We saw a local ad for a 5 year old Fireview 205 for $900 and know that if everything is right on the stove this is a good deal. We currently have a Fireview 201 and get 8 hour burns. We know we need something bigger and have looked at getting a PH. The nice price on this Fireview has us thinking of running two stoves in our house. Both Fireviews have the same btu rating and efficiency but one has to think that they newer Fireview would be the better stove. Any thoughts?
The 201 was replaced by the 205 in 1996. The 205 has a completely different internal layout. This allowed us to incorporate an effective airwash design to keep the glass much cleaner. It also made room for a larger cat for higher efficiency and a much cleaner burn at 1.3 g/hr. If you can get some pics of that 205 we'd be happy to take a look at them and assess its condition.
I will try to get some pics up on the stove. I would think the 205 is the better stove but efficiency and btu ratings for the stoves are identical. How come?
I see that both stoves have a 72 percent efficiency and that the 201 is 3.5 GPh and the 205 is 1.3 GPh. Am I to assume that the 205 is a cleaner burning stove? Is that the only difference?
72% efficiency rating is the EPA default spec for all catalytic wood stoves. The output is nearly identical, but the larger cat in the 205 gives it the edge in efficiency and makes it much cleaner burning. There should be a production tag to the right of the flue collar at the rear of the stove. It will have the serial # and production date stamped into it. That info might allow us to look into the history of the stove. Give a call if you can get it. 1-800-866-4344. Jamie Woodstock Soapstone
If you're interested in the stove, take a look at the internals for signs of over-firing; Warped cast iron combustor scoop, warped door, etc. Look at the cemented seams inside the firebox; My SIL bought a used 205 ('96, I think) which had been over-fired and the seams had a lot of missing cement....not sure if that's a sign of over-fire, or just something you can expect in a Fv of that age. I patched those with "Gasket Cement and Stove Sealer" and that helped quite a bit. It really needs to be torn down and re-built but I don't have time to be that nice a guy. Heh-heh. If you have an open layout where the heat can freely move to all areas of the house, you might want to step up to the PH as opposed to having to tend two stoves....
