Did I Make Complete Blunder Buying This Stove?

[Sprinter]

What do you mean with dry? If it only had been cut down but not split it will probably not be dry. Oak is notoriously slow to season; even in your climate I would give it two years split and stacked in a sunny and windy location before burning it. If you can get your hands on some softwood that should be dry by next winter.

He's right. Wood has to be split open to even start drying and oak is one of the slowest. I know this thread has been about the stove so far, but you have to get some wood up asap.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Hate to tell ya this but the neighbor is right. No way to use that big, bad, bay window boy as a free standing stove. Got to go into a masonry fireplace.

For the curious, this is what they look like.

Reminds me of one of those monster TV cabinets with built in TV from the 70s.

 

[HotCoals]

Reminds me of one of those monster TV cabinets with built in TV from the 70s.

Yea,with the record player and am-fm!

I like it though!
Still not sure why it can't be used as a free stander?
I have no clue though as to what the back of it looks like.

 

[bag of hammers]

For a bay window view look at the Osburn 2200: (broken link removed to http://www.osburn-mfg.com/en/heaters/model-OB02211-description) It has a gold door overlay option. However, ask for some experiences here; I think people had trouble with logs falling out.

Be aware that some of the stoves with the bay window design look pretty in the showroom, but once you start burning in them you might be disappointed over how black some of the windows become. I don't have any first hand experience with them, but I can recall a number of posts by people asking how to keep the side bay windows from getting blacked out so quickly when they burn. If you like the idea of clear glass to watch your fire you might want to check the stoves you are considering to see if you will be able to easily reach all the glass panels on the inside for cleaning.

Grisu and Nick bring up good points. I have the 2200. The side glass will get a bit dirty, but it's all in the door, so really easy to clean. Some other stoves have side panels in the stove body - I don't have any experience with those but perhaps they could be a PITA to clean.

I have had 1 instance with log rolling forward on me (E/W loading) but if I'm careful I generally have no problems, and I usually I load N/S as this stove seems to load up and burn really well this way (good long burns with the stove loaded up tight).

FWIW here's a pic from the weekend - shortly after a small reload. There are prettier stoves out there, but if you want to see lots of fire, this one does it. I have the gold trim 'cause it was a bargain - would have probably preferred black or brushed nickel, but it was a good deal. Some folks love the gold and I'm ok with it. Notice the black on the bottom corner of the right glass (same on the left, which you don't see). This is a few weeks of mostly weekend fires. It takes a few minutes with damp paper towel and some ash to completely clean, when I have the energy now. Please excuse the mess, place still under construction...

 

[aansorge]

An energy king wood stove kind of reminds me of that insert...(broken link removed to http://www.energyking.com/bay.php)