NF--Wood Stove for a Hunt Camp

[mcdougy]

Insurance company is after our group. We have/had a homebuilt woodstove/oven in our 1000sqft camp for the last 20 years. "They" are requiring something with a CSA/ULC tag on it, to continue ins. coverage.

 

I was wondering what stove you folks would reccomend, and or the type/brand to stay away from?

 

We use it as the only heat source, Keeping a pot of water warm, and the oven on the current stove is the only place we use to cook roasts and such.

 

We are hoping to keep the cost under $1000.

 

Have looked at some of the "cookstoves" but I am concerned in their capability to heat the camp? And wether you have to feed them wood REALLY often due to the small firebox?

 

There is a propane cook top in camp, but are trying to stay away from going to a propane oven as this camp is in the middle of no-where with no services. All propane is hand carried in on ATV's and boats and I was concerned a p. oven would use a fair bit of propane in the 1 and 2 week stays we have. (moose and deer)

 

Let me know what you have or would try?

 

sidenote: Annual insurance premium keeps slightly rising as they keep putting the replacement value of the camp lower....Bull!!!

 

Cheers MM

[fish_fishburn]

Have a look at Weber woodstoves.

[Sinker]

I have 2 Pacific energy stoves that are amazing. They dont have ovens on them though...

 

S.

[Dara]

Its 1000 sq ft...how much can it cost to replace.

 

Tell the insurance company to take a hike back out of your hunting spot

[iFish4real]

why don't you tell them u have a wood fireplace, does that need a manufacturer sticker ?

[SmokestackLightnin]

Personally, I would shop on Kijiji, there are always woodstoves for sale. When emailing the seller make sure the one you buy has the appropriate stamping.

[SmokestackLightnin]

Here is one where the seller has put a picture of the ULC stamp in the ad:

 

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-other-WOODSTOVE-WOOD-STOVE-W0QQAdIdZ579412618

 

[Maverick]

I'd also go the kijiji route for the stove.

 

We have a propane cooktop and oven at ours and in the two or three weeks I don't think we use 2 20lb tanks, we also bbq a bit too. Grab a 100lb tank and you'll be good for years and only have to haul it once.

[danc]

Its 1000 sq ft...how much can it cost to replace.

 

Tell the insurance company to take a hike back out of your hunting spot

That's what I'd do too.

[mcdougy]

I'd also go the kijiji route for the stove.

 

We have a propane cooktop and oven at ours and in the two or three weeks I don't think we use 2 20lb tanks, we also bbq a bit too. Grab a 100lb tank and you'll be good for years and only have to haul it once.

 

Do you use the oven much? We probably cook with the current oven 3-4 nites in the week. But I have no experience. I guess it wouldn't use much more than a BBQ.

[Blue Lk]

Depending on your insurance company,you may also have to provide a Wett inspection certificate,this involves an inspection of the installation & chimney ensuring everything meets code.

[irishfield]

Dara, Dan... guess it depends how nice the camp is! My 960 square feet is risk assessed to cost over 300k to replace if it burns down and it ain't no palace. Remote debris and new material hauling costs... workers in / out by boat etc. Not paying insurance is a great way to save money, if you never need it. $2200/yr goes into 300k, or even 100k, for more years than most of us will be alive for.

 

Get someone to take the WETT course... "inspect and certify" and shove that paperwork up their . Even tagged and inspected wood stoves have chimney fires, so if the place burns down there'd be no recourse to the "certifier"!

[Dara]

Irish, When you're talking money like that, yes, insure it.

 

But, don't be worried about keeping the price under $1,000.00...do it right

[67ZL1]

I would go with a Pacific Energy or a Blaze King Princess model. Might cost more than a grand to find a used one but you'll be money ahead after using it for a season.

[Maverick]

Do you use the oven much? We probably cook with the current oven 3-4 nites in the week. But I have no experience. I guess it wouldn't use much more than a BBQ.

 

Probably use the oven twice per week, stove top is used daily.

[akaShag]

A good cook stove like a Findlay Oval costs an arm and a leg, and yes the firebox is pretty small and has to be fed pretty regularly, with smallish pieces of wood or the fire goes out.

 

I suggest your best bet is to buy a used air-tight stove, with a good sized firebox, to hunt the camp and go with a propane stove/oven. You might also ask your cook(s) to do more on the stove top and less in the oven (and I have been a camp cook at MANY camps!!!) Another option, and this is not off the wall, we actually did this, is to move the cook stove outside and use the oven outside only. Heat the camp with an air-tight that is ULC approved and the installation WETT certified, and do stove-top cooking on propane inside and oven cooking on the outside stove.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Doug

[crappieperchhunter]

I grew up with my folks having a very small cottage on the upper bruce. Had a wood stove but the cooking lighting and heating was all taken care of by propane unless you really wanted to run the woodstove. Even had a propane fridge which worked great but we didn't use it much...pretty much in the summer only. We went up there 12 months of the year. Dad had 2 100LB propane tanks and they lasted forever especially if you used the woodstove for heat as well. My suggestion would be convert to propane heating and lighting and cooking and keep the woodheat for nostalgia or flip it the bird.

[Sinker]

Shag has a solid idea.

 

Insurance burns my butt. They screw everything up.

 

S.

[danc]

Dara, Dan... guess it depends how nice the camp is! My 960 square feet is risk assessed to cost over 300k to replace if it burns down and it ain't no palace. Remote debris and new material hauling costs... workers in / out by boat etc. Not paying insurance is a great way to save money, if you never need it. $2200/yr goes into 300k, or even 100k, for more years than most of us will be alive for.

 

Get someone to take the WETT course... "inspect and certify" and shove that paperwork up their . Even tagged and inspected wood stoves have chimney fires, so if the place burns down there'd be no recourse to the "certifier"!

Exactly what I recommended on an earlier thread Wayne. Take the course and certify it yourself and then make some money with it. I am WETT certified but have yet to do an inspection. But I have it just in case.

[mcdougy]

Depending on your insurance company,you may also have to provide a Wett inspection certificate,this involves an inspection of the installation & chimney ensuring everything meets code.

Yes, we realize that WETT may be needed and thats not to big of a concern, as Fire SAFETY is a primary concern for all of us.

 

Irish, When you're talking money like that, yes, insure it.

 

But, don't be worried about keeping the price under $1,000.00...do it right

 

Your reminding me of an insurance agent I may know/ have known. You can do it right in that budget IMO with a used stove, were not gaining value/performance from purchasing a brand new one. Also Irish is correct in saying that although it is no palace it is insured for a replacement value of 178k. 2 years ago they had it at 190k. Were not too worried about the structure,it can be rebuilt. Its the liability aspect that is wanted/needed.

A good cook stove like a Findlay Oval costs an arm and a leg, and yes the firebox is pretty small and has to be fed pretty regularly, with smallish pieces of wood or the fire goes out.

 

I suggest your best bet is to buy a used air-tight stove, with a good sized firebox, to hunt the camp and go with a propane stove/oven. You might also ask your cook(s) to do more on the stove top and less in the oven (and I have been a camp cook at MANY camps!!!) Another option, and this is not off the wall, we actually did this, is to move the cook stove outside and use the oven outside only. Heat the camp with an air-tight that is ULC approved and the installation WETT certified, and do stove-top cooking on propane inside and oven cooking on the outside stove.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Doug

 

You sound like my inner self. All of these thingshave been talked about and are being considered. Our coverage is good until feb 2015. But their wanting pics of the existing setup and ulc tags. We could play games but are going to buck up and meet their needs.

I grew up with my folks having a very small cottage on the upper bruce. Had a wood stove but the cooking lighting and heating was all taken care of by propane unless you really wanted to run the woodstove. Even had a propane fridge which worked great but we didn't use it much...pretty much in the summer only. We went up there 12 months of the year. Dad had 2 100LB propane tanks and they lasted forever especially if you used the woodstove for heat as well. My suggestion would be convert to propane heating and lighting and cooking and keep the woodheat for nostalgia or flip it the bird.

 

Everything for propane is already in place and plumbed safely. As well as wired for generator hook up. The place is in the middle of the woods and it seems kinda silly not to utilize the wood for heat especially. I am there for approx. 28 days a year, so cutting that small amount of wood is kind of fun and not much work on a sunday.

 

 

 

Thanks all for your ideas and experiences with different makes/situations. Keep them coming.

Matt

[mcdougy]

Shag has a solid idea.

 

Insurance burns my butt. They screw everything up.

 

S.

I know what your saying and have a tough time writing the cheques without cursing a little under my breath. In this case as well, but at the same time, since the fact it is a homemade stove wont go away forever, the way I am looking at it is : This will be safer hopefully and up to "code" I could yell scream and get ticked off, but thats not going to get me too far in this situation unfortuneatly/fortuneately. and I don't want anyones butt burnt from a fire.

[akaShag]

This is hilarious................a friend has offered to GIVE me a Findlay Oval cook stove and I figure I will build a "summer kitchen" away from the main camp. This because I am fairly sure that the stove is not certified, and the installation could therefore not be WETT certified. So i asked my insurance company how far away such a structure would nee to be, and they said they figured a Findlay Oval "COULD" be certified. So I did a Google search, and guess what thread I found!!!!

 

Doug

[fish_fishburn]

Weberswoodstoves.com

[akaShag]

Weberswoodstoves.com

 

I am sure they make nice stoves.

 

But it is a FINDLAY OVAL that is being given to me.

[Fisherman]

Not going into any details, but I know a person who does WETT certifications on a regular basis and some of the horror stories he has told me would make a clowns shoes curl. Rusted out stove pipes, clay chimney liners disintegrated, cracked fireboxes, improper clearances such as stove pipes virtually touching trusses or wall studs, you name it, he's seen it and people curse him when he won't sign off.