To each his own my friend. I find MOST stoves made today except for the very expensive (10,000+) fancy sweedish type stoves, are ugly. But those very expensive stoves are made to look nice, and don't heat quite as well from what I understand. However, as you already know but won't admit to (which is fine by us), the PH is the best looking stove under $10,000, by far.
As they say, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." If we all liked the same things, there would only be one stove being made. Do you really think that Woodstock stove look nicer than Hearthstone's soapstone stoves? Not that it matters (at least to me, but FYI) the Equinox weighs 689 lbs. Maybe Hearthstone should add 12 more pounds of bricks so the Equinox will weigh 701 lbs.
"It (the PH) also has some of the best specs of any of the stoves under 10k as well. Nothing anecdotal about any of that."
As does the Ashford. Nothing anecdotal about that also.
"One thing you are VERY correct on is, the soapstone take a l-o-n-g time to heat up, and start heating the room. This is the only downfall I have found on my PH. The PH is 750 lbs, and takes a long time to heat up, so if you want quick heat, your not going to really get it. The upside to that of course is, it continues to deliver lots of heat, for many hours (3 to 4 hours in my experience) after the fire and coals are long gone. One nice thing Woodstock smartly did on the PH to combat the long heat up delay is, to make a big un-obstructed glass front which allows alot of heat to come out right away in front of the stove, this does help. But the real heat does not start for about 30 mintues to an hour."
When I come home from a night out and enter a chilly house, I often have my stove stoked, ready to light, and I want heat RIGHT NOW. Currently, I generally do not keep it burning because my stove is so inefficient and I see no need to heat a house with load of wood when I'm out. I suppose that once I get my BK Ashford, it will give me the luxury of burning it when I'm gone and returning to a comfy home, without feeling guilty for what I am doing to the environment.
"PS- I'm amazed somebody in Santa Cruz Cali needs a "stove"? I've been there many a time, I've never seen it anywhere close to what I would cold "stove" weather. You sure you need a stove? ?"
I need something to heat my home, don't I? I have not had my furnace on for over 29 years (have since capped off the gas line to it) and have used wood as my sole source of heat (with the occasional space heater used in a single room). When it's cold outside, the house can get cold enough to where you 'see your breath' and we do have nights where it will get below freezing. Another reason for not wanting a soapstone stove is, while we might have a cold night, the days can be warm enough to not warrant the use of the stove during the daytime. So, I don't need that extra 3 - 4 hours of heat from soapstone. Sometimes, I just want to take the chill off of the house in the morning and don't need prolonged heating.
An aside: Blaze King has reportedly had only about 7 orders of the enamel finished stoves, as most (as did Webby3650) are opting not to wait and are buying the black Ashfords. I expect to have this stove for a long, long time and decided to wait, rather later on wishing that I'd waited for what I really want. If BK doesn't deliver my stove soon, Webby3650 might already have his Ashford down in the basement before mine is even installed. ;->
Good luck with it, and make sure we get some pics of the enamal finish.
in the Rockies any day of the week vs. 32
