Fisher Mama Bear Wood Stove?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
So I just got off the phone with England Stove Works (manufacturers the Englander just in case it is confusing for anyone) and they told me that the Englander 32-NC would absolutely not work out for me. The guy I talked to said he had a very similar setup to me and wanted to upgrade to the same wood stove but had not yet because he had not had his chimney lined. I made sure that he understood that I have the terra cotta clay flue liner. He said it would prove very difficult or nearly impossible to keep a fire going in the stove regardless of draft and properly seasoned wood.
 
@BIGChrisNH

Hey Chris, sorry if you already talked about this. So what do you think about England Stove Company telling me that the stainless liner is a requirement for run the Englander 32-NC? I actually saw you on another post saying you had a setup very similar to mine that was not lined with stainless. However, I think you mentioned here you now do in fact have a stainless liner? Could you speak to this? If you have already and I missed it I apologize. I literally have like two dozen Hearth.com sources open on each computer lol. Great community!
 
If cost is really an issue. If you have Facebook check the marketplace for stoves I do almost everyday just looking for deals. A lot of people buy a house with a stove already and they want nothing to do with it so they sell it for next to nothing sometimes if they don’t know anything about stoves. That’s where I got my Buck 80 insert for $400 in perfect shape. I almost nabbed a Kuma Sequoia in awesome shape for $300. Definitely deals to be had sometimes you have to drive a little though I drove over an hour for my Buck. But I settled on that only because a guy backed out on the blaze king princess I was going to buy. I had the Englander 30 in my old house, thing throws some heat. I would say as long as your clay tiles are in good shape and not glazed over you should be ok to run the stove on it til you do a liner. There’s still plenty of people who do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hexa Fox
So I just got off the phone with England Stove Works (manufacturers the Englander just in case it is confusing for anyone) and they told me that the Englander 32-NC would absolutely not work out for me. The guy I talked to said he had a very similar setup to me and wanted to upgrade to the same wood stove but had not yet because he had not had his chimney lined. I made sure that he understood that I have the terra cotta clay flue liner. He said it would prove very difficult or nearly impossible to keep a fire going in the stove regardless of draft and properly seasoned wood.

If you have proper draft and properly seasoned wood i don’t understand why he would say it wouldn’t work in spite of having those things. That’s basically all a stove really needs to work properly. Proper draft and properly seasoned wood
 
If cost is really an issue. If you have Facebook check the marketplace for stoves I do almost everyday just looking for deals.
If you have proper draft and properly seasoned wood i don’t understand why he would say it wouldn’t work in spite of having those things. That’s basically all a stove really needs to work properly. Proper draft and properly seasoned wood
I would not say cost is the biggest concern. I created another thread where I was talking about easily spending $10,000 on a stove and either a liner or class A pipe to replace my chimney. I really do not have that kind of money in my budget but if I could eat it now and get something that is going to burn for a really long time and most likely last the rest of my lifetime with regularly cleanings I would be more than happy. So for me it is really about getting the right setup.

I am the only one that will tend to whatever I get so the catalytic option was especially palatable because of the long burn times. I get up almost every morning with my current setup and the house is cold and I have to pretty much restart from scratch. It would be life changing to wake up to a house that is not freezing cold and be able to open the stove up and only have to reload it. I have been told that I could achieve this even with the secondary air stoves.

I have yet to measure my own draft. So the final guy that came out was a Blaze King and Regency dealer and he said he is certain that the Princess would workout just fine for me. Then again, I have already been told my multiple other sources that a catalytic stove for my setup is a risk. The benefit I see to the Englander is that I am spending negligible money right now compared to other setups, so if I am very unhappy with it I could probably sell it and not be out a fortune and look into something else. I plan to line the chimney either this year or next.
 
The long burn times are like low and slow on the grill. The wood has a specific number of BTU's, it all comes down on how fast or quick you want/need the heat to come out. The long burn times are only relevant on the off season and in prime heating season will give you the same burn times as a secondary burner.

NC-32 does not come with side shields so has larger then expected clearances. Other good cheap options would be Drolet HT-3000/LEGEND III
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hexa Fox
The long burn times are like low and slow on the grill. The wood has a specific number of BTU's, it all comes down on how fast or quick you want/need the heat to come out. The long burn times are only relevant on the off season and in prime heating season will give you the same burn times as a secondary burner.

NC-32 does not come with side shields so has larger then expected clearances. Other good cheap options would be Drolet HT-3000/LEGEND III
I understand this. My local Home Depot has a couple nice Drolet's for sale now. The 'nicer' model is only $500 more than the Englander. I understand that burning "low and slow" as others have said is going to produce less heat and is usually better for shoulder season and the like. Just it will prove beneficial for me getting home from work and sleeping. It is very difficult keeping a fire going with what I have now for long periods of time. I never really thought of it as "eating fuel" but it just would not last overnight.
 
If you’re worried about draft. Id look for a pacific energy super/t5. Drafts very easy , puts out the heat and will go 10-12 hours between reloads would be a good size for your square footage
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hexa Fox
@BIGChrisNH

Hey Chris, sorry if you already talked about this. So what do you think about England Stove Company telling me that the stainless liner is a requirement for run the Englander 32-NC? I actually saw you on another post saying you had a setup very similar to mine that was not lined with stainless. However, I think you mentioned here you now do in fact have a stainless liner? Could you speak to this? If you have already and I missed it I apologize. I literally have like two dozen Hearth.com sources open on each computer lol. Great community!
sorry I'm late in responding been off the site for a while. I did run my Englander just fine on an 8"-ish clay lined flue. It drafted fine but my chimney is 30 feet. I ran it like that for maybe 2 years? Can't remember but it ran good and would get up to temp to get good secondaries going. Once I switched over to a 6" stainless liner everything changed for the better. The increased draft makes everything happen faster, but it did run just fine on a clay lined flue that was I believe 8 inches (square obviously)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hexa Fox
sorry I'm late in responding been off the site for a while. I did run my Englander just fine on an 8"-ish clay lined flue. It drafted fine but my chimney is 30 feet. I ran it like that for maybe 2 years? Can't remember but it ran good and would get up to temp to get good secondaries going. Once I switched over to a 6" stainless liner everything changed for the better. The increased draft makes everything happen faster, but it did run just fine on a clay lined flue that was I believe 8 inches (square obviously)
Thanks, my chimney is 17' from the thimble.