Hearthstone Clydesdale insert compared to Hearthstone Castleton woodstove

[Juddles]

We have a 1980s Vermont castings Reliant woodstove in front of our fireplace. (Pre made in China period) We have absolutely loved it for many years, and it has kept our house toasty. Its pretty tiny and fits right into the firebox. It only sticks out about 10 inches. It's currently having some issues, which will cost a bit to fix. Creosote is building up heavily in the T as it leaves the flue, it's "burping" smoke into the room regularly, and there is a large unremovable creosote mass near the top of the flue. Stainless steel liner is uninsulated and 24 years old. Stove has a catalytic converter, but no fresh air intake.
We are considering replacing it with either the Hearthstone Castleton woodstove, which would fit, but it would hang over the hearth which isn't optimal. We'd have to rip out the wood floor in front of the stove. It would look a bit odd. These do not come with shorter legs like the Vermont castings we have. The Hearthstone Clydesdale insert would fit perfectly into the firebox & would have 17 inches of hearth in front of it.
My question is, do the new inserts heat as well as woodstoves ? Or are we going to be chilly? Power goes out a bit here at 1500 ft, so the blower would not work. When the power is out.

 

[bholler]

We have a 1980s Vermont castings Reliant woodstove in front of our fireplace. (Pre made in China period) We have absolutely loved it for many years, and it has kept our house toasty. Its pretty tiny and fits right into the firebox. It only sticks out about 10 inches. It's currently having some issues, which will cost a bit to fix. Creosote is building up heavily in the T as it leaves the flue, it's "burping" smoke into the room regularly, and there is a large unremovable creosote mass near the top of the flue. Stainless steel liner is uninsulated and 24 years old. Stove has a catalytic converter, but no fresh air intake.
We are considering replacing it with either the Hearthstone Castleton woodstove, which would fit, but it would hang over the hearth which isn't optimal. We'd have to rip out the wood floor in front of the stove. It would look a bit odd. These do not come with shorter legs like the Vermont castings we have. The Hearthstone Clydesdale insert would fit perfectly into the firebox & would have 17 inches of hearth in front of it.
My question is, do the new inserts heat as well as woodstoves ? Or are we going to be chilly? Power goes out a bit here at 1500 ft, so the blower would not work. When the power is out.

Ok first off, no Vermont Castings stove was ever made in China. Simply not true. An insert will heat way better than a stove stuffed into a fireplace. They have a convective jacket designed to get the heat out of the fire box

 

[Juddles]

It's not stuffed, it's only about an inch into the firebox. It's just tiny, with stubby legs. Our chimney sweep said that about VC. I assumed he was right. I was also wrong about the catalytic converter. We don't currently have one.
Just trying to stay warm. Winter is coming & I have stove I can't use.

 

[begreen]

That's a VC Resolute stove. Definitely forged in Vermont. It looks like there isn't a lot of hearth in front of this installation. Did the sweep say what the stove needs and offer a price? It was a really nice little stove for its time.

In new stoves, the Jotul F35 and F445 can be rear vented and have short legs available. Consider that alternative.

The newest Clydesdales are receiving mixed reviews. Read up on this stove in the Hearthstone forum. There are other inserts that are worth considering depending on the fireplace dimensions. The Hamptom Hi2450 and Hi500 are classically styled if that is the desired aesthetic.

 

[Juddles]

First he wants to do this chemical treatment to the liner for $400, but if that doesn't remove the band of creosote at the top, he wants to replace the liner with an insulated stainless steel liner, prolly 1k minimum. We just paid him $400 to clean what he could, but he said we couldn't use it. He was also worried about the creosote build up at the T off the back of the stove, that it signaled a bigger problem. It does say Reliant on the side of the stove. Its true that theres not a lot of hearth in front of it. We use a fireproof half round rug in front of the hearth. We don't typically open the front that much. It's a top loader, I can put a couple logs in, work 8 hours & come home to a bed of hot coals.

 

[Juddles]

The lack of hearth in front of the woodstove is the reason why we are considering an insert instead. We are concerned that an insert won't heat as well as our little woodstove has.

 

[bholler]

First he wants to do this chemical treatment to the liner for $400, but if that doesn't remove the band of creosote at the top, he wants to replace the liner with an insulated stainless steel liner, prolly 1k minimum. We just paid him $400 to clean what he could, but he said we couldn't use it. He was also worried about the creosote build up at the T off the back of the stove, that it signaled a bigger problem. It does say Reliant on the side of the stove. Its true that theres not a lot of hearth in front of it. We use a fireproof half round rug in front of the hearth. We don't typically open the front that much. It's a top loader, I can put a couple logs in, work 8 hours & come home to a bed of hot coals.

I would have a different sweep look at it. I have never seen a top ring i couldn't chip away. Now obviously your stove ist working properly. Is it supposed to have a cat in it and doesn't. My guess is your running it to cool because that is a really long burn from a little stove without a cat

 

[begreen]

First he wants to do this chemical treatment to the liner for $400, but if that doesn't remove the band of creosote at the top, he wants to replace the liner with an insulated stainless steel liner, prolly 1k minimum. We just paid him $400 to clean what he could, but he said we couldn't use it. He was also worried about the creosote build up at the T off the back of the stove, that it signaled a bigger problem. It does say Reliant on the side of the stove. Its true that theres not a lot of hearth in front of it. We use a fireproof half round rug in front of the hearth. We don't typically open the front that much. It's a top loader, I can put a couple logs in, work 8 hours & come home to a bed of hot coals.

VC made a Defiant, but no Reliant that I can recall.

The flue work needs to be done regardless. What work needs to be done on the stove to bring it back into good operational condition?

 

[kborndale]

First thing you need to do is look at your burning habits and figure out why there is so much creosote. Then I would replace the liner, it's 24 years old so definitely at the end of its life and it really should be insulated, an insulated liner will decrease the amount of creosote being produced and just may save your life when your bad burning habits cause a chimney fire.

 

[all night moe]

How's your firewood? Poor wood is the source of many problems.