New Upright Modern Style Stove Choices

i wanted a non cat stove too until i looked into the matter. now the first thing i would get is something from woodstock. there's a big difference between schlepping X amount of wood per year as opposed to X plus 2 tons extra, and either buying or cutting and stacking all the extra too.
it is worth a second discussion with this in mind before you make the decision. the IS can be ordered in almond and has a less industrial look in that color. there's a pic on the site of one.

 

I've spoken with two local and reputable dealer who have both cautioned me not to purchase too large of a box, stating that to run it efficiently, it needs to be loaded, and if loaded it would roast me out of the living room that we'd like to enjoy it in. Yet it seems common to me that most treads on this site suggest to go larger rather than smaller. These two dealers made some good points, and I'm wondering if others have opinions about this subject.

 

What your hearing is the main disadvantage of non cat stoves. The peaked burn that runs you out of the house. This is why many turn to catalytic and soapstone to slow the burn and provide gentle heat.

 

• I could heat my house with a 1.5 fire box, but I went with 2.2, no regrets works great.

If I need less heat I build a smaller fire, and or use lower BTU wood

 

A non cat doesn't need to be fully loaded to burn efficiently. It would be silly however to buy more stove than you'll need. The same can be said for a cat stove unless they can be burned at a low enough rate to make use of the extra firebox size.

 

I should add to this, when we hit an all time low of 26 below zero I needed every bit of that 2.2 firebox

 

And I'll add this, which goes against what allot of folks think, but it's my scientific opinion. The model of stove and how it was/is designed and functions, has ALOT to do with how much heat comes off of it without regard to the size of the firebox. In other words, you can have 2 stoves side by side that are the same size with the same wood in them, and one will put out too much heat while the other burns slowly, more efficiently, and longer (or vice versa when really cold, puts out MORE heat with the same wood). Everyone around here is always stressing the size of the box, which is important but FIRST you need a stove that is designed properly/good.

It's just like a car design, two 2000 lbs cars can perform completely different (aka the amount of heat off the stove), and get completely different fuel economy (aka efficiency of the stove). So you can get the biggest firebox in the world, if designed poorly it isn't going to heat the house.

 

26 below. i don't mind the cold, but that is ridiculous. i'm 42 degrees of latitude and it will get to zero F or a bit below on a sporadic basis.

 

Yeah, that was cold and that was actual temperature, no wind chill involved I don't know what that was

 

Me too (at 42), you on LI?

 

What stoves in that 2.0 to 2.5 cu. ft. size that are NON Cat could you recommend looking at as well designed stoves?

 

I'm the wrong guy to ask, sorry. I don't know all the stoves out there and haven't shopped in 3 or 4 years now. But you should be able to lots of good info here...

 

I my limited experience, PE's super series has it together. They have a unique (I think) linked primary and secondary air control linkage that offers amazing control and some crazy burn times for a non-catalytic stove.

I'm not touting my favorite stove as the best. I happened upon one as a fluke of a Craigslist find, and it is in a second home in northern Michigan. I haven't used it much, maybe half a cord thru it in the last couple years, but I've had complete confidence in it from the first fire. It is capable of pouring out a ton of heat, or cruising along at 400*, with no smoke from the chimney. Reloads at six hours in sub-zero temps, to 16+ hours when I didn't need a lot of heat.

If you have any doubts, ask raybonz or loon what they think of their T5s.
Second best, after a Blaze King

 

Thanks for that PE info. I've also been following that box (Super 27 & T5), sure wish they had it in a upright model. I'm skeptical about a shallow east west loading stove without andirons and a side door. Went to see a Kuuma stove yesterday and although the look of the stove won't work for us, the north south load and burn were stunning. Seems as if the upright stoves are all designed from inserts built to be flush units. The reported uneven burn along with the east west load are turning me away.