Nestor Martin and Vermont Castings : an Help for an Italian.

Hi, i'm writing from Italy.
I'm not at home for 12 hours during the day and i'd lie tu buy a stoves that manage ir to keep fire gfor the whole day.
I red that Nestor Martin and/or vermont casting are able to work in these way but in Italy they are not very famous.
Anyone have this kind of stoves ? Are them good stoves ? Can tell me somthing about functions and prices ?

Grazie.

We should know more about where you want to install the stove. Whether in the basement and whether that basement is finished or not or if it will be for the first floor living area.

Stoves that forum members have been most satisfied with are those made by Hitzer, Harman, and DS Machine. There are also good used stoves available through Craigslist.

I would lean toward a stove that had both a hopper and thermostat air control which makes loading and tending faster and easier.

You could also try Surdiac which is no longer manufactured but was made in Europe (Sweden?) so it might be available in Italy for less money. I had one for 10 years and was very satisfied with it. It has a good sized hopper and thermostat and will run without electricity. The stove will run for up to 18 hours between shakes.

I don't know what kinds of coal are available in Italy and how much they cost. The kind of coal available may limit your choice of stove.

Hi, I have a Vermont C. Vigilant 2. If I would't have modified it it would be out for me. This stove has good points like the top load, swing out ash pan with a sliding lid but a lot of things to improve and it's what I have done. If V.C. was serious with their coal stoves they would have done their home works a long time ago. A very simple ex: go see a V.C. in a dealership and ask to see how the swing out ash pan works, you will see what I mean and the stove is new. Yes it's a detail but it doesn't give a good image of a high priced product. I worked a lot to have that pan and lid working perfectly together. If you dont't want to brico. on your stove continue your shopping.
Did you look at Godin? When I visited Frace (my youngest daughter was living in Lille, in the north), I had the chance to visit a nice store showing the Godin models.
Wow. When I asked the question on this forum about the look of Hand Fired Anthracite Stoves available in U.S. and Canada, I was remembering all the choices you have in Europa. I have a catalog (122 pages) from Godin on my desk now and I counted more than 10 pages (with 2 + stoves on each pages) of coal stoves: YOU HAVE THE CHOICE, antic look, less antic look, modern look, colored enameled or not, even faience look. Godin exist since 1840. http://www.godin.fr
Nestor Martin has also nice stoves but not as many as Godin. You also have Efel but I don't know if they still in business.
Hope it will help in your shopping.
Salutations

wlape3 wrote:
I don't know what kinds of coal are available in Italy and how much they cost. The kind of coal available may limit your choice of stove.

This is going to be your major issue and you need to resolve it before you look at stoves. That's important because each type of coal burns differently and the stoves are tailored to that type of coal. I don't believe Anthracite or hard coal is readily available in Europe. A quick search of the archives indicate Bituminous or Lignite coal is available but all references are to Germany. Check out the archives and you will find several German companies that make coal stoves. That may be the place to start. They will be able to tell you want types of coal are available in Europe and maybe Italy. Good luck, Lisa