Wood stove recommendations

MiddlepointBight

MiddlepointBight

Well-Known Member
Hi all. I am hoping to get some information / reviews from anyone who's recently bought and used a new wood stove. I have been around wood stoves most of my life, but "met my wife in the middle" between not getting a wood stove, and getting one that looks contemporary in a reno we just did. Long story short, we got a beautiful looking wood stove, which I think works like **** (Supreme Novo 24). I curse the damn thing every day. It seems some of these EPA 2020 stoves essential starve the burn of air, even with the flu wide open.

The deal-breaker for me with this stove is that you have to wait for a fire to burn entire down to coals before re-opening the door (even says this in the owner's manual) - i.e. you cannot tinker with the fire at all, or add more wood without smoke billowing into the room (until it's fully burnt down, and even when it's right down to coals, smoke still comes out). There's just not enough draw up the chimney. WETT tech installed, to code. It's not the installation or setup. Using cured wood that burns well, but only get a burn time of maybe 4h.

Anyhow, I'm planning on changing stoves in January, and was wondering if anyone has any experience with either of the below linked stoves (REGENCY CLASSIC™ F2450 or the PACIFIC ENERGY SUPER 27 LE). Both of these come highly recommended, and I have an older (2014) REGENCY CLASSIC™ F2400M on the Sunshine Coast, and it's fantastic. Not sure if the new EPA 2020 standards have changed the operation or performance though.

Thanks in advance for any help!
MPB


 
I have a True North, which is a subsidiary of Pacific energy. Purchased in the last 4 years in my house. I love it. I also have an Enerzone in my shop, I love it also, bought in the last 3 years. I can feed it anytime and it warms up 2000 sq. ft easily. None of them are catalytic converter.
 
I’ve also got a 5-6 year old pacific energy wood stove. It’s very similar to what’s in the link you posted. I Can’t remember the model off the top of my head but it’s one of the bigger ones. I can also open it up anytime to add wood or stoke the flames. Just have to crack the door for a second or two before fully opening it or it will pull a bit of smoke into the room. It’s a good heat throwing stove that heats our drafty old house no problem. It’s our main source of heat and we burn 5-6 cords of wood a year. May seem like a lot but where we are we typically start it at the beginning of October and don’t stop burning until end of March. I’m sure you already know but if it’s rated for 2000 square feet and you house is close to that you’ll have to have it ripping all the time to effectively heat it. We went with a stove capable of heating 3000 sf and our place is around 1700 and we don’t find the need to max it out.

*edit: It’s a pacific energy “Summit” model. For medium to large spaces.
2A468A21-E07E-407C-B348-D924E188790D.jpeg
 
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For what it’s worth, we just installed a Hearthstone Green Mountain 70 insert (not a free-standing stove but same technology). It is wonderful, burns very clean, very hot, and nice and long. But we do have the same issue with smoke spillage. I think it is just this new clean-burning technology. Ours has “air-wash” or something (not catalytic) and it keeps the window very clean, but I think it affects the draft when the door opens. Love it in all other respects.

On the other hand, our 30 year old Vermont Castings stove at the cabin draws like a vacuum, never smokes, love it. But it’s definitely not as efficient.
 

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MiddlepointBight said:
Hi all. I am hoping to get some information / reviews from anyone who's recently bought and used a new wood stove. I have been around wood stoves most of my life, but "met my wife in the middle" between not getting a wood stove, and getting one that looks contemporary in a reno we just did. Long story short, we got a beautiful looking wood stove, which I think works like **** (Supreme Novo 24). I curse the damn thing every day. It seems some of these EPA 2020 stoves essential starve the burn of air, even with the flu wide open.

The deal-breaker for me with this stove is that you have to wait for a fire to burn entire down to coals before re-opening the door (even says this in the owner's manual) - i.e. you cannot tinker with the fire at all, or add more wood without smoke billowing into the room (until it's fully burnt down, and even when it's right down to coals, smoke still comes out). There's just not enough draw up the chimney. WETT tech installed, to code. It's not the installation or setup. Using cured wood that burns well, but only get a burn time of maybe 4h.

Anyhow, I'm planning on changing stoves in January, and was wondering if anyone has any experience with either of the below linked stoves (REGENCY CLASSIC™ F2450 or the PACIFIC ENERGY SUPER 27 LE). Both of these come highly recommended, and I have an older (2014) REGENCY CLASSIC™ F2400M on the Sunshine Coast, and it's fantastic. Not sure if the new EPA 2020 standards have changed the operation or performance though.

Thanks in advance for any help!
MPB


Click to expand...

PE Super 27 LE would be my pick. Yes EPA standards had changed. They get worse every year.

The PE Super LE changed some years back to a different baffle system. It burns cleaner to pass EPA immisions to be certified.

The trick with any Super27 firebox is you have to get a good bed of coals before hammering it into low burn. That way you ensure your getting secondary combustion and the airwash system keeps glass clean.

As far as operation pretty simple to operate. When they test at PE that's what is done in the lab for certification.

Not a fan of Regency personally. Have tested against super27 before. That was a while back, so firebox technology may have changed.

Only other stove vs PE would be a jotul for wood burning. They are nice stoves and design is pretty advanced. More expensive though.
 
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Last Year I bought an EPA 2020 Drolet Escape 1500 from a Quebec outfit who beat the local price and delivered for free. Had used an older Drolet for 30 years and liked it enough to stay on brand. I'm wood only and it cut my wood use by 20%. They say that highest efficiency is load and burn down and it is but my wife insists on stick at a time and that works too, just not as well. I'm feeding a tall 8" square masonry flue though, so draft isn't an problem.
Canadian Tire distributes out here and currently beats the Quebec outfit price.
 
Have a regency alterra ci1150 insert, the room it’s in is very air tight and also has a return air for the furnace if I don’t crack the patio door open it’s very hard to get the draft going and will smoke the space out quickly. Most modern homes are well sealed and may have drafting issues that could cause some of these symptoms not an expert but running your dryer, range,furnace etc all requires makeup air try cracking a window or door for a minute before opening the stove and see if the problem persists.
 
Another thing to remember when buying is really most of any of these stoves have same firebox to limit certifications which are expensive. The Pacific Energy True north was just simplified super27 made cheaper for different market. Alderleas, etc. and pretty much many of the PE line uses same firebox. So do the inserts. They just slap on different trims to make it look different. All manufacturers do this. Not sure about the newer lines.

The only thing I never liked with the newer Super 27 was harder to light then then the old Super 27. That was sort of the
tradeoff when it was tested....
 
Islandgirl said:
I have a True North, which is a subsidiary of Pacific energy. Purchased in the last 4 years in my house. I love it. I also have an Enerzone in my shop, I love it also, bought in the last 3 years. I can feed it anytime and it warms up 2000 sq. ft easily. None of them are catalytic converter.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I guess the real question / concern is that any of these stove models bought (new) after May 2020 had to be EPA 2020 certified. So, I'm guessing if the Pacific Energy stove you have is not EPA 2020?

That seems to be the real kicker. The higher emission standards have really impacted the operation and function of a lot of these stoves. There has to be an EPA 2020 certified stove that doesn't billow smoke out the front when tinkering / adding wood. Surely!
 
Clint r said:
I’ve also got a 5-6 year old pacific energy wood stove. It’s very similar to what’s in the link you posted. I Can’t remember the model off the top of my head but it’s one of the bigger ones. I can also open it up anytime to add wood or stoke the flames. Just have to crack the door for a second or two before fully opening it or it will pull a bit of smoke into the room. It’s a good heat throwing stove that heats our drafty old house no problem. It’s our main source of heat and we burn 5-6 cords of wood a year. May seem like a lot but where we are we typically start it at the beginning of October and don’t stop burning until end of March. I’m sure you already know but if it’s rated for 2000 square feet and you house is close to that you’ll have to have it ripping all the time to effectively heat it. We went with a stove capable of heating 3000 sf and our place is around 1700 and we don’t find the need to max it out.

*edit: It’s a pacific energy “Summit” model. For medium to large spaces.
Click to expand...

Thank Clint.. must be pre-EPA 2020 also? I've looked at these PE stoves. They are all EPA 2020 cert now, of course, so wondering how the new ones work vs ones of your stove's vintage. This is the one that was recco'd to me, and it at least looks a lot like yours in design.

I think the non-catalytic EPA 2020 stoves are likely my best bet.........
 
Dorman Point said:
For what it’s worth, we just installed a Hearthstone Green Mountain 70 insert (not a free-standing stove but same technology). It is wonderful, burns very clean, very hot, and nice and long. But we do have the same issue with smoke spillage. I think it is just this new clean-burning technology. Ours has “air-wash” or something (not catalytic) and it keeps the window very clean, but I think it affects the draft when the door opens. Love it in all other respects.

On the other hand, our 30 year old Vermont Castings stove at the cabin draws like a vacuum, never smokes, love it. But it’s definitely not as efficient.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Do you have just a temporary smoke spillage, or does it keep coming out even if you give a small crack to promote draw up the stack?

Just tired of having our family room smell like smoke every day. No good for the lungs, and we get enough smoke in the summer months these days from the damn forest fires!
 
SpringVelocity said:
PE Super 27 LE would be my pick. Yes EPA standards had changed. They get worse every year.

The PE Super LE changed some years back to a different baffle system. It burns cleaner to pass EPA immisions to be certified.

The trick with any Super27 firebox is you have to get a good bed of coals before hammering it into low burn. That way you ensure your getting secondary combustion and the airwash system keeps glass clean.

As far as operation pretty simple to operate. When they test at PE that's what is done in the lab for certification.

Not a fan of Regency personally. Have tested against super27 before. That was a while back, so firebox technology may have changed.

Only other stove vs PE would be a jotul for wood burning. They are nice stoves and design is pretty advanced. More expensive though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, and good points about getting a good bed of coals going. Do you know if the new PE Super 27 LEs suffer from smoke blow back when the door is opened to tinker or reload? Assuming there is a good hot fire going, and air is drawing well...

I have looked into Jotuls, but haven't seen or heard of many folks using them. Worth a closer look though.

We have a Regency 2400 up the coast, and it's great. 2014 stove though, so it preceded all the EPA 2020 requirements. I've been looking into a Regency 2450 - basically the EPA 2020 certified version of the 2400... one of the 2450 reviews on the Regency website concerned me, as this is what I am trying to avoid (does look like some tinkering fixed the issue though, but not sure how thrilled I am to tamper with cast iron plates on a new stove):

1640282572607.png
 
Brando said:
Have a regency alterra ci1150 insert, the room it’s in is very air tight and also has a return air for the furnace if I don’t crack the patio door open it’s very hard to get the draft going and will smoke the space out quickly. Most modern homes are well sealed and may have drafting issues that could cause some of these symptoms not an expert but running your dryer, range,furnace etc all requires makeup air try cracking a window or door for a minute before opening the stove and see if the problem persists.
Click to expand...
good points re: sealing.. will troubleshoot with this a bit. thanks!
 
SpringVelocity said:
Another thing to remember when buying is really most of any of these stoves have same firebox to limit certifications which are expensive. The Pacific Energy True north was just simplified super27 made cheaper for different market. Alderleas, etc. and pretty much many of the PE line uses same firebox. So do the inserts. They just slap on different trims to make it look different. All manufacturers do this. Not sure about the newer lines.

The only thing I never liked with the newer Super 27 was harder to light then then the old Super 27. That was sort of the
tradeoff when it was tested....
Click to expand...

Good points.

Harder to light in what sense? Just required more prep / kindling / tinkering?
 
Brando said:
Have a regency alterra ci1150 insert, the room it’s in is very air tight and also has a return air for the furnace if I don’t crack the patio door open it’s very hard to get the draft going and will smoke the space out quickly. Most modern homes are well sealed and may have drafting issues that could cause some of these symptoms not an expert but running your dryer, range,furnace etc all requires makeup air try cracking a window or door for a minute before opening the stove and see if the problem persists.
Click to expand...
Yes ,we chose the Regency Insert 2400 (installed in 2009 went from a propane insert) no room for a free standing , but would have preferred so as to glean the heat from the stove pipe. It does project on to the hearth 11", made in Washington State, and at the time for value and was made to their EPA 3.4 which were more stringent than B.C. at the time . I concur the draft is a factor for smoke blowback also as an O P mentioned the soffit pre chimney(double burning the smoke) does force a little smoke forward but cracking the door for a moment mitigates that , but do not have to open much once burning. We have a three level split 1700 sq ' house heats the main and upstairs well ! 2 1/2 cords between October n April. Best Regards "Merry Christmas " to All
 

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