Lowes stoves...

[Battenkiller]

I've visited several stove dealers in the past two months, trying to decide if I should get an EPA stove before the tax credit ends.

You haven't narrowed it down to the Fireview yet?

No, the Fireview is completely off the short list. After careful consideration, I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that it just won't work in my situation. The very attractive sale price was persuading me to give it a try, and I think it would be a wonderful stove in another setup, but just not in a basement install. I've been monitoring the wall temps that my masonry chimney runs next to, and they are pretty high. I think I get a lot of heat reclaimed from all that stone, and I'd lose it all if I went to an insulated liner. It's my own version of Pook's Magic Heat. :zip:

I may just leave things alone downstairs and find a stove that would work well in my fireplace. The Hearthstone Tribute looks real suitable. I really like the way it looks as well. Not a deal maker, but if function was the only thing in life that mattered I wouldn't have married such a hot babe.

 

[GatorDL55]

I have an Englander 30 that I bought at Lowes last year. I got a chance to check out these new ones they are selling now. You can definitely notice a difference i quality between the englander and what they are carrying now. My englander is a lot nicer in the production. The ones they have now just look like a cheap "made in china knockoff" (even though i am not sure if they are in fact made in china)

 

[BrotherBart]

The ones they have now just look like a cheap "made in china knockoff" (even though i am not sure if they are in fact made in china)

One more time. They are made in Indiana.

 

[Mrs. Krabappel]

The ones they have now just look like a cheap "made in china knockoff" (even though i am not sure if they are in fact made in china)

One more time. They are made in Indiana.

If you really want to type it only one more time you may need to put it in your sig ;-)

 

[raybonz]

The ones they have now just look like a cheap "made in china knockoff" (even though i am not sure if they are in fact made in china)

One more time. They are made in Indiana.

Yeah probably made in Chinatown, Indiana lol..

Hey my stove was made in Taiwan and has heated my house over 20 yrs.. Back when I bought it they told me it could be made in several countries.. I paid $660.00 for it and it came with all the tools etc.. Amazingly I still use everything but the log carrier cuz I can't find it.. The tools are well made wrought iron and even the gloves are still in good shape... I really can't complain as I got my money's worth..

Ray

 

[BrotherBart]

The ones they have now just look like a cheap "made in china knockoff" (even though i am not sure if they are in fact made in china)

One more time. They are made in Indiana.

Yeah probably made in Chinatown, Indiana lol..

Hey my stove was made in Taiwan and has heated my house over 20 yrs.. Back when I bought it they told me it could be made in several countries.. I paid $660.00 for it and it came with all the tools etc.. Amazingly I still use everything but the log carrier cuz I can't find it.. The tools are well made wrought iron and even the gloves are still in good shape... I really can't complain as I got my money's worth..

Ray

In 1985 I lusted for that Dutchwest Extra Large. I was just days from driving all the way from here to Plymouth, MA to pick on up when I came across the big Sierra insert that served me so well for 20 years. And always still wondered about the DW.

 

[raybonz]

The ones they have now just look like a cheap "made in china knockoff" (even though i am not sure if they are in fact made in china)

One more time. They are made in Indiana.

Yeah probably made in Chinatown, Indiana lol..

Hey my stove was made in Taiwan and has heated my house over 20 yrs.. Back when I bought it they told me it could be made in several countries.. I paid $660.00 for it and it came with all the tools etc.. Amazingly I still use everything but the log carrier cuz I can't find it.. The tools are well made wrought iron and even the gloves are still in good shape... I really can't complain as I got my money's worth..

Ray

In 1985 I lusted for that Dutchwest Extra Large. I was just days from driving all the way from here to Plymouth, MA to pick on up when I came across the big Sierra insert that served me so well for 20 years. And always still wondered about the DW.

The place in Plymouth where I bought this stove it is 15 mins. from me.. Mine is the large but you have a bigger house.. Quite a few people here still run the same vintage Xlarge..The Xlarge holds a ton of wood and is very efficient too.. I do find that with the improved draft from this new liner this stove runs better than ever.. I personally think these are nice looking stoves however I like some of the design features in the new generation of the Dutchwest stoves but this generation looks better to me.. 99% of the time my windows are clean enough that I can easily see the flames just not as well as the newer stoves.. To me that isn't that important as the stove is off to the side anyways so I only see the front when walking in from the kitchen area..

BTW how did the Sierra insert work for you?

Ray

 

[BrotherBart]

BTW how did the Sierra insert work for you?

I had the big T4500. Not many were made and it did a great job for many years. Well, except for the fact that I burned too fresh wood in it for twenty years and had to do a lot of chimney cleaning. I had a bad habit of smacking the back of the firebox with the ends of huge splits loading it and after 21 years of that and burning it really hot a weld in the back let go. So now it is the firebox for the meat smoker.

 

[raybonz]

BTW how did the Sierra insert work for you?

I had the big T4500. Not many were made and it did a great job for many years. Well, except for the fact that I burned too fresh wood in it for twenty years and had to do a lot of chimney cleaning. I had a bad habit of smacking the back of the firebox with the ends of huge splits loading it and after 21 years of that and burning it really hot a weld in the back let go. So now it is the firebox for the meat smoker.

Now you're talking I've been thinking I'd like a smoker as I love real wood smoked meats.. My son brought some corned beef that had been wood smoked by one of his friends and man that was some tasty! Could go for some right now... There is a smokehouse in my town that just reopened and man he makes the best dry rubbed smoked wings I have ever had (yes we have some of that here up north)! Making myself hungry just typing about this stuff!!

Ray

 

[bogydave]

One factor I have learned to use:
"You get what you pay for":
.....buy something cheap- get something cheap
.....buy something quality- get something quality

No mater where it is made.

One of those learned wisdoms
It saves $$$ in the long run.
All the above is just my opinion. But I could quote several self experiences, that back it up.

For a woodstove,
If you are planning to: get many years of use, save money on heat bills, burn wood efficiently & safely & be happy with the performance : purchase accordingly

 

[Hanko]

I was in HD this afternoon, and saw a 30 NC which was priced at $949, thats a big sucker, has to have a 3 cu ft box. It reminds me of the Hutch Rebel I had back in the early 80's

 

[raybonz]

One factor I have learned to use:
"You get what you pay for":
.....buy something cheap- get something cheap
.....buy something quality- get something quality

No mater where it is made.

One of those learned wisdoms
It saves $$$ in the long run.
All the above is just my opinion. But I could quote several self experiences, that back it up.

For a woodstove,
If you are planning to: get many years of use, save money on heat bills, burn wood efficiently & safely & be happy with the performance : purchase accordingly

I got a good deal on this stove and it still works well after all these years.. High price doesn't necessarily equal high value..

Ray

 

[bogydave]

One factor I have learned to use:
"You get what you pay for":
.....buy something cheap- get something cheap
.....buy something quality- get something quality

No mater where it is made.

One of those learned wisdoms
It saves $$$ in the long run.
All the above is just my opinion. But I could quote several self experiences, that back it up.

For a woodstove,
If you are planning to: get many years of use, save money on heat bills, burn wood efficiently & safely & be happy with the performance : purchase accordingly

I got a good deal on this stove and it still works well after all these years.. High price doesn't necessarily equal high value..

Ray

I agree, buy good quality. If it can be got at a good price, the better it is.
Normally quality cost more, but I look for deals too.
I looked at some of the stoves (here in Alaska) at Lowes. Just didn't meet my needs. Some looked ok but I didn't kick the tires much.
Like some of the log splitters HD had, I paid a little more for a different brad elswhere, but got what I thought would last & work for me for a long time.
Like the stove I got, with rebates & all, I got it for a good price & High efficiency rating, save on wood consumption, cleaner burning, heating bill etc. for several years ahead.
I am finding out I burn 2 -3 cords less per year. That $$ savings adds up too. (in multiple ways) every year I use it.

It's like always excepting the cheapest bidder on project, beware, there may be some hidden costs or effects somewhere.
Some research is a good thing.

 

[SteveKG]

Good quality stoves, or anything else, a joy to use. On the other hand, I am still using my $160 Shenandoah after more than 35 yr. and every time I think about buying something "better," I ultimately blow it off and stick with the old stove. Sometimes, simplicity just works great.

 

[BrotherBart]

Good quality stoves, or anything else, a joy to use. On the other hand, I am still using my $160 Shenandoah after more than 35 yr. and every time I think about buying something "better," I ultimately blow it off and stick with the old stove. Sometimes, simplicity just works great.

If ya want a new one my local stove shop has a brand new R77E on the floor marked down to six hundred bucks.

 

[raybonz]

Good quality stoves, or anything else, a joy to use. On the other hand, I am still using my $160 Shenandoah after more than 35 yr. and every time I think about buying something "better," I ultimately blow it off and stick with the old stove. Sometimes, simplicity just works great.

If ya want a new one my local stove shop has a brand new R77E on the floor marked down to six hundred bucks.

That sounds like a real steal! I Googled R77E and found it even has a thermostatic damper.. Way cool wish I had that to help out when the wind kicks up or dies down.. BTW how did your stove maintenance go? Would be a good time to do it here as the temp is 55 degrees out!!

Ray

 

[BrotherBart]

Successful maintenance. Any time I climb back down instead of fall back down it is a success. About a half quart of fine powder in the 21' liner. The usual. Some day I will get around to letting it go all season and I bet it is exactly the same amount.

Edit: It makes it exciting when you are on the roof and you hear the interconnected smoke alarms in the house and garage start going off. Zipped back down and investigated and found nothing. Was just headed back up and they went off again. After a half hour of messing around I determined that the one in the garage was giving a false alarm. Took the batteries out and replaced it with a stand alone and it was fine. Irritating because I love having that one in the garage that will set off the ones in the house if something happens out there.

 

[raybonz]

Successful maintenance. Any time I climb back down instead of fall back down it is a success. About a half quart of fine powder in the 21' liner. The usual. Some day I will get around to letting it go all season and I bet it is exactly the same amount.

Edit: It makes it exciting when you are on the roof and you hear the interconnected smoke alarms in the house and garage start going off. Zipped back down and investigated and found nothing. Was just headed back up and they went off again. After a half hour of messing around I determined that the one in the garage was giving a false alarm. Took the batteries out and replaced it with a stand alone and it was fine. Irritating because I love having that one in the garage that will set off the ones in the house if something happens out there.

Dust will cause false alarms Bart.. Try vacuuming the smoke detectors with a brush attachment on the hose.. They should be replaced periodically and last time I ended up replacing all of them as I could not find a matching replacement..Pretty sure they were at least 10 yrs. old when I replaced them.. The wired ones with battery backup are the only way to go and photoelectrics are superior (especially near a bathroom), a little more expensive but worth it.. I feel smokes are one of the best home safety devices ever invented and have saved countless lives.. Here in Mass. it is the law that ALL homes also have carbon monoxide detectors if there is anything more than electric in the home such as gas,oil,wood,propane etc... Real lifesavers in my opinion..

Ray

 

[BrotherBart]

The interconnected smokes are two years old. One on each floor including the basement and garage. CO detector on each floor and in the bedrooms. The smoke detector that was falsing had done it before and I took it apart and blew it out a couple of weeks ago. Now it is at it again.

 

[raybonz]

The interconnected smokes are two years old. One on each floor including the basement and garage. CO detector on each floor and in the bedrooms. The smoke detector that was falsing had done it before and I took it apart and blew it out a couple of weeks ago. Now it is at it again.

Could be humidity condensing on the sensor.. If only 2 yrs. okd should be able to get a replacement..

Ray