I am in a great debate over what new stove to buy. I currently run a 10 year old Englander 25- PDVC and am fed up with being cold. Reading about the Harman's, it seems that one almost can't go wrong, however the price is high (considering the P68). My father installed a Kozi Previa last march and had no issues for the few months he used it. The Kozi threw amazing heat compared to my little Englander. My Brother runs an Englander 25-PDV and heats a 2500 sf house with No issues.
I was considering the larger Englander but we had a hopper fire last Feb and the wife is concerned about the design. My fire was the result of a bearing locking up from dust accumulation under the seal. It stopped the bottom auger and made the motor sequel on the shaft. Wife then shut the stove down via the control panel (lucky she was not working). Because the auger had stopped, the fire cheeped up the tubes and hit the hopper. I always keep the hopper latched closed and that is why. The lack of oxygen in the hopper allowed the fire to simply smolder in there for a few hours. I came home and opened the hopper which filled the house with smoke. I replaced the auger bearings and one of the auger motors and ran it the additional 3 months until spring with no issues.
We are working on starting a family and I want the best stove that reasonable money can buy. I have searched the internet as thoroughly as I can and have found very little about the Kozi stoves. I have talked to dealers who say only good things about them, mostly how Kozy has been using the same components for the last 15yrs with the exception on the new digital control panel.
I do have a theory about the lack of posts about the Kozi however... If you have a problem with an item what do you do... you search the internet for it. If all of the Kozi customers world wide don't have any issues, there wont be any posts about them... right??
Please help throw your thoughts in. I want to make a good 30 yr decision.
-Brian
I was considering the larger Englander but we had a hopper fire last Feb and the wife is concerned about the design. My fire was the result of a bearing locking up from dust accumulation under the seal. It stopped the bottom auger and made the motor sequel on the shaft. Wife then shut the stove down via the control panel (lucky she was not working). Because the auger had stopped, the fire cheeped up the tubes and hit the hopper. I always keep the hopper latched closed and that is why. The lack of oxygen in the hopper allowed the fire to simply smolder in there for a few hours. I came home and opened the hopper which filled the house with smoke. I replaced the auger bearings and one of the auger motors and ran it the additional 3 months until spring with no issues.
We are working on starting a family and I want the best stove that reasonable money can buy. I have searched the internet as thoroughly as I can and have found very little about the Kozi stoves. I have talked to dealers who say only good things about them, mostly how Kozy has been using the same components for the last 15yrs with the exception on the new digital control panel.
I do have a theory about the lack of posts about the Kozi however... If you have a problem with an item what do you do... you search the internet for it. If all of the Kozi customers world wide don't have any issues, there wont be any posts about them... right??
Please help throw your thoughts in. I want to make a good 30 yr decision.
-Brian