home with good insulation. My house is 50+ years old with poor insulation. Have any pics of your install? 

I removed the housing when the stove was cool. I then removed it again thinking that MAYBE the screws had come loose due to the heat and checked it while it was hot. I would not advise this. I thought it would be a lot cooler than it was and burned myself quite a bit. NOT FUN! If the stove is down to 250 or so, with gloves you should be fine.  Definitely check those screws, my stove is running so much smoother and putting out more heat now.


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## raybonz (Jan 6, 2010)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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 :exclaim:   To ward off potential future problems I suggest a hardened toothed lock washer or split lock washer if room permits it or if it has a nut replace it with a swaged nut.. Both should be available at hardware stores, Lowes or Home Depot.. With all the heat it probably will happen again so you may be able to eliminate this permanently...

My 2 Cents,
Ray


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## Corriewf (Jan 6, 2010)

raybonz said:
			
		

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Thanks Ray! It has washers on them, but it seems the screws were shipped loose...Poor QA testing, I dunno. So far the screws have not come loose again, but if they do I will look into a better washer for it.


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## sbowers22 (Jan 6, 2010)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Wish I had known you could take the receipt and get money back, it went down 100 bucks a week after I bought mine. I paid 899. Yikes! I paid 700 for my kit as well. I had to get a 5.5 inch liner and even ovalize that to get it down. Being my first stove, for me paying 4k was just too much. I know those stoves are great and have larger fireboxes, but that is a lot of money to spend on a iron/metal box. Maybe when this one goes out, I will have a lot more money to spend.
> 
> A 2300 sqft house is a large house to heat with this stove. I am surprised to hear of your success to be honest. You must have a newer home with good insulation. My house is 50+ years old with poor insulation. Have any pics of your install?
> 
> I removed the housing when the stove was cool. I then removed it again thinking that MAYBE the screws had come loose due to the heat and checked it while it was hot. I would not advise this. I thought it would be a lot cooler than it was and burned myself quite a bit. NOT FUN! If the stove is down to 250 or so, with gloves you should be fine.  Definitely check those screws, my stove is running so much smoother and putting out more heat now.



Well most places have a 30 day price guarantee but you might try calling the store you bought it at and see what they will do, all they can do is say no. I wish I had known that I could use the 5.5 inch liner, it would have made thing a little easier. I had just about 5 inches to get through the damper area. I had to cut out the damper and some of the metal around it. I got the 6 inch through by ovalizing it up to the insulted part. Problem is the liner(right where the insulation started) got hung up at the bend of the smoke shelf so I have about 6 to 12 inches of uninsulated liner. I figure it is so close to the stove that it won't make much difference and I called that part of the job done.

Yeah, my house's square feet is too large but I am probably only really heating about 1600 to 1800 sq feet since the kitchen, den, and wash room really won't get much benefit from it. It heats the room it is in then pretty much goes straight up to the second floor. I haven't taken any pics yet. I am insulating my temporary block-off plate and I still need to put the surround on it. It sure looks a lot better than useless black hole that I never used did.  I live in north Texas and our winter temp are usually 50's in the days and high 20's to low 40's at night with the occasional arctic blast(like tonight and tomorrow) that we get so mine won't have to work to hard most of the time.


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## Corriewf (Jan 6, 2010)

sbowers22 said:
			
		

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Yeah the 5.5 kit I bought had an adapter to go to the 6 for the stove. It was a real pita to get down the chimney because there was a bunch of grout in between the terracotta. I only insulated the top 2 feet and bottom. So far no problems. Did you take the fan off and use some washers as spacers? There is a design flaw with the fan and it puts out a lot more air if it is taken off and spaced about a quarter inch from the stove.


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## sbowers22 (Jan 7, 2010)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Yeah the 5.5 kit I bought had an adapter to go to the 6 for the stove. It was a real pita to get down the chimney because there was a bunch of grout in between the terracotta. I only insulated the top 2 feet and bottom. So far no problems. Did you take the fan off and use some washers as spacers? There is a design flaw with the fan and it puts out a lot more air if it is taken off and spaced about a quarter inch from the stove.



My chimney had the 13 x 18 clay liners so I had plenty of room to slide the insulated liner down the chimney, my only hang up was the unovalized part get hung up at the smoke shelf. I check the screws on the primary lever and they were tight but I found a few screw that hold in the gasket ang glass that were just a little loose. I have not attched the fan yet but I do have it pulled away a little bit and also figured out that it works better with the control knob on the right side instead of the left side like the way the show it in the pictures. If you install it the way they show it the air flow is blocked by the stove. If you install it with the knob on the right the airflow is not blocked but I do think leaving the gap does let in even more air.


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## Rougement (Jan 14, 2010)

So I got the replacement handle for the door. It's a spiral one, same as for the air lever. The only problem is they sent a gold one. I emailed Katie at Vogelzang and she's sending out a silver one. I also mentioned that the blower is intermittently making very loud grinding/squeaking noises and I'm getting a new blower sent too. It's hard to fault their customer service. It's obvious that the Colonial is made as cheaply as possible and stuff is going to go wrong, I'm glad they're willing to stand behind their product though.


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## Corriewf (Jan 15, 2010)

Rougement said:
			
		

> So I got the replacement handle for the door. It's a spiral one, same as for the air lever. The only problem is they sent a gold one. I emailed Katie at Vogelzang and she's sending out a silver one. I also mentioned that the blower is intermittently making very loud grinding/squeaking noises and I'm getting a new blower sent too. It's hard to fault their customer service. It's obvious that the Colonial is made as cheaply as possible and stuff is going to go wrong, I'm glad they're willing to stand behind their product though.



WOW! Great customer service. How do you think the handle will be? I get burned a little sometimes with the spiral for air control. Did you ask them about the poor design of the fan?


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## Rougement (Jan 15, 2010)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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I think the handle will be fine, it's away from the heat when closed. I didn't mention the fan. I think maybe they had their reasons like making sure the blower doesn't cool the firebox too much. We know EPA stoves don't do well run cold, no secondaries, etc.


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## Corriewf (Jan 15, 2010)

Rougement said:
			
		

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You have your fan attached?


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## Rougement (Jan 21, 2010)

So the new blower arrived and also a silver spiral handle. The blower is a different design, looks like Vogelzang recognize there is a problem with the old version. This one has vents in the top (or bottom, depending on how you install it. This thing kicks out WAY more air, even when bolted flush against the insert. It's a tad quieter too and the noise it does make is more even and less irritating. 

Once more though (this is the story of The Colonial) there's a downside. The top with the new vents in it is obviously weaker and has been pushed in. That, or it's designed that way. Also on any speed less than full it makes a grinding/vibrating noise which slowly dies down. Still, it just arrived and isn't even up to room temp. I'll give it a day or so and see what happens.


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## Corriewf (Jan 21, 2010)

Rougement said:
			
		

> So the new blower arrived and also a silver spiral handle. The blower is a different design, looks like Vogelzang recognize there is a problem with the old version. This one has vents in the top (or bottom, depending on how you install it. This thing kicks out WAY more air, even when bolted flush against the insert. It's a tad quieter too and the noise it does make is more even and less irritating.
> 
> Once more though (this is the story of The Colonial) there's a downside. The top with the new vents in it is obviously weaker and has been pushed in. That, or it's designed that way. Also on any speed less than full it makes a grinding/vibrating noise which slowly dies down. Still, it just arrived and isn't even up to room temp. I'll give it a day or so and see what happens.



Thank you thank you thank you for the information. Did you tell them the current blower isn't working well and that's how you got the replacement? I plan to call them tomorrow.


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## Rougement (Jan 21, 2010)

The original blower was making an intermittent grinding noise. It would start happening all on it's own and was very loud. I've been dealing with Katie Janson at Vogelzang, she's been very helpful.


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## CodyWayne718 (Jan 22, 2010)

Just some pics of the vogelzang burning on and one of the little bub holdin it down while John takes a peak up the chimney, little turd


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## Corriewf (Jan 22, 2010)

CodyWayne718 said:
			
		

> Just some pics of the vogelzang burning on and one of the little bub holdin it down while John takes a peak up the chimney, little turd



Man that pic of your baby is classic. I would frame that pic. Looks like he is helping you there. 

Is the pic of the flames towards the end of your burn cycle or fresh reload? Looks like the secondaries are trying to get started there. If this is not long after a reload you can try adjusting the air to about 1/4 an inch open or you can cheat and open the door for about 30 second and then close the door with the air closed down all the way. I get some nice jets with my cheat method. I learned that from having to reposition some wood that had fallen on the glass when I was getting lazy secondaries.


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## CodyWayne718 (Jan 27, 2010)

man i cant remember if those were at the end or what, but im wantin to say they were right after i shut the air off, the pics look a little weaker than what was really goin on lol i bought wood from a gas station cause someone on here thought my wood i couldnt get to burn might have been too wet still, i still ended up with dirty glass around the outside of the window, this thing has been kickin my butt, tryin to wait to burn anymore til i get a thermo,,,,


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## Corriewf (Jan 27, 2010)

CodyWayne718 said:
			
		

> man i cant remember if those were at the end or what, but im wantin to say they were right after i shut the air off, the pics look a little weaker than what was really goin on lol i bought wood from a gas station cause someone on here thought my wood i couldnt get to burn might have been too wet still, i still ended up with dirty glass around the outside of the window, this thing has been kickin my butt, tryin to wait to burn anymore til i get a thermo,,,,



You can have mine if you pay for shipping.  I just bought it back in late Nov. I am getting an I/R gun to check temps. The therm is a nice estimate at temp and not bad for 15 bucks but I want to dial in now that I have learned the stove more. 

Cody, you notice a difference between the gas station wood? It really takes time to learn a stove tbh. Next year we both will be much better burners. In the meantime I am waiting on my new blower and keeping it nice and 70 in here! My inlaws keep their house at 74 and it feels cold, can't beat the wood heat at 70!


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## CodyWayne718 (Jan 27, 2010)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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2 hours late on the thermo, jus ordered one off amazon


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## Corriewf (Jan 27, 2010)

CodyWayne718 said:
			
		

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What did you end up getting?


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## CodyWayne718 (Jan 27, 2010)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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Went with a Condar Inferno since I couldnt find nothing but bad things about the Rutlands for some reason   http://www.amazon.com/thermometer-t...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1264581507&sr=8-1      now that i look at the inferno and the medallion i wish i had went with the medallion, lessons learned.


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## Corriewf (Jan 28, 2010)

*** Updates Updates Updates ***

Got the new blower in and was surprised to also receive the spring handle that the representative at Vogelzang said was not available. They had offered me a new wooden handle and I said no thanks.. So here are the pics of the new spring handle as well as pics of the new blower. As you can tell it has been redesigned a tad with a grill added to the top. It now blows quite a bit much more and it more quiet. 


Here is a video comparing the sound from the new blower versus the old blower. Quite a difference and I can tell you the Iphone doesn't do the sound justice.


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## CodyWayne718 (Jan 28, 2010)

That handle looks ten times better on there, I want one! How much did they charge ya for the handle? I assume we all got the same 800 number to call and get ahold of this nice girl about the blowers too?


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## Corriewf (Jan 28, 2010)

CodyWayne718 said:
			
		

> That handle looks ten times better on there, I want one! How much did they charge ya for the handle? I assume we all got the same 800 number to call and get ahold of this nice girl about the blowers too?



No charge on the handle. My wooden handle was turning brown. But with that said the rep said the silver handle was not available and that it was replaced by the wooden handle because it got too hot. She said she could replace the wooden handle with a wooden handle. I did not expect to receive this handle with the new blower at all. The number I called was on the manual.


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## sbowers22 (Jan 30, 2010)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> *** Updates Updates Updates ***
> 
> Got the new blower in and was surprised to also receive the spring handle that the representative at Vogelzang said was not available. They had offered me a new wooden handle and I said no thanks.. So here are the pics of the new spring handle as well as pics of the new blower. As you can tell it has been redesigned a tad with a grill added to the top. It now blows quite a bit much more and it more quiet.



Was the original fan going out on you or did you just want the redesigned one? Do you have to send the original one back in before or after you get the new one?


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## Corriewf (Feb 8, 2010)

sbowers22 said:
			
		

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The fan was making noise and was not putting out enough heat. I had to send it back after I recieved the first one.

Can any of you with this stove tell me what kind of temps you are getting? For me this stove wants to run 450 most of the time with 500 being the top. So what do you guys get?


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## CodyWayne718 (Feb 9, 2010)

i've hit 550 with the super dry wood from the gas stations, but after its nothing but coals she wanted to drop down to about 350 or 400. Think we have had this convo before but not sure lol


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## Corriewf (Feb 10, 2010)

CodyWayne718 said:
			
		

> i've hit 550 with the super dry wood from the gas stations, but after its nothing but coals she wanted to drop down to about 350 or 400. Think we have had this convo before but not sure lol



Thats pretty damn good. I get 500 but 550 I have never touched...  What are you doing when you hit 550?


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## CodyWayne718 (Feb 12, 2010)

Everything I have done has been because I asked you what you were doin lol must have jus been because the wood I was burning


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## Corriewf (Feb 12, 2010)

CodyWayne718 said:
			
		

> Everything I have done has been because I asked you what you were doin lol must have jus been because the wood I was burning



Well, I look forward to next year when I will be burning wood I cut and split. I will know it is good. Well I know the wood this year is good, BUT the pieces are sometimes too long. I have to burn quite a few at an angle which really effects my ability to really fully load her.


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## Skyco (Feb 16, 2010)

Hi All!   new here- first post.
Picked up the Colonial at the local Northern Tool here on sale for $750.  
Waiting on my liner kit to arrive so I can get right to using it.
I noticed the flue collar protrudes through the outer box that air is forced through by the fan. 
But-
there is a gap around it so it appears some air would blow out of there, wasting heat and going into the dead ended fireplace opening....

Anyone else see this?  Did you do anything about it?

I could weld that gap up, but figure a ring of plate steel with the proper size hole in it would cover that, or maybe seal it with a furnace cement.   I fear if I weld it up I could cause some stress as the inner box will expand differently than the much cooler outer box.
I fear some air pressure in the supposedly "sealed" fireplace cavity would tend to force that old smoky smell out somewhere, maybe into the house.


Been out of the wood burning for 25+ years, had an insert in a small house way back that worked great.  Had an insert in the current house (been in it 26 years) that worked very poorly, a Matherly.  Haven't used it in years, its now out back on a pallet awaiting me to post it on Crag's List for cheap.
I have 10 acres in NC covered in hardwoods that blow down occasionally, figured why let them rot, gonna start hauling the wood from visits.  I've got an oak down now that must have 10 pickup loads in it


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## Corriewf (Feb 17, 2010)

Skyco said:
			
		

> Hi All!   new here- first post.
> Picked up the Colonial at the local Northern Tool here on sale for $750.
> Waiting on my liner kit to arrive so I can get right to using it.
> I noticed the flue collar protrudes through the outer box that air is forced through by the fan.
> ...



Well, I noticed that gap on mine as well. Not sure if it will make a difference or not if it does get sealed. This is my first year using a wood stove and I am pretty sure in a few months when im done for this year, I am going to discover a few things I will want to fix. I am glad you reminded me of that crack. I also think that where my liner goes into the stove could use some sealing. One thing I wonder is if it is ok to seal that gap or will it shift too much as it expanded with heat etc. Another concern of mine since I have never used cement is if it is easy to remove. If I use it to seal the gap with my SS liner and then later get a different stove, can I simply hit it with a hammer or something? 

Went to Lowes today out of curiosity to see if they had the cement. I know ACE around the corner has stuff for pointing up a fireplace mortar... Same stuff? 

Good luck with the stove and please let me know how it goes. FYI, buy some longer screws at home depot to attach the blower. I have my blower about 2 inches off the wood stove for better circ. It's a nice 73 degrees in here tonight with 69 upstairs.


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## sbowers22 (Feb 17, 2010)

Corriewf said:
			
		

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I have been getting temps ranging from 350-550 degees. I have wood in al kinds of condition and have really noticed the difference in temp depending on wood quality and condition. Except for the small fire box this stove has surpassed all my expectation. We hardly use our furnace at all anymore, usually just a few minutes in the morning and maybe a when we get home from work. We were without power for 3 days last week and it kept most of our 2300 sq. ft. house at 65+ degrees with outside temps in the 20's and 30's and that was without the fan blowing since we had no power. Next year I plan on having good cured split wood to burn. I have only been using it since the first of the year but by using all the information from this website it just keeps getting better. The best info on here is that "It's all about the wood".


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## Corriewf (Feb 17, 2010)

sbowers22 said:
			
		

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What is your technique if you dont mind me asking. I have one which I posted on this thread that seems to work good, but I like to experiment. Seems when I leave the air open, instead of getting a hot burn, I get a shorter burn that isn't really hot at all.


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## jockum (Jan 8, 2011)

NEWBIE HERE needs advice: First of all, I think this is a great forum for woodburners, and I found a lot of good tips regarding the Colonial. I am a veteran wood burner with wood stoves, and my dinosaur 23 year old masonry fireplace, but not with an insert. I pulled the trigger on the Colonial, and installed yesterday. The problem I am having is with backdraft when reloading.My house does have a make up air installed to my ductwork, and leaving a door open while reloading does not seem to make a difference. My chimney had a 12"x12" flue. I had to remove the damper and cut part od the damper frame out to install the liner, which was the Simpson stainless steel 6". No problem there, as the tiles were all nice and straight and in good condition. I then installed the top plate to cover the flue and siliconed it to the tile. The cap was installed above it.I used a 15' length of liner and cot 2' off, leaving me with 13' total. My thought is that I may have to install insulation around the liner so it heats up better, increasing the draft. Outside of this, and the blower issue, it seems to be burning well and doing a good job heating my 2000 ft. home. Again, thank you all for contributing on this site, any any advice would be appreciated!


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## Skyco (Jan 9, 2011)

Ooops...the Colonial manual says-

"2. Chimney Size. Minimum chimney size is 6Ë (152mm) diameter. Maintain a 15 ft. minimum overall chimney height measured from the top of appliance to the top of the chimney. Chimneys must extend at least 3 ft. above the roof and at least 2 ft. above the highest point within 10 ft. of the chimney top. See the Chimney Connections section of this manual."

I'd extend it and insulate it.


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## jockum (Jan 9, 2011)

I did install a 6" liner, through the masonry chimney, which is 5' higher at the top than the nearest point 10' away.My house is a ranch, and the existing fireplace has a brick hearth 18" up from the floor. That is why I only have the 13'.The funny thing is, it barely backdrafts now after the first day of using it. I may have to insulate the liner though. Thanx for your input.


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## Fake coal burner (Jan 10, 2011)

Corriewf said:
			
		

> Hello all,
> 
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> Been around here reading and all for about a month and decided to register and post. I just recently purchased my first wood stove insert a couple weeks ago and installed it last week. I figured I would share some pics of it and my opinion of it. I couldn't afford a nice Jotul or Hearthstone Clydesdale like I wanted. Well I guess I COULD have afforded it but just couldn't part with 4.5k - 5k for the stove, pipe and installation. I came across this Vogelzang The Colonial insert on Northern tool for $899 and decided it would be my first baby (not counting my son..err or my wife). I then purchased an Everguard SS for 700 (including some insulation, rain cap etc). A buddy and me did the installation ourselves and the entire project cost about $1,800.
> ...


 Try  putting a small box fan on the floor at the far end of the house blowing cold air towards the stove. Try on low speed. should even out the heat for you do you has a block of plate istalled with insolation?


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## EddyCA (Nov 17, 2014)

Colonial review after 4 winters:  

I have use the Vogelzang Colonial for four relatively mild California winters and I joined the forum to leave a review.  

The unit is constructed in China but seems well constructed.  It carries an EPA (level 1) certification and does not have a catalytic converter.  If I recall correctly, the efficiency is 76% which is not as high as some units but is quite good for this price range.  We have a small home, only 1200 sq ft, and the fireplace is our sole source of heat during the daytime (I actually removed and discarded our natural gas burning furnace at the same time as I installed the insert.  We use electric mattress heaters and portable space heaters in the bedrooms during the night).  

The unit produces sufficient heat to warm our home.  The firebox holds a decent amount of wood but is smaller than many.  It holds enough wood, if well packed, to heat the house for a full day (if using hardwood) when it's not too cold.  On the colder days, I usually let the first fire completely burn out and build a smaller second fire (generally just softwood) in the evening.  If I add wood before the first fire goes out, we generate too much heat.  Indeed, producing too much heat is usually our problem, but I've learned to judge how much wood I need after a few winters.  Of course, we're in coastal California and I've insulated my house well and swapped in modern dual-pane windows.  But I would expect this unit to be adequate for a small home even in the coldest reaches of the north.

The unit is attractive and the glass door is a good size.  Overall, the size is small but it is a good looking unit, except for the panels which surround the unit, they're plain and a bit cheap and rickety -- need to tighten bolts annually.

I do not like the included blower.  It is quite loud, rattles at startup and at lower speeds, but produces a good airflow.  It's about as loud as our wall AC unit when on high.  But at lower speeds, it rattles annoyingly such that it cannot be used at those speeds.  I do not think it's the same quality as the insert itself and I am now looking to replace it.  Fortunately they are cheap.  I haven't found a replacement yet.  Indeed, it was my search which lead me to this website.

In short: box great, panels acceptable, blower unacceptable, price great.

Since the unit was so cheap, I don't mind replacing the blower.


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## WVBill (Feb 19, 2015)

Ok, my V. Colonial blower is running me out of the room with its loud rattling screeching noise. two years. that's it. time to replace. I've cleaned and stripped down the whole blower but still a racket. Did you find a new blower yet?  suggestions?
thanks,




> I have use the Vogelzang Colonial for four relatively mild California winters and I joined the forum to leave a review...
> In short: box great, panels acceptable, blower unacceptable, price great.
> 
> Since the unit was so cheap, I don't mind replacing the blower.


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## EddyCA (Feb 23, 2015)

WVBill said:


> Ok, my V. Colonial blower is running me out of the room with its loud rattling screeching noise. two years. that's it. time to replace. I've cleaned and stripped down the whole blower but still a racket. Did you find a new blower yet?  suggestions?
> thanks,



I bought the replacement blower from Northline Express.  Installation took 1 min (perfect fit), and it's quieter than the previous one ever was.  Recommended.

http://www.northlineexpress.com/vogelzang-ussc-blower-assembly-f-5-80598.html


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## begreen (Feb 23, 2015)

Good deal. Can you provide a link?


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## EddyCA (Feb 23, 2015)

begreen said:


> Good deal. Can you provide a link?



http://www.northlineexpress.com/vogelzang-ussc-blower-assembly-f-5-80598.html


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