If you could do it over again - which stove would you choose?

[DUMF]

Under the Need to Know reg here it is ( with extreme prejudice ):

VC 2550 ENCORE IF and only if it had been designed and made under the KISS engineering rule.
Why ? Let me count the ways many copied by later stoves---
1. Top loading ( for those really heating with wood this is easy loading)
2. Elegant, beautiful design....romantic (in red porcelain) if you have the chops
3. Long burns
4. Simple ash pan system
5. Easy temperature control
6. Well thought out secondary air thermostatically controlled
7. Nice wood handle controls for temp and cat
8. When all systems in this beast are operating correctly, it WAS an exceptional heater. ( not too often over time )

Now all you BK enthusiasts, come on down.

 

[snavematt]

1. Current new Stove Explorer II ( I am happy with it)
2. I would've loved to have a blaze king King, but wife wasn't having it.

 

[BuckyBeaver524]

Woodstock Progress Hybrid

Woodstock Progress Hybrid - stove has met or exceeded my every expectation. Beautiful looks, long burn times, tremendous heat, sips wood, and best ash pan system in the industry (IMO). Almost every new visitor to my home immediately compliments me on the beauty of the stove. I do 12 hour burns to accommodate my schedule (don't need or want 24 hour black glass smolders), but have gone as long as 16 hours. Glass and chimney remains clear even in full cat burn mode. I can easily get 12 to 14 hours on 5 to 6 medium splits - but I live in the south east (Smoky Mountain area), and the weather is moderate.

 

[toddnic]

1) Progress Hybrid

2) Progress Hybrid - absolutely no negatives regarding this woodstove, wood use, and the size of our house.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

Have: VC Encore 2250
VC Defiant 1945

Want: for my cabin I would like a simpler stove due to more people other than myself using it. It's hard to find a stove as beautiful as a Vermont with side shelves and a top loader though. A cat stove is not needed here so as of right now I would say a PE T5.
For my house I do really like having a cat stove. I have a 1400 square foot ranch style and my Encore can heat us out in milder outdoor temps. So it is nice to be able to turn her down. I have been leaning towards an Ashford. The BK is not as good looking as the Encore (in my opinion that is) but everything I have been reading here about customer service and function has me sold. I guess if Ashful is going to have like 15 BK stoves in his house they have to be a pretty good stove.

 

[Mike M.]

(Basement Install)

1 - 30 NCH

2 - PE Summit

Nothing wrong with the Englander but I do think the closer clearances and a little more convection heat would be beneficial to my situation. Also the EBT system for longer burns. Having a stove in the basement is really nice for many reasons. Helps dry it out, basement stays warm for a long time (it's well insulated). Makes the space very comfortable for working on projects or just watching football.

Sent from my SM-G900R6 using Tapatalk

 

[adrpga498]

1.Castine400
2.F600
sometimes size matters .

 

[Squisher]

1. PE summit stove, and super insert. And a old Lakewood in my shop.

2. Pretty pleased with my setup. if someone was going to give me a stove, I'd take a BK king and put it in the shop.

I'd be hard pressed to change up my PE's if I was buying.

 

[mminor]

I'm really enjoying everyone's responses - thanks a lot and please keep them coming!

 

[begreen]

1. Pacific Energy T6 - works great in mild or cold weather burning a variety of loads
2. We've had 5 stoves in this house, 6 if you include a 5 yr run with a Quad 1200i. The T6 has the distinct advantage of being the largest stove, best heater and also, it's paid for. Not really thinking of another right now.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

1) Seefire (early EPA approved non-cat freestanding woodstove about 1989 w/approx. 55-60,000 btu's)

This has been a great mid-sized stove but the steel retainers holding the smokeshelf firebricks are sagging due to over-firing and it doesn't "throttle back" well. The install has 15 feet of vertical single-wall 6" stovepipe with a ceiling fan mounted adjacent so it's pretty good at providing a lot of heat quickly, not so good at low/slow.

It's used in a mid-sized ski cabin with the heating split 90% wood/10% elec. baseboard. The main problem is during milder weather when, after initial warm-up, I can't make it burn cool enough to maintain comfortable temps. So I let the fire burn down and resort to the electric baseboards until the cabin cools down uncomfortably and then start the process again. The stove has a very low range of adjustment (perhaps 10% if I want to burn clean/efficient). If it's unusually cold outside, I can burn continuously but then it really goes through the wood. This only happens during rare periods when an artic air mass descends and temps are around 0F-15F, about one-two weeks/year, some years not at all. Typical winter weather is a wet 38F-48F.

Sometimes, when I arrive, the inside of the cabin is colder than outside. The cabin is only heated to 40F with the baseboards when unoccupied to prevent freezing pipes and the Seefire does a good job of making the main living area comfortable for lounging within an hour after lighting the first fire (from a thoroughly cold structure). But, until the mass of the structure comes up to temperature, it will feel cold as soon as the fire starts to get low. I need to stoke it every 2-3 hours depending upon the wood density. After 1-2 days of constant (daytime) stoking the house is fully heat-soaked and I need to burn intermittently to avoid overheating.

2) Looking at a Blaze King Chinook 30

I would normally avoid a catalytic stove due to periodic maintenance and the need to babysit it until it comes up to temp (which takes just a bit longer and is more critical to perform properly when compared to a non-cat). However, I'm attracted to the much wider range of control of the heat output, much longer burn times and higher efficiencies. I'm a little concerned that it might not make the main living area feel comfortable quite as quickly as the very high level of radiant heat my well-stoked Seefire provides.

I think with the higher burn efficiency and better heat control my cabin will be over-heated less often and I'll burn about 60% less wood.

 

[gregbesia]

1. Englander 13NCI
2. Would love to try one of the BK inserts

 

[pma1123]

1. Have an Alderlea T5 since 2014, really like it, easy to run, simple construction, and most importantly its paid for. Normal to get overnight burns; when it really gets cold I could use a touch more firepower in my situation. Have also changed jobs which affects my schedule and occasionally has me wishing for more burntime/bigger fuel tank. The ability to throttle that monster back when the weather is mild would be nice too.

So there you have it, I want it all....longer burn, less heat, more heat.....I hear they make a product for this set of wants.....

2. BK...most likely a princess due to current hearth setup/clearances.

 

[trguitar]

1. Lopi Freedom (old stove). Threw nice heat, but would only put out for 6 hours or so when it was really cold out. Not too long for a big stove like that.

2. Progress Hybrid (new stove). Can't say enough good things about this stove. Beautiful, long burn times, sips wood (I'm using about 1/2 cord per month), heats my 2400 sf house in the 70s (far end of the house) even in the single digits outside.

Like Highbeam said, sell your old stove and get your dream stove. It's worth it! I couldn't be happier.

 

[xman23]

Good thread. I don't know but would like longer overnight burns, without cooking me out of the house.

 

[branchburner]

1) Ideal Steel

2) Absolute Steel OR Jotul Firelight Cat (new)

Would love a well-designed top-loading, big-firebox cat, but alas, that beast is extinct... not too interested in restoring or getting parts for one.
Top-loading > side-loading > front-loading (hence the preference for AS over IS).

 

[DUMF]

2) Absolute Steel OR Jotul Firelight Cat (new)
Would love a well-designed top-loading, big-firebox cat, but alas, that beast is extinct... not too interested in restoring or getting parts for one.
Top-loading > side-loading > front-loading (hence the preference for AS over IS).

So all you engineers and stove reps---why can't you design a KISS stove that's a top loading cat ? Why ? It was done long ago, not too successfully. Explain .

 

[webby3650]

So all you engineers and stove reps---why can't you design a KISS stove that's a top loading cat ? Why ? It was done long ago, not too successfully. Explain .

Because when the cat is crammed into the small space in the back of the stove it's subjected to unmentionable things! There's no where else to put it with a top load, and it's abused under those conditions.

 

[jatoxico]

The Enviro Boston was on my short list. The Jotul won for being fully flush which preserved my room layout and kept me in code hearth wise. I have to say it is a tank but over time reviews on the Jotul have been meh. It's a pure E/W loader and the burn times are nothing to get too excited about so overnight is not really an option. Fans must be on or there is little heat.

If I want stay within code I would have to add to my hearth which would change the flow and layout of the room, but having an insert that sticks out a bit and gets decent burn times would be nice.

 

[bholler]

So all you engineers and stove reps---why can't you design a KISS stove that's a top loading cat ? Why ? It was done long ago, not too successfully. Explain .

What webby said and really you almost have to have to run it down draft like vc has because you need a direct bypass path to get a good fast start. Basically there is no real way to keep it simple.

 

[lsucet]

I will like one of this one just to test it and play around.

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[Jazzberry]

Happy with my Englander especially for the very small amount of money I have in it. I haven't seen anything that works better yet but from a lot of reading here and some more money I think maybe an Ideal Steel. Don't think I would really like cats but I haven't seen one in use yet.

 

[jetsam]

I have a BK Princess Insert heating the whole house now. I think if I ever remodel the living room, I will rip out everything on the wall that it's on, turn the fireplace into a stove pad, cover the drywall with kerdiboard, and thinset stones from the river over the face of that. Then it's freestanding King time, unless someone has a better thermostatic wood stove by then.

Mmmm, 2 day burns in shoulder season.

(Oh, and also I have apparently omitted the part where someone convinces my wife that all of the above is a good idea... this is probably not an optional step.)

 

[webby3650]

So all you engineers and stove reps---why can't you design a KISS stove that's a top loading cat ? Why ? It was done long ago, not too successfully. Explain .

The Quadra-fire Isle Royale is the most useful top loader I've seen that is non-cat. Its a very simple top loading design, without all the problems associated with a traditional top loader.

 

[bholler]

The Quadra-fire Isle Royale is the most useful top loader I've seen that is non-cat. Its a very simple top loading design, without all the problems associated with a traditional top loader.

Yes that is probably the only top loader I would consider installing in my house. But honestly I dont care for top loaders I can fit allot more wood in front or side loading.