Vermont Castings Aspen 1920
From CFM Corporation
The Aspen offers non-catalytic clean-burning efficiency and features, such as clean and convenient ash pan. With its sculptured designs, "clear-view" glass door, optional porcelain enamel finish and the ability to heat 1,800 square feet, the Aspen is the perfect choice of an economical wood heater.
Subscribe to Wood Stoves
Categories: | CFM Corporation | Vermont Castings | Wood Stove Manufacturers | 94296 views
Jotul F 602 CB
Smallest Cast Iron woodstove on the market with fully functional cookplate.
- More…
- Mar 20, 2008
- 16 Reviews
-
Average Rating:
Wood Stove Archive
More Information
- Multifuel Stoves >
- Industry News >
- Wise Heat Content by Keyword >
- Contact Wise Heat >
- More About the Site >
Latest Reviews - All Stoves
- Quadra-Fire 4300 Millennium Review & ratings - Apr 10, 2018
- Lopi Endeavor Review & ratings - Mar 25, 2018
- Lopi Leyden Review & ratings - Mar 19, 2018
- Jotul F500 Oslo Review & ratings - Mar 11, 2018
- Breckwell P2000FS Review & ratings - Feb 20, 2018
Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I first bought this stove and I too thought it was deficient in the way it breathed. I have a remote 800 sq ft well built cabin and set this up and it always smoldered the wood away. The cabin is pretty tight so I added a outside air vent kit. This sucker rocks nowOverall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
hello, After reading some of the negitive comments about this stove I thought I would add our experience with our stove. We were so disappointed at first because the stove did not give a warm heat like our old fashioned stove. We thought we got another lemon piece of crap. So my husband got down on the floor to inspect the vents on the back of the stove and without the ash pan inside it. ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Further to my earlier review of the 24th October 2016, this stove was such a dead loss that I had no choice but either to scrap it and buy another stove or try and modify it in such a way that it was at least usable. So I drilled a 8mm hole at the bottom of the door to supply the stove with air from under the grate. It has done the trick in so far that it is now finally possible to keep the stove ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I bought this stove dirt cheap from people who couldn't figure out how to use it, so they ditched it near-new for a couple hundred bucks. Big mistake. Many of these stoves come with a manufacturing defect that is obvious, simple to correct, and fixes the problems. This stove comes with a thermostat controlled air inlet, which is a totally stupid idea on a wood stove, but gimmicks sell. You ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Despite the bad reviews I made the grave mistake of buying this stove because my wife and I liked the look of it and as we have a lifelong experience with wood burners we thought we would cope all right. How wrong we were. If you follow the instructions and close the door straight after lighting it you just get a massive amount of smoke that starts leaking out of the stove and into the room ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I have heated my home with the Aspen for five years and I find it to be a good little stove. It does what it's supposed to do, nothing more, nothing less. Mine is coupled with an Eco-fan which sits on top and gently blows warm air down the hall to the bedrooms. I also use a stove-top thermometer to control the heat. But, like most wood-stoves, this one has it's quirks and you have to ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Terrible stove.....hard to keep going..damper does not work at all...and the top cracked...complained to Vermont Castings several times...they DO NOT care at all...horrible customer service and they do not back their product. My parents have a resolute from the 80 still works great .. Solid stove. Vermont Castings sold out to another company several years ago and quality and service obviously no ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Just submitted a review and it came up with all stars, don't know how that happened. The only star I would give this stove is for it's looks! Three cracked tops in three years. Would not recommend this stove at all.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I just gave my review but NOT all those stars!!!!!I had a 2,3,2.How it suddenly got 4 stars,I don't know.Interesting.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
We were very disappointed with this stove.It was always very had to start,and never had a good draft,so we had to keep the door cracked to get it going. It was very high maintenance(needed to be cleaned out constantly)We only burnt seasoned wood.Now the top cracked. I heard it is no longer being manufactured.No wonder,why.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Have used the Aspen for more than 10 years for winter heating. This stove will heat about 600 Sq.Ft. at 25*F. Ash must be removed daily. And the air intake cleaned. Also flue needs to be removed and cleaned out every 3 month. The fire brick and furnace cement was replaced at 8 years. If this stove is maintained it will serve you well.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Have had this stove for 3 season, topped has now cracked twice, does not draw well , need to constantly maintain the fire. I use very well seasoned wood and still needs a lot of TLC. Would not recommend this stove. Vermont castings is not what it used to be.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Fixed the air draw problem on my aspen wood burning stove today. The problem was the primary air plate see Fig 34 of the Aspen manual. Remove the primary air plate you will notice a slot / notch / cut out whatever you want to call it that faces towards the rear of the firebox remove one inch of material from both ends of the slot Making it 2 inches longer. You will need to use a grinder for this. ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Junked a Jotul stove that I couldn't keep lit for more than 10 minutes without babying it to death. Never got it to work. Took a chance with the Aspen. Some newspaper, some kindling, one match...Bam! Heats the entire upper floor to 68° for hours on end without re-loading. Burns all night, no problem. Heat control works fine. Wish I'd gotten the Aspen first...but then I probably wouldn't ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Read most every review on this site when prepared to buy the Aspen. Seemed to be 50/50 on likes and dislikes. We ended up getting the Aspen for our 1900s farm house. It is in a family room this is about 400sqft which is connected to the 600sqft kitchen. It heats both spaces to a comfortable 68-70 degrees and this is even during a spell of single digit temps in Virginia. For performance; yes ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
It is a great little stove. Will burn 18"pieces of wood as long as you can get it in and are able to shut the door. I never burn uncured wood....that's like shooting yourself in the foot to do that. I use a couple of pieces of "fat wood", crochet in some dry kindling like little pine twigs. Then place something that burns relatively easy like pine or citrus and also some hard wood on ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
This is a very nice stove if you don't need to heat with it. It looks quite nice, but it has a basic design flaw that prevents it from burning properly with the door closed. The inlet air goes in in the middle of the back, wraps around a small channel between the castings, then into the firebox in the front middle. That path is so restrictive the fire goes out unless the door is cracked. The ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I bought an Aspen used a little over a month ago. It has been running 24/7 ever since and the stove works fine. The stove was chosen for the specific BTU rating, we only need about 22,000 btus on the coldest days in the area of the stove and this unit has no issue keeping up. Like any stove the chimney is the engine and a good draft is required. Sizing for the heat load is often overlooked and ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Read the reviews. Most of the good reviews of this stove have some sort of conditions you have to follow or adjust to make this thing work. Would you buy a car that was reviewed as needing 4 times the maintenance and was hard to start and keep running. A GOOD woodstove works! It doesn't have to be helped to work. Save, time headaches and money and get something that doesn't require so much ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
ON my review I did not give five stars, I don't know why it shows up inaccurately. I gave a rating of 4 4 and 3 for ease of useOverall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
For my first wood stove I bought a Vermont Castings Aspen and installed it about24 hours ago. After reading a bunch of negative reviews I was concerned that it might have been a bad purchase, I was wrong. This stove does exactly what it is supposed to to. After initially smoking out my house trying to start a cold system with paper I used alcohol gel on a piece of aluminum foil a couple of times ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I've been heating in cold northern climates for over 30 years. I keep a good woodshed and only burn year seasoned wood. I bought one of these when we moved to a smaller well insulated home and thought it would work. In short it has a design flaw, it takes too much screwing around to satisfy it for any kind of good burn and heat. Its pretty. its a Vermont Castings and it wouldn't heat an ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I did an internet search today to figure out why this stove was choking out so badly. I had cleaned the chimney and shop vac'd the interior, and still no luck. I've had it for 3 years and have been generally happy with it, but it has air intake issues that my other stove (a Jotul, with basic air intake on the door) does not. Many of the reviews talk about similar issues with having to keep the ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Got the stove used from a guy who couldn't make it work. He said he was selling it because it wasn't big enough to heat his camp here in Maine, but that was a story. He thought he was unloading a bad stove for a third of it's original price and seemed damn happy to be doing so. I installed it in my fireplace in November with a ss flex liner and short hearth extension. Stove will not burn green, ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Here'a a thought - go online to Vermont Castings and read the owner's manual. This stove performs exactly as the manual says it will. No better and no worse. Also, pay attention to the wall and floor pad clearances in the manual. That's what your building department will be looking at. A floor pad custom made to these clearances looks very cool, especially for a diagonal corner ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
We have used this stove for 6 years to heat our 500sq ft cabin in NW Montana. A lot of the prior complaints woulds seem to be due to improper operation. This is not a big stove and it's care and feeding are different. Foolow the instructions! 15" to 14" cut lengths are best and keep the fire modest. Stuffing the firebox will lead to a cool, smoky and creosote prone fires. You need to ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
we have 3 wood stoves now in 3 buildings and this stove is big junk. 3 years old and has a large crack on the top / door pins broken/ bricks all fell out/ wont hold a fire for more the 3 hrs (even new) company not writing back...do not buy this!!!!!Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I've had this stove for 10 years and it's been nothing but problems. alwasy hard to get goign and keep going. Thermostate doesn't work, have to leave door open. Within 2 years the top cracked and paint blistered. Vermont Casdting wouldn't stand behind tgheir product--will never buy another Vermont castings. Only reason I still have it is becuase I could not afford to replace it. Now I have to ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
We are into our 6th year with our Aspen. I can tell anyone from well worn experience the the MOST IMPORTANT THING TO GET THIS STOVE TO OPERATE PROPERLY IS TO HAVE WOOD THAT IS 12 TO 14" AND NO LONGER. The Aspen burns front to back and if you clog up the front air intake the stove won't operate and only smolders. For the money, an Aspen can't be beat. It's durable and attractive and it heats ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
This stove is a Knock off of the waterford 100B wood stove, I have the waterford stove it was made back in the 80's and has the front and rear vent which the 1920 model lacks .Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
We have had our Aspen for 8 years and will say it is by far the best stove I have owned (had at least 5 others) It keeps our 1600sq ft 1899 built house at around 70 deg all winter and we have 10ft ceilings. I only use compressed fire logs (not the junk you get at the supermarket) which burn very hot. I never touch the rear damper toggle, leave it fully open and just get the fire started, shut ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Have used this stove in a 560 sf house in mid Missouri since 2005. It is quite efficient - I burn perhaps a cord and a half of wood all winter and hardly ever use my gas furnace. However, it does not have the capacity to damp down overnight - you'll have to get up on cold nights and refuel a couple times. I also have had creosote problems, and I'm not sure if this is the stove or just the ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I'm going on my third winter with this stove and I've found it to be a well built, quality wood burner. Do not over estimate the Aspen; it operates/functions to warm 600 sq ft as advertised. I hope I can assist others reading the above reviews with the following tips. Yes, as with any stove you must burn seasoned wood, preferably hardwood such as oak, hickory, pecan, ect. If you ignore ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I have had this stove for ten years and have grown up with a woodstove in the house. I can heat 75% of the house within a few hours of starting it. Yes, you must leave the door open a crack for about 30 minutes, then you can close the door, and set the thermostat/damper in the rear. I clean the firebox every time I use it and have a contractor clean the stove pipe/chimney before the start of ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Hello, I would like to offer you a wood stove of a new a type which uses twice less firewood than old type stoves to release a certain amount of heat. . The coefficient of efficiency of the presented stove is so high because by burning relatively little wood a high temperature flame (exceeding 1200 degrees) is produced in the combustion chamber and a very significant portion of the flame’s heat ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
We've used this stove for 4 years (4th season) and have had very little trouble with it. I installed in an alcove, using the back vent so there is a 90 degree bend in the flu. We heat an area of about 1700 square feet here in Montana and have to open doors to keep the temperature down, even when it's below zero. Our home is very tight and very well insulated (corbond). Flu maintenance is ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I've read most of the comments on here about having to leave the door open, sooty glass, no flow,, no heat, etc etc. I just bought (Dec 29th2010) my stove and hooked it up myself, and started making a few break in fires before it got cold again. I too, was having the very same problems, was mad, couldn't figure it out and was almost ready to put my old Birmingham back in place. I told my son ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Oh my goodness! Had it for 2 weeks now and our 1500 ft home is warm all over and 84 degrees at first 1000 sq ft. It burns all night when dampled-down and if it goes out (twice now) it stays warm so long the restart is super easy. Never have to leave the door open except to load and clean. I try to keep the ash away from the front vent area and the draft is amazing. 2-30 degree elbows and 23 ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Get another stove. Poor engineering if any or poor fabrication. In any case doesn't draw well. Need to leave door open for long period to get fire started. Does not heat well & has significant creosote buildup. My advice buy American if you can.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Like many others here I am extremely disappointed in this stove. The draft is horrible. I also have to leave the door open to get this thing to stay lit. My pipe is 18 feet tall, and goes straight up, no elbows. Hate to think how poor the draft would be if it had a few bends in it. I use it to heat my front room (12' X 20') and it is adequate for that - no doubt the claim it will heat 1800 ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I have had my aspen since Oct of 09. It sure is a finicky little bugger. I have had a very had time figuring out how to get it to burn well. Creosote buildup has been an issue as well as draft problems. I am going to install an outside air kit and see itfit helps. I think my biggest complaint is that every time I open the door to add wood it smokes up the house. Heating wise, with dry wood and a ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
This stove needs a vent in the front, I always have to leave the door open a crack to create enough of a draft. If I close the door before the fire is roaring all it does it sit there an smoke, sooting up the glass and creating creosote. I am going to try and make the modifications to part #17 the primary air inlet, in order to allow more air into this beautiful looking piece of @#$%.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Brilliant stove! I live in Yorkshire in the UK and I wouldn't be without my Aspen and would recommend it to anyone. I have a 9 metre long chimney which is lined with a stainless steel 6 inch liner with Vermiculite poured all round it all the way up the masonary chimney to keep it warm. It burns brilliantly with lots of heat, we don't shut the room door and it heats quite a bit of the house as ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I have had this stove since 2005 in my 800 square foot heavily insulated vacation home in the Michigan UP. For the last two years the stove has been run 24/7 from November through April. The chimney is a 15 ft 7"x7" ID external masonry chimney. There is six feet of single wall stove pipe from the stove to the chimney. First, I too have ash buildup in the primary air inlet. I have to clean ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
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 "post season overhaul" will do the job. Like most black painted stoves, the paint needs to be touched up occasionally. .Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Just purchased stove this week- installed last night. Very happy with quality so far. Had first fire last night- burnt beautifully. happy we baught it.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I purchased mine in 2001 and it works fine. I have an outside masonry chimney that is quite cold, so I do need to open the door to get the fire going. Once warmed up, I burns fine. I generally run non-stop from Thanksgiving to end of March in New Jersey. Would purchase again.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Piece of crap. How can you justify a woodburning stove that you have to leave the door open on to get it to burn?! Took hours to heat a 320 sq ft room with a nearly straight stovepipe because it simply won't get burning.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I have have my stove for 3 seasons now. The efficiency of the stove largely depends upon the quality of the wood. Well seasoned oak will not produce much creosote, but the stove will produce a lot with unseasoned wood. This stove is very "high maintenance", as others have said the front air holes must be constantly cleared. Luckily we have a fire poker with a hooked end that is perfect for ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
will not buy another,have to keep door open to get draft as there is no draft vent on the front like all others stoves.not safe and fire will go out if no draft,damper never worked well and have to unscrew and take parts off to clean inside, creosotes up quickly, chimney people have told us again. think they could make a better designOverall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Have used this stove for three years and will not get another one. The thermostat doesn't work very well,there is a crack in the top of the stove. It stopped burning with the door closed and must leave it open to burn. I will try cleaning the stove at the front where this a removable piece of iron and see if that works. I am currently looking at the Morso stove and might buy one. I will not buy ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Have used the stove 7 years, continuous all winter. Like others, I need to leave the door slightly open to burn well. The top cracked a couple of years ago, but the draft draws air in so has not been a problem. Really like it.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I have had mine for several years and the only big problems I've had were my doing. When I got it I used flex duct to go around fireplace damper and that got plugged with soot. Since then I cut out the fireplace damper and got rid of the flex. When starting a fire I will have to crack the door until it gets going. Also you can make a great quesadillas on itOverall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
New stove had very poor draft. My chimny goes straight up with no elbows so I didn't think it was caused by chimny. Had to leave stove door open a crack otherwise fire would go out. Removed "Primary Air Plate Part number 17" and discovered excess stove cement was partially blocking air inlets. I also cut out part of part number 17. Noticed that pieces of wood burned much faster at the front ...Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
This is a wretched stove. Ash clogs the vent easily and you have to remove a part with a screw driver in order to clean it out. We had one and my husbands parents had one. Both have now been passed on because they were terrible.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
The stove took some getting used to. Keeping the airways clean are essential to smooth operation. It will not heat large spaces but is a very efficient heater for a great room or large family room. Absolutely worth the price, but don't over-estimate it's capabilities.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I have had this stove for about 4 months and primarily use it on the weekends. It's a great heater for my small / weekend home. However, the finish (Classic Black) started to "rub" off on top of the stove when wiped down with a damp cloth. Is this a common problem ?Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
I have to say this is really a great stove. It was in my price range when I bought it and I was skeptical at first, but it's a proven heater in my house. I installed it myself, too. Really easy, but I grew up with stoves in the house. I rated it a 4/5 stars too.Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Good stove so far for the price. I've had it about 2 months. Burns solidly and the heat is consistent. I give it a 4/5 rating.