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Woodstove Brainpicking

Started by tcsmpsi, January 24, 2009, 10:44:10 AM

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Ron Wenrich

I'm using the Woodstock classic soapstone stove.  Mine was built pre-catalytic.  That is a pretty high price for a stove, and you have to add freight onto it.  But, at least you'll save on sales tax.  Its only a few hundred more than the Defiant model.

I can heat my house with it if I'm around to tend to the fire.  It will hold a fire all night, and I'm only using about 3-4 sticks at a time.  It only has a draft control on the door.  I use a stack thermometer and keep it within the good burning limits and never have any problems.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

tyb525

Welding gloves here also, I'm scared to load it without them.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

sawmilllawyer

tcsmpsi, just got the northern toolhttps://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=position"> Note:Please read the Forestry Forum's postion on this company master catalog there is a V pot belly stove in there for under $400.00. Supposed to be 200,000 btu but don,t know about that. Also, lots of other wood and pellet stoves for decent prices. Might want to check them out. Can't help you out on the efficiency of any of those units. I restored an Earthstove fireplace insert, the company is no longer in business, am now and have been very happy with it. Like you the SS liner costs as much or more than the stove but there thought of having a safe, controled fire is important. It is 26 F outside and the ice storm of the year is on the way, and it is about  80 degrees F in here, all by wood heat. Hope this helps.
Stihl MS-361, MS-460 mag, Poulan 2150, 2375 Wildthing.

Warbird

I have a hard time believing 200,000 btu...

Have heard good things about those Earthstoves.

sawmilllawyer

Stihl MS-361, MS-460 mag, Poulan 2150, 2375 Wildthing.

logwalker

I badly warped an Earthstove in a couple weeks by trying to heat an old mountain house. The dealer didn't like to see it come back but I had told him what we were up against and he recommended it. Went to a big Avalon and used it hard for years and didn't have problems. Joe
Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

zopi

I have a Napoleon insert...

Here's a plug..

I HATE that piece of (insert euphemism of choice here) and will not be buying another..Weak fan, poor workmanship, and crappy refractory (fortunately I had access to a boiler shop..fixed that problem.)

I'd rather have the two iron flatop from harbor freight..

I'll be in the market for restorable older inserts soon....gonna need at least three anyway.
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

Dan_Shade

which napolean do you have, Zopi?

and what do you mean by "weak refractory"?
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

WDH

Quote from: Warbird on January 25, 2009, 11:51:20 PM
Have heard good things about those Earthstoves.

My earthstove is great.  Been going strong for 27 years.





If you could find a used one, that would be capital.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

tcsmpsi

sawmillawyer,
I have run a potbelly for several years in my old shop.  It is the most overall efficient burning I have come across.  It is, however limited on size and amount of wood.  Every now and then, I like to sleep a little.  Every now and then.   ;D  I don't have a btu measurer, so don't know who many they put out.   I have never run coal in one, but they seem like they might be more tuned to coal use.  I've looked at Northern's offerings.  One drawback with them, is their shipping is 'priceless'. 

Danny, you sure than stove has had a fire in it?   ;)  That is one I have not seen before. 

Larry, after running a front/side/top loader for a long time yrs or so, don't knowthat I would like to do without a top loader either.  Have you noticed any appreciable difference running without the catalytic?  One thing I am not looking for, is high maintenance in woodburner. 

The Woodstock seem to be the most 'reasonable' priced of the soapstones. 

Ultimately, other than shipping (depending on just how much it is), I will likely try to find something within 100 miles and go pick it up.  Or maybe further if it is a good enough deal. 

I bricked the bottom of the parlor stove long ago, as the grates just kept burning through.   Yes, we are 'hooked' on seeing the fire (even though it isn't much with the parlor, and the mica hasdeveloped 4 small holes in it over time) and would ultimately, in an upgrade, like to have more of that than with the parlor stove. 

I am getting some very helpful information, that sends me off doing more and more searching. 
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

thecfarm

Beware of cheap,meaning price,pellet stoves. My penny pinching FIL has been taught another lesson,not that it will matter next time.Bought a pellet stove from a big box store,because it was $4-500 less.Nothing but trouble with it.Yes,the company sent him a new augur,motor and helped him troubleshoot it for no cost and he had to do all the work himself.Needed to be cleaned every 2 days,left a lot of ash too.Finally he got sick of it,returned to the big box store,which he was lucky and bought one that cost $4-500 more and had no problems at all.Only needs to be cleaned once every 2 weeks and could go longer he thinks and burning the pellets much better.The ash is a lot finer.You get what you pay for sometimes.And if he does have problems the dealer will come fix it too.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Raider Bill

In my opinion stay away from Englander stoves. Thatt's what I bought for the Tenn house and am not impressed with it or customer service.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

tcsmpsi

Which Englander did you have, and what were the problems you experienced, Bill?
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

tcsmpsi

Anyone here using or have used one of the Drolet woodburners?

At the moment (of course, I have more yet to go through), I am looking at the Myriad, which has a large capacity, and though it is not top loading, the door/opening and capacity appears than loading larger wood should not be a problem.
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

Larry

Quote from: tcsmpsi on January 26, 2009, 07:22:56 AM
Have you noticed any appreciable difference running without the catalytic?  One thing I am not looking for, is high maintenance in woodburner. 

I can't tell a bit of difference.  When the last one went out I called Vermont Castings and got hold of an engineer.  He said the only one that would see a difference is the EPA.

My stove is about 20 years old so to be fair the catalytic converters may have improved a lot since I bought my stove.

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

SwampDonkey

You guys make me chuckle. It's a lot easier to heat a house with those little iron boxes when it's 25 F, then it is -25 F. :D :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Raider Bill

Quote from: tixmumpsey on January 26, 2009, 10:19:18 AM
Which Englander did you have, and what were the problems you experienced, Bill?

It's one of the bigger ones. this years model I can't remember just off my brain right now but is rated to do 2000 sqft.

Very poor draft. It has a so called window cleaner draft which does keep the window clean but all the draft comes in from the top and right out the top so not much gets to the bottom to fuel the fire.

If I crack the door a bit or pull the ash plug out of the bottom a tad it drafts good but that really negates the airtightness.

They have a 3/8 " whole that is supposed to supply the fire box with air but even putting a compressor hose into the inlet it does not pull air.

Repeated Calls to customer service were not returned. I even sent in email and US mail a letter with pix to document the issue but never got a return call.

HAd a smaller Buck I borrowed from a friend  2 weeks before and it worked great. Wish I had went another way.

The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Warbird

Quote from: Larry on January 26, 2009, 04:49:38 PM
Quote from: tixmumpsey on January 26, 2009, 07:22:56 AM
Have you noticed any appreciable difference running without the catalytic?  One thing I am not looking for, is high maintenance in woodburner. 

I can't tell a bit of difference.  When the last one went out I called Vermont Castings and got hold of an engineer.  He said the only one that would see a difference is the EPA.

My stove is about 20 years old so to be fair the catalytic converters may have improved a lot since I bought my stove.




Hmmm.  With the Blaze King and similar type stoves, you should notice a large difference in heat output if the combustor (catalytic converter) goes out.  When active, the combustor runs about 1800 F.  It sits under the top plate of my stove, further heating the entire hunk of metal.  The fan kit I have blows air from the back of the stove, directly over the top plate, moving heated air out into the house.  It works very well.

I've actually been concerned about what happens if our combustor were to go out.  There are cleaning procedures that can lengthen the lifespan on them.  We have the slightly older style, which are said to last 2 - 7 years.  We are in our 3rd year with it and it is still going strong.  I plan to do the cleaning procedure this summer when we aren't using the stove.

Just called our local dealer and inquired about this (wanted to check stock and prices, too).  they indicated the difference is very noticeable when the combustor has quit.  They also warned me to make sure and get the new style of combustor, which is made out of stainless steel and lasts longer.  A new combustor for our stove currently runs $275.

Hope this info helps out.

*edit*  This is our stove dealer's website.  We aren't affiliated with them.  At the bottom of this page is a link to a PDF on "combustor care".  It has some good, basic info on catalysts.  http://home.gci.net/~thewoodway/featured_stoves.html

cheyenne

If you have the ceramic type be super careful they crumble just looking at them. I blow mine out with an air hose, very low pressure or use a 5/32 round file in the holes. you'll probley need to replace the gasket or you can use the black gasket material in the tube...Good luck....Cheyenne
Home of the white buffalo

tcsmpsi

Quote from: SwampDonkey on January 26, 2009, 04:56:08 PM
You guys make me chuckle. It's a lot easier to heat a house with those little iron boxes when it's 25 F, then it is -25 F. :D :D

If it were -25 F, I wouldn't be concerned with warming the house.  Mostly just my buttocks!   :D
\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

Raphael

  I've got a small wood/coal Petit Godin cylinder (7"dia. 12"deep) running as temporary heat.
It held up quite well against -11 F burning hardwood (the second floor gets really hot on the nights when the temperature is in double digits).  One drawback is I haven't bothered installing a damper, fine for anthracite (it needs that extra airflow) but wood is gone in ~4hrs.
  My experience with wood stoves has been the older the better, but I haven't used any of the recent high efficiency models.

... he was middle aged,
and the truth hit him like a man with no parachute.
--Godley & Creme

Stihl 066, MS 362 C-M & 24+ feet of Logosol M7 mill

MrMoo

I have a Defiant Encore that is in its 12th season. We have been happy with it up until now. A part broke on it and when I went to get a new oneI was told the $27 part is now only supplied as an assembly which will be $265!
I am not sure how many know but Vermont Castings declared bankruptcy last year. The new company that owns them is cutting back on parts. The stove shop I deal with said they are having difficulty getting any kind of parts.
I am kind of annoyed about this because one of the reasons we went with VC is that they are an American company and we thought they would be there.
Right now we are thinking of moving the Defiant to the new workshop and buying a Woodstock as they are made here in NH.

Handy Andy

  Oh No, after all the shopping I did for stoves, nobody told me Vermont Castings had taken out bankruptcy. Got a new defiant, non catalytic just this winter.  Tried to buy it unpainted, but couldn't get one, so bought the brown one.  Think it was like 2843 incl tax. The paint was about 300.  Had a terrible time just getting one bought.  The dealer had flood water get in his place, all his paperwork was messed up, didn't seem like he hardly wanted to even bother to sell me a stove, but the shopping I did, stoves were like gold plated this year. And he gave me the best price.  Jim
My name's Jim, I like wood.

tcsmpsi

Well, I have exhausted myself, searching, reading, sifting, reconoitering, counting my pennies, dimes and nickels, and considering when I might ought to could have been sleeping.

Studying of companies, prices, types, building techniques, personal needs etc., etc., I had it pretty well boiled down betweend an Osburn and a Drolet.  I was about to check on Marcel to translate, but I found english versions.   :D

Seems one of the reasons both came to fit what I was looking for, is that both are made by SBI in Quebec, even though they do have distinct differences.

From what I gathered here, and other places, stainless steel baffles are preferred, and I like the feature of damper bypass, more especially once I learned a bit about these newer, airtight, EPA burning systems.

Haven't been able to quite understand if a smaller or larger firebox is more tuned to effective burn (supposing much of that would depend on size of wood/fire).  So, deciding larger or smaller has been of a concern.  Effectively, I have about 1200 sq ft of house to heat.

Anyhow, I opted for the Drolet Myriad.  It is bigger, (firebox is 20.25"X18.25"X13.5") which will allow burning the bigger wood, and it has the damper bypass.   And, I was able to find a place from which I can get it (with much searching), with shipping, for just less than $1000, which is in my reasonable 'budget'.  It also comes with a blower.

\\\"In the end, it is a moral question as to whether man applies what he has learned or not.\\\" - C. Jung

SwampDonkey

Here's the Monarch, I know a little too classy and pricy.

http://www.enterprise-fawcett.com/monarch.php

Enterprise Fawcett  dealers.

B&H Furniture Systems, Inc.

Double Oak, Texas
220 Cross Timbers Drive
817-430-8345


Congo Fireplace & Patio

Benton, Arkansas
1-501-316-4328
1-800-421-4447
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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