Englander NC30 owners - the good, the bad and the ugly...

Just looking for some info on the NC30. I'm thinking about putting one in. My Osburn 2200 does a pretty good job heating my house from the basement but I'm afraid its gonna struggle when it gets really cold keeping heat overnight and while I'm at work.

The NC30 kinda caught my eye with its huge firebox. So I'm curious now....how do you like yours? Any issues? Etc etc...

 

Following


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Calling papadave

 

Chvymn99 , Highbeam , DaveGunter , DexterDay , Pyroholic , bushpilot , capetownkg , rottiman , HDRock

 

You rang? (in my bestest Lurch voice)
Hmmm, let's see.....
The handle is too loose for my liking although it doesn't affect the burn. I like the Drolet handle MUCH better (similar size firebox, don't remember the model).
I would LOVE some sort of secondary air control. It benefits quite a bit from a convection deck.
It's pretty controllable, but once those secondaries start rollin' along, you better have a good idea what you're doing (hence my desire for control there)....it likes to run.
When you don't need tons of heat (like today, it's mid-30s), use small 2" splits. Burns nice that way.
If you can find the deal in Feb-March, it's well worth the price.
I'd rather have a Woodstock or Blaze King. I might think of more later.
What brenndatomu said.

 

Good info. Keep adding as you think of more pros/cons. This is just an idea I had and I thought I'd find out more.

I guess when it comes down to it, would you buy again or look elsewhere is the most important question.

 

Oops, I forgot the blower, but it does come with the "hair dryer" version. I upgraded to the nicer one.

For my circumstance, at the time, it worked...
Like I said though, I'd prefer a better stove and at some point, that may happen. I check CL occasionally.

 

It's a great stove, and you can't beat it for value.

I don't like that the fragile baffle boards are exposed/vulnerable to damage.

I don't like that the OAK does not supply all of the combustion air.

The ash pan us useless.

If I were buying again I'd look hard at the Drolets, I think the biggest one is called HT2000. They are a bit more money. If I could buy whatever I wanted I'd get a Woodstock Ideal Steel.

 

Not completely, but pretty darn close.

Good point, and I was just thinking that yesterday. Don't know how colder secondary air would affect that burn though.

Uh.....yeah. Even if you don't whack 'em every once in a while, they begin to deteriorate after about 3 years.

 

Don't know why I got called up cuz I don't have one But From what I have read on here They are very good value .
You want a bigger stove ? Get yourself out Lopi Liberty You won't find any fragile baffle boards in That puppy

 

Woops...should have put a "IIRC" in front of that list

 

Hey, I can't keep track of all you yahoos on here either

 

I have an nc-30 in the workshop...........ah..........err..........rec-room in the garage. I don't use it 24-7; no where near that.

Yeah, I really like it. I have never used the ash pan (on any of my three epa stoves for that matter) and agree that the baffle boards above the secondary tubes do occasionally get bumped, but I'm not one to throw or force chunks into the stove anyway.

I use only the fan that was supplied with the stove-the hair dryer variety and am glad that it isn't in the house as it is noisy. I do not have a convection deck for it (yet) as I will occasionally cook (chili/stew) on top of the stove.

The room that it is in measures 14 X 24 with 9" walls. It'll heat that up in the dead of winter to the 50's usually within a little over an hour.

Opening the double doors to the garage (24 X 24) and you start all over once again. The other morning, I had the garage area up to high 40's low 50's and the rec room was at upper 60's thanks to the ceiling fans.

 

I have one and it’s my barn stove. I run it hard and got with an aftermarket blower and hand made convection deck. Aim for 700 stove top temperature as much as possible.

I did manage to melt the thin air wash plate right inside the door at the top of the opening l. It sagged but is still very functional. Just don’t leave it at full throttle during warm up.

I like the latch, the gaskets, the steel thickness, and of course the price.

If I were to replace it I would try for a furnace for even more output.

I have been able to regularly get smoke to run backwards through the secondary intake. It’s a startup thing with the door wide open but a fun nuance.

 

It is a solid budget stove. I got mine for less than $750 delivered in the annual HD spring deal.

It is a serious heater, probably about as good as any when running hard. Low and slow the cat stoves will mop the floor with it. I burn all softwoods but can get an all night burn (coals for relight in the morning) in deep winter if I load it up.

It is quite controllable and simple to run. Light with the door ajar, close the door when flaming well, and push the handle halfway in when it is getting hot. Pull the handle full out when it starts cooling down. Most of the time that is all.

Get the upgrade blower, for sure.

It is the only source of heat in my 1700 square foot house in Northeast WA, and does the job. I would buy the exact same stove if I were buying again, but would look at Wood Stoves, Wood Stove Inserts and Pellet Grills - Kuma Stoves if you were buying it for me

 

Yeah, according to the EPA output numbers, going to the 30-NC won't be an increase in heat. Granted, running on high to attain that top number isn't going to leave you much in the box by the time you get back from work. If you don't want to fork out for a Liberty, I'd look at some of the Stove Builder, International (SBI) value stoves with a big box.
The EPA numbers corresponded to my experience with the stoves I've run, the Dutchwest 2460 vs. the Woodstock Keystone and Fireview vs. the Buck 91. I'm not sure their numbers on other stoves are 100% reliable, however.
This first link is the most recent list, but I had trouble opening that .xlsx file. The second link is dated, but shows the high output numbers for the Osburn and Englander.
List of EPA Certified Wood Stoves | US EPA
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-11/documents/pre2015nsps-certifiedwood.pdf

 

Several people have mentioned the "big spring sale" on the NC30...assumingly referring the HD sale that could be found if you plugged "the right store #" in...that hasn't been done since spring of 2015 or '16 as far as I've heard...and many people have looked!

 

Thats when I got mine. I didn't realize it had been that long already! Used Durango Colorado for the store.

 

Same here.