Yeah I'm not going to bore you all with the witch stove is best question, that's like asking which chainsaw is best, I get it. So far I'm still deciding which brand to go with and what'savailable locally, which is limited. What I'm wondering is how much of a nuisance are the catalytic stoves? What I mean by that is I keep reading that you have to keep the stove in the right heat range and the Catalyst break down eventually and get clogged up. I'm definitely leaning towards a non catalytic stove at this point. So far I'm looking at Lopi, jotul and Buck. I looked at a couple of the Ashley stoves but they look poorly constructed. Total house square footage is right around 4,000, but the main room it will heat is about 350 but more than half of the heat does make it's way to the entryway and main center of the house. Any and all input is welcomed.
I've had pre-epa, secondary, and cat. Personal opinion only, I like the pre-epa and the cat stove. Granted our secondary stove was too small I kept bumping the tubes while loading and didn't like having to take out the fragile baffle for chimney sweeping.
I personally like the newer cat stoves if I was in the market for a new stove. Heating 4,000 sq ft might be a challenge depending on your comfort expectations. Be sure to consider floor plan layout, ceiling height etc and stick with the major brands and you’ll likely be satisfied
Cat clogging depends on design and draft. A poor design will clog the cat with flyash. Good design with too much draft too. If you have an abused cat or an old cat it will stop working at some point, and then it'll clog up. But you should get a new cat before that anyway. I like my cat stove. I don't think it's very different from a tube stove where you also have to get the fire going and then dial back into secondary burn mode for best heat and efficiency. My cat stove works the same: char the load and dial back. (And the walk away for 10-36 hrs depending on my need for heat, courtesy of the mechanical thermostat on the thing.) Yes, you do need to pay attention that it lights off, same as paying attention that you don't dial back too soon on a tube stove. The only difference is that if you make a mistake (and do that often), you can damage the cat. And you have to replace it every 12,000 hours or so. I believe mine was $250. If that doesn't sound good to you, get a solid tube stove - goal is that you are satisfied. Running a stove you don't like to run sucks....
Im also in the market for a new stove but Ill be doing my purchase next year and will continue running my Pacific Energy super 27 until then. Ive been happy with my choice as its a long burning stove that heats the house great. The issue I find with a non cat stove is the heat is more peaks and valleys with temperature where I would like to try for more even heat. I think Im pretty much sold on a blaze king which Im told excels at lower temperature heat output when its a bit milder out but also can kick it into high heat output when the need for it arises. Ive never had a cat stove before but they intrigue me. Theres a lot of fun researching which stove to buy, enjoy the ride!
Sorry Andy, my personal preference is not a secondary stove. That said many here have them and love them, Many! The baffle comes out when sweeping the flue so soot can land in the stove to scoop instead of ontop. Several have added aftermarket baffles to their older stoves for extra heat and are quite satisfied. Just my personal preferance. If you get a stove with secondary burner tubes leave the baffle in except for when sweeping the chimney.
I've had each of the stoves. It would be hard to get anything but a cat stove now. The heat is so even and the burns times are longer. We have been very happy with the woodstock soapstone Ideal Steel. I would consider a blaze king as well.
I have had several stoves over the years and have had wood heat most of my life (I will be 82 next month. The last 17 years I have had a wonderful soapstone ax cat stove. It is the very best stove I have ever owned. First let me say that it always seems that almost all those who like to try to run down a cat stove have never had experience operating one. Also it seems having to occasionally change out the cat is a very negative point with them but it is not a major thing. For me the biggest positive with our stove has been that we can heat our home so well and with a lot less wood. We burn around 50% less wood with this stove which means we save dollars and have to do a lot less work. That alone would certainly offset the cost of a new catalyst every few years. A cat stove is no more difficult to operate than any other stove either. It certainly is not a nuisance. One thing though is that I would no doubt have more than one stove in a 4000 sq ft home.
Andyshine77 how far ahead are you on your supply of firewood? I mean, how long (in years) has your firewood been drying? At least three years seems to be the magic number..... Do you have that room? It requires a fair amount of yard space to be dedicated to wood piles.
From lopi's website, it looks like the liberty is the only non hybrid they offer now. Your house is certainly big enough for a liberty. If I were leaning that way, I'd buy one soon just in case they switch it to a hybrid in the near future... if no cat is a priority.
Ok I'll try and answer some of your questions. Before that I just like to thank you all again, lots of good useful input. This stove is my secondary heat source. However because the stove is on the bottom floor much of the heat rises and it heats most of the large main areas of the home. Just maybe some of the outer rooms don't get that much heat but fans help. The house is well insulated. The other main source of heat when I don't burn wood is a natural gas furnace. I have ample room for wood storage. Right now I have enough dry wood for this season. And what's not ready will be ready by the following year. That would will be about 2.5 years drying by that point and equals out to about 10 cord. For me that's like 4 years worth, possibly more with a new stove. 2.5 years will be enough, it's been extraordinarily dry this year in Southwest Ohio. We normally have relative humidity in the summer up in the 60% 70% range, today it's 25% and it's been like that all summer. two rows deep and I have more than enough for a third row now.
Ok. So today I went out and looked at some stoves. I found a really great place. They carry Jotul, HearthStone, Lopi, Buck and Regency. I really liked the Jotul F500 V3 OSLO. The side load is nice too. I've already been changing my mind on the cat stoves as well.
We've only had a side loader. Works for us! We've also only had a cat stove. Also works for us. 4 corner screws holds the stove top in place. Cat is under the top. I just put a new one in. $250. It gets replaced every 3-4 yrs.
