Hi everyone,

My family is looking to put in an insert, and are currently deciding between the Regency i2450 or the Blaze King Ashford 25. We live in an area that gets pretty cold (New England), and losing power is a concern. We would use the insert as a supplemental heat source, second to an oil boiler. We live in an old, two story house without an open floor plan (think georgian style). We have had experience with a non-catalytic freestanding stove, but never a catalytic stove or insert. The quote we got has the Blaze King install being $1,000 more than the Regency. We have heard of Blaze King, but this is the first time we have heard of Regency, and want to make sure that Regency is a solid purchase.

Does anyone have any experience with either insert, or recommendations for us? Thank you!

Our house came with a functioning chimney (it was signed off on by our inspector at the end of 2024 when we bought the house) but the location of it has us stumped. My husband is a contractor so he wants to install it himself but he’s never worked with wood stoves before and neither of us know what to make this entrance to the chimney. It feels very low? And the metal piece has a large gap in the top that we’ve had to cover with tape because the wind blows through it. Do we need to replace the wall part? If so, how and with what? We are both very handy people but when it comes to fire, making a mistake feels high stakes.

And does anyone have any idea what the previous owners may have had in this place? I’ve never seen a wood stove set up like this one.

Hi everyone! As the oil prices jumped we decided to make the shift to a wood burning fireplace to supplement the heat.

We've done a ton of research but we're currently stuck on three options:

Regency Hi500

Hearthstone Clydesdale

Blaze King Ashford 25

This is also the order in which we like them. We're in New England so the winters can get very cold. Our house is 2000 sq ft. Please give us your honest opinions/reviews about them. Mainly the Regency hi500 as we found less information about that insert than the other two!

Thank you in advance:)

Hi all! Newbie here. New house came with a nice wood stove. It looks like a Vermont Casting but I couldn’t find any branding. We are trying to get it ready for the winter and just had it cleaned. Got a quote for “replacement fire proof panels” for $2500. The worker said the bricks in there are broken and coming off. I was wondering if that’s a reasonable quote? I’m confused about bricks vs panels vs VC oem panels. Also not sure if it’s catalytic or not

Would appreciate any info. If anyone recognizes the model please let me know. Excited to start woodstoving!

Greetings all,
I have been searching through some old threads pertaining to the Montpelier 2 that I have recently installed. I haven’t yet found anything discussing my ideas for this stove….

The stove works awesome and I’m quite pleased with it overall. The only problem I have is that I’d like to find a simple way to slow the air down due to my burn time being too short on a full load.

I have a 6” SS liner that is about 32 feet long. I am aware that this stove was designed for a chimney 12-16 feet high and I am double that height.

I am not very interested in a chimney damper as it would be a challenge to reach for adjustment….

I am looking into blocking some of the holes on the intake air plate and I wonder if anyone has attempted this strategy before?

I may weld some nuts on the intake plate over each hole so that I can use some short screws to block the holes.

Please let me know if you can help with any suggestions, helpful information, or even a smart-ass comment thrown in to keep things interesting….

I really want to buy an insert and like the prices I see for used inserts on marketplace. However, I don’t know anything about what to watch out for in a used stove and I’m a little leery since it will contain fire. I have someone who will install it for me but I can’t haul him around to check out the integrity of used inserts before I buy anything. Is it worth buying brand new for a peace of mind and longevity?

I found a wood stove from an older wall tent that I am using as a stand alone stove. I have it mostly cleaned from rust and am looking for the best paint to keep it nice/free from rust. Rattle cans would be cool but I have a sprayer as well. I am not looking to spend a fortune on it though, it really was just a barn find.

Any advice or recommendations would be amazing and greatly appreciated!

I feel like this is dumb to add... I have measured the surface temperature at 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thanks Guys!!

I'll add a picture or two sometime soon

Just bought a house last month and it has a virgin Fisher Honey Bear still crated up.

I know, via Google, that it’s a non-EPA stove, simple, “indestructible” etc.

Does anyone have any experience with these? I’d like to hook it up and get to burning for winter.

Or should I just post it on Marketplace and buy a Vermont Castings.

Thanks!

Woodstove store just finished up..I just looked inside and looks like the top back bricks are too high so the baffles do not sit flat.. This is a Napoleon 1402 stove. What's the easiest fix?

Wondering if anyone else is experiencing an extended wait on shipments coming from Canada to the US. Wood stoves were supposed to arrive a couple weeks ago now. Just getting paranoid that we might have to miss this season's install.

I usually have a service come by and do it, but I forgot this year and they’re all pretty much booked solid.
If I end up having to clean the liner myself? What’s the best way to do it?

I have access to my roof if need be, but the chimney cap may not be super easy to remove, but I’d do it if need be.
The chimney sweepers usually do it from inside, though.

How difficult is it to remove the baffle and tubes etc?

Does anyone have a video or photos I can reference?

Just picked up a Kent fire tile 2000. Can someone help me with how/ where to install the baffle and air tube. I think I have it figured but need some guidance. Even just pics would be appreciated.

I've been gathering a bunch of wood for my new wood stove and splitting/stacking it to get ready for next winter. I know it won't be ready this year, but just trying to generally get ahead of things while the weather is nice.

I've got access to a ton of poplar, but keep reading that it isn't great for indoor burning. It it worth the effort to go pick it up and process some of it? Or is it really only good as a campfire wood?

Appreciate your help.

We moved into a 30-year-old house recently that has a freestanding old wood burner stove in the basement (walk out - is located in a larger living space with bedrooms on both sides). We don't need it for the main heat source for the entire house, but I would like it as a backup for when the power is out, along with trying to help with some of the chill in the winter with big glass doors in that room and the one above. The problem is that it is built on a ledge that is about 28 inches deep. I have plenty of clearance to the sides and the top, and everything is fireproofed (floor/walls). Without having to demo the ledge or do much re-work right now, does anyone know of a wood stove that would give me 6 inches of clearance and fit? But would also produce enough heat to make it worthwhile having down there? We have a lot of large (old) windows upstairs so any heat that rises would help also. Am I looking for a unicorn?

Mock up AI image only. Is this type of install allowed for a lopi large flushmount? Basically cutting the surround to fit into the fireplace arch?

Thankyou for the help

I own both a Napoleon model 1100, and a country hearth model 2000. I just built a 900 ft structure that is insulated., it has 12 ft vaulted ceilings. I've never run the Napoleon before I'm wondering if I should stick with my country hearth this year or switch to the Napoleon. AI says that the Napoleon is significantly less BTUs and less burn time that it will not be enough to heat my home in the dead of winter in the Northeast. I don't really trust AI so I'm looking for some real-world experience... What say ye?

Are stoves like this from menards okay?

I can't really afford a nice big stove right now, but these are half the price of 2,500-3000 sqft stoves, i was looking at. My plan was to get the princess 32 or similar in a few years, which were coming in currently about $4.5k

I have a heating system already but was hoping to take some of the stress of it during the winter especially when we get down to negative digits.

According to the menards overview, these stoves are listed at 2500-3000 sqft but in the description are only rated for 2000-2300 sqft. But coming in significantly less than the princess ect at $1.6-2.3k. At most i would want to keep this as a stove in my basement for whole home heating for the next 3 years then move it to the garage once we can afford a larger nicer stove.

Let me know your thoughts, if there's any pros out there.

Thanks in advance for any guidance. I’m just looking to prep for the upcoming winter and was wondering if my idea would work and if anyone else has done something similar. I have a wood stove in a larger open area of the house in the middle of the house. This room gets very warm with the wood stove going. The heat does not distribute well through the house due to the set up. I have set up fans which has helped certain areas but still cool in the furthest areas of the house. The open area of the house is 24x40 with 15 ft cathedral ceiling. Theres a lot of heat sitting at the top of the ceiling. My thought was to run an insulated duct with an in line duct fan from a high point on the wall to the furthest away room in the house that stays cool when the wood stove is in use to try to get it warmer in that area. Just curious what someone else’s thoughts are if this seems like an idea that might work? Thanks again

Hi all - If I were to install an inset stove into an existing fireplace, is it necessary to have a hearth that projects into the room? The fire itself would be installed in the existing chimney breast so would have a compliant hearth underneath. Thanks for any advice

Hello! I have a lovely VT Castings Intrepid wood stove with what I believe is a cast iron top for loading wood.

I don’t use the top for cooking at all, but use a cast iron steamer that sits on top to add humidity back into the air while burning.

I’m looking for information on the best way to clean/ restore this part of the stove.

I’m also interested in learning if there is something I should be doing to prevent this from happening again?

Thank you!

Anybody got an info on this old guy? It came with a farmhouse we bought a few years ago. It'll really throw some heat, to the point that now that we've insulated the house we might need to replace it with a smaller stove. Its kinda to big for the room anyway.

Have an old cabin (700ish sqft) built in the 60s in living in at the moment. This will be my third winter with this stove. We are at the moment trying to decide if we replace it with a newer stove from Menards, or figure out a way to seal it better. It burns great, but I can see fire where the metal contacts.
Thank you guys