Does anyone have a Napoleon stove? I see lots of recomendations for other brands but never Napolean. Are they bad? If they are why? My local fireplace shop pushed me to a pricer stove, but I didn't like it. Liked the 1402 and thats what I got.
What about Napoleon?
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I honestly don't know why we don't see more Napoleon owner's on the Forum. The things are darn nice wood stoves and they have to be selling lots of tons of them given the huge number of Internet sites that sell them.
I will say noyhing other than I replaced mine in the 3rd season. Threw 2300$ away. Use it to heat my hobby shed now. Wouldnt work for a 24/7 heat source.
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Napoleon wood stoves are well put together,A local dealer sells them here and I"ve seen them burning many times on the show floor.If I was in the hunt for a good,reasonably-priced stove I'd buy one tomorrow.....although I'd buy the 1900 for the larger firebox.Enjoy your stove Motorbreth.
north of 60 is the only owner that I remember posting a bad experience with them. Most owners have been very happy with their efficiency and reasonable price. Posters Greg123, slickheadhunter, MaryAnn and someone in the southwest (sorry can't remember their handle right now) have them and seem quite happy with them. I'd be happy to try one out.
Slickeheadhunter is heating a home in NH and reports the stove doing a great job. north of 60, I'm sure your experience is real, but is it possible the Napoleon you have has an air leak or something not quite set right (perhaps a factory defect)?
Slickeheadhunter is heating a home in NH and reports the stove doing a great job. north of 60, I'm sure your experience is real, but is it possible the Napoleon you have has an air leak or something not quite set right (perhaps a factory defect)?
BeGreen said:
Dont get me wrong. It had a nice flame but a 6hr burn time. Yes that secondary burn would allow the stove to runaway. Had her from new. Door seals ect... all good. Had the vendor come out once. He extended my stop to limit my primary air. After one burn it looked like the chimney had gone through puberty. Yes my wood was dry. Had better results from my old fisher smoke dragon. Had solid doors and wife wanted to see the flame she was trying to control as I work long hours and she was doing the loading. Saw the web page on the unit. Read the specs and bought it. Most the heat comes out the front of the glass. Stove top is double wall. It cant even boil water when stove stack @5-600F. Trivit stand was useless. Blower is a squirl cage fan. It spun its wheels and just made noise. $240 usless option. I thought I was moving up into the high teck end of stoves or that was my intention. The #s they used for heat out-put I think was including what went up the stack. Burn times they must of used petrified wood. It just left me with a bunch of dissapointments for such a fancy web page/ large company. I was going to go back to my old smoke dragon but had already gave it to somone for a cord of birch trucked from 200miles away. My new stove I purchased (spent a week in a 1962 log cabin @ -30F ice fishin with some buddies and it had the BK for its heat source) certanly had to prove its self before I would spend my hard earned money again. And man you cant beat that thermostatic control. Just ask my wife. I set it and she forgets it. :coolsmile:
Personal experiences are valid and should be recognized. But what brand of stove to buy can only be answered by each individual and after considering many, many variables. Napolean, like other manufactures, makes a variety of appliances. (Wolf Steel is the maker). Some will not be well suited to a particular install while others will be more than adequate. Sometimes the brand you are looking at does not have what you need or want. The entire brand cannot be judged on the results of one install or the suitability of one model. In most cases, the brand is not as important as other factors. Napolean does not have as many outlets here in the states as some of the other brand names you hear mentioned. I think it just works out that some other brands are more represented here, I don't think Napolean is being ignored on purpose. If that stove is good for you that's all that matters.
We try not to push our customers toward one brand or another while in our store. But sometimes it may seem that we are doing so because we have our preferences. And, honestly, the lower price stoves do not fit our business model as well as some of the higher end models. There are many sources for the lower priced stoves and there is not a lot of difference in the features and servicability of these units. We have chosen to not feature the low price models and most of what we show our customers are higher end models with more stuff. It's kind of like selling Cadillacs or Chevys. Nothing wrong with Chevys (wait a minute! just trying to make a point here...) but there is a lot more competition in that market. We do have some "Chevys" available for those who prefer that. In our case, that would be the Steel Dutchwest lines, and the Lopi and Avalon 1250/1750 line. Napolean does have some higher end models as well, but most of the time we see them at the Tractor Supply type outlets or being sold through some chimney sweep companies who do not maintain a showroom. Most of the other brands you hear mentioned are sourced through dealerships and stove showrooms. This probably accounts for why you hear the other names more often - the local retail shops tend to feature models that are not sold through discount stores or direct, and they work hard to promote the brands they sell.
We try not to push our customers toward one brand or another while in our store. But sometimes it may seem that we are doing so because we have our preferences. And, honestly, the lower price stoves do not fit our business model as well as some of the higher end models. There are many sources for the lower priced stoves and there is not a lot of difference in the features and servicability of these units. We have chosen to not feature the low price models and most of what we show our customers are higher end models with more stuff. It's kind of like selling Cadillacs or Chevys. Nothing wrong with Chevys (wait a minute! just trying to make a point here...) but there is a lot more competition in that market. We do have some "Chevys" available for those who prefer that. In our case, that would be the Steel Dutchwest lines, and the Lopi and Avalon 1250/1750 line. Napolean does have some higher end models as well, but most of the time we see them at the Tractor Supply type outlets or being sold through some chimney sweep companies who do not maintain a showroom. Most of the other brands you hear mentioned are sourced through dealerships and stove showrooms. This probably accounts for why you hear the other names more often - the local retail shops tend to feature models that are not sold through discount stores or direct, and they work hard to promote the brands they sell.
After burning two years partime as I was building the home and two years full time, I am totally happy with our 1400. Burn mostly cedar and juniper, usually have enough coals left over in the morning to restart, keeps is all warm and cozy. This is the only woodstove I have used, so I may be ignorant and don't know
what a really good stove is. I think they call that bliss!
what a really good stove is. I think they call that bliss!
I would tend to agree, no personal experience w/ Napoleon, but they seem like good stoves for what they are. Not questioning N-60's experience, but it sounds to me like his problems were more due to a mis-match between what his needs were (and they are probably more extreme than most) and what the stove was designed to do, than anything "wrong" with the stove itself.
Moral of story, different sets of needs have different solutions, and an honest and accurate assesment of the individual setup is the essential first step to getting a good solution...
Gooserider
Moral of story, different sets of needs have different solutions, and an honest and accurate assesment of the individual setup is the essential first step to getting a good solution...
Gooserider
I had a 1400 last year. It was a good stove and threw alot of heat but it didn't seem to keep the heat in the stove. I think the big thing was the double top on the stove and the heat only came out the front. The stove is best for a living room as it is very easy to sit beside it and not get heated out. I liked the stove but I needed something bigger. I got a real good deal on a Summit so I bought it. Summit so far is great but it hasn't been real cold yet but it seems to retain heat alot better and the thick steel on top radiates alot of heat. Now instead of 85 degrees in the basement it's a 100 degrees. LOL. I know at least 4 people that have the Napoleon in my area here in New Brunswick and they are very pleased with the stove.
I have posted twice asking for opinions on Napolean 1150 and/or 1100 with no takers. I went ahead and bought an 1150 which was a floor model (got very good deal). I hope our experience is better than North of 60's. According to other reviews I read, along with a local dealer who did not sell me the stove, they are supposed to be pretty good. I'll let everybody know how it goes once installed.
My experience with the Napoleon 1400 has been great. It is not a top of the line stove, but it appears to be well built. It does not have those sexy burn times, but I have been able to coax 8-10 hours on a reasonable day (20s-30s) with no effort. When things gobelow 0, yeah, I crank this puppy up and reload times were more often, but not unreasonable for the stove. We get periods of very cold to periods of moderate so this stove fits the house, and area. Along the front range where it could be -25 and two days later, 70. So it ain't the Ritz, but it works for this area and climate quite well.
One thing I will dispute is some have said it only puts out heat through the front. Not my experience at all. It puts out very nice heat through the top, mainly the trivet, as well as the front. I in fact DO like the double wall, especially on the side, for it diminishes the potential intense heat in case something or someone hits it. Not that it is in harm's way, but still, I do like this aspect of the stove. But as far as putting out heat only from the front, not my experience here at all. I like this stove very much, for its range and purpose. Oh, and no blower. Find we don't need it. 1800 ft. Victorian home built in 1908.
One thing I will dispute is some have said it only puts out heat through the front. Not my experience at all. It puts out very nice heat through the top, mainly the trivet, as well as the front. I in fact DO like the double wall, especially on the side, for it diminishes the potential intense heat in case something or someone hits it. Not that it is in harm's way, but still, I do like this aspect of the stove. But as far as putting out heat only from the front, not my experience here at all. I like this stove very much, for its range and purpose. Oh, and no blower. Find we don't need it. 1800 ft. Victorian home built in 1908.
timfromohio said:
I have the 1100p instert and love it, wish the burn time was a lil longer, but I burn all kiln dried wood, so its a trade off
Thanks for the replies - glad to see positive feedback on the Napolean. My 1150 is currently sitting in a garage. It arrived last week and cannot be installed until a kitchen renovation project is complete - a project that has not progressed beyond the planning stage yet!! However, the presence of the stove will be the catalyst (no pun intended ...) to get moving. I will undoubtedly be posting a long post with pictures and my installation plan in the future. Thanks again for all the feedback.
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