Who burns??

PINEY MIKE

PINEY MIKE

Explorer
Jan 30, 2009
707
25
Bamber Lake
Wood, not weed silly :clint:. Im looking at new wood burning stoves for our home and am guessing a lot of us in the pines burn wood. Do any of you guys have a good stove or horror stories about bad ones? I was leaning towards a Vermont Castings cause my uncle's kicks ass up at his cabin, but I've heard since they've switched owners a few times, their stoves have really been deteriorating. Anyway, Im currently checking out a Jotul Oslo and have heard very good reviews of their stoves. Does anyone who knows anything about stoves have any advice on this company? Im not worried about price, and pretty much want the best stove I can get, since it will be our primary heat source and the center piece of our family room. Thanks if anyone has any input.
 
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,144
Coastal NJ
Take a look at Hearthstone soapstone stoves. We had one at our cabin, kept us toasty in -30f temps. One fillup at bedtime kept the place warm all night. The soapstone retains the heat better than a cast stove. Have a fireplace here and been thinking of getting one of their inserts. The place in Manahawkin sells them.

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PINEY MIKE

PINEY MIKE

Explorer
Jan 30, 2009
707
25
Bamber Lake
46er said:
Take a look at Hearthstone soapstone stoves. We had one at our cabin, kept us toasty in -30f temps. One fillup at bedtime kept the place warm all night. The soapstone retains the heat better than a cast stove. Have a fireplace here and been thinking of getting one of their inserts. The place in Manahawkin sells them.
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Nice stove 46er. I was looking at Hearthstones for a bit. That one is nice.. what color enamel is that, a red or a brown? The first Hearthstone soap I saw was that green/blue that I wasnt too excited about. I hear Woodstock has some nice soaps too. After doing some price checks, that place in Medford seemed to be a little up on costs. The one in Manahawkin (I think its Fireplaces Plus) had the best selection and prices. You never had a problem with the Hearthstone 46er? How many sq ft were you heating? I liked the Hearthstone Bennington model, but heard it was a terrible stove. The other make I was considering was Lopi.
 
PINEY MIKE

PINEY MIKE

Explorer
Jan 30, 2009
707
25
Bamber Lake
That is a nice one. Fireplaces Plus had 10% off Hearthstones 2 weeks ago. If they have another sale, that might be the deciding factor. Kind of wish they had side or top loading though. Did the ash make a mess out the front door?
 
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,144
Coastal NJ
Some models are side loaders. This model had an ash tray underneath, never had a mess. Burned a LOT of wood, but it only cost some sweat :)

I do miss that place, ice out occurred last week. It was amazing to be there for that.
 
Boyd

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,826
3,005
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
I have a Vermont Castings Dutchwest cast iron stove and love it - just finishing my third winter with it. Easily heats my 1200 sq ft home, in fact, most nights I have to close my bedroom door to keep it from getting too hot in there. It has both front and side doors and I didn't think the side door was a big deal until I started using it. It's great for loading the stove - if you can get one with this feature I think it's worthwhile. Here's what I have: http://www.vermontcastings.com/content/products/productdetails.cfm?id=313

This is the first winter that I have been completely self-sufficient with heating in fact, and burned about 2 cords of wood which I single-handedly cut on my own land from dead standing oak trees. Lots of work but very rewarding... something I have always wanted to do.

I thought about installing myself, which I certainly could have done, but I had the pro's do it instead and it only took them about 4 hours where I would have spent days :) I also went by the book and got all the needed permits and inspections. As I am in Estell Manor, this is done by a regional state office office instead of local authority. It was really quite painless, and now I won't have to worry about things if I sell the house later.

Got mine at the Firebox in Mays Landing, very cool place by the river on an old farmstead: http://www.thefirebox.com/. I did consider the soapstone model, but it's significantly more expensive. The cast iron still holds heat for a long time.

Heating with wood is a lot of work, and you will always have a big mess in your house from the ashes, wood chips and dirt that gets tracked inside. You also need a lot of dry storage space for a full winter's wood supply. It's more trouble than most people want for a primary heat source, but there's nothing like the feeling of warmth and satisfaction if you're willing to invest the time.
 
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,144
Coastal NJ
Another option to consider are the pellet stoves, especially if you don't want to cut and haul your own fuel. My brother put one in the new home he built, designed the house for it. It sits in the basement, each floor has grates to allow the warm air to rise & circulate. Works very nicely for him. His backup source is propane. He has plenty of fuel on his property, but not the time to harvest it.

The big trend in the north country are the separate wood boilers. They've become so popular some towns have had to restrict the use of them due to the increase in air pollution.
 
PINEY MIKE

PINEY MIKE

Explorer
Jan 30, 2009
707
25
Bamber Lake
Thanks for all the input guys. I grew up with a wood stove and we had one for over twenty years at our house in the Adirondacks too. I have fond memories of my old man and my uncles chopping wood on the weekends and me wreaking havock on their wood piles. I enjoy splitting wood, especially in the Fall weather. Kind of takes your mind off other things. Maybe Ill stop in that place in Chatsworth one day soon. While Im there Ill grab a beer at the Woodshed.. that place always has their wood stove going all winter, I wish more bars did that. I also found out, just incase anyone was toying with the idea of getting a new stove, that Obama has a 30% tax credit towards wood burning stoves that can be claimed back during next years returns. Here's some info:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits

and here's a list of stoves considered certified that make the list
http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/resources/publications/monitoring/caa/woodstoves/certifiedwood.pdf
This just makes things even better for me.
 
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