Where's all the Fisher, Kodiak and other Smoke dragon People?

But if you're at 90, you don't have to re-fire as often depending on insulation. Can't you just put a pipe damper on to slow draft on an old dragon?

 

I had a damper on the Vigilant. Problem with the Vig was it was roaring or smoldering. No in between. Smoldering means build up in the pipe. So, it was best to run the Vig in the 600-750 range.

Also, my insulation has improved, but when I had the Vig it was bad, real bad. So, my heat loss was high. Stove room at 90+ would not last long.

 

You have a nice house there BB. Don't think they worried about insulation 200+ years ago.

 

They hated them because they either had a crappy stove or did not know how to run it.
Good dry wood and a knowledge of how to run a wood stove is the answer to many problems with the old stoves and the new ones.
EPA stoves wont fix stupid.

 

I have to say this , I have a lot of respect for the designers who came up with the fishers and similar units, and I generally don't "beat on" the folks who still run them. that said modern stoves simply bury them as far as the capabilities are concerned, its simply no contest.

if anyone were to rack it up with a stock fisher of any size with identical loads of properly seasoned wood to our 30-nc, or a PE summit or similar they would see the difference. its truly amazing what we can get from a stick of firewood these days compared to what a "dragon" could do it its day.

 

"smoke dragon" stoves still very common where I grew up in northern Maine. I had never even heard of an "EPA" stove until I was shopping for a stove for my house just a few years ago.

My folks heated their place with a homebuilt wood furnace for nearly 30 years. It lived in the basement and had ductwork running to both ends of the house. Wish I had photos of the setup, but I nearly really thought it was something needing to be "recorded" (kind of the same as most folks wouldn't go out of their way to photograph the fridge or washing machine)

It was a 275 gal oil tank with the bottom cut off, and shortened a bit. Then sheetmetal over the whole deal. Also had a copper pipe on the side of the firebox for heating domestic hot water.

Actually surprising how well it worked considering my Dad just put it together with what he thought would work with fairly minimal tools. An old AC stick welder and a few hand tools. I'm not sure he even had an angle grinder back then.

Folks talk about fire box size... sheez that thing was HUGE. I'd guess around 3ft deep, 2.5ft wide and 3ft tall (domed top). Normally just put 3-4 splits of wood at a time.

Burned about 3-3.25 cords of wood a winter, which is about what I burn as well.

 

Boy I am just about willing to take that bet ( with my old Nashua), has a lot to do with how the stove is burnt also, secondary combustion does happen in the old stove in a hot fire, my Summit is a smaller stove but my old stove puts out a ton more heat and never had a problem with coals in the morning.
I have went through a lot of wood this year with the Summit and the house is much tighter and doors are closed off upstairs.
I am sure in the 30 years of heating I had a few winters close to how bad this one is.

 

I too question the wood savings, Summit has been a disappointment but its not all bad, I am making the house tighter now that I have a stove that wont heat the house well.

 

The main thing that sold me on the Blaze King was the "set and forget" ability.

Load it up, get it burning, and let it be for 10-12 hrs!
Can choke down the fire much more than in the old stoves.

But nothing wrong with the old stuff either. I remember the stove we had in my Dad's garage. A decent fire meant the sides where glowing. Couple times had it glowing so hard you could just about see through the steel.

 

What type of stove (EPA) you buy has a lot to do with how well you like it, the Blaze Kings and some of the Jotuls seem to be well liked for the most part.
A good selling point would be "Heats like a Old Smoke Dragon"

 

I had an Ember Hearth insert I burned for years. It came with the house. Double doors and blower tubes up both sides and across the top with a blower in the back.
2 brass air intakes on the bottom front which screwed open/close and a single ?secondary? centered at the top edge of the front, which I never used 'cause I had no idea what it was for!
This "secondary? was connected to a perforated tube which ran inside the firebox.
My fireplace is an old 70's or 80's "heatilator" manufactured style sheet metal deal with an 8" double wall flu, with stone facia and apron.
The old stove had it licks and served me well for a good 10 years. It was cracked inside and had to go. One of these days I'll tear the whole fireplace out and make my living room bigger.
Anyone else ever heard of/used the old double door Ember Hearth stoves?

 

You are burning with smarts. I am betting you learned that stove just as you learned your house. You have huge skills sets. It isn't that fisher or your house that is keeping your family warm, it is you!
I am like so many here. I want the biggest bang for the buck, and I want to be independent making that decision. To that end, I am all ears listening to your and others experiences. That really help me step up and fix my heating dilemma. I am so thankful for these discussions.

 

not a salesman, just a technician (I stay as far from the sales department as I possibly can) that said, if I had to process 4 cord of wood for a single winter i'd give up. not to diss your friends but if they are burning more wood than that to heat with a modern woodstove something is dreadfully wrong.

oh, and our 30 ,our largest freestanding model, retails at about a grand, I don't do 3K woodstoves. plate steel stoves with reburn setups, essentially we do what the fishers do, we just do it better, cleaner, and cheaper on the wood.

 

I burn in a defiant that my parents purchased new in 79. Resurrected last winter. Heats great, coals last overnight every time. had the doors off getting new gaskets that day.

 

My old stove was great, my new one not, 30 years of heating a house that was not finished in the begining and crappy windows later.
The amount of heat difference is beyond belief (even for me).

 

Best stove thread I have ever seen. Good job Dave and me learning from you my stove will burn till the bottom falls out

 

I hope to have this Fisher installed this fall.