Stoves from Tractor Supply???

The tubes just pop out & the baffle is accessible & drops out. Makes it very easy to clean the flue pipe out.

 

As others have mentioned, venting and seasoned firewood are critical components for proper operation of an EPA stove. I had a Fisher Grandma Bear and that thing would burn rocks. The Stove pipe had a 90-degree bend in it and it went into a short, 12" terra cotta chimney. It was a smoke dragon and that setup would not work well for an EPA stove. It can be sticker shock for folks when they see the price of stove pipe, chimney pipe and associated fittings as that can easy cost twice as much as the stove itself. There is mention that the friend in question is currently venting into a chimney.....what is the height of the chimney and interior width? Stove Manuals will have some specific information about venting requirements. A chimney that is too wide can be lined.

Next up is seasoned firewood which is necessary for an EPA stove to burn correctly. Seasoned as in, get a moisture meter and take a reading on the outside of a piece of wood, split it and take a reading on the inside. What are the numbers? My first go-around with an EPA stove was suboptimal because the wood was waaay under seasoned. The first stage of the fire would produce little heat and the stove was belching smoke. It was only after the fire had cooked all of the moisture out that the stove actually started to produce heat and the secondaries lit off. Not everybody has the land/space to do this, however, it's helpful to be two years ahead on your firewood. I have 2024-2025 ready to burn, 2025-2026 is already 1.5 years since it was split and stacked and 2026-2027 is being delivered next week. As before, not everyone has the space to do that.

As for the stove itself, I did some digging on Facebook marketplace and there were actually some decent deals including Quadrafire, Regency and Drolet. Some of the stoves may look beat up in the pictures, however, as long as the stove body itself is not cracked, a quality stove can be restored with surprisingly little time, effort and cost. Sand the outside, high temp primer, high temp paint, replace the firebricks and gaskets.....less than $100.00.

There's a lot to digest and consider here.

 

Yup, modern stoves don't waste much heat up the chimney...a chimney that worked fine to run a smoke dragon may not with a new stove.

 

US stoves are junk, they crack around the door, mine did and internet research showed me others with cracks in the same place. but it heats ok for the $400 I paid for it new 5 years ago.
I need a bigger stove and I'm looking at the Drolet . stove is in the basement 3200 sq ft total between the two floors and no furnace used. I wish I still had my big Tremont stove I love a side loading stove.

 

Englander and Drolet are his best bets from a big box store. Home Depot and TSC carry both iirc.