Trying to decide on what new stove to get

We can handle the cost of the BK or the others in that price range.

I'm guessing it will have to be a cat stove for the longer burn times but correct me if I'm wrong. Just hoping to get away from high maintenance stoves like the VC.

 

Those longer burns also let you burn the lessers on 24 hour cycles th is time of year. The pipe geometry os a little different than the encore...i had to twin 45 at the ceiling to make it work. Also hoghly recommend double wall instead of stovepipe makea a big difference in warmer windier reloads.

 

So you have double wall starting right at the top of the stove?

I've got a straight shot out of the top of the stove and up through the roof now. Got a pic of your double 45 setup?

 

I had just a tad over 13' straight up on my King. It worked okay, but I added 3' to it. I think it worked better at 16', but that might be the $120 I spent on pipe talking.

Double wall connector pipe highly recommended.

 

Bret, I was looking to increase my burn time and after hours of research I settled on Woodstock Ideal Steel hybrid. One main reason Blaze king got scratched from the list was I built a 6 inch flue. After reading hundreds if not thousands of posts it it seemed to me the 2 brands with the biggest fan base were Woodstock and Blaze King. England NC 30 have some good fans too. but I had an NC 13 and the ash pan is a worthless design. Basically a 3 by 3 hole in the fires brick with lip that as soon as you put ash in it it won't seat properly then you are going to over fire. It's not a bad stove it just not what I needed.

My real world experience with mine, granted it's only shoulder season, my oil back up is not on yet. I am getting usable heat for 10 hours off 3/4 load of junk popular with coals left over in morning. Also it is an easy to run stove once you learn it.... get it started, up to temperature, drop cat, set air lever and leave it alone... only real issue is if you need to add wood let's say 2 hours after starting the smoke path does encourage smoke to come towards front loading door and even with smoke lip down some may come in.. Others will have to chime in here it may not be bad in winter just something I am seeing.. if that bothers you consider a side loader!

 

The Ideal Steel like any other high efficiency stove needs a very strong draft so it pulls the smoke into the chimney not your house. That's why Woodstock loads their website with information about proper chimney setup. That information carries to any stove you buy.

I ran the Ideal Steel an entire heating season. I have found that most issues draft related disappear once the temperatures dive. This time of the year it tends to want to cat burn, but as draft increases you get more secondary activity and cat. I consistently left the house 11 hours all winter and everyday the house was comfortable when I got home. I had tons of big coals waiting for an easy reload.

 

Thought this would be the case! I noticed this lighting a fire at 50 degrees outside at start up. Thanks JA600L

 

I was straight up with the encore as well. You may be ok if you are gar enough off the wall but i had to do back to back 45s with no pipe between to make it work. I did a telescoping piece from the stove to the 45s. The double wall again is more money upfront but i think you will find it well worth it. Im traveling but will post a pic when i get back later this week.

 

Woodstock Progress Hybrid or Ideal Steel depending on your preference in looks. Get the ashpan. Enjoy 12 hour burns with ease. Work overtime if you need to, don't worry the stove will be fine when you get home.

 

Did a little more homework.

BK ultra with tax and all the fixins comes in at just over $4100.

IS hybrid with shipping and the few needed options is $2730.

Are there and good low maintenance non cat stoves out there that put out heat for a long time? I'm concerned the wife won't care much for having to pay attention to temps to engage the cat when it's ready.

 

There are tons of good non cats out there. The 30NC is the bang for your buck deal. I like the Quadrafire stoves personally. There are lots of other options. Either way she will need to fuss with the air control to get it just right.

I personally think cat stoves are easier once you get used to them.

Also keep in mind the cat engages at 500 degrees where secondaries start burning smoke at 1000 degrees. So technically the process is less drawn out with a cat stove.

 

I've tried to explain it before and even offered the stove manual to read up on it.

She was raised in a house with a wood furnace the size of a VW bug in the basement. A little paper, some wood, and a match to start and slide the air vent to the middle. Done until time to reload.

 

Perhaps checkout the Quadra fire ACC system. It offers an automatic start up control.

 

Funny you should mention that. I have this one saved into my craigslist favorites.

Quadrafire Explorer II - Wood Stove

 

I am not familiar with Quadra fire but that posting said a 2.4 firebox seems a little small for NY and 12 hour burns.

had an NC 13 with a 2.2 that had similar ratings but not here. I could not get 4 hour burns with sugar maple I would strongly recommend 3 plus cubic feet as a minimum.

 

The explorer 2 looks like an excellent stove, however I personally would step up to the explorer 3 as it has a bigger firebox. You might prefer a bigger capacity with a 2000 sqft house.

 

Shop Summers Heat 2400-sq ft Wood Stove at Lowe's

Then there is this. .....

 

Sale price is what caught our attention.