New Wood Stove

Early in March, they finally installed our new wood stove.   It is a Vermont Castings Encore. 

The day they finished the installation, we turned the furnace down to 55 and it has never turned on since.  We've gone through about a face cord of wood [4 x 8 x 18in] in a month.   It's good to know this so we can plan for how much wood to have on hand at the beginning of every winter.

I cannot say enough nice things about this stove.   It was worth every penny [and there were a lot of pennies!].   It's easy to learn, easy to control and keeps the space very cozy.    I love it. 

I bought two fans for the top.   They are pricey, so wait until you find them on sale [I got mine 1/2 price at the end of the season].    These really move the warm air around the space, which keeps the corner from overheating [you can put your hand on the wall behind the stove and it's warm, but that's all] and helps direct the warm air where we need it.   I love them. 

I also got a second ash pan so that when the stove is going non-stop, we can switch the full ash pan out in the morning and let it cool before we have to empty it.

The stove will stay in this space in the house, but the house will drastically change around it.   We used this opportunity to try out the white subway tile [on sale!] on the walls and the lighter grout on the floor.   I'm not thrilled with either, so it was nice to be able to try them in a smaller area, live with it for a while and know what adjustments to make for the long haul [darker grout on walls and floor, probably different tile on the walls around the stove.   I love the white subway tile for a bathroom/kitchen though [with darker grout] and I love the floor tile and will use it everywhere we have tile floors in the house]

New Wood Stove

I finally decided on a wood stove.    This is the one I bought.  Vermont Castings, Encore.  [photo from their site]

Yes, it was expensive. But I got a discount for buying in July.   I went with the enamel finish because we live on a gravel road and have you ever tried dusting one of the plain cast iron ones?    I have.  Never again.  So we went with the more expensive, but ultimately easier to clean and therefore less stressful enamel.

It's a flex burn, which means we can do a super efficient catalytic burn or just a plain old burn.  Either way, it's a pretty efficient stove so we could go with the smaller size of the Encore instead of the Defiant.    I chose the brown, with a matte black chimney.    It will go against slate tile about the same colors as the mat below the stove above. 

With the money I saved from the summer purchase, I was able to get a heat activated fan that sits on the stove, a nice galvanized wood holder and a nice tool set, as well as a second ash pan so we can leave one to cool completely before we need to dump it.  

Why this stove?   I haunted forums and read dozens and dozens of reviews.   There are much cheaper stoves out there and some of them are very good.   I wanted to make this decision one time.   Everyone that I read loved this stove and it received the highest marks in consumer testing.  Also, I like the way it looks.  

Still a lot of construction to go so it will be Halloween before install.   I'll keep you updated.