I’m close to making a decision on a wood stove, but wanted to sign up here and get some opinions first. Thanks to many of you for my wood stove education so far, I’ve learned a lot from you already. If I had to base my decision solely on dealer owners/salespeople there’s a good chance I would end up unhappy with my stove purchase. I’ve poured through many threads here but not all, so hopefully my situation is somewhat unique and worthy of a few replies.
I think I’ve narrowed it down to the QF Isle Royale or Harman TL300, but also open to other suggestions. I plan to heat my home (central MN) entirely with a wood stove. The house is a 3-level split, 1,750 Sq. Ft., built in 1987. The stairs are located in the center of house. The stove will be placed on the lower level (1/2 flight down) in a small family room (12x20). I should have about 20 feet of 6” pipe running up through the center of the house. I’m fairly confident I can move the air around throughout the house with strategically placed cold air returns and the furnace fan running as needed. We would like to spend some time in the small family room to enjoy the stove. Here are some of my decision criteria and questions/concerns:
--Are either or both of these stoves too big to share the same small room with us? Or will we be able to control the temperature with limited wood volume and damper / air control? I’m ok with operating the stove without a secondary burn while we’re in the room if needed. We’ll be able to fire it up most of the time while not in this room.
--Is a down draft stove (TL300) really as fussy and in need of attention like some people say? I don’t mind babysitting it on the weekend or climbing a semi-steep learning curve to get to a point where I’m comfortable operating it, but when I have to leave early for work I would like to fire it up for a long burn without too much time and attention.
--The stove will be in somewhat of an alcove, so I may not be able to have a side-loader – or at least one of the Lopi’s had clearance issues. I may be able to get by with a right-door side loader. Oakwood won’t work because of its side clearance requirements.
--Either cast iron or plate steel is fine as far as looks go.
--Top load is preferred – side load works too.
We really like the TL300 – it just has a solid feel and is packed full of cool features: long burn time, large ash pan, single lever operation of both top load door and damper in one motion, low emissions, sweet air control lever, and grill and screen options. The Isle Royale is being considered because it’s not a down draft stove and thus may be easier to use. It also might be a little better looking than the TL300. But maybe both of these stoves are too big?
I think I’ve narrowed it down to the QF Isle Royale or Harman TL300, but also open to other suggestions. I plan to heat my home (central MN) entirely with a wood stove. The house is a 3-level split, 1,750 Sq. Ft., built in 1987. The stairs are located in the center of house. The stove will be placed on the lower level (1/2 flight down) in a small family room (12x20). I should have about 20 feet of 6” pipe running up through the center of the house. I’m fairly confident I can move the air around throughout the house with strategically placed cold air returns and the furnace fan running as needed. We would like to spend some time in the small family room to enjoy the stove. Here are some of my decision criteria and questions/concerns:
--Are either or both of these stoves too big to share the same small room with us? Or will we be able to control the temperature with limited wood volume and damper / air control? I’m ok with operating the stove without a secondary burn while we’re in the room if needed. We’ll be able to fire it up most of the time while not in this room.
--Is a down draft stove (TL300) really as fussy and in need of attention like some people say? I don’t mind babysitting it on the weekend or climbing a semi-steep learning curve to get to a point where I’m comfortable operating it, but when I have to leave early for work I would like to fire it up for a long burn without too much time and attention.
--The stove will be in somewhat of an alcove, so I may not be able to have a side-loader – or at least one of the Lopi’s had clearance issues. I may be able to get by with a right-door side loader. Oakwood won’t work because of its side clearance requirements.
--Either cast iron or plate steel is fine as far as looks go.
--Top load is preferred – side load works too.
We really like the TL300 – it just has a solid feel and is packed full of cool features: long burn time, large ash pan, single lever operation of both top load door and damper in one motion, low emissions, sweet air control lever, and grill and screen options. The Isle Royale is being considered because it’s not a down draft stove and thus may be easier to use. It also might be a little better looking than the TL300. But maybe both of these stoves are too big?