Best wood stove in the midwest?

[thestartupman]

Do you have a wood stove that you think does a really good job for you? If so, could you list it here, and mention what you like about it, and maybe what you don't like? I ask for stoves from the Midwes, because they seem to be very regional. So please list what part of the country you are in while responding. I can say that if you live in the Pacific NW, I would recommend Lopi stoves.

[badlander]

We are in North East Missouri and went to using a Century EPA wood stove last year. So far it has cut down our wood consumption by about a half from our general usage with a Vogelzang Box Wood Stove.

I have to admit I miss cooking on that old Vogelzang, though.

[VERN in IL]

Originally Posted by badlander

We are in North East Missouri and went to using a Century EPA wood stove last year. So far it has cut down our wood consumption by about a half from our general usage with a Vogelzang Box Wood Stove.

I have to admit I miss cooking on that old Vogelzang, though.

So how many cords do you go through now?

[badlander]

We are commuting right now. Working 3 days and at our homestead the rest of the time so we started last winter with about 3 cords and had about 1 and a half left. Since our residency is up we are probably going to be using more this year but still expecting our general usage to be down. If you are planning to heat with wood go with an EPA stove. A keeper log or two with the damper clamped down will still habe glowing coals for you in the morning.

[sugarspinner]

We have a RiteBurn, made in central PA but sold by Amish dealers throughout the midwest. It is built much like the old Riteway stoves. It holds heat well and easily heated our 8-room house. It was also great for cooking and even comes with an optional warming shelf.

We also have a small, older Jotul that we use in the far part of the house during exceptionally cold spells or when there is much cold wind.

[1shotwade]

You don't seem to be getting a lot of replies so I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. The best if you can do it is the outside wood boilers. Many advantages. Sorry to sa I can't afford them. Back in 1980 I saw a "LILLY" for the first time and was hooked.I found a used one that year and have burnt 8(real cord) of mixed hard wood in it every year to this date. I am heating 3600 feet of poorly insulated space and I use less than 200 gal of propane for back up heat when we are gone or it's extremely cold.
The first time Dad saw it,he had to have one and 2 weeks later he found a used one.Mon still uses it today.My brother built a log home and has a "LILLY" in the basement and swears by it!The only repairs on these three stoves since 1980 has been a blower on mine and a blower on my brothers that was bad when he bought it.
They have a 18x24 brick lined fire box with lower ash pan cleanout door,draft damper,adjustable forced air blower and 8" discharge.If you get one it'll take 4 people to move it after you remove the doors,grating and fire brick but they just don't die!
The company went out of bus. when the epa reg changed in (I think)1983 but you'll not find a better stove.Everyone I know that has ever seen one wanted one.Only available used of course but well worth searching out and can be had in the $500 range.
Good luck! Hope this helps!

Wade

[ET1 SS]

I do not understand the regional part of this.

We am in New England and we have a Vogelzang woodstove in our home and it heats water for our radiant flooring.

We go through about 3 1/2 cords / year.

[Plendlful]

We had a small Lopi last year that we liked, but it wasn't big enough to heat our house, it's big and drafty, and poorly insulated (the house, not the stove) We got a great deal on a "King" stove from US Stove company, and we're on our first year with it here. We're on the Iowa/Minnesota border. We have 4 cords of mixed mid range BTU wood set to burn this winter, hoping it will be plenty!

[homemaid]

We are in Michigan. We have a Central Boiler Outdoor Woodstove and love it. All the mess is outside, we have unlimited hot water. We heat a 2800 sq. ft farmhouse and 3- car garage. We use about 4 cord of wood per year.

[thestartupman]

The only reason I ask by region, is because some stoves you can only get in certain areas of the country, and I am trying to find a better stove to use in MO. Plediful, where did you get your Lopi at? I thought they could only be bought in the Pacific NW. I really liked my Lopi when I lived there.

[ET1 SS]

I think that any woodstove dealer, may decide to carry any line of woodstoves that he/she wishes to carry.

We have shopped woodstoves online before, as far as I recall every online dealer will ship them to you.

For a while my Dw was focused on getting a cookstove. We found that there is a wonderful array of them being manufactured, all around the nation.



Here is the website for Lopi: http://www.lopistoves.com/

Here is there app for locating the nearest dealer: http://www.lopistoves.com/dealer-locator.aspx

There are three dealers near me [in Maine]

There look to be three dealers near St. Louis. One to the West near 'Washington Mo'. One to the East near 'Breese Mo'. and one to the South near 'Farmington Mo'.

[willow_girl]

We bought a Hitzer coal stove last year, although we also burn wood in it. Keeps the house warm on 3 pallets a day!

[Chuck R.]

I don’t know about “best” but we have a Hearthstone “Heritage” model soapstone stove:

http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/store/wood-products/wood-stoves/heritage#

It burns about 6-7 hours on a load and then radiates heat for about another 8 hrs. We usually only burn it when we’re home in the evenings and will go through about a load in a half. In the morning when I get up, it’s still radiating heat.

We ordered it from KC, MO and they have dealers in KS/MO and IF there’s not one close, they will sell direct.



It’s got a pretty good sized window, for chilling out and watching the “fire channel”.

Chuck

[Plendlful]

Originally Posted by thestartupman

The only reason I ask by region, is because some stoves you can only get in certain areas of the country, and I am trying to find a better stove to use in MO. Plediful, where did you get your Lopi at? I thought they could only be bought in the Pacific NW. I really liked my Lopi when I lived there.

We bought ours used off of craigslist from a man in Minnesota. He said he bought it from a dealer up in his neck of the woods. DH says there is a dealer in Albert Lea MN.

[Plendlful]

That's a beautiful stove Chuck. I've got a bit of stove envy

[Chuck R.]

Originally Posted by Plendlful

That's a beautiful stove Chuck. I've got a bit of stove envy

It really does work well, but it’s not the kind of stove you’d use for “instant” heat, as it takes a while for the stone to heat up. Also, due to our ICF construction, the stove has to have an external air intake to draft properly.

We’ve burned a couple times this year already as we’ve had a couple nights below freezing. With our combination of ICF construction, passive solar, and the geothermal unit, we really don’t go through much wood. On sunny days, the passive solar effect alone keeps the house in the mid-high 60s, so we use the woodstove to "top it of".

Chuck

[hippygirl]

Originally Posted by ET1 SS

I think that any woodstove dealer, may decide to carry any line of woodstoves that he/she wishes to carry.

Here is the website for Lopi: http://www.lopistoves.com/

Here is there app for locating the nearest dealer: http://www.lopistoves.com/dealer-locator.aspx

There are three dealers near me [in Maine]

There look to be three dealers near St. Louis. One to the West near 'Washington Mo'. One to the East near 'Breese Mo'. and one to the South near 'Farmington Mo'.

Just out of curiosity, I looked for a dealer close to me in e-central Alabama and found three within 100 miles (closest was 25 miles).

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by hippygirl

Just out of curiosity, I looked for a dealer close to me in e-central Alabama and found three within 100 miles (closest was 25 miles).

Sweet.

I really do not think that there is such a thing as a 'regional' woodstove. All stoves are shipped to dealers, where ever those dealers are located.

[jhambley]

We just built a new house and installed a Blaze King Princess (Pedestal Model)

http://www.blazeking.com/EN/wood-princess.html

It's the top selling stove in Alaska and can hold a fire all night long. We bought ours from Swims & Sweeps in Lawrence Kansas.

Hearth.com is a great resource for learning more about a particular stove. They have a very active forum with owners of all the major brands participating.

[Country Lady]

We have a Buck fireplace insert. It's the only wood stove we've ever had, so I have no experience with anything else to compare it to, but it heats the whole house. (2250 sq. ft) We've heated almost totally with wood since 2005.