Anybody using the NC-30 in a 1400 sq ft space?

[BigDaddyJ]

Caveat, first post here, but thought I might have something of value to add.

I just recently installed an NC-30 in my approx. 1500 S.F home. I too was worried that it might be too much stove. However, after having used it for a few months, I have been very pleased with it. Here's why.

In my case, I equate the NC-30 to a car with a 500 hp V-8 only having to go 55 mph in the slow lane. It has plenty of horsepower when needed but with the winters here in TN, I don't need to rev the engine too often. I have yet to fill the firebox to its absolute capacity.

With outside temps in the 20's-30's, at 0600 I can load the stove about halfway, get the stove top temps up to around 600+, shut the air intake back and within an hour my house is around mid to high 70's. It will stay that way almost all day. Wood heat is unique in that it seems to heat everything in the house. Once my home gets to mid 70's, it will stay that way for a long time and is very reluctant to cool back down. Depending on outside conditions, I usually reload a half load again around 1700. I may add another log or two at bedtime at 2200. I will wake up at 0600 the next morning and my home is still at around 70 degrees.

For me at least, this stove is very efficient. I normally don't need all the power it has to give but if the temps drop into the teens or single digits, I know I've got extra horsepower when needed. The only drawback is you may have to deal with inside temps in the high 70's for a few hours immediately after a reload. If it gets uncomfortably warm, I'll crack a window. Having a house too warm in the winter is what I consider an executive problem. I will add that my ceilings are around 8' and my home is pretty tight.

I would have a hard time not recommending this stove to someone. Once you learn it's capabilities and burning properties, you can adjust the amount of heat to suit your needs. I'd rather have too much power than too little.

One more thing, to echo what has been said here numerous times, good wood is a must. I am burning hardwood that has been split, stacked and covered for over three years. With poor wood, performance is greatly diminished.

Good luck in your quest. I think the NC-30 is a great stove.

Jeff

 

[JC88]

Caveat, first post here, but thought I might have something of value to add.

I just recently installed an NC-30 in my approx. 1500 S.F home. I too was worried that it might be too much stove. However, after having used it for a few months, I have been very pleased with it. Here's why.

In my case, I equate the NC-30 to a car with a 500 hp V-8 only having to go 55 mph in the slow lane. It has plenty of horsepower when needed but with the winters here in TN, I don't need to rev the engine too often. I have yet to fill the firebox to its absolute capacity.

With outside temps in the 20's-30's, at 0600 I can load the stove about halfway, get the stove top temps up to around 600+, shut the air intake back and within an hour my house is around mid to high 70's. It will stay that way almost all day. Wood heat is unique in that it seems to heat everything in the house. Once my home gets to mid 70's, it will stay that way for a long time and is very reluctant to cool back down. Depending on outside conditions, I usually reload a half load again around 1700. I may add another log or two at bedtime at 2200. I will wake up at 0600 the next morning and my home is still at around 70 degrees.

For me at least, this stove is very efficient. I normally don't need all the power it has to give but if the temps drop into the teens or single digits, I know I've got extra horsepower when needed. The only drawback is you may have to deal with inside temps in the high 70's for a few hours immediately after a reload. If it gets uncomfortably warm, I'll crack a window. Having a house too warm in the winter is what I consider an executive problem. I will add that my ceilings are around 8' and my home is pretty tight.

I would have a hard time not recommending this stove to someone. Once you learn it's capabilities and burning properties, you can adjust the amount of heat to suit your needs. I'd rather have too much power than too little.

One more thing, to echo what has been said here numerous times, good wood is a must. I am burning hardwood that has been split, stacked and covered for over three years. With poor wood, performance is greatly diminished.

Good luck in your quest. I think the NC-30 is a great stove.

Jeff

You sir are talking my language with the horsepower analogy lol. I actually have a 500hp daily driver (well at least it’s a daily driver in the summer months) so what your saying makes perfect sense to me. Sounds like your house is similar to mine so I would think my results wouldn’t be much different. I rarely burn any wood that hasn’t been split and stacked for at least a yr so bad fuel wouldnt ever be an issue for me. The more I hear everybody talk and read up on the 30 the more I think it’s the stove for me. Thanks for the input man.

 

[JC88]

I just picked up the NC30 last week and replaced the Us Stove 2000 with it. My Cape built in the 20’s stone foundation. Basement is just under 800sqft and the main level and 2nd level combined is 1300. Insulated attic to R-38 and rim joists in basement. New windows and doors all around. So with that I’ll tell you that with my set up(20ft Class A) I can have the stove loaded SST around 700 for a solid three hours and will slowly taper down to 350 over the next 3-4 depending on wood. Only thing heating the house is the stove in the basement and keeps main level at 70 and upstairs at 65/66 with temps around 20-25 degrees here in CT. Hope this helps.

I too will be replacing a US stove2000. It was in the house when I bought it and like I said it does decent I just need a stove that I can get more wood in and have a little longer burn times. Glad to hear your happy with your 30 Iv yet to hear anybody say anything bad about it. Just out of curiosity what kind of burn times did you get with you US2000?

 

[Srossi720]

I too will be replacing a US stove2000. It was in the house when I bought it and like I said it does decent I just need a stove that I can get more wood in and have a little longer burn times. Glad to hear your happy with your 30 Iv yet to hear anybody say anything bad about it. Just out of curiosity what kind of burn times did you get with you US2000?

Wood burn- about 2.5/3 hours
Coal burn- another 1.5 hours

Basically to keep up with the temp in the house I was loading the stove every 3/4 hours and now with the NC 30 I load it once in the morning full load and burn from 8am to 5pm and throw medium splits on to keep the temps high till about 8 and burn those down to get ready for my overnight load/burn around 11/12 at night.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I too will be replacing a US stove2000. It was in the house when I bought it and like I said it does decent I just need a stove that I can get more wood in and have a little longer burn times. Glad to hear your happy with your 30 Iv yet to hear anybody say anything bad about it. Just out of curiosity what kind of burn times did you get with you US2000?

I have a US stove 2000 . While its a good stove ,that stove was never meant for a large space IMO,certainly not 1400 SF. I have mine in a 700 SF Apt., And it works well. I also have 2@ NC-30s in different locations. They work fine but there are better options out there for around the same money. The 30 is too low to the floor,if you dont put it up on some kind of pedestal, its hard to get a good view of the fire. I like a stove that is taller, and not quite so deep with a larger door ,and keeps the door glass cleaner. I have to clean the glass on the 30 almost daily.

 

[Jazzberry]

I have a US stove 2000 . While its a good stove ,that stove was never meant for a large space IMO,certainly not 1400 SF. I have mine in a 700 SF Apt., And it works well. I also have 2@ NC-30s in different locations. They work fine but there are better options out there for around the same money. The 30 is too low to the floor,if you dont put it up on some kind of pedestal, its hard to get a good view of the fire. I like a stove that is taller, and not quite so deep with a larger door ,and keeps the door glass cleaner. I have to clean the glass on the 30 almost daily.

What are the better options for the same price you are talking about?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

What are the better options for the same price you are talking about?

If i were looking for a 2000 SF or under stove right now, id go with the summers heat 2000SF, i have the 2400SF model and have been having problems with the door warping but i dont see that problem with the 2 smaller models,the 1800sf mode; and the 2000sf model. Im having the stove replaced under warranty right now and im hoping they have corrected that problem on the largest model. Even with that, i like the Summers Heat 2400Sf much better than the 30 and i have both these stoves in the same house. For the reasons i mentioned. Taller ,better looking stove ,bigger fire view, much cleaner door glass and seem s to burn the wood down to fine ash and give off more heat even in the coaling stage. Price is the same or cheaper than the 30 depending on specials and made by the same company. I have the Summers heat for 2 years and have just had the door start warping in the last few months. I think englander did something(beefed up the door) to the new stoves to fix it.

 

[Jazzberry]

If i were looking for a 2000 SF or under stove right now, id go with the summers heat 2000SF, i have the 2400SF model and have been having problems with the door warping but i dont see that problem with the 2 smaller models,the 1800sf mode; and the 2000sf model. Im having the stove replaced under warranty right now and im hoping they have corrected that problem on the largest model. Even with that, i like the Summers Heat 2400Sf much better than the 30 and i have both these stoves in the same house. For the reasons i mentioned. Taller ,better looking stove ,bigger fire view, much cleaner door glass and seem s to burn the wood down to fine ash and give off more heat even in the coaling stage. Price is the same or cheaper than the 30 depending on specials and made by the same company. I have the Summers heat for 2 years and have just had the door start warping in the last few months. I think englander did something(beefed up the door) to the new stoves to fix it.

Kinda odd that I just looked up the specs for both stoves and they are identical twins in appearance, all specs, size, weight and made by the same company but you choose to recommend the one you are having the factory replace due to defects?

 

[Srossi720]

If i were looking for a 2000 SF or under stove right now, id go with the summers heat 2000SF, i have the 2400SF model and have been having problems with the door warping but i dont see that problem with the 2 smaller models,the 1800sf mode; and the 2000sf model. Im having the stove replaced under warranty right now and im hoping they have corrected that problem on the largest model. Even with that, i like the Summers Heat 2400Sf much better than the 30 and i have both these stoves in the same house. For the reasons i mentioned. Taller ,better looking stove ,bigger fire view, much cleaner door glass and seem s to burn the wood down to fine ash and give off more heat even in the coaling stage. Price is the same or cheaper than the 30 depending on specials and made by the same company. I have the Summers heat for 2 years and have just had the door start warping in the last few months. I think englander did something(beefed up the door) to the new stoves to fix it.

Yeah I read that the SummersHeat had that problem with the door warping and I just scratched my head. Cast iron is hard to warp especially when it’s think like the door. Could possibly be the steel where the door closes on is warping also? Best way to tell is with a small level to know for sure.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Kinda odd that I just looked up the specs for both stoves and they are identical twins in appearance, all specs, size, weight and made by the same company but you choose to recommend the one you are having the factory replace due to defects?

Like i said the Summer Heat 50 does many things better than the NC-30. Plus the majority of owners have no problem with their stoves other than some stoves from the first year production of a new design. Im confident that they have addressed the problem wiht the 2400 by now, as im sure they dont want to be replacing stoves. Also what I recommended was either of the 2 smaller models,the 1800 and 2000 that never had the door problem. Its just the first year run of the 2400 model that seems to have the problem.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Yeah I read that the SummersHeat had that problem with the door warping and I just scratched my head. Cast iron is hard to warp especially when it’s think like the door. Could possibly be the steel where the door closes on is warping also? Best way to tell is with a small level to know for sure.

In my case it was the door and and the steel in the stove body the opposite way. Could be a run of defective doors. I should be getting my new stove this coming week. Seems its only in the largest of the 3 models.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I struggle with the problem of coming home from work to a cold house. Fortunately I’m able to come home on my lunch break a lot and fill mine back up. but on the days I don’t its not very fun warming the house back up. So getting good heat for 8 hrs would be awesome! What kind of weather are you dealing with? 20’s or below??

My house is well insulated so that helps. When i get home from work the house is usually about 60 and i have enough coals to get another firing going easy enough. Any temps below 10 and my stove starts struggling to keep up, this next week will be a challenge with negative temps for highs most of next week so i might kick on the furnace when i get home just to warm it up faster. Wednesday is supposed to be -13 for the high so it'll be interesting.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Kinda odd that I just looked up the specs for both stoves and they are identical twins in appearance, all specs, size, weight and made by the same company but you choose to recommend the one you are having the factory replace due to defects?

Which 2 are you referring to because the Summer heat 2400SF model and the NC-30 dont look anything like each other ,but all 3 Summers heat models look alike,but 3 different sizes.

 

[Jazzberry]

Which 2 are you referring to because the Summer heat 2400SF model and the NC-30 dont look anything like each other ,but all 3 Summers heat models look alike,but 3 different sizes.

You are right. I looked at the 1800 to 2400 sf model which is identical to the nc30. My bad. By the way Lowes has the new version on clearance for $749.00
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Summers-He...MI0ODbpeWQ4AIVYhh9Ch290AcvEAQYAiABEgKdlPD_BwE

 

[Seasoned Oak]

You are right. I looked at the 1800 to 2400 sf model which is identical to the nc30. My bad. By the way Lowes has the new version on clearance for $749.00

Yes ,with the sale thats on now the 2000 at $599 is cheaper than the 1800 still at the regular price of $759. On anther note my NEW 50 has finally arrived,ill be picking it up today.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

After inspecting the new stove Englander sent me(Summers Heat SHSS-50) to replace the one with the warped door and stove body i found the replacement stove also has a warped door. So it appears that most of that model the largest (2400SF model )of the 3 in that line have warped doors. The door still seals for now due to the thick door rope gasket ,as long as it dont get any worse. I did inspect one of these at lowes a few weeks ago and the door appeared to be flat. If i have any problem with this one ill be asking for a different door.

 

[Jazzberry]

After inspecting the new stove Englander sent me(Summers Heat SHSS-50) to replace the one with the warped door and stove body i found the replacement stove also has a warped door. So it appears that most of that model the largest (2400SF model )of the 3 in that line have warped doors. The door still seals for now due to the thick door rope gasket ,as long as it dont get any worse. I did inspect one of these at lowes a few weeks ago and the door appeared to be flat. If i have any problem with this one ill be asking for a different door.

Get a torch and heat a spot at the highest point of the warp cherry red. Get a bucket of water and a rag. When you get a spot cherry red douse it with the wet rag to cool it quickly and it will bend back a little. The cooled spot will shrink and cause the door to warp a little the opposite way. Do it over and over till you get it straight.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Get a torch and heat a spot at the highest point of the warp cherry red. Get a bucket of water and a rag. When you get a spot cherry red douse it with the wet rag to cool it quickly and it will bend back a little. The cooled spot will shrink and cause the door to warp a little the opposite way. Do it over and over till you get it straight.

I think they should send me a new door. The customer should not have to reengineer the product.
Plus its not a uniform bow. Its wavy.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

LIke i said it does seal right now, so technically i guess they could say its within specs. My old stove body also warped in the opposite direction making a gasket fix impossible as the gap was too wide. We have been discussing this here.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/posts/2335352/

 

[Jazzberry]

LIke i said it does seal right now, so technically i guess they could say its within specs. My old stove body also warped in the opposite direction making a gasket fix impossible as the gap was too wide.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/posts/2335352/

Unbalanced heating and cooling will warp any metal.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

They must have determined that a design change was more expensive than dealing with warranty issues. But it does nothing for brand quality. Overall despite this issue, i luv the stove and am determined use it even if eventually i have to come up with a solution myself . Meanwhile ill be taking lots of measurements and keeping a eye out if i get any gaps in the gasket seal. I thinking the warpage causes gaps in the seal resulting in the stove to overheating and eventually causing the stove body to warp as well.