Saturday, November 17, 2012

Heat

The shop is heated now with a Vermont Castings Vigilant.  It was cast off from the house because I really hated that stove.  It did not keep a fire long, it was hard to load and basically, it sucked.  It was adequate for the shop because it is new construction and very well insulated.  But the heat never really made it into my shop. 

We replaced the Vigilant  with a Hearthstone Heritage which  I just love.  The soap stone keeps the heat, the stove is easy to light and keep going and it warms us very well.  We hardly use the oil burner on days like today.  In winter when it is really cold we do have to run the heat to prevent the bathroom from freezing.  It's an old house. 

A new soapstone stove (Hearthstone or Woodstock) , large enough for the shop, would cost about three grand, we think.  Well, I found one on Craigs List that was only 1100 bucks.  It wasn't too far away (closer than some sewing machines I have purchased)

Ok so it doesn't have a catlytic converter and there is no ash tray.  BUT it is HUGE and it has all that mass of soap stone to hold the heat.  I am happy.

The guy loaded it into the pick up with his tractor.  Now all we have to do is get it off, into the shop and hooked up.  No small feat for something that weighs  600 pounds.  Our tractor won't manage it.  It barely could handle the Heritage.  BUT  we have friends and neighbors with big equipment.  Soon I cam have real heat in the shop.  So that when I want to work out there all weekend, it will stay warm from Friday through Sunday....  Oh happy day.
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4 comments:

  1. MichelleNovember 17, 2012 at 11:14 PM

    And it's pretty too! :)

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    1. ElizabethNovember 18, 2012 at 8:19 AM

      Very Pretty. Wanna come and play with machines in the shop and have tea by the fire?

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  2. Ann from KYNovember 18, 2012 at 1:25 AM

    Very wise move on your part!! We had a Vermont Castings stove with a catalyst and we HATED IT. It just didn't keep us warm. Be happy you got a stove without a catalyst!! They are expensive to replace and take tons of fiddling with to try to get heat out of it.
    that stove you bought sure does look nice! It will be a huge blessing I am sure and you will love it without the catalyst. We ended up with an avalon olympic with no catalyst. this is our second year to heat with it. Awesome stove for a newer type one! Love the fact there is no catalyst. wood heat is the way to go. You can actually have some heat and not go broke doing it!! Enjoy!!

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    Replies
    1. ElizabethNovember 18, 2012 at 8:41 AM

      Well, we do have two other stoves with the catalytic converter; a Jotul 602 and a Hearthstone Heritage. They seem to work for us. The Vermont castings did not have the converter and had andirons in front which made loading wood a PITA. I think that the converter in the Vermont Castings are not as good as those in the Jotul. I love my 602.

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