wood burning stoves

[dbol]

I am ready to purchase one.
I was just wondering if anyone had any input. One dealer sells Quadra-fire and another sells dutchwest by vermont castings. They are similar in price. Medium stove holds about a 20" log. Hopefully it will be a cold winter so I put it to good use.

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[chuck stevenson]

Doug,

Vermont Castings is one of the best.

Do you have a type B vent?

[dbol]

not sure. We have on old coal furnace flue that we will hook up to the new stove in my basement. They will also put in a new flue and all that stuff.

[prescottrecorder]

Dutchwest was bought by Vermont Castings some years ago. It's a distinctly different design from the classic Vermont Castings stove.

I've used both Dutchwest and Vermont Castings stoves and currently heat my home entirely with a Vermont Castings Encore stove. The Dutchwest was a good stove, but not as pretty in my opinion. It's not clear from your post, but if you're not already, I highly recommend a stainless steel liner in your chimney flue.

Stoves, with catalytic converters (like mine) are very efficient but require careful operation. I've never owned one, but have heard that non-catalytic stoves are getting very efficient and are more robust to operate.

[dbol]

Yes, it is code to have stainless flue installed. the dutchwest stove is a non-catalytic. The thing I like about the dutchwest is that it has a front opening and side opening.

[Scooter]

This may be too much for you, but I have a buddy in Northern Minnesota, about 30 miles from Todd's place, that has the following rig:

He has an outdoor furnace which burns either a full log or a back up with pellets, and a second back up with propane. Even in January, the home only takes a single log about every two days, and he has a hopper with pellets as a back up. If those run out, the propane kicks in.

Wood is free up there.

[prescottrecorder]

My Dutchwest also had a side opening, although back when I owned one they were catalytic. The side opening worked great. Good luck with the new stove!

[HS345]

Here's the one I am running. It ain't purdy, but it cranks out some serious heat. Brunco (http://www.brunks.com/Bruncofurnaces.html)

In my opinion, there's nothing like wood heat, very penetrating and comfortable. It is a lot of work, and a bit messy though. But it sure saves on the heating bill. I would love to have an outdoor wood burner.

[Mountain Tile]

I put in a wood pellet stove last year, it's great. Direct vent, only a cup full of ash a day, no splitting or carrying loads of wood. Just pour about a half bag into the hopper, push the button and you got a nice fire without all the work and mess.

[jgleason]

I've had a pellet stove for four years now. Works great, all the advantages Chuck mentioned. :tup2:

When I bought it I used a fuel cost calculator. Cost per btu was higher than cord wood but lower than propane or oil.

If you really want to save money (other than moving to a warmer climate) heat with coal. Very low cost per btu.

[cx]

I removed the spam post that revived this two-year-old thread, but y'all can still talk stoves if you wanna. :)

[Mountain Tile]

oooops, didn't even notice the date there :D Well, mabe doug will let us know what he bought.

[dbol]

I have a dutchwest by vermont castings. I love the thing I burn a good bit of wood in it. I wish i could get a fan or blower to hook up to my ductwork and get some of the heat from the basement to the second floor.

[az_rancher]

pellet stoveWhat brands are you guys using, and what is a Direct vent?

Rancher

[Lazarus]

That Dutchman looks a bit like my old "Tremont" I had in Virginia, cept' mine sat flat and was inserted partially into a fireplace. Don't think they make them anymore, though. Had twin blowers and a soapstone top. I relocated my cold air return in the ceiling, over the stove and just ran the main blower manually with the heat setting off. That puppy would pull the rising heat into the central system and spin it thru all the registers in the house. Real toasty and saved a bundle on heating costs, to say nothing about the exercise splitting the oak rounds to feed it! :tup2:

[jgleason]

I use an Englander Pellet stove, pictured below. It is on the small side for my house but does an acceptable job. I also have a wood-fired stove in the basement, like Laz's it sits below my return air duct and I can use just the blower on my FHA system. We don't use it much because I'm too lazy to deal with real firewood.

Direct Vent means using outside air as the combustion source instead of inside air. The unit I have uses a separate pipe to the outside to draw in air and then a standard pellet stove exhaust pipe into my chimney. This is not a direct vent but it is good that the combustion air is drawn from the outside.

Other units use a dual chamber pipe that draws in air from the outside and exhausts it back through an inner pipe. Can go out the side of your house, no chimney or vertical pipe needed.