We have an Osburn, I think a 2200 or 2400, that has side glass. We bought mail order because the local store which is no longer in business had unreal prices. They had one stove that was 6-8 feet tall, round, with stainless steel that looked like a Star Trek transporter, I kid you not. To open the stove to put in wood, you lifted the half round glass "door" UP. I guess it would look good in a very modern house if you had a Wookie as a butler. You could afford a butler if you had the stove since it was $20,000.
We bought the stove from Obadiahs(
Wood Stoves, Wood Fireplace, Cookstoves, Stoves, Wood Furnaces, Fireplaces, Boilers, Gas Fireplaces, Wood Heat, Pellet Stoves, Pellet Furnace, Zero Clearance Fireplaces ) and got excellent customer service. The wifey had quite a few questions and the company, I think she was talking to one of the owners, was very patient and helpful. When the stove was being installed there were some rafter and joists that prevented a straight chimney install. We needed two 45 degree chimney pieces ASAP so we called Obadiahs and they had the sections to use in a day or two. Ironically, the supplier was only an a couple of hours away from us.
Our house is 2424 sf with 10 foot ceilings. I would assume the sf rating on stoves are for 8 foot ceilings and the stove is rated for 2000 to maybe 2200 sf. But our ceiling increases the house volume by 20% AND every major room has a window that is 8x5 or 8x6 and the living room has a 12x6 window. Those windows are great big energy holes but the stove keeps the living room at 80ish if the temperatures stay 20-40ish. The living room is 76 this morning even though it has been cloudy/rainy for a day or two and the temps have not gotten any higher than 40ish. When we get single digit temps, which has only happened four times, three times this year, :shocked:
, and the highs don't get above 30, then the stove struggles to keep the living room at 75ish. The farthest rooms from the stove will be 5-10 degrees cooler. Thankfully, these super cold days for us do not happen often and for long otherwise we would install a second stove.
The Osburn is what we use to heat the house. We run the heat pump every once in awhile to exercise the system but the wood stove keeps us warm. Not a danged thing wrong with the Osburn after almost 10 years. Whichever stove you get, go to TSC or some place similar and get a stove thermometer. That thermometer really helps to run the stove. Our thermometer has three zones, too cold, just right, and too hot. We load the stove up when the fire burns down into the too cold zone and the wood will always burn into the too hot zone for a time. We keep the damper at its most closed position except when starting a fire. We keep the stove running for weeks at a time so the first does not have to get started unless we are out of the house all day or I don't wake up in the middle of the night to load the stove. I get up almost every night anyway so loading the stove is not a problem.
Also, try to get a supply of outside air for the fire. We have a six inch PVC pipe running under the slab from the outside of the house to the back of the stove for combustion air. Works really well. When the fire is burning you can feel the fire pulling air through the pipe. When the fire does not need air, there is not air moving into the house. :thumbsup: Simple, fool proof, and does not use power.:thumbsup:
Later,
Dan
