traded my hurricane wood stove for a fisher

[Riverrat]

I have been running a hurricane wood stove for several years and was happy with it except you couldn't stoke the wood to it. I finally got a deal on a fisher grandma Bear stove. I swapped them out sunday night. I cant believe the difference in the 2 stoves heat wise. Major difference in there outputs. What are some of the stoves you all run

[iddee]

This is the one I used until I was no longer healthy enough to feed it.


http://www.taylormfg.com/waterstove-brochure.html

Thermostat controlled and would heat the whole house with capacity to spare, plus my hot water.

[Gypsi]

Made in Taiwan probably in the 50's, found at an estate sale in 2005 or 2006:

[Perry]

I haven't burned wood since the 80's, but when I did I had one of these. It was great!

http://owensound.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-home-renovation-materials-heating-cooling-air-Wood-Chief-wood-stove-for-sale-W0QQAdIdZ507048240

[Crofter]

This Drolet HT2000  heater made in Quebec Canada is from 5/ 16 plate with a cast iron and refractory baffle and all stainless air injector systsem

It has a very high efficiency rating and large firebox that will take would either crosswise or fore and aft.

I think that, like most modern high efficiency heaters it does not do a good job with unseasoned wood unless you really let it go. Throttle them down and they tend to soot the pipes.

I have a Kitchen Queen, Mennonite made cook stove as well with a stainless inside coil that will heat my  water tank but takes too much babysitting to make sure you dont boil the tap water!

[Lburou]

In Alaska, we used a Buck stove and we were happy with it.  Now, near Fort Worth, Texas, we use an unlabeled stove with the chimney and flue built around it.  Looks like an insert, but its not.  We heat 2750 square feet with it.  Like Crofter reports, green wood burns, but you need to give it a lot of air flow.

FWIW, we retrofitted our attic insulation.  We closed the air vents, took out the ceiling insulation and sprayed the bottom of the roof decking with 8 inches of open cell foam.  We would typically use 1200-1700 kwh per month heating and cooling 1600 square feet.  Then we added 1150 square feet and made the insulation change.  Monthly usage now is about the same as before the addition.  Woohoo!  :-D

[LazyBkpr]

Not sure it counts as a wood STOVE, as its more of a wood furnace......


    This is what heats our house.   The fire box has a water jacket, and the water is pumped through heat exchangers that heat both the floor of the house and the water in the hot water heater.
   Sol far, we have used 0% of our propane despite the horribly cold winter.







   I upgraded the one they wanted to sell us because I wanted the larger fire box, and it has proven to be a good choice. I put a bit of wood in it in the morning, then pack it full at night..  thats it, done!!!   Of course that doesnt include cutting all the wood...
   I built a wood shed around it thats 24 by 24 and typically run six rows of wood about as high as I can reach..  this year I stacked the six rows to the 9 foot rafters, and have already burned through half of Februarys wood, despite having EXTRA wood..  Not going to be fun cutting more wood in this cold... so it may be time to use some of that saved propane!!!   We also have electric heat... The AC System we installed will also HEAT so we actually have three different methods to heat the house...
   Green wood?  Toss it in! It has a power damper with a blower. If there is a SINGLE coal left in the fire box I think you could get wet burlap to burn in this thing.
   I have to say, that the heated floors are the most COMFORTABLE heat I have ever experienced.   There is a lot to be said for the direct heat of a wood stove putting you to sleep after a long day outside in the wind and cold, but these floors make you want to curl up on them and go to sleep.
     the benefit of the heated water going to the hot water heater cant be overlooked!!  I had a custom shower built.. a concrete shower, with TWO shower heads, and a clear glass door, just in case I had already taken a shower, I could WATCH...  A chair, a Drink, and LOTS of cheering..   MORE SOAP!! MORE SOAP!!!!  MORE SHAMPOO!!!
   You can feel the heat increase as the water in the hot water heater begins to exchange with the water from the wood stove..  "WE" can take a shower two hours long and never run out of hot water..
   OH the advantages of building your own house!

[robo]

On my 18 yr with a Central Boiler CL17. 

One of my better investments.    It is about 125 feet from the house.  No smoke, ash, wood and dirt in the house.   Very efficient compared with other brands.   Technology has come a long way in 18yrs.   I replaced the underground pipe 2 years ago and now only loose 1 degree in water temp from stove to house.

Get my domestic hot water from it as well.

[Crofter]

I havent looked into the wood fired remote boilers for quite a while. They must have worked a lot of the bugs out of them but there used to be a lot of controversy. Neighbors complaining about smouldering smoke between hot cycles and overall ineficiency. They have been banned in a lot of municipalities. A lot of that  inefficiency was from line loss because people cheaped out on the pricey insulated runs. Some models had bad corrosion problems and I have personally been head first into quite a few doing repairs and chasing pitting. I finally refused to work on the inside shell.

Where they really shine is where you have a source of cheap ugly gnarly wood. I know one tree service fellow just loves it. He loads it with his bobcat. Not much splitting there!

[robo]

Just like everything,  you get what you pay for.

I did a lot of research before buying mine and Central Boiler came out on top.   I paid a little more,  but was well worth it in the long run.   Back then,  the only method for burying the pipes was to clam shell the lines between two 4" pieces of blue Styrofoam board.   Very inefficient if you had high ground water.  You could loose up to 20 degrees in water temp depending on the run.   Now there is some excellent options available, but it is not cheap.   I paid $12/ft for the line I have now and that was getting it at dealer cost.   It is 4"  Black ABS  that has the two 1" PEX lines in the center and filled with expandable insulation.   It is one piece, so no way for water to get to the PEX.   First winter I had it on the ground and the snow did not melt that was laying on it.   

I burn a lot of soft wood (pine/hemlock)  and get most of it free and delivered by the tree removal guys.

My Dad also got one a couple years after me,  so his is going on 16 years.    His did have a small stress crack in a weld a few years back,  but a little brazing fixed it and it has been fine since.

Ours are the old side draft models and I dread the day when I need to replace it, as all the new ones have catalytic converters on them
 

[Riverrat]

Here is the Fisher grandma bear we put in to replace the Hurricane. This little thing is a heating machine

[Gypsi]

will want something different for my next house, but compared to my electric central heat that ducts through the attic and fails to heat my house, I love my little "made in taiwan" woodstove. All of yours are a marvel though!

[Finally Home]

I'm on my 6th year with Central Boiler.  Not a single complaint.  Might change out the rope seal this year but other than that its be flawless.  With the insulated water lines they sell you can actually run them on top of the ground if you install in the winter with minimal heat loss.  Its insulated that well.
Same as Robo, did lots of research before choosing.

[Dunkel]

I'm a Fisher guy myself.  Mom and Dad have had a Poppa Bear as their only source of heat since 78.  I used another one as my only source for 10 years before we built the house.  Little brother still using that one ten years later.  I have another in the basement and a Fisher insert upstairs going now.  There are much more efficient stoves out there now and those outside furnaces sure seem nice. 

Hard to find too much fault in something that has keep me and mine warm and toasty for over 35 years.  Had so many meals cooked on one I couldn't even begin to count,  even warmed the boys bottles on one. The hot water to make tea anytime growing up was something I thought everyone did in the winter, when coming in from school or feeding.

[blueblood]

This is what I burn with.  I feel very strongly about it being the one of the best on the market. 
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Englander-2-200-sq-ft-Wood-Burning-Stove-30-NCH/100291302