Wood Burning Stove from Tractor Supply?

Not a fan of TSC. A neighbor got promoted to manager and then demoted herself because of the BS. Suitable for use in a mobile home means that it has passed a somewhat expensive qualifying test that most manufacturers don't want to fool with. That is about it. In general, a stove designed for a mobile home would be more likely to have heat shields and less usable heat output.

Before deciding between the devil and the deep blue sea, check Craigslist and want ads.
You might find a decent used stove. With a new installation, you MUST plan on about $1,000 just for the proper chimney pipe to meet insurance requirements and code. Be sure to figure that into your costs.

__________________
George Washington did not run and hide.

We looked at the stoves at TSC,hemmed and hawed,ended up getting a deal at Lowes,seems to work fine,of course as we know little to nothing about wood stoves take our opinions with a grain of salt.
This is what we bought:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_144090-46631...r|1&facetInfo=

It was on sale,think it was less than $600.

I guess THIS winter will be the one to tell us what it is really like.

__________________
https://www.facebook.com/FlipFlopFarms

I am still using my Sotz barrel kit I bought in early 80s so not experienced with Chinese stoves or with high dollar American or Swedish stoves.

However if I had to buy an "approved" stove for whatever reason, i would look for a used Jotul in good condition. I've seen their largest stove go used for around money you are going to pay for the TSC stove new. Too big for my current needs, but boy what a deal. Be like $2500 or more new I think.

The trouble with Jotuls is that they are expensive and people undersize them, buying according to their wallet rather than their actual needs. Then they overfire them leaving door ajar or whatever. This warps the plates and turns it into non-airtight junk unless you want to weld it together. I've seen several of the old smaller Jotul box stoves that were abused and ruined in such a manner. Shame cause if I were going to give up my old Sotz stove for an "approved"stove, one of those old small Jotul box stoves would be the stove I would want. It would be about same size as my Sotz and it would be air tight cast iron that would never rust out in my lifetime.

On other hand I've given some thought to one of the Chinese/Taiwan non-airtight cast iron box stoves like TSC and others sell, wondering how to redesign and modify it to be air tight. That stupid front door design on them with the little hearth thing makes it very difficult (I'm sure they designed it that way so it would be very difficult to make airtight), but I dont think it would be impossible. Take bunch of nickel rod though so wouldnt be cheap to do all that welding. Naw be better to look for used Jotul that hadnt been abused.

__________________
"What would you do with a brain if you had one?" -Dorothy

"Well, then ignore what I have to say and go with what works for you." -Eliot Coleman

I just went over to TSC and looked at the stove on sale for 399 good for 1100 sq ft , I dont think it would heat that much it cant hold too much wood, not enough for me to heat, I have had Old Mill stoves, they were really good..

That's not the first story I've heard of someone being promoted then returning to their previous position. I know of two assistant managers who did as Harry Chickpea described--went from asst. manager to manager then within a couple months back to asst., and two cashiers/floor help who were promoted to 'team lead' and then resigned and went back to cashiering/floor help. My position was fixed, so I stayed put. There was a saying among the employees of TSC.... "It's all responsibility, but no authority". Meaning you were of course responsible for everything, but had no authority to make even the most minor policy or procedure changes that would have made jobs easier as well as customer service better. That's one reason people don't like TSC. The employee relation problems start at the top, with the CEO, CFO, and human resources.

Do you need to remove all of the firebrick and then oil the metal? Seems like a pain in the patoot.

__________________
"Only the rocks [and really embarassing moments] live forever"

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands..." tick-tick-tick

I guess buying woodstoves is kinda like buying used cars.

Each person has his own idea of what will work for him and what he has budgeted. I like Hearthstone, I recommend them highly...but I think our initial poster probably doesn't want to spend a couple of grand (or over) for their new stove. And while barrel stoves work well in the right applications, I don't think mama would let one in her house. Woodstoves are about performance and aesthetics, at least around here (darn there's that car analogy stuff again).

A good deal on a used stove can be found...if one is patient, has cash in hand when the time comes and doesn't have an immediate need...just like finding a great deal on a used car. Sometimes, though, we have to settle for the best deal we can find, on what fits our needs at the moment.

Interesting views on TSC, they have been great to us and the reason they use the phone numbers from what I understand is tracking regional buying trends and in our case, to show we are farm tax exempt.

As for the stove, I think most of the comments have been pretty on and for that price, if I had to replace it in 15 - 20 years who cares. We were given one of the small ones that heat about 900 sq feet for our new shop (never used but probably 5 - 10 years old) that I havent installed yet but that one your looking at would be my choice for my shop if I had the money. I like keeping a percolater on top or a pot of something when I'm working....the smells alone are worth it.

__________________
www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

I would think so. I can only tell you that thorough cleaning and then oiling metal down in spring after last use will greatly prolong the life of a barrel in barrel stove. Some years I do, some years I dont quite get there for some reason.... I've seen plate steel stoves rust out exactly same way as barrels, usually takes little longer since they are thicker. I suppose if you made a stove out of one inch plate, it would pretty much last forever whatever you did.

But hey its only money, right?

__________________
"What would you do with a brain if you had one?" -Dorothy

"Well, then ignore what I have to say and go with what works for you." -Eliot Coleman

TS wanted my zip code when I tried to look up the price of the stove you are looking at. The reason sees to be that they charge more at different locations depending on how much competition there is. To me, this borders on dishonest. Anyway, the price in the Twin Cities is $600. Some of you check the price in your neighborhood and post them. I'm interested to see if what I suspect is true.

There are some manufacturers in most product lines that controll the price of their products. I know it's supposed to be illeagle but they get away with it by pulling the dealership of business that run unauthorised sales. The manufacturers that don't do that are usually better values although the product may not be as good. The trick is to find a manufacturer that make a quality product and allows competition.

I just bought a new wood stove because I am going to live up here this winter. I wanted one that could handle -40 and burn all night. I got the Drolet HT 2000 for $1000 at Mills Fleet Farm. Their regular price is $1100 and Northern Tool's is $1200. The Drolet has a 5/16 inch thick top and weighs over 500 pounds. Cabin Fever once counseled me to judge the quality of a wood stove by the weght.

You don't say where you live exactly but a smaller version should work well for you unless you live in Maine. The US Stove company sounds good but I think the Drolet is better quality. They make different sizes so maybe a smaller one than the one I bought would work for you. Mills Fleet Farm advertised the next size down, the Austral, for $700 earlier this fall. Maybe it will go on sale again. Check out MFF's web site. If you don't have a nearby MFF, maybe you can use the prices to price match a local supplier.

Be sure to check out Obominations stimulus money tax rebate of 10 % of the purchase price, up to a $300 credit. I think the stove has to be at least 75% efficient.

The price in poor rural Missouri is $599.99 for that stove so it looks like your only getting screwed by a buck.

__________________
www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

TSC tracks buying trends (as well as other trends such as theft, defective merchandise etc) by inventory at the store level; in other words what does and does not sell best in a given region. That's why inventory will vary slightly from location to location within a group district and vary widely from region to region. For example, snow fence sells well in the plains states but it's not kept in distribution centers (and the SKU for it isn't even turned on) in the southeast and most southwest states. My job was mainly inventory control and loss prevention as well as receiving. The prices of items do vary by location, and whether or not it's bought online or at a store. The UL listed stove that is rated for mobile homes was, last time I worked there, $799.00 and that was the price for all stores in our district. Regionally though, it was different. The reason they want your phone number or name is for their customer database. That information, if you provide it, will bring up your customer information for tax exempt status, although it will also be used to mail sale circulars. ETA at the time I left TSC, there was talk about using customer information to track number and frequency of customer returns in order to minimize 'shrink'. Don't know if they started doing that or not. Also, I received conflicting information from corporate about large volume sales of fertilizer. If customer John Doe bought half a pallet of 13-13-13 and gave his phone number at checkout, would this cause some sort of red flag for homeland security or other governmental agencies. I was told yes was told no. We DID have a DHS agent come by the store about once a month to examine purchase orders and sale and inventory reports on fertilizers. Had to keep a file for that information. That file included sale reports by SKU # and if phone numbers were given, the phone numbers and if they were present in the system, the names and addresses of purchasers.

Thanks for the detailed information, JuliaAnn.

__________________
Become Psychic by Becoming Aware

3 Easy Techniques to Improve Your Psychic Abilities

Maybe a wood cook stove?
I know it's a different critter but you may say "that fits"

http://www.golsn.com/listings/collec...s/2107841.html

http://www.golsn.com/listings/collec...s/2352985.html

I like the stove in the top ad
jim