Want to buy a Hearthstone Tula, looking for prices, comments, suggestions please...

[Timbers]

I'm going to buy my first wood stove. I have a contemporary house, very modern inside, and the Hearthstone Tula looks like a great fit! I love chopping wood, and I wanted a wood stove, because I felt it would open up the room more, without the gigantic hearth (which I tore down)

I've installed the Duravent chimney system, and I'm ready to buy the stove.

My local dealer wants $3899 for the stove. Does this sound like a good price? Any ideas if I could get it cheaper elsewhere, or talk them down in price a little bit?

I chose the Hearthstone Tula because it is less expensive than some of the Wittus contemporary stoves. I am seeing prices of $5000-$9000 for those which is completely rediculous. I can't believe anyone would spend that kind of money on something like that.

Anyways, just looking for feedback on this stove from anyone who has one, or anyone who has purchased one recently and could offer me some price information to make sure I'm not overpaying here.

Thanks!

 

[kingquad]

Don't know much about these contemporary stoves. I do know that they are usually crazy expensive. Check out Rais and Morso stoves as well. Similar style, but I don't know about price.

The chimneysweeponline.com is selling the Tula for about the same price as your being quoted. Maybe you could contact Tom Oyen, the owner there, if you needed some additional info on the stove. He's a member here also, and seems very helpful.

 

[Timbers]

Thanks I will check that out!

 

[kingquad]

Timbers, you aren't planning on using this as a primary heater, are you? The firebox is extremely small (about 1 cuft) and will give you very short burn times. Overnight burns will be completely out of the question. Just something to be aware of.

 

[begreen]

That was my concern. These stoves are attractive, but are mostly smaller area heaters sized for the European market. If the stove is primarily for ambiance and some local heat on nights and weekends, it should work well. But if the intent is to heat a large area with minimum refilling, then a larger stove will make a significant difference.

 

[Timbers]

Yah its just in my movie room, to provide heat there. It happens to be the lowest level of the house so I was hoping some of the heat would rise to the upper levels. But yah, its mostly for local heat, looks etc. I tore out an old Heatilator fireplace which was completely useless for heat! So I'm hoping this will work out well.

The instructions say its so efficient that it will burn overnight. Maybe a short night, like 5 hours? hah

 

[kingquad]

That's some serious coin to drop on a one room heater. You can damn near buy a Mansfield for that much. Have you looked at the Englander VL-17. It's kinda modern looking. Only $500.VL-17
Edited to add link.

 

[jeff_t]

For that price you can get a Blaze King Chinook, which has a modern look and is sized like the Princess. It would actually be a useful heater.
What part of the country are you in?

 

[begreen]

Yah its just in my movie room, to provide heat there. It happens to be the lowest level of the house so I was hoping some of the heat would rise to the upper levels. But yah, its mostly for local heat, looks etc. I tore out an old Heatilator fireplace which was completely useless for heat! So I'm hoping this will work out well.

The instructions say its so efficient that it will burn overnight. Maybe a short night, like 5 hours? hah

Sounds like you know what you want and what you are getting. However, won't the light of the fire destroy that extra black gamut you paid for in your TV or projector? Or is this room for other purposes? Anyhow, sounds like a fun project. Please take some shots of the final installation. I'd love to see this stove in action.

 

[Timbers]

Well the window of the stove is on the front. The TV will be behind the stove on the wall, so I don't think glare off the stove will be a problem. If it does become an eyesore while watching movies in the dark, maybe I can buy or make some sort of shield for the glass.

Yes I will post some pictures on here when I am done with the project in about a month. From what I have heard I'm one of the first people ever to buy one of these contemporary looking stoves and install it!

Yah I just really like the way the Tula looks. The stove mentioned above for $500 is MUCH cheaper, but just not fancy enough for me I guess!

 

[kingquad]

Check out the Jotul F-370 too. Contemporary stove w/3 sided view of the fire. Looks pretty nice.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/VoXHMlgotbU[/youtube]
The guy is kind of a tool, so be prepared. Sorry, don't know how to get the video to imbed.

 

[tlingit]

That Jotol stove is really nice looking. I really like it. Looks like it takes really small peices of wood, as compared to the massive logs we can put in stovezilla the equinox. I'm thinking about something similar in gas to take the chill of in the morning. (broken link removed to http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/gas-stoves/stove-details?product_id=29) We need quick heat in the morning to take chill off. Our upstairs is essentailly unheated, and the kids sometimes wear coats to eat breakfast. If we are home for 24 hour burning, it's fine, but the stove goes out when we are away at work and school. I'm still not comfortable enoough to stoke it up and leave burn unattended for 8 plus hours. Sorry, back on topic, the jotul is a great looking stove.

 

[Timbers]

Yah looks like kindling in the Jotul stove!

You are right, I don't feel comfortable filling the stove with wood and leaving either, but technically this Duravent piping that I installed can handle the heat, even the heat of a chimney fire. I have more than enough clearance to combustables all the way through the roof, I have a spark arrestor on the chimney cap. TECHNICALLY I should be safe, but you are right, probably not 100% the greatest idea to have a fire going when you aren't home. I still will though.

 

[begreen]

Many of us have fires burning when not at home. This is the reason for installing the stove safely. But I wouldn't worry too much. A 1 cu ft stove will average about 2-4 hrs between reloads if it is being used to heat in the winter.

 

[firefighterjake]

Random thoughts . . .

Egads . . . that is a lot of money for a woodstove . . . especially one that will only be used occasionally. For the intended use in a movie room where it is good to be dark I think I would explore some other options as I would find the flickering flames to possibly be a distraction . . . although then again I watch movies in the living room with the woodstove on the side and it's never been an issue . . . in any case, I still might consider some other less pricey options.

Nothing wrong with leaving a woodstove going while not at home . . . I've done this very same thing three years running . . . of course you want to be absolutely sure you've taken all the safety precautions and have the stove up and running before taking off . . . and as BeGreen said . . . making sure the stove is installed with the proper clearances, hearth, etc. is kind of important.

 

[Timbers]

Well my project is finished! I will never do it again!! Oh my gosh was that a lot of research and WORK!

Some of you wanted to see the Hearthstone Tula in action. I made a quick YouTube video so you can see it. I'm very happy with it. Its actually so hot I probably need to go buy a fan that can move the air into the other rooms easier.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GQ8DeaD3ns

 

[kingquad]

Wow! That looks great. Very nice work.

 

[BrowningBAR]

If it's as hot as you say, you might want to relocate that TV.

 

[shawneyboy]

Man that is an awesome install. Hell of a nice job there, the black granite looks incredible with the fire going in that sleek stove.

Shawn

 

[Timbers]

Thanks guys! Actually the tv just gets slightly warm on the edge. But yes I was concerned about that as well when I lit it.

I'm burning some pretty dry willow in it now. I might try oak, maybe it won't burn as fast and as hot.

 

[Waulie]

Wow! Very "clean" and obviously functional setup. Congratulations!

 

[begreen]

That fire looks beautiful and so does the stove and hearth. If you need it, you could create a discrete heat shield for the side of the tv screen. Done right, you would barely notice it.

One question: how close is the connector pipe to the wall up at the ceiling support box? It looks close, but the angle of the camera makes it hard to tell. Can you post a couple stills of this beauty here too? I think you are the first to post about owning one.

 

[Timbers]

BEGreen,

That 6" pipe coming out of the ceeling support box is only 4.5" from the wall. I know this isn't the minimum 6" from a combustable wall, so what I did was I made that corner, in that area, "non-combustable". I put a metal stud behind there, no insulation, and used concrete board. The wall is a poured concrete wall behind it. My insurance guy said that is perfectly fine. I had the stove roaring today and that section is warm to the touch, not hot at all. The rest of the pipe easily makes the 6" clearance.

Here are some still pictures. Hope you like them.

...Timbers