best stove to survive the upcoming depression

SAU wrote:My take on it was that the Buck was the bottom of the line in coal stoves offered today.

Hi SAU, I'm hearing this same thing from a lot of people. After calling around for Hitzers, Harmans, and Vermont Castings a lot of dealers have told me the Bucks are well built, but very basic and that if I could afford stoves from one of the other brands I'd be a lot better off.

LsFarm wrote:Harmans are backordered longer [later in 2009] than the Hitzers..

I'd call around to Hitzer dealers.. there may be one or two with some stoves in stock

So far no luck. Gotta find something before the bottom drops completely out of Wall Street or I'm going to be in a long line of those waiting to get any kind of coal stove at all, no matter the brand or quality. It fell another 670+ points today! Scary times ... my 401K is shot!

I've found a dealer with a Hitzer model 254 in stock, but I'm not sure it'll be right for my house. I've posted another topic (http://nepacrossroads.com/about6691.html) that asks a few questions about this model. Hopefully it'll do the job.

Well, I've settled on a hard-found Hitzer model 254 radiant. The house is well insulated and has Tyvek house wrap, so it should be just fine. Thanks to everyone for their insight, opinions, and suggestions. This is a really good forum and it saved me from buying a stove of low quality.

Check out the coal chubby, very popular here in New England. Inventer is restoring original units to new for about $700.00 complete with stove.
http://chubbystove.com/

I burn everything from lump bit to fine bit in my vigilant II with no problems. Plus it's a great looking stove.