Alaska Kodiak Gravity Fed Hopper (How Good ??)

Who knows how good this stove is compared to other gravity fed hopper stoves like the Hitzer 50-93 or the Keystoker hand fired hopper ??

My neighbor has one and it is a very good stove. Heats around 1900 sq.ft. and has had no trouble with it.

I had a hard time finding dealers near me but today I went to Apollo to look at a Hitzer 50-93. The price was right as it was ordered for a person and he backed out. The quality was very good and I had read many positive comments about this stove so I bought it. I'm picking it up tomorrow and will install it later this week so by this time next week I should have an idea.

I purchased an Alaska Kodiak recently, and have been burning it for almost a month now. I am well satisfied with it. It heats my 1600 sq. ft. 2 story home nicely. It has kept it between 70-75 degrees pretty consistently. Slightly cooler upstairs, but we like it a little cooler for sleeping. I could probably direct more heat upstairs with a fan, but haven't seen the need at this point in time.
I have never filled the inside hopper up yet. I fill the firebox right up to the bottom of the hopper with chestnut, and I am easily getting 12-14 hours between tending. Thus far I have only had to have the draft setting approximately 25% open, or less. That's in upstate N.Y. with outdoor temps ranging from the teens up to 40 degrees in the last few weeks here. One of the features of the Kodiak that I really like is the top loading door for adding coal. I'm sure the Hitzer is probably also a good quality stove. Price and availability on your area sometimes dictate what you ultimately buy.

I've had my Alaska Kodiak for a couple months now, and I like it a lot. I also have never filled the hopper. Probably will over Christmas when I go out of town for a couple of days. It took me a few weeks to learn to poke the fire to keep the ashes from building up in the corners. I'm burning pea, haven't tried nut yet. The local dealer told me that if the stove is going in the basement, get the Hitzer, but if its going in the living room where I'll need to sit near it, get the Kodiak. I guess the Kodiak can burn a little lower.

Braindead, you stated you have yet to fill the hopper. Your stove will burn lower and hold a steady temp better with the hopper full -vs- empty. If the alaska is designed like the keystoker hopper fed then this will ring true. Can you post some pics. of your hopper set up ? I have allways wondered what the Kodiak system looked like.

Hey guys, you are loosing one of the best feachers of your Kodiak if you don't fill the hopper! Not only do you get the obvious longer burn times, but the constant gravity feed keeps a more consistant heat output than covering your fire with new coal every once-in-a-while. My Hitzer 30-95 is gravity fed hoper. That is the reason I chose that model. I actually did consider the Kodiak, but it puts out too much heat for my needs.

Here's some pictures showing the Alaska Kodiak hopper . I took them tonight after a shake down, but before putting in a fresh scuttle of chestnut. the camera's flash really made the crumbs on the stove top show up. I try to vacuum it off occasionally, and it's due for another vacuuming now.
Don't worry, I'll be filling the hopper soon. It's just that after burning wood for many years, I need to break away from the "tend it" mentality in a gradual way. Cant just go "cold turkey" ! I guess that's one of the reasons I bought a hand feed stove rather than a "girley man" stoker. The other reason being that I didn't want to use electricity.
Hope the pictures are helpful.

Mike

Thanks paperboy for the pics. Looks very much like a Hitzer or a keystoker hopper fed. I was under the belief that Alaska fed from the sides or something, if you read there sight ad it sudjest that it is not the normal feed design. Looks like a very well built stove. I use a natural bristle 4" paint brush to sweep the ash and coal that missed the hopper into the fire box -vs- a vacume.

SemperFi wrote:Thanks paperboy for the pics. Looks very much like a Hitzer or a keystoker hopper fed. I was under the belief that Alaska fed from the sides or something, if you read there sight ad it sudjest that it is not the normal feed design. Looks like a very well built stove. I use a natural bristle 4" paint brush to sweep the ash and coal that missed the hopper into the fire box -vs- a vacume.

The Kodiak in the pics is the only hand fed stove Alaska makes. All of the other Alaska stoves are stoker stoves. For Alaska the gravity feed hopper is not their usual design. Sure does look like my Hitzer hopper.