old wood stoves

[567paloggger]

does anyone still burn the old fisher and all nighter wood stoves i think they are the best they are much better than the new ones it seems i burn an all nighter big moe and i have others i refurbish during the winter months as a hobby but my stove will burn for 12 to 15 hours at a time just wondering if anyone else burns the older stoves still thanks guys

[bill m]

I have a Big Moe I bought used in 1981. Use it 24/7 for 5 months every year. Still looks as good today as the day I bought it.

[tyb525]

We have one from the late 80's, a Federal Airtight from Vermont Castings, that is burning day and night all through winter. It is our primary source of heat and it does a good job.

[woodmills1]

vermont casings makes very nice well performing wood stoves

My free hat machine outdoor stove is actually made by timber ridge, they have produced wood stoves for years.

[Ironwood]

Vermont Defiant, we like it alot.

 Ironwood

[mometal77]

I grew up with a fisher.  Two cut pieces and rounds of hardwood.. maple..and small pieces in between.  Also my mom cooked cooked on an old 1863 homecomfort.  Great for thanksgiving.

rob

[stonebroke]

Riteway from the 70's

Stonebroke

[Ironwood]

Oh, yeah, we have a Copper Clad in the basement (my bestman's wedding gift to us), s when TSHF we will cooking on that baby. I still cant understand the logic of a pellet stove, unless it can burn corn and your a corn farmer. 

 Ironwood

[Raider Bill]

Don't buy a Englander, I did wish I hadn't

[Wudman]

Don't buy a Englander, I did wish I hadn't

I had a little better luck with my Englander.  I bought it second hand in 1990.  My brother in law bartered for it for some repair work he did on a guy's car.  When I got it, it had been sitting outside for six months and was pretty rusty.  I cleaned it up, applied some black and relined the fire brick.  It has been heating my parents home (a 1910 4-Square) for the last 17-18 years.  The best $100 I ever spent. 

Wudman

[Mark K]

I have a Glacier Bay woodstove, was put in this house in the 70's. Good stove, burns 24-7 during the winter. Just had to replace the fire brick.

[Raider Bill]

Don't buy a Englander, I did wish I hadn't

I had a little better luck with my Englander.  I bought it second hand in 1990.  My brother in law bartered for it for some repair work he did on a guy's car.  When I got it, it had been sitting outside for six months and was pretty rusty.  I cleaned it up, applied some black and relined the fire brick.  It has been heating my parents home (a 1910 4-Square) for the last 17-18 years.  The best $100 I ever spent. 

Wudman

Mines got a glass door. They have the intake coming over the top of the glass to suppsedly keep it clean but what happens is the air comes in and goes right up the stack. Not much air gets to the coals. MAkes it hard to get a good hot fire going.
Poor design.

Worst part was the lack of customer service from them. Another story....

I already jacked this thread.

[567paloggger]

raider mill i will sell you a fisher mama bear but its gonna cost you

[Raider Bill]

I remember those old fisher stoves. Helped a friend put one in back in the 70's. I think it too was a mama bear.

[Banjo picker]

We got a Kodiak when we built the house 25 years ago....It has two doors with glass..I managed to break one once...replaced the gaskets several times and the brick when they get broke up too much...It looks as good as the day I put it in and works great    will hold fire over night ....Tim

[NWwoodsman]

Just brokered a deal for a friend. It's a orele , round stove that was made in oregon. Got it for $150, it was seating outside for awhile, but cleaned up nice. They went for over $1500 when they where new. Had one that I got for a cord of firewood but sold it too cheap. Wish I still had it best burner I ever had, and good looking too.

[mad murdock]

Had a fisher baby bear, they are nice stoves, but can coke up (the Chimeny) real quick if you don't pay attention to how you are burning.  Easy way to clean the chimney though when you do find out you were burning to lean on air,for too long, and the chimney starts screaming, and you are sporting a 10 ft plus flame out the raincap.  Sold the baby bear, and had an older Lopi upstairs, moved it to the basement, and now it heats the whole house, (about 1800 sq. ft.).  Anyone ever used or seen those fancy soapstone stoves?  They look real nice, and they say they heat longer than steel??

[SwampDonkey]

Every household around here had an Enterprise kitchen wood burning stove. And that's in days with no such thing as insulation and -30F January. Even in old fish and game camps in my lifetime, there was an Enterprise sitting right there. My furnace is also Enterprise. I can bead the sweat out on ya real quick with that baby.

[Qweaver]

Oh, yeah, we have a Copper Clad in the basement (my bestman's wedding gift to us), s when TSHF we will cooking on that baby. I still cant understand the logic of a pellet stove, unless it can burn corn and your a corn farmer. 

 Ironwood

Why have a pellet stove?
1.Fill it once a day
2.Clean fuel
3. About the same cost for fuel if you have to buy the wood
4.Clean it every 2 to 3 days
5. Very little ash
6. 5 heat adjustments
I could go on.  I would never consider going back to a wood stove.

[NWwoodsman]

So what are you going to do when the power goes out, run a generater to run your pellet stove?? I guess the power dosen't go out where you live. I'd say most people who have an old wood stove have them so they don't have to rely on a power company or pellet manufacter for they're heat. At least I do.

[Paul_H]

I have a woodstove but it relies on a circulating fan to push the air to the rest of the house.If the power goes out,I can keep a low fire to maintain temps above freezing.We also have a generator ready to hook up.

So what are you going to do when the power goes out, run a generater to run your pellet stove??

Why not? Even people with woodstoves like to have some lights and maybe a little tv for a few hours a day.
Do pellet stoves still come with a 12v hookup? Friends of ours had a hookup at the back to connect a 12v auto battery that would run the pellet stove auger and fan for hours.The battery could be topped up on the charger during the time the generator runs at night.

[Qweaver]

So what are you going to do when the power goes out, run a generater to run your pellet stove?? I guess the power dosen't go out where you live. I'd say most people who have an old wood stove have them so they don't have to rely on a power company or pellet manufacter for they're heat. At least I do.

Yep, we have a 7500 watt generator/welder setting downstairs that takes just a minute to start. I keep 10 gal of gas on hand and a full tank in the generator.  We also have 2 portable propane heaters that require no electric to operate.  I would need the generator even if I had a woodstove because I have a mechanical room downstairs that could freeze without the small electric heater that we use to keep that room above 32.  I could put a small propane heater down there if I had to.
We had a Hearthstone woodstove and I loved it's looks and the heat that it made.  I just got tired of carting bug filled wood in several times a day and we could never stop the stove from smoking when the wind blew hard.  I have several friends that have woodstoves and all of them complain about smoking in high wind.  The older I get the less I want to spend large portions of time making firewood.  I guess I'm just taking the easy way out.  We have a Geothermal heatpump and I wouldn't have to run a stove at all... but we like it.

[downeast]

Why have a pellet stove?
1.Fill it once a day
2.Clean fuel
3. About the same cost for fuel if you have to buy the wood
4.Clean it every 2 to 3 days
5. Very little ash
6. 5 heat adjustments
I could go on.  I would never consider going back to a wood stove.
[/quote]

Why not to use pellets.
1. High energy to manufacture. Ain't green.
2. Fewer BTUs per ton than most hardwood = less heat.
3. Inconsistent quality e.g. loose binders making dust.
4. VERY noisy grinding = no romantic evening by "the fire".
5. Pellet stoves need high maintenance for 24/7 heating-cleaning, motor breakdowns.
6. The stoves are butt ugly.
7. For the snow belt, the stoves don't put out--heat that is.
8. Pellets look like rat droppings.
9. Inconsistent and unreliable supply in ALL parts of N. America.
10. I don't like them.
11. How the H are you going to get Mr. GoodBody if you can't cut real wood ?
12. What do I do with my chainsaws ? Cut 2" pellets to size ? 
and.......
13. Pellets put firewood sellers out of business.

More to come...............

[downeast]

We had a Hearthstone woodstove and I loved it's looks and the heat that it made.  I just got tired of carting bug filled wood in several times a day and we could never stop the stove from smoking when the wind blew hard.  I have several friends that have woodstoves and all of them complain about smoking in high wind.  The older I get the less I want to spend large portions of time making firewood.  I guess I'm just taking the easy way out.  We have a Geothermal heatpump and I wouldn't have to run a stove at all... but we like it.

Flue downdrafts are an easy fix: the right cap, the correct height, enough heat in the fire to keep the flue draft. I can count on one 4 fingered hand the number of times we get a downdraft usually with low barometer, higher temps in the 40's, and slow low fires IF we're not careful. You can bet we have some Force 6+ winter winds here.

"Making firewood" has got to be part of your life if heating with wood. It's a choice, often tough, sweaty, filthy, risky. I love it since we harvest ONLY in winter here: hard ground, no moldy armpits, no bugs, mostly snow cover. BTW: no serious vipers in Maine !  It keeps this __ (fill in age here ) body in good shape for summer, gives us an excuse to have a beer after woods work. Geothermal = $$$$$$$. Big, big $$$.  The firewood is done as a part of managing the woodlots anyhow. Boy do I love the $$$$ savings. Next summer, we're off to Norway thanks to the money saved.  We do use propane for cooking and hot water ( Rinnai tankless) . We have neighbors in their mid-80's who had to stop cutting their own last year after he had a hip replacement. And, they still heat AND cook year-round with wood.

Hey, we're up north, it is often cold ( say below zero with snow and winds ). The wood racks are loaded once per day, out of a cart. No more. That's not so tough. Or is it ? When I start whining about it, it will be time to not come down for breakfast. 

[SwampDonkey]

I'd freeze to death without wood.  Even if I lost power my forced air furnace would keep me warm as heat rises as we know. In all the years I've lived here, over 40, never went without power for more than 2 hours. However your BTU per ton of pellets vs split firewood theory doesn't hold up to a candle I'm afraid. Trouble with any pellet stoves I've seen around is they are undersized for the space they are required to heat in many instances.

[downeast]

I'd freeze to death without wood.  Even if I lost power my forced air furnace would keep me warm as heat rises as we know. In all the years I've lived here, over 40, never went without power for more than 2 hours. However your BTU per ton of pellets vs split firewood theory doesn't hold up to a candle I'm afraid. Trouble with any pellet stoves I've seen around is they are undersized for the space they are required to heat in many instances.

What's the BTU/candle ?     You are questioning a sage. 
BTU to BTU, apples to apples, lb to lb : split logs > any pellets. No theory. Bet your first born. 

[Qweaver]

I'd freeze to death without wood.  Even if I lost power my forced air furnace would keep me warm as heat rises as we know. In all the years I've lived here, over 40, never went without power for more than 2 hours. However your BTU per ton of pellets vs split firewood theory doesn't hold up to a candle I'm afraid. Trouble with any pellet stoves I've seen around is they are undersized for the space they are required to heat in many instances.

What's the BTU/candle ?     You are questioning a sage. 
BTU to BTU, apples to apples, lb to lb : split logs > any pellets. No theory. Bet your first born. 

Well...When I looked at the Forest Products Laboratory ● State & Private Forestry Technology Marketing Unit charts I find that the Net Heating Value of:  Pellets =13,600,000 BTU per ton       Air Dried Wood = 10,560,000 BTU per ton

But the real bottom line is, to each his own.  If you like the wood prep and burning process, then I don't care if you do that and you should not care that obtaining and burning pellets is what I like to do. 
I grew up in a house where the only source of heat was wood and coal and I have had several periods over the years where we burned wood, including our current house.  Since we have changed to pellets, I am very happy with the cost, ambiance and ease of use. I'll burn about 2 tons of pellets this winter at $220 a ton.  Not too bad.  My Uncles house is about 1500 SqFt and he expects to use 3 tons and his only heats with pellets. 

My fuel gathering takes the most of one morning and I unload with my TLB forks and the whole 3 tons takes up about 1/3 of 1 bay in my shed.  There has never been a pellet shortage in my state.   I also consider how mobile I will be in another 10 years and I'm trying configure my lifestyle so that I will be able to deal with that.  Enjoy your woodstove...I like them too...at someone else's house.

[zopi]

Naploeon sucks. period.  bought an insert from them..cheap built...cheap gutz...not gonna spend that money again.

Don't get me wrong...the design of the thing is ok, but the construction sucks...cheap little fan that wore out quick with some frightening wiring...and they used kao board to line the bottom of the secondary burn chamber..that wore out quick so I went with soft boiler block...that wore out but slower...gonna tack a piece of plate in there and slide some half height insulating firebrick in there and see how that works...firebox is too small too. gotta get into graingers or somesuch and find a blower which doth not sucketh...

I need to find or build something better...been messing with numbers around the measurements of this thing, basically working off of design specs for BBQ pits...some things come up close as far as heat output some things don't work...may just dupilcate the design with a little larger firebox.

[downeast]

Well...When I looked at the Forest Products Laboratory ● State & Private Forestry Technology Marketing Unit charts I find that the Net Heating Value of:  Pellets =13,600,000 BTU per ton       Air Dried Wood = 10,560,000 BTU per ton
But the real bottom line is, to each his own.  If you like the wood prep and burning process, then I don't care if you do that and you should not care that obtaining and burning pellets is what I like to do. 
I grew up in a house where the only source of heat was wood and coal and I have had several periods over the years where we burned wood, including our current house.  Since we have changed to pellets, I am very happy with the cost, ambiance and ease of use. I'll burn about 2 tons of pellets this winter at $220 a ton.  Not too bad.  My Uncles house is about 1500 SqFt and he expects to use 3 tons and his only heats with pellets. 
My fuel gathering takes the most of one morning and I unload with my TLB forks and the whole 3 tons takes up about 1/3 of 1 bay in my shed.  There has never been a pellet shortage in my state.   I also consider how mobile I will be in another 10 years and I'm trying configure my lifestyle so that I will be able to deal with that.  Enjoy your woodstove...I like them too...at someone else's house.

Like all statistics, it depends. Cord wood BTU value varies, and pellet quality goes all over the BTU scale. There is NO standardization for manufacturing pellets for heat content anywhere: softwoods, hardwoods, scrap, chips, rotted fiber.

Remember that the total BTU load for homes in our snowbelt are much higher than in W. VA or Texas ( Texas !). From the limited experience here in northern Maine, pellet stoves have
 proved by users' experience to be maintenance intensive, medium term unreliable  (motors in a dusty environment), and just don't put out enough heat for the money paid. There are not 10 year old pellet burners putting out anywhere here, at least like our wood stoves and furnaces, and boilers.

Add to that an uneven supply here of pellets to meet a marketed demand in the few years here that pellet stoves have been marketed and hyped as "clean" and easy and cheap.    Can a 75 year old 90 lb lady hump a 40 lb bag of pellets into the hopper

BTW: what's a "TLB" fork ? Don't have that .....yet.

[SwampDonkey]

Like I told ya before, those pellet stoves your comparing are undersized for the space they are heating. Regional btu requirements need to be factored in as you suggest.

Heck, if they can make a furnace to burn sawdust on an auger system they will make a more reliable one to burn pellets. Raw sawdust is a lot more dirty than pellets. The neighbors had a sawdust fed furnace for years and burnt green sawdust. Aside for the flu fires they had all the time from burning the green sawdust, it worked well. Never froze to death anyway. When they changed out that furnace for a firewood furnace, they still burned green and still had flu fires. That's proof positive, "in situ", to me that green wood clogs up the flu a lot worse than seasoned. I've lived here over 40 years and never had a flu problem and this house is over 100 years old.

[Qweaver]

Remember that the total BTU load for homes in our snowbelt are much higher than in W. VA or Texas ( Texas !). From the limited experience here in northern Maine, pellet stoves have
 proved by users' experience to be maintenance intensive, medium term unreliable  (motors in a dusty environment), and just don't put out enough heat for the money paid. There are not 10 year old pellet burners putting out anywhere here, at least like our wood stoves and furnaces, and boilers.

Add to that an uneven supply here of pellets to meet a marketed demand in the few years here that pellet stoves have been marketed and hyped as "clean" and easy and cheap.    Can a 75 year old 90 lb lady hump a 40 lb bag of pellets into the hopper

BTW: what's a "TLB" fork ? Don't have that .....yet.

My John Deere 110 TLB has the same  mounting system as a skid steer and I have the pallet fork setup.

Our temps have rarely been above freezing since the end of October and are usually in the mid to low 20s.  I don't know where you are getting your info about stove sizing but I never have to run my stove above the middle setting.
My pellet stove has 5 setting levels and I usually run it on the second setting until the temps get into the teens and then the 3rd setting keeps the house at 70.  I know several people that use pellet stoves and all of them are happy with how they heat and what it costs to run them.  Have you actually used a pellet stove?  If not, how can you pass judgement.  I have years of experience with wood stoves and I prefer pellets.  Here it W.Va. they make sense.    I'd rather spend my free time riding motorcycles, white water rafting, or almost anything else besides cutting, splitting and stacking firewood.  BUT...to each his own.
BTW, we have a friend in Houston Texas that had a $400 electric bill last month. Largely due to increased heating costs. 
PS  I just got off of the phone with a friend that owns a tree service and a large part of their income is from selling firewood and they have been sold out for over a month and he did not know of anyone else that had any or was going to be making any soon.  But Swishers, Fosters, Walmart, and Lowes all have plenty of pellets.  Lowes price is $220 a ton.  Not real cheap but pretty good for the middle of the winter. 
 

[Weekend_Sawyer]

 I like my Sierra woodstoves 



 I have the same stove in the basement. Loads from the front or side. I load it from the side and it will take a 26" log 
I also like to cut split and stack firewood. 

Jon

[countryjonez]

i have an older sqire stove that i use to heat my old house. it will hold wood for 8-10 hours when i choke it down for the night. its a monster of a stove,but my problem with it is the lack of an ash pan.other than that its a keeper.

[downeast]

Qweaver:

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, what is TLB   I am truly ignorant.
The firewood thing is what academics call gestault ( like TLB ?) . For me in glorious retirement it is mostly an enjoyable experience as part of managing woodlands. TSI ( take that TLA ), some sawlogs harvested, the usual blowdowns to clear, and along with all that firewood harvesting.

Winter is when it's easier to get around the woodlot here --- hard ground, no swampy mush to get equipment bogged down, soft snow most years, cold weather to work in, no bugs. Late spring, summer, early fall are sweet times to do those other things: competitions, the sea, climbs, drinking, trips, gigs playing. The woods stuff is for us also productive exercise, besides the extreme savings of $$$ in high fossil fuel costs.

You're correct: to each his own. I'll drink to that ( Laphroaig if you want to send a 1/5  )

[Qweaver]

TLB = Tractor, Loader, Backhoe.   I've handled all of my logs with a loader equipped with forks.

[downeast]

TLB = Tractor, Loader, Backhoe.   I've handled all of my logs with a loader equipped with forks.

  Thx.
We try to avoid TLA's (Three Letter Acronyms)  like the plague. Used too often in mil talk and bureaucrats.
A tractor with a front end loader and power take-offs was considered from the profits from the full harvest 10 years ago. This here is small time logging for not a lot of $$$$. I wanted the body workout anyhow: 6-8 cords firewood, 8-12 pulp. some sawlogs. For ~ 1/4 the cost of even the smallest 4WD tractor with attachments the better choice was a Honda 4WD ATV with trailer. Our woodlands are tough going: hills, bony rocks, wet areas for any tractor, lumpy trails. The Honda Foreman with soft 3psi tires will go anywhere. At times the humping is a PITA, in snow for sure. It beats the gerbil exercise machines people love .

[zopi]

acronyms suck. so sayeth the career military guy...I have made a habit of interrupting every meeting i am forced to go to and making some bureauRat explain his buzzwords and acronyms...

tax dollars at work...

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

acronyms suck. so sayeth the career military guy...I have made a habit of interrupting every meeting i am forced to go to and making some bureauRat explain his buzzwords and acronyms...

tax dollars at work...

Zopi,

My old CO would say that POD is DOA  Of course that was in the MSO USN... Where the ships were built of wood and the men were made of metal (non-magnetic, of course)...

Herb
EMC SW USN(Ret)

[downeast]

acronyms suck. so sayeth the career military guy...I have made a habit of interrupting every meeting i am forced to go to and making some bureauRat explain his buzzwords and acronyms...
tax dollars at work...

Zopi,

My old CO would say that POD is DOA  Of course that was in the MSO USN... Where the ships were built of wood and the men were made of metal (non-magnetic, of course)...Herb EMC SW USN(Ret)

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT ---what gives with all those fool letters

[downeast]

Like I told ya before, those pellet stoves your comparing are undersized for the space they are heating. Regional btu requirements need to be factored in as you suggest.

Heck, if they can make a furnace to burn sawdust on an auger system they will make a more reliable one to burn pellets. Raw sawdust is a lot more dirty than pellets. The neighbors had a sawdust fed furnace for years and burnt green sawdust. Aside for the flu fires they had all the time from burning the green sawdust, it worked well. Never froze to death anyway. When they changed out that furnace for a firewood furnace, they still burned green and still had flu fires. That's proof positive, "in situ", to me that green wood clogs up the flu a lot worse than seasoned. I've lived here over 40 years and never had a flu problem and this house is over 100 years old.

Big difference in quality and scale for the sawdust furnaces comapred to tiny pellet heaters. We did look at the Vermont system for using mill waste in public buildings and schools on a "field trip" for using them here. The state subsidizes the furnaces and mills for supplyiong the waste. The mechanisms and motors are isolated from the fuel. There are huge bins outside the buildings. The furnaces heat many 1000's of ft² structures efficiently.
The tiny pellet stoves are rated equivalent to similar wood stoves for output. Most do not have industrial rated mechanisms or motors. Their reliability is not good. The pellet supply is notoriously irregular and in price.

[SwampDonkey]

The heating plant in Fredericton has heated the university (UNB) and residences as well as the regional hospital for 30 years. I don't know why the state would have to subsidize a mill for it's sawdust. This plant is fed my a commercial sawmill with waste that can't be pulped, just another revenue stream for the mill. Has a 40 000 lb./hrr. capacity waste wood-fired boiler (and two 120 000 lb./hrr.) capacity fossil fuel boilers.) The central heating plant also produces steam to heat buildings operated by St. Thomas University and the Research and Productivity Council, and to heat and cool Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital. These three facilities consume approximately 30 percent of the steam that is produced by the plant.

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/Publications/commercial/m27-01-1364e.cfm?attr=20

Information is 10 years old.

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

acronyms suck. so sayeth the career military guy...I have made a habit of interrupting every meeting i am forced to go to and making some bureauRat explain his buzzwords and acronyms...
tax dollars at work...

Zopi,

My old CO would say that POD is DOA  Of course that was in the MSO USN... Where the ships were built of wood and the men were made of metal (non-magnetic, of course)...Herb EMC SW USN(Ret)

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT ---what gives with all those fool letters

Downeast,

Just having a bit of fun with Zopi...

CO = Commanding Officer
POD = Plan Of the Day
DOA = Dead On Arrival
MSO = Minesweep, Oceangoing
USN = United States Navy
EMC = Electrician's Mate Chief
SW = Surface Warefare qualified
Ret = Retired

Hope that helps

Herb

[downeast]

Zopi,
My old CO would say that POD is DOA  Of course that was in the MSO USN... Where the ships were built of wood and the men were made of metal (non-magnetic, of course)...Herb EMC SW USN(Ret)

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT ---what gives with all those fool letters
[/quote]
Downeast,
Just having a bit of fun with Zopi...

CO = Commanding Officer
POD = Plan Of the Day
DOA = Dead On Arrival
MSO = Minesweep, Oceangoing
USN = United States Navy
EMC = Electrician's Mate Chief
SW = Surface Warefare qualified
Ret = Retired

Hope that helps

Herb
[/quote]

Herb.
Stop showing off the useless  .
As a former dirt man, I know all of the above ( so bright ) except those water ranks. 
No need to know SW, or MSO, or even USN. We had our own transport. 
Keep up the TLA's.

[Bill]

Used to have a Fisher Papa Bear - worked real good ( and I burned whatever was free back in those days ) in my first house. Had to clean the chimney once and awhile  ( or burn a real hot fire on a cold rainy night ? - not recommended at all but when you're young ) .

Also had a Shenandoah wood stove with coal grate - nice little bimetal thermostat to regulate the air - it still sits in the basement waiting to furnish that long awaited " cabin in the Rockies ".

Now using a Consolidated Dutchwest wood/coal stove with a glass ( ceramic ? ) door. The gaskets are starting to go ( can smell the smoke sometimes ) and I took the catalyst out to burn coal ( like they said ) . Since I mostly use wood now I may put it back - told it 'll cut back on chimney cleanings - and I now let the wood sit - covered only - for a year or two before burning.  Except for the gaskets ( not a problem with the other stoves -esp Fisher being welded airtight ) not a bad stove for 24x7 .

[downeast]

Oh, yeah, we have a Copper Clad in the basement (my bestman's wedding gift to us), s when TSHF we will cooking on that baby. I still cant understand the logic of a pellet stove, unless it can burn corn and your a corn farmer. 

 Ironwood

Why have a pellet stove?
1.Fill it once a day
2.Clean fuel
3. About the same cost for fuel if you have to buy the wood
4.Clean it every 2 to 3 days
5. Very little ash
6. 5 heat adjustments
I could go on.  I would never consider going back to a wood stove.

Here we go again: just say "no" to pellets. Let's do the numbers---

1. Yes pellets are "clean". So is my wood; just takes some light sweeping up when loading and racking for the day.

2. And no Virginia, the cost of pellets is not the same as CSD hardwood BTU to BTU. Besides most of us cut our own='free'.

3. Load once/day for what amount of heat ? Pellet stoves in snow country don't put out.   (Heat)

4. Irregular, unreliable supply everywhere, even here in Maine. Some pellet makers do a good job , others not. Some is hardwood, some soft.
    "Clinkers" in the pellets (debris such as stones!) do wonders for the motor and auger.

5. Ease of use huh ? What 75 Y.O. lady can hump a 40 lb bag into a hopper ?

6. Pellet stoves break down-- and often IF used for heating. The rig needs continual maintenance and cleaning. Tiny motors don't work MTBR in heat.

7. Yes, I am a PB (Pellet Bigot). The hype is too much.

8. And how about that romantic eveing beside......the grinding clinking of the auger !!! 

9. For you greenies out there: the pellet process is a high energy user. Just thought you'd want to know.

10.  Have I said: "I don't like pellet stoves" ?

11. Oh yeah, how in the H do you stack all those tiny tiny rabbit pellets ?

[Don_Papenburg]

The energy used can not be that bad as abag of pellets or a ton of bagged pellets is priced reasonable . 
So once you pay for the bag o pellets that cost of mfg is wiped out .    That is a bad argument . It is like the greenies telling  us that the MFGing of concrete is a large energy consumer .  But that is all figured into the cost . If you buy the product the  cost of energy is paid for  and no longer a factor .  That is to say the energy to produce the pellet  can not now be brought forward to figure in to the energy that you use to operate your stove .  IE. If it cost 100 BTUs to produce the pellet  and 10 BTUs to operate the stove .  You have only 10 BTUs in cost of operating the stove .  Not 110 BTUs   The greenbacks have erased the 100 BTUs.

 You leave them on the pallet in the sacks they came in  so you do not have to stack them. 

As for the old lady and the 40 lb. Bag  she opens it and scoops out a small bucket full and dumps that into the stove .
 
Don't try to make things harder than need be  .

I don't use pellets . I heat with wood  ,  Lickwood   






Lickwood petrolium  gas.      Real easy, set the Honeywell to the desired number and the house stays at that temp like magic.

[Shagy]

Have a  Fisher at my camp. been there for yrs. We have had to open the doors and windows many times to cool down the camp but the bull dog just slides a little closer to the stove. If this stove could talk.... Ohhh Boy

[StephenRice]

As far as pellet stoves are concerned, how come I have not heard anyone talking about using cherry pits?  I guess they are just not available where you guys are at, but I believe they sell a lot of them in Michigan and I think that the heat produced is considerable.  And, what about corn?  Any stoves capable of using wood chips?  It seems like that would be a good way to go if possible due to the large amount of limbs often wasted.  It does not seem like it would be hard to dry wood chips in even a home made drum style kiln dryer.

Anyone using a Timberline wood stove?  I remember them from when I was young and really liked their simplicity.  They were dangerous to children because they got so hot, but that also translated to good heating for the house with their good plate steel construction.  I often wanted to build my own stove similar in style to the old Timberlines.

Also, I installed a new soapstone wood stove for an old fella some years ago.  It was from the Woodstock Soapstone Company from New Hampshire.  Anyone used one of those or like it?  The one I installed had a triple catalytic converter and was pretty efficient.  The soapstone would hold the heat for quite a while, even after the fire went out.

I also like those big old-fashioned kitchen stoves that had an oven in them.  Anyone got one of those?

[SwampDonkey]

Kitchen wood stoves yes, for the most part they are the Enterprise/Fawcett company out of Sackville. My uncle still cooks on his in fall and winter, I remember grandmother had hot water off it in winter, but they removed that part. We had one here to until dad remodeled the house. There are still a good many around in older houses. I was at one old home not many years ago, maybe 3, and the old lady was doing all the cooking on the wood stove in summer. No electric stove there. The old timer was enjoying the heat and it was probably 75 degrees outside. He spend all his spare time cutting firewood. Piles and piles of firewood all over the farm.

[doctorb]

We still have a working Harrowsmith wood stove from cental Ontario in our cabin.  May be 40-50 years old by now.  I had to replace the glass because of cracking and found out they have been out of business for some time.  Anyone else have one?

Doctorb

[StephenRice]

Found a bunch of really nice old wood stoves on ebay, both cooking and soapstone.

[thecfarm]

Stephen,here's one for you, oven and all.

 



This one is just like the one my Grandmother use to cook on when we was haying.It's a 6 burner Home Clarion.

[StephenRice]

Yeah, I really like that.  I would use it to cook as well.  The biggest drawback I see is that the ovens are too narrow for regular sized pizzas.  I guess I would be limited to the little ones.  Probably better for me anyways. 

Anyone care for wood fired oven baked pizza?

[SwampDonkey]

My uncle wants to upgrade to the Enterprise Monarch, that'll cook that pizza.

Reminds me of the tale of pizza and the dog. My mom's uncle never had pizza before. The kids cooked one and served. Uncle gave a portion to the dog. It wouldn't touch it. Uncle said he wasn't eat'n nothing a dog won't touch.

[StephenRice]

That Monarch is a really nice stove.  The oven is a little bit bigger too.  I just checked the specs and it said the oven is 17" wide  You just might be able to slide a 16" pizza pan in there.  If so, then that would be all that is needed.  Also, it looks like it might be just about big enough for a ham or turkey roaster pan.  That would make me happy.  Then, I would like to build myself a large soapstone heater if I could afford the soapstone.  I priced some new commercially made ones at $17,000, and you have to assemble (I should say, build) them yourself or pay someone to come do it.  Beautiful though... one 3-4 hour fire to provide heat for a 1,600 - 2,000 sf house for 12-20 hours.  I think that two burns a day used 35 lbs. of hardwood.

[StephenRice]

Yep, I am definitely in love with the Monarch.  They even have an optional "waterfront" which is a built in heat exchanger for connecting to your water heater.  How much do they cost?

[SwampDonkey]

I seem to recall around $3000 CDN. I believe there are dealers in the US.

[Ironwood]

Try Lehman Hardware (http://www.lehmans.com/store/Stoves___Cook_Stoves___Wood_Burning_Cook_Stoves?Args=&view_all=&sort_by=) in Kidron Ohio, they are one of the best non electric catalogs and sella ton of cookstoves. I think the other good one is Cumberland something or other.


 Ironwood

[cgk60]

We have an old earth stove that goes 24/7 great stove with a bi-metal air control.

[jpgreen]

Love my old Fisher.  Been heating our place with it now for 11 years.

It's one of the last models with the solid roll one piece top and cast doors with brass treeline design.

I burn all species on the property including green wood. It will hold a burn all night long with spare for the morning.

Ramp up a hot fire in the morning and the creosote flakes right off the flew into the stove. Never have to clean it.

I know folks who have new EPA cat converter stoves with nothing but problems unless they burn the perfect cord wood. Forgetabout it- they'll have to take my Fisher from my cold dead hands... 

[SwampDonkey]

I seen a nice little shop stove at Jeff's BIL's camp. It's just sitting there not used. 

[sandhills]

Anyone heard of buck stoves?  Went and looked at one tonight, I think the seller called it the "little buck stove" he replaced it with a bigger model.  I heard they are made in North Carolina, most around here are earth stoves that are made about 90 or so miles away.

[jpgreen]

I've got a buck stove that I used for years in my old home.  They are good stoves, and have a fan on a thermostat which is very nice as they recycle heat through a double wall around the firebox to your entire home.

I had (still have) the small buck- Baby Buck, and it's to small for this place. They probably are not as tight as the Fishers, but an excellent stove, if you have one large enough, for your needs. They made 3 sizes. They can either be set up as a free standing stove, or fireplace insert.  Very cool design.

I have a Sweet Home out in the shop,  no problems with it at all. Similar to the Fisher.

Flip through 70's mother earth news and you'll see all the good 70's stoves.

Fisher's add slogan was "One Match".... as it only takes one match to start your fire, and burn all year long.

It truly holds a slow warm burn all night long. I get up and open the doors- there's always a couple logs left- refill and let it ramp up hot for about 10 minutes.  The creosote flakes off the flue and cascades down into the firebox, then I shut it down.  Good for all day, then reload at night.

Safe and really self cleaning if you operate it correctly, and have your flue installed correctly.

[Al_Smith]

Buck like a lot of stove makers kind of  got started in the mid 70's .OPEC was playing games then just like now and there was a kind of a new found interest in wood burning .Fact during that period I sold firewood and did very well at it .

That kind of died out later when peoples wages caught up  to fuel prices but here of late has found more interest .

Those plate steel heavy gauge stoves are built like battle ships as were many of the higher grade stoves of the period .I have a Lopi glass front plate steel stove  from about that time period that heats the entire house with no problems on about 4-5 cords a year .Which is to say from about late November to early March .Anything warmer than that is too hard to control the heat .

I'm afraid two old folks sitting around in their underwear doesn't paint a pretty picture so except for  that cold period the geothermal unit takes over .

[SwampDonkey]

I guess we're still waiting for the wage increases here Al.

[Al_Smith]

Try Lehman Hardware (http://www.lehmans.com/store/Stoves___Cook_Stoves___Wood_Burning_Cook_Stoves?Args=&view_all=&sort_by=) in Kidron Ohio, they are one of the best non electric catalogs and sella ton of cookstoves. I think the other good one is Cumberland something or other.


 Ironwood

The website doesn't do the store justice .That place is like walking back in time a hundred years as are most parts of the towns of Kidron and Berlin .

Located in Holmes county Ohio ,right in a large settlement of the Amish .Furniture stores with the finest stuff on the planet .They say "Amish style " though not neccessarily hand made .Truth be known most is made on CNC machinery .In addition that area in Ohio is smack dab right in the oak country of Eastern Ohio ,saw mills every where .

If anyone is ever close it's certainly worth a days visit to look around that area .

[Holmes]

I have a Woodstock fireview soapstone stove with catalytic com-buster. It works great. There is a learning curve with this type of stove ,[ waiting 15 to 20 minutes to re engage the com-buster] but once you get the hang of it it's easy. It replaces my grand mothers glenwood model F kit. stove , uses less wood and puts out more heat.

[Jasperfield]

Sandhills,

The Buck Stove company is now "New Buck Corporation". The website is buckstove.com, and they are in Spruce Pine, NC. It's in Mitchell county right beside the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I went there just this past Tuesday, toured the factory, and discussed their business.

The company employs 80 full-time persons during their single-shift day, and produces every part, for every stove, from stock material. For quite some time they have been at capacity and are bringing new products into production.

The stoves are built stronger and heavier than they were in the 1970s. They offer non-catalytic, catalytic, and EPA exempt stove models. These stoves are not the frilly, dressy, stoves so often seen in retail. They are obviously very well made, honestly simple, and functionally attractive.

Everyone was actively working, and I didn't hear the phrase "I don't know..." even one time. And I asked lots of questions to lots of people.

My opinion of this privately held company is that it is quite well managed and capitalized. However, it could benefit by increasing product advertising, and capability exposure to other steel fabrication markets. And particularly in consideration of a plant expansion planned for next year

When I went there I didn't go to buy a stove, but I left with one... and they had my money. Now that's an impressive company!

[jpgreen]

I have no doubt Jasper- as I know even my old little buck is a darn good stove.

Heartwarming to hear about a continued successful American manufacturer.

Right now I'm burning dead heavy green- doug fir and pine, small diameter rounds and splits from 8-10" diameter green trees I cut down within the past 2 months. Some sooner.

Try that with an EPA stove.

With this 70's Fisher, that is tall and has quite a bit of headroom to the flue, it burns this wood hot once you get it going. Just place a few green on top every few hours.

Holds the house warm all night with fuel to go in the morning... 

[H60 Hawk Pilot]

I bought a Wonder Wood Stove (2941) with the furnace blower about two years ago for my work shop.. as end of year close out. I never used the little furnance or needed it until now. I just installed it at my house in North FL.  I'm trying something a little different here. I installed it at the one end of the house on the covered deck porch. The Wonderwood is just outside the door way with the correct stand off distance on all sides, basically a 8 x 8 insulated room that is now enclosed on the porch,  with a added 2nd door way as well. The porch has a tin roof also and I cut through it and fire proofed the 6 in. chimley going up through it.  I tested the stove and it works well and put's out a fair amount of heat for it's size (rated at 45 to 65 K BTU).

My plan is to route the heat to the cold air return that is 14 feet away from the central air/ heat system pick up; to disconnect the elec. 220 volt connections and use the Wonder Wood as the heat source. It should work Ok and distribute the heat to the other parts of the house by the house floor heat ducts. I bought a pusher fan to move the heat from the 8 x 8 room to the cold air return where the 220 elements are housed. The pusher fan in the 8 x 8 room is controlled by a themostat for that purpose. If the house thermostat will not work prpoerpy with the existing house blower, I will buy a 2nd system to trigger the blower system on the AC/ Heat unit for $ 40.00 bucks or so. Right now, I'm paying about $330.XX plus per month for heat in North FL and that's way too much for me.

I have looked at the type of stove's that the folk's have shown or talked about here in this post. I would consider buying something like these proven stoves but already owned the Wonderwood. This stove has a fair rating by the users and we will see what happen's. My house has an regular fireplace but does not heat anything put the living room and some of the kitchen area. The bed rooms are cold and then the elec. space heater's would come back in to play... and the elec. bill jumps up again. So I hope the Wonderwood is the wonderous answer... sort of rimes.. .   

[thecfarm]

Here's a company here in Maine that is saving the old stoves. Probaly most he rebuilds are in the NE area.

http://www.bryantstove.com/

It's quite a place to visit.He usually has 50 stoves to look at and buy. I have bought a few people there looking for parts for their old stove.
You guys are talking about a Buck stove. Probaly a whole differant animal but Bryant's have a Bucks Log Burner under their Log Burners for stove type.

[sandhills]

Thanks to Jasperfeild and everyone else for the info, I didn't buy the buck stove, now that it's 10 degrees and 40 mph wind i really wish I had.  We looked at the bigger buck stove the owner had replaced it with and WOW did it put out a lot of heat.  I was looking at it more for my parents house but I don't think their chimeny would handle the heat, it's old and doesn't have a liner so decided against it.  It was cheap enough should have bought anyway,  I'd have found a use for it eventually.

[Mooseherder]

Thanks for posting that link cfarm.
I'll have to visit their store one day.

[jpgreen]

Thanks to Jasperfeild and everyone else for the info, I didn't buy the buck stove, now that it's 10 degrees and 40 mph wind i really wish I had.  We looked at the bigger buck stove the owner had replaced it with and WOW did it put out a lot of heat.  I was looking at it more for my parents house but I don't think their chimeny would handle the heat, it's old and doesn't have a liner so decided against it.  It was cheap enough should have bought anyway,  I'd have found a use for it eventually.

That's what I do. I by one, when I see a deal. I have 4 now and use 3- the buck is going in a Rental, one in the shop, course one in the house, one extra.

[36 coupe]

A friend cant handle wood any more so he has a pellet stove.His dealer delivers the pellets and stacks them in his garage, no extra charge.Pellets are in good supply here and the price is stable.He uses 1 bag a day and  brings in a pail full at a time, no need to handle a 40 pound bag.pellets can be bought at times when you have the cash.You dont have to buy a ton at a time.Not easy to buy sawed cordwood around here.I cut my own but do buy from friends who have extra wood on hand.Pellet stoves have their place.We havent had a long term power outage in 12 years.Some pellet stoves have battery backup and there are small generators for 200.00 that will run a pellet stove.