New guy, replacing old stove.

[Dieselhead]

Ok. So what I am gathering is, nobody that has responded has a wood stove they run 24/7 for 5-6 months out of the year. Lol.


I guess I add a slight rephrase?


What stoves are people running, med/high output, 24/7, 4-6 months out of the year? And…how have they held up? I’m looking for a medium to large stove to cut the edge off.

Those are the questions I am asking. I’m not looking for diagnosis of my last stoves failings. I definitely am not interested in an outdoor boiler, or wood boiler.

Just looking to see what stoves are being used as main heat source, what type of results, and how much maintenance. Personal experiences with full time wood stove heaters.

Thanks again.

My stove is stoked end of sept and runs non stop through beginning of march, then spot fires through mid April. About 4 cord per year. 3ksqft area heated. Other than mid season sweep and a new cat every 3-4 seasons it’s set it and forget it. No drama, no runaways, no smoke, 24hr burns on low and 12hr burns on high. Heck you can even burn softwoods and get 8 hours. Modern cat is where it’s at. You can find these attributes outside of BK as well I’m just not familiar with those. This is season 11 in the books for us with the stove. You will need dry sub 20% moisture content wood, measured correctly to burn efficiently.

 

[Sockiopath]

And they will not be happy running on wood that is 28% moisture content.

Obviously. What stove do you run?

 

[Sockiopath]

Ive been running an Avalon Rainier for 15+ years as my only heat, 2.5 cords/yr. Replaced door gasket once, that's it.

This guy gets it ^^^^

 

[stoveliker]

If you want a single person saying it works for him, then you can just go ahead with any stove you can find. There will always be an individual who will say "great".

The feedback you get here is based on observations of hundreds of not thousands of users, getting towards an average picture of the performance of a brand and or model.

Based on that I mentioned BK and PE.
Combined with the large BTU need you claim to have, you're smart enough to figure out that you won't want the smallest stove in those lines.

 

[Sockiopath]

you're smart enough to figure out that you won't want the smallest stove in those lines.

You are right. So what I am looking for is personal experiences. And I can use my big brain to figure out that maybe a larger stove in the same line will be a good choice. Seems like most of the respondents so far want to access my situation rather than answer my question. I get the urge to do that. I really do. But that is not what I am looking for.

 

[gthomas785]

I run a VC Encore 2040 pretty much continuously from Thanksgiving to Easter. It's a great heater but very picky about draft and wood quality, as with most high efficiency stoves. The ceramic cats did not hold up for me so I switched to a steelcat. So far so good.

 

[stoveliker]

I have a BK Chinook (30.2 firebox) and I heat my 1700 sqft home + 825 sq ft basement with only this, as long as it's below 40-45 F for 24 hrs or more, because I don't like to do half loads as full loads work better for me heating out of the basement. (When it's above that temp I use my minisplits.) The home has mediocre wall insulation (orig. Late.70s), excellent windows and attic air sealing and insulation. I can keep it at 69-72 even if it's 5 F and howling outside.

I go through about 2 cords per year.

My experience is that I love the stove. The (mechanical) thermostat gives an incredibly even heat output. And I am able to run it from 3 loads per day on the coldest weather to 1 load per day when I reach my crossover temperature. Longest burn (with the lowest heat output) was 36-37 hours on one load (of tightly packed red oak heart wood).

 

[Todd]

I ran a Jotul F45 for 4 years burning 24/7 5-6 months of the year primary heat source. It had plenty of punch and then some for my small log cabin, probably heated about 1000 sq ft. Very simple to operate, low maintenance and the cleanest glass I’ve ever seen from many other stoves I’ve burned. For your situation I’d look at the larger F55.

Another stove that may be a good fit is the Lopi Liberty. I think it has a 3.5 cu ft firebox and a good rep.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Would you ever consider a pellet stove? That would run 24/7 and no more wood moisture issues. Harman have some really nice looking ones although I had to get the smallest(which I love).

 

[Sockiopath]

Would you ever consider a pellet stove? That would run 24/7 and no more wood moisture issues. Harman have some really nice looking ones although I had to get the smallest(which I love).

I like wood as an option. I have a 2 1/2 acre wooded lot. In a pinch, always have fuel.

I do have a large fireplace on the opposite end of the house that I will likely be putting a different type of stove in. I would prefer gas over there. I also have a third flue in the basement that has never been used, though I’d like to keep wood burning in the main floor.

 

[Whitenuckler]

I like wood as an option. I have a 2 1/2 acre wooded lot. In a pinch, always have fuel.

I do have a large fireplace on the opposite end of the house that I will likely be putting a different type of stove in. I would prefer gas over there. I also have a third flue in the basement that has never been used, though I’d like to keep wood burning in the main floor.

Yes it's true you will always have wood for sure. I had a gas fireplace before, as we had natural gas to the house. They are good. If would not get propane though as it would be very expensive. I looked at my option for wood however that was not going to work out as well as the pellet stove for me. I have had many wood stoves in my day and love them.

 

[begreen]

Our Alderlea T6 is going on 17 yrs old and has only had door and baffle gaskets. I have spent about $100 on it so far. I'd recommend it, but the heat is very different from the radiant nature of the Defiant. The T6 is a convective stove and slower to warm up the room due to the cast iron cladding. However, the room will have less temperature swings and and the cast iron jacket will convect for 2-3 hrs after the fire has died down. I run ours at about 600º when it's cold out and 450-500º during shoulder seasons.
Another good big steel stove is the Lopi Liberty.

 

[BKVP]

Ok, so I think the first thing I’d do is have the Class A checked to make sure it’s in good shape. You haven’t mentioned its age. It may be 35 years old.

If it’s in good shape, there aren’t many stove manufacturers with an 8” flue now.

I think the BK King and VC are the only ones that currently offer an 8” option. The used market has more options. You’ve got a really big house that you’re trying to heat. You’re asking a lot of any stove. Personally, I wouldn’t push anything but a steel stove that hard. That leaves you with the King. It’s not the looker the VC is though. I fear the VC won’t last very long the way you’re looking to push it.

Buck 91 is 8".

BKVP

 

[BKVP]

I can use a 6” pipe to an 8” adapter at the thimble. I’ve already established this with the stove shops, and code enforcement.


The square footage is irrelevant. What stoves are people running 24/7 for 5-6 months? And how are they holding up?

A good point to remember is a properly sized wood burning heating appliance should not have to run 24/7 on higher burn rates. For example, my home built in 1895 is 2,800 Sq ft. I run it 24/7 for 6+ months every year. It has held up great, as have the 3 before it. But it is rarely burned at max or near maximum burn rates as it is properly sized.

I'm with BeGreen. Get another VC as you approve of the appearance, you are familiar with the operating requirements and it lasted many, many years.

BKVP

 

[bholler]

It’s to a thimble leading to a chimney. I may not have a choice. I do add co-mate everyday. I also sweep in the fall, and again in January, if necessary.

I appreciate the responses, guys. Really. But I’m not looking for stove recommendations. I know what stoves are out there. I didn’t start my search here. I ended up here hoping to hear of personal experiences with stoves.

I have run a fisher a quadrafire a lopi a cawley lemay a regency and now a Blaze King. All full time through the winter. All had their strong and their weak points. Never owned a vc but have run plenty and worked on hundreds and a vc would be my last choice in stoves on the market now.

 

[begreen]

I have run a fisher a quadrafire a lopi a cawley lemay a regency and now a Blaze King. All full time through the winter. All had their strong and their weak points. Never owned a vc but have run plenty and worked on hundreds and a vc would be my last choice in stoves on the market now.

More than a US Stove 1261E or 1269E?

 

[bholler]

More than a US Stove 1261E or 1269E?

Never mind forgot about them. Most us stove co stuff would be beow vc your right

 

[Sockiopath]

Never owned a vc but have run plenty and worked on hundreds and a vc would be my last choice in stoves on the market now.

How so?

And what happened with all the different stoves you have run?

 

[EbS-P]

How so?

And what happened with all the different stoves you have run?

They (VC ) have a design that is fickle and expensive to repair. US stove is practically junk.

 

[Sockiopath]

They (VC ) have a design that is fickle and expensive to repair. US stove is practically junk.

I appreciate the likelihood that you can correctly anticipate what @bholler ‘s response would be. But, why not let him answer?

 

[EbS-P]

I appreciate the likelihood that you can correctly anticipate what @bholler ‘s response would be. But, why not let him answer?

Because I’m on online. He’s busy. He a professional sweep that changes out his stoves more frequently than average to learn more and gain real world experience. I fully trust his opinions.

 

[stoveliker]

I do want to say (and this goes to the remark I made earlier; there are many threads here about the operation of differen stoves), that VC is "known here" to be finicky. I.e. a significant percentage of people here have issues. But there surely are folks, also on this forum, who have mastered its personality and are happy with it.

If your old VC and a new model have similar personalities (and I think this is what begreen suggested), it might work well for you. Every stove, even "easy ones" has a learning curve. That learning curve may be the steepest (achieving success fastest) for the VC for you.

 

[Sockiopath]

If your old VC and a new model have similar personalities (and I think this is what begreen suggested), it might work well for you. Every stove, even "easy ones" has a learning curve. That learning curve may be the steepest (achieving success fastest) for the VC for you.

I’m not sure I am following you in this paragraph.

 

[Sockiopath]

He a professional sweep that changes out his stoves more frequently than average to learn more and gain real world experience.

Doesn’t this also suggest he has no long term experience with any one stove?

 

[stoveliker]

I’m not sure I am following you in this paragraph.

Every stove has its own way it needs to be handled for it to operate well even when installed according to specs.
That's what I call "personality". Some are more sensitive to when to dial down so that no backpuffing occurs, secondary or cat combustion works properly, etc.

If a potential new VC has the same particularities as the old one, you may not need to "learn" the new stove much.
In that case, using another brand stove, even one considered easy (forgiving) to operate, might need more of a learning curve for you than simply replacing your old one with a new VC.

I don't know how to say this in another way..