Heating Stove Review Archive

Browse Stove Reviews Contributed by Wise Heat Visitors

Quadra-Fire Castile: Review and ratings contributed by deano32 on Mar 12, 2010; I must be one of the lucky ones!! We've had our freestanding castile for four winters. The control box just had to be replaced. Other than that, the stove has performed well.I burn pellets only and depending on the quality have to clean the stove eve...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Enviro Empress: Review and ratings contributed by want2bwarmer on Mar 11, 2010; Ethecal--same story here. Empress installed fall '08, ran great 1st year. 2009 multiple service calls for auger, lazy fire, smoke leaking into the room. 36 hours after the last service call (Jan '10) heard auger clunking, noticed smoke billowing o...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
St. Croix Greenfield: Review and ratings contributed by mjsjr on Mar 11, 2010; We live in North Dakota. Purchased the Greenfield in November 2008. It hasn't run reliably or continuously yet. When it runs - it is great. Trouble is, it is always coming down with problems. It has been hauled out of the house and back to the d...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Enviro Empress: Review and ratings contributed by hamish on Mar 05, 2010; This isn't meant to trash the Enviro manufacturer, product or dealer/installer but a description of how things are unfolding.
...After seriously looking at pellet stoves in autumn of 2009, we took the plunge in January of 2010 and returned to Cloyn...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Enviro Empress: Review and ratings contributed by Frankmcold on Mar 05, 2010; We bought the empress in 2006 for supplemental heat, and like others paid a good $2500 since we liked its form and fit and. It puts out great heat, so we use if for about 60-70% heating needs. The first season it worked fine, and we got used to thing...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Bixby Energy Maxfire: Review and ratings contributed by Past Bixby Dealer on Mar 01, 2010; I was the dealer who was responsible for Bixby putting the Warranty disclaimer on it's home page. Years ago Bixby made me an offer of new stoves for $1,500.00 and they would drop ship from their plant. They claimed to have a 1,000 in stock and neede...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Napoleon NPS40: Review and ratings contributed by Carl in Providence on Feb 26, 2010; MIKE IN MAINE:
This was maybe the most helpful message board post that I have ever read. Thank you!

I went out and bought a Bernz-o-matic torch and have said goodbye to my troubles with auto-start.

As for the stove's operation, I feel as I've...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Quadra-Fire Mt Vernon AE: Review and ratings contributed by Bill on Feb 23, 2010; Might be a great stove if you can get replacement parts in timely fashion. Been out of service for one month on two year old stove, waiting on backordered items (ignitor & thermo coupler) Really enjoy burning $2/gal porpane!!!!; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Breckwell P2000FS: Review and ratings contributed by golfnut on Feb 20, 2010; have found a guaranted fix for the breckwell pellet stove just reply wont cost you nothing for my advise.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Breckwell P2000FS: Review and ratings contributed by popox6 on Feb 20, 2010; my opinion is to run, run, run. money pit. used not quite 3 winters. parts needed so far, convection blower motor, printed circuit panel. can wait to see what else fails. one reply had it right. Breakwell would be a better name for the piece of junk....; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Extra Large 2462: Review and ratings contributed by gary on Feb 20, 2010; I was a little nervous about buying this stove after reading some of the reviews on this site. After going to a few different dealers and talking with them I decided to purchase the Dutchwest 2462 XL with the cat and have not been disappointed at all...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Hearthstone Bennington: Review and ratings contributed by unhappy customer on Feb 17, 2010; I have the Heritage model stove & after 3 years the front door will no longer stay closed. Needs a cast iron frame kit. The customer service at Hearthstone is non existent. The design of the door latch would have been better if done by a grade school...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Enviro Meridian: Review and ratings contributed by Steve White on Feb 14, 2010; I have owned 2 pellet stoves over the past 15 years. I bought this stove used, this is one of the best pellet stoves that I've ever seen. Just turn it on and that is it. Heats my 2000sq ft home. I would recomend this to anyone that is looking for a p...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Harman Advance: Review and ratings contributed by Len on Feb 13, 2010; Bought a 6-year old Harman Advance Stove.
Using in my shop that is 1,500sf.
Burning Lowes Curan pellets.
Temps in North Jersey have been from low teens at night to mid 30’s at day since installed.
Using 1.75 thru 2.25 bags per day.

I am comple...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Enviro Empress: Review and ratings contributed by dsaldo@prodigy.net on Feb 13, 2010; I have had my Empess insert for six months. I have virutally heated my house with a 35000 btu fireplace insert and supplement with a small heat lamp in the kitchen. My house is 3500 sqaure feet up and down. Much of the heat goes upstairs to the bedro...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
St. Croix Lancaster: Review and ratings contributed by roaddog1273@yahoo.com on Feb 13, 2010; i am thinking about purchasing a st.croix auburn any suggestions??; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Amaizablaze Cherokee Model 2100: Review and ratings contributed by Randall S. Dettmann on Feb 13, 2010; I bought the Model 2100 in 2006 and have used it as supplemental heat when temperatures were sub-zero. In those four years I've burned approximately 5 tons of corn. The blowers were noisy from day one and the room blower motor is so inaccessible it ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Breckwell Big E Utility Furnace and Home Heater: Review and ratings contributed by Murphy on Feb 10, 2010; Customer service is non-existent. If you're not very familiar with these type of stoves then buy from a different manufacturer. Eventhough I bought a stove made in late 2009 it still has a couple minor problems. The store I bought it from was not m...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Breckwell P2000FS: Review and ratings contributed by popox6 on Feb 06, 2010; what a piece of iron. I really have to say it may be just being a pellet stove. when cleaning soot clings to everything and hard to remove from hands, gloves, arms or othe body parts. going back to good old wood next year. pellet too expensive for th...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461: Review and ratings contributed by Jack on Feb 05, 2010; Have had this stove for 12 years. Salesman said it was a real workhorse and he was right. Will effectively heat a well insulated 2000+ square foot home for about a 6 hour burn time. Have replaced catalyst twice. Anyone reporting problems with thi...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Bixby Energy Maxfire: Review and ratings contributed by Nancy on Feb 05, 2010; Reading the manual and troubleshooting the various "blinking light" signals helps. You have to spend some time on it to become familiar with it.

If the stove is maintained, cleaned regularly, right pellets (corn versus wood), it's a great stove....; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Enviro Empress: Review and ratings contributed by Heather M. on Feb 04, 2010; We have had this stove for 3 mos. Problem after problem after problem. Working on getting it returned and getting our $ back. Not sure I will even think about another pellet stove. May have to switch to wood. Exremely dissapointed.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
American Energy Systems Magnum Countryside: Review and ratings contributed by Tammy from Michigan on Feb 02, 2010; I have the Magnum Countryside, this stove is wonderful, I live in an older drafty house and this stove set at 2 keeps it more than warm ... it is hot, last week it was 9 degrees outside, I ran the stove on 3 in the evenings then turned it to 2 for ov...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461: Review and ratings contributed by otis skinner on Feb 02, 2010; even heat output when catayltic converter engaged some backpuffing when burning very dry thin wood very easy to restart fire in mornings with ash door open great stove hope to able to find parts that wear out; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Bixby Energy Maxfire: Review and ratings contributed by RickyR on Jan 31, 2010; Wow what a hunk of junk. Not to mention the customer service you get from this so called company. Obviously when this guy ran Select Comfort and was so great. He started Bixby Energy. Could give a shit less about his product once he is paid. Typic...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
American Energy Systems Magnum Countryside: Review and ratings contributed by STACY FROM BALTIMORE, MD on Jan 30, 2010; I HAVE A WINCHESTER MULTI-FUEL STOVE BY MAGNUM. WE WERE USING ELECTRIC HEAT IN OUR HOME. NOW WE BUY CORN OR CORN/PELLET MIX FOR OUR STOVE. IT'S GREAT! IT DOES MAKE A CLINKER EACH DAY THAT HAS TO BE REMOVED. THAT IS THE WASTED OF CORN FUEL, WHIC...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Quadra-Fire Castile: Review and ratings contributed by gfsdave on Jan 30, 2010; For $2200 before installation, I expect complete package. Only one of two stoves that would fit in our fireplace, so not much choice. Everything about this stove is great BUT, from day one, rattles, rattles, rattles. Side panels sit, metal on met...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
St. Croix Greenfield: Review and ratings contributed by kris6busy on Jan 30, 2010; Great stove, we have had one for 4 years. It's not only beautiful, but it burns great. This stave has saved us alot of money, and it gets lots of attention from people who see it. LOVE IT; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
St. Croix Lancaster: Review and ratings contributed by Kris6busy@yahoo.com on Jan 30, 2010; This is a GREAT New Stove. Burns Hot, Clean, & easy. It heats almost 3000 square feet in my home. Love the ease of pushing a button to start, and just empty the ash pan. St. Croix has another amazing product & we are very impressed with this stove, ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Harman Advance: Review and ratings contributed by BBri on Jan 30, 2010; I have the advance model. wanted the p 68 but th edealer talked me out of it (too much heat for our 3000 sq ft rancher) he was right. our advance is great. much kudos to rettinger in NJ. Burns 24/7 needs cleaning every 2 weeks. takes about 45 mins to...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Lopi Liberty: Review and ratings contributed by MIKE HOLMES on Mar 06, 2010; I have been heating my home with wood for 30 years. I replaced my Hurricane stove with a lopi Republic 1750. Worst mistake I ever made. You have to nurse this stove for at least an hour to get a fire going enough to even begin to get any heat. My...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Hearthstone Bennington: Review and ratings contributed by Maria on Mar 05, 2010; Customer serives is the worst of any company you will ever do business with. I do not recommed this stove to anyone/; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
American Energy Systems Magnum Countryside: Review and ratings contributed by D. R. on Mar 02, 2010; To be fair we were told it would burn any kind of grain.
Not true! It might work OK on woodchips but it is not very
user friendly. Maybe once we have had it for awhile it will
actually keep burning without going out all the time.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461: Review and ratings contributed by Art Wyse on Mar 01, 2010; We've been using the 2461(large) stove for 18 years. Use it mostly on Dec.25th,Jan, and Feb. Changed the catalytic converter. I now want to sell it because, at 75, I no longer want to get wood around. It has a square side door with a air controll and...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Quadra-Fire Mt Vernon AE: Review and ratings contributed by kickenmom on Feb 27, 2010; bought mine and it worked 5 hours than the augar has jammed!
wish I had never bought it!!; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Quadra-Fire Mt Vernon AE: Review and ratings contributed by William on Feb 26, 2010; I have the exact same problems as everyone else that is disatisfied with there stove. My dealer stands behind his product, but it doesnt do much good when I go home after work and see the auger is jammed. It gets cold here in Wisconsin and I just c...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Quadra-Fire Castile: Review and ratings contributed by ozone159 on Feb 25, 2010; I have been using the Castile for two years now. As for the roaring noise others have mentioned, i find that does not happen when set on the medium setting, which is where i have mine set most of the time. I clean my firepot daily (takes about five m...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Napoleon OS10: Review and ratings contributed by richfran on Feb 23, 2010; This stove is junk - the company even asked me to change my existing chimney and $4000 later I still have exhaust smell and cannot use it at all - I have been in touch with Barrie sellers and NO SERVICE at all - and will not exchange the stove even ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Quadra-Fire Castile: Review and ratings contributed by dareese167@aol.com on Feb 22, 2010; Put ours in August 2005 so this is our 5th winter here in Delaware. We use it as our only heat in a half round porch with windows on what would be 3 sides. Approx 600 sq feet only roof insulated set on 68 it will run you out of the roon. After rea...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Vermont Castings Aspen 1920: Review and ratings contributed by Jonathon on Feb 20, 2010; I think most of the complaints in reviews are due to a bad chimney. Too big, too cold, too many bends, or blocked with creosote will definitely screw up this stove. You do need to keep the air vents clean, but it isn't hard - about 20 minutes of "p...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Quadra-Fire Classic Bay 1200: Review and ratings contributed by Olympia, Washington quad lover on Feb 19, 2010; I own a 1200 and have had nothing but great heat and easy use. I heat 2200 sq ft with no problem. Of course I do not buy crap pellets either.(If the pellets are stored outside, DO NOT BUY THEM) I have read a bunch of the reviews on here and it sounds...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Review and ratings contributed by Marilyn on Feb 17, 2010; I am sorry I purchased this woodstove. I went for the name and the stove's good looks. It smokes even with kiln dried wood. And it does "take off" to a scary degree at times. We have the chimney cleaned twice a year just because I don't trust this th...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Federal Tax Incentives for Biomass Stoves: Review and ratings contributed by ray d on Feb 15, 2010; if you are setting your stove on 0 it is wrong if you are using wood pellets set it on -1 and 0 this will let it feeded it self and not keep emptying; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461: Review and ratings contributed by bluebird on Feb 14, 2010; I have had my stove since 95-2 floods never gotwet.All the sudden this thing puts out no heat,I love this stove-I checked the honeycombNo problem -Is there something between the 2 dampers that can clog up!HELP!!!; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Enviro Empress: Review and ratings contributed by John on Feb 13, 2010; I live in Reno a moderate climate but can get and stay cold for Dec & Jan.
I purchased an Empress insert Nov '08 and had researched pellet
stoves for about 1 &1/2 mos. The dealer in Sac. was very knowledgable about Enviro and his other product li...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Harman XXV: Review and ratings contributed by Jan on Feb 12, 2010; We got our Harman XXV in 2008 and have used it through 2 heating seasons. My only dissatisfaction is due to problems with the igniter. In the first year, our igniter had to be replace 3 times because the fire would go out and it would not restart. ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Review and ratings contributed by xaraya on Feb 11, 2010; I now have the misfortune of living with a Jotul--the second in my life now, and am having the same experience as before. Impossible stove. Hard to light, takes off at random intervals, coals just drop to the ash drawer. Awful stove.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Harman XXV: Review and ratings contributed by Chris on Feb 10, 2010; I bought this stove in January of 2008, it has since been my primary source of heat. It heats my 2 story 1200 square foot house nicely. Last season the end of the auger melted/wore down. My dealer came and fixed it at no cost, so it was not a big ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Review and ratings contributed by tonynelson on Feb 09, 2010; It's pretty, but very temperamental. You need WELL seasoned wood or you'll have a hard time keeping the burn going without the ash door being partly open. As you might expect, that leads to much more wood consumption.

Further, if you are not b...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dansons Pelpro Standard: Review and ratings contributed by Ted Unhappy on Feb 07, 2010; Poor build but good and cheap - good for ice fishing hut; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Harman Advance: Review and ratings contributed by Delinda on Feb 06, 2010; We have the Harman Advanced model. we are experiencing the flame seems sluggish, is burning very rich and seems to burn with more smoke like the air is being choked. The glass turns black from smoke. We have tried different kinds of pellets and have ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Quadra-Fire Mt Vernon AE: Review and ratings contributed by bill k on Feb 05, 2010; Bought my stove from enchanted fireside in Worcester Ma. This stove hasn't gone one complete heating season without breaking down. Most every part has been replaced and in enchanted fireside defense they have done a good job in helping me out but im ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Napoleon NPS40: Review and ratings contributed by Gerard on Feb 04, 2010; I have had no problems with noice. The fan switch had to be replace a couple months after I bought it, it was only blowing at one speed. The problem I have it that is does not seem to heat up the area. I have a very small home and can barely get ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Fahrenheit Technologies Endurance 50F: Review and ratings contributed by Frank from Ottawa, Canada on Feb 02, 2010; I've commented here a few times before and here's my latest update:

This is my 2nd year using the F-50 and a lot of its performance depends on your location, how cold your winter is, the size of your house, level of insulation, the temperature you...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Extra Large 2462: Review and ratings contributed by woodchuck on Feb 01, 2010; This Stove has been excellent! We have burned more wood in this stove than you could imagine, it is our sole source of heat, and hard woods do the best in it, cottonwood burns up to quickly in this stove in my opinion, plus I'm not much for the amou...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Quadra-Fire Castile: Review and ratings contributed by Phil on Jan 31, 2010; As many others have stated it's rattle trap. I have the insert model now and had the freestanding before this one, freestanding was perfect but this is almost unbearable. It works well and after 2 seasons the dealer finally put in a non-noisy auger...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Lopi Liberty: Review and ratings contributed by stovetech on Jan 30, 2010; The Lopi Liberty is a newly designed, energy efficient woodstove. It is engineered to burn quite differently than older designs. Anyone having trouble with a Lopi stove doesn't understand how to operate a modern designed stove. Can't teach old dogs n...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...