So, let's talk woodstoves...
Theo and I touched on this a bit a few posts above. I know a little about them, but enough to say I know exactly what I want. Here is what I do know that I want:
- a freestanding woodburner with a door on the front (that closes to seal the firebox) with glass to view the fire
- something that burns fairly efficiently
- reasonable, low cost
I have seen a Vogelzang unit that has the look I seek, but don't know if it's just a piece of consumer junk.
Well timing is everything. We (JWHAP AND I) just installed the
Vogelzang Defender. WE am very happy with this wood stove. It is no skippy junk model. California has VERY stringent EPA standards when it comes to wood stoves and this stove was one of the few that meets those standards. This stove is a very solidly build cast iron stove with a brick lined fired box. Nice large window. It heats up nicely and burns efficiently. We am very happy with it. A tip, if you have a Harbor Freight near you then you can order it directly through them. They will ship it to your nearest store for
nothing and will load it into your truck (4 Runner in my case). Everyone else wanted over $125 to ship the stove to us. The stove is dang heavy (250 pounds) but I lifted it out of my truck by myself, of course, despite my softish appearance I'm a manly man. DIED yelled at me for lifting it myself but I got the job done.
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That's a very good point on the chimney regarding location on the structure. I want to keep it very simple, so an insulated metal stainless steel stack might be where I'm going. I don't want another unit downstairs; just the unit upstairs in the main living area.
Doesn't the flue have to have a couple of bends to draft correctly?
If I go thru the roof where it is currently located, the stack is gonna be pretty tall (and spindly) to make it up the same height as the ridge. Maybe I run the flue up from the stove, inside the structure and follow the interior roof line until it is closer to the peak; then exit....?
Tell me about the chimney cleaning thing. What is involved and how bad is it?
Chimney parts can be purchased from both Northern Tool and
Harts Hearth. The Harts Hearth website (and telephone support) are very helpful in helping you determine what is needed for your chimney, however they are more pricey than Northern Tool. Ultimately we used a combination of Harts Hearth and Northern Tool. Oh and by the way Northern Tool had a lot of chimney parts that were not in their catalogs. Prepare to spend some money on chimney parts. Our chimney cost more than the wood stove (somewhere around a grand, since you are planning a two story structure the cost will be higher). Duraplus is the brand name of chimney parts we used (black stove pipe inside and double walled stainless outside) it is very well rated. Another tip is that the inside "black" pipe should be sealed with high temp sealant, we used 800 plus degrees Direct Vent Sealant, this will prevent any inside chimney pipe leaks. We chose a "through the wall" type of installation, rather than cut a hole in our brand new roof. JWHAP and I did the entire install, including cutting the wall hole and mounting the chimney pipes in one day. Duraplus has an elbow that is designed as a clean out access as well. You can order wall anchoring straps and a roof anchor strap. Once the chimney and all of the anchor straps are installed it is very solid. .
Ricki did all of the research and designed our chimney, I did the stove research. All in all we am very happy with the entire installation. The wood stove works great, heats up quickly, and provides great heat. The chimney drafts fantastically and IHMO looks great.
