New Stove

[jbrown56]

H, I am new to this thread and am looking for info. I currently heat my 2000 sq.ft. home with single door Timberline. I have used this stove for 27 years and have been thoroughly satisfied with its performance over the years. However it is time for a change to a more efficient and more attractive stove to look at. The stoves I am most interested are the Jotul Castline 500, VC Defiant and Hearthstone Heritage. Because the Timberline heats my home so perfectly, this is a really difficult descision to make because if the new stove does not perform you are stuck with it. Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank Jim

 

[philaphire]

Have you read through the stove ratings page? Those are 3 great stoves you're looking with minor differences between them, except for the soapstone that the Hearthstone particularly brings that to the table. Otherwise, I don't think you will be disappointed. Many on this forum have had old stoves then replaced with new and I haven't read anyone wishing it was different. You use less wood, burn a lot cleaner, and of course, much nicer to look at - especially since you can actually see the fire Are all three from the same dealer? Do you equally like the looks of each?

 

[jbrown56]

Philiphire, thanks for the post. I am leaning towards the Jotul because of the single damper control but I really like the looks of the soapstone.The VC has a dual controlthat may seem difficult. My biggest concern is will the heat output be the same as what I have now. All three stoves are avaiilable at the same dealer.

Thanks again Jim

 

[begreen]

If you mean the Jotul Oslo F500, that would be a fine replacement stove. Easy to operate and a good heater.

 

[Gooserider]

All three stoves mentioned are fine units and will probably do quite well for you... One suggestion I've seen for evaluating the size of a replacement stove is to look at the size of the firebox on the old smoke dragon, or the volume of the load you usually put in it. Since you typically get about 1/3 more heat out of an EPA stove, look for a replacement with approximately 2/3 the firebox size of the stove you want to replace.

I'm partial to VC, but that's a personal opinion, others can (and do) disagree... I also like soapstones, but am of the opinion that they really only work well for people that are going to run 24/7 - the "flywheel effect" of the thermal mass is great for getting a more constant temp if you burn all the time, but the lag will annoy folks that burn intermittently and want to just light a fire and get heat NOW.... Jotul's are pretty and have a lot of supporters, so you really can't go wrong with any of those stoves.

Gooserider