Trying to decide on what new stove to get

Just can't stand the thought of going through another winter with the VC 0028. Too much maintenance for me with 2 jobs, it needs a complete tear down and rebuild, and I really need longer burn times. Been leaning toward the Blaze King but at the price they go for I don't care to just jump on one without a little more home work especially if I can get the same job done cheaper.

The house is well insulated with decent double pane windows, 2000 sq. ft. ranch. We're all gone most days for around 10 hours which is where the burn time come in.

What do you recommend?

 

First and very important question what size is the flue? any other size restrictions..

 

Easy. Go to Woodstove.com and look at the Ideal Steel Hybrid.
You don't need to spend the big bucks to get over 10 hours of heat.

 

8" flue and almost no size restrictions. I overbuilt the hearth to handle a stove bigger, badder, better than the VC.

Looking at the IS now.

 

My thought was the IS for the money, as long as it will fit in with your decor.

 

The Ideal Steel takes a 6'' flue to work the best. A call to Woodstock would confirm if it will work well or not on an 8'' flue. In order to get a good stove built for an 8'' flue you are looking at a Blaze King King model $$$. Everything else takes 6" in the Blaze King line. How tall is the chimney?

 

I have 8" chimney , 6" pipe to the ceiling works great

 

As long as there isn't any gold trim on the stove it will pass the wife's approval. My profile pic shows me setting the VC on the hearth before I did the finish stone work. Nothing fancy with our decor. Too many kids for that so it's function before form.

Chimney is 13ish feet now but for less than $200 and a few minutes work it could be at 16' or more but it will look like a cell tower sticking out of our roof so I'd like to keep it like it is if possible. It's too short for the VC according to spec. but it still pulls a decent draft.

 

No gold trim here.

 

My Buck 91 runs an 8 inch flue.

 

The Buck looks like a good stove. Whats the running price on them?

 

If the Shipping would not kill Us , I would send You the Quadra fire We took out of My Moms and replaced with a Gas Stove !!! Shipping would be as much as a Stove would cost You locally

Fred H.

 

About 3k when I got mine

 

How long of burn times are you getting with the Buck? With a 4.4 cuft firebox it must really pump heat.

 

4.4 is a little misleading, I think they measure that with the cat shield out. Really about 3, maybe 3.5 around there. I can do 9 to 10 hrs and the blower still running.....11 or a little more and still have enough coals to reload without kindling. I'm always leary to comment on these subjects because then you can talk useable heat, type of wood, etc. all that makes a difference.

 

I agree. It sounds like another good option for the OP.

 

I went from the Encore to the King 6 years ago. The deal I got on a returned King (full of creosote when delivered to me) made it an easy choice but knowing what I know now I would have paid retail. To me, it is all about the tstat on that big of a firebox and the flexibility it gives you in burn cycles. It will reliably burn at a fraction of the rate of the Encore with a full load of hardwood but can also torch it in as little as 12 hours if needed.

 

I have played that game with the Vermont Castings Encore. Best of luck in your search and congrats no more maintenance on the VC.

 

What is the budget that you are aiming for? Are you pretty much thinking a cat stove? For those long burn times that's what I would recommend.

 

S&W, I think you showed me a pic of the VC right next to the BK last year. My better half wanted to get through last winter with what we had and now that my business has taken off and I'll be busier this year she's looking for longer burn times too.