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[ckbetz]

If you need more draft you can also add another joint of pipe.  I have 3 pieces of triple wall on mine since it's close to the house.  I'd add more if I didn't have to guy it off somewhere.

[Scott7m]

Shouldn't the stove come from the factory with the length of pipe that works best for your model?

[ckbetz]

not necessarily.  Your location also will affect your draft.  Things like wind direction, structures nearby, etc. 

[Scott7m]

yeah i'd guess so.........  I'm officially starting to lean towards central boiler! 

Hope I'll make a good decision

[Scratch]

I'm sure if you go with one of the more popular stoves, for example... like the ones listed on the main page of this forum, You'll be ok.  I think they're all very similar.  Might want to look at it like which companies have you heard complaints about.  I've only heard complaints about their stove from one person.... he happens to be on this forum also...

[Jason]

That I really can't answer because I only have experience with my furnace.  Hardys have a flat ceiling in the firebox  and the stack comes out the top, while CB's {I think} all have baffled tops and rear exiting stacks.  So it would stand to reason that Hardys lose more heat up the stack.  When it's real cold and we get a fair ammount of snow it will lay on top of my furnace.  As I've said I get good burn times and don't go through more wood than I think I should.  Heat out the stack has never seemed to me to be a problem, but again, I have nothing to compare my furnace with.  You have a tough decision to make and I wish I could be more helpful, but I will say this-with all the thought you're putting into this and all the research you're doing, whichever you decide on will be the right decision.  I'm looking forward to seeing what you finally do decide on.

[Tiny Tim]

I have a hawken and love it it has the forced draft and you can see some heat loss thru the top of the chimney my buddy has a central with about 12 ft of pipe as a chimney mine is only a ft tall so his might cool before i have a chance to compare at the top. I do know that he goes thru more wood than me not by much I think its due to the fact that it takes him alot longer to get up to temp where mine gets there faster then shuts down. If you want less smoke I would recommend a forced draft, I think that all brands offer it some as an option and some standerd check out the insides and watch out for the dead spots where corrosion can start and read the fine print on the warrenty I think all brands are prorated but look at exactly what and how long that they are covered for, and how close the factory is in case you need to drive it up there for a claim.


tim

[ckbetz]

Just a thought on forced air draft.  The Central Boilers all offer a kit that replaces the servo and plate on the front door with a draft inducer.  They cost about as much as one joint of triple wall chimney.  So if you don't feel you're getting enough draft naturally, you can induce more, if you don't simply want to add chimney as some do for multiple reasons including more draft, less smoke at roof level.

[Alan]

    looking at central boiler .    hardys can burn coal  i was looking at that too

[Scott7m]

i think you can burn coal in just about any of them... but not straight coal....   i wouldn't mind throwing a lump or two in with the wood on a CB

[ckbetz]

I would say if you had a nice bed of ash in the bottom of most any OWB coal wouldn't hurt it.  I think the problem would come if you had coal in direct contact with the firebox, no good.

[sstan]

My two cents on burning coal.    Not all OWB can burn coal (one of the reasons I went with the Natures comfort).. things to look for .. heay gauge firebox, fire brick and most important .. the blower bmust be mounted to provide air under the fire .. NOT on top.  Many boilers have blowers that blow down on the fire .. this is not good for burning coal.

[Jason]

SStan, you may know this already, but Hardy's have the air introduced into the back of the unit, under the fire box.  It comes into the ash box.  If the ash box is fairly clean, it blows clear up to the front of the unit and then turns up through the grates to the wood.  The wood in the front of the furnace always burns first-if you open the door in the middle of the day you'll see the front is empty while the back is still all there. 

My dealer happens to also be a coal miner and he runs a mess of coal in his Hardy.  From what he told me when I bought mine he has never had any trouble.  I don't expect to hear horror stories from a dealer but he seems honest.

[Scott7m]

SStan, you may know this already, but Hardy's have the air introduced into the back of the unit, under the fire box.  It comes into the ash box.  If the ash box is fairly clean, it blows clear up to the front of the unit and then turns up through the grates to the wood.  The wood in the front of the furnace always burns first-if you open the door in the middle of the day you'll see the front is empty while the back is still all there. 

My dealer happens to also be a coal miner and he runs a mess of coal in his Hardy.  From what he told me when I bought mine he has never had any trouble.  I don't expect to hear horror stories from a dealer but he seems honest.

my cousin has a hardy, he's had it for 18 years and has burned a lot of coal in it since he works at a coal dock.         at the same time however, he's had the stove apart and had my dad welding on it on several different occassions, i'm sure that most people wouldn't have attempted the fix, he did, and it stilll works though

[Jason]

What crapped out that needed to be welded?