sf heating on fireview

Don't own one but I "believe" Dennis has posted he heats roughly 1200 sq'. I'm thinking the ND winters are a little tougher than ours are here. :lol: I don't get caught up on the rated BTU's on stoves,(firebox size should also be considered) my Endeavor was rated at 70K+ IIRC, my BK stove is only rated at 40K and does a better job.

I think there's a difference between gas stove BTU output and wood stove output even though they may say the same? My old Fireview was installed in an insulated 1000 sq ft basement and it also heated the upper 1000 sq ft til the temps got down into the single digits then it needed a little help. I think the upper limit for the Fireview is around 2000 sq ft if you live in a cold climate with good insulation which is what I have.

zim said:

rdust i wonder if dennis has 1200 under the top floor to also be concerned about..

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I thought he had more than that and also added an addition this last Summer?

Todd said:

I thought he had more than that and also added an addition this last Summer?

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Dunno, just read this today. Dennis post

zim said:

rdust i wonder if dennis has 1200 under the top floor to also be concerned about..

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I'm not sure anyone with a stove worries about the basement if they don't heat from the basement. I have a basement that is unheated and I never think about it in terms of the size of stove need. Heat don't go down it goes up so unless it's being helped into the basement it ain't going down.

Zim, your sig says that you have a Mansfield. If that stove isn't getting it done for your house in ND, I doubt that the Fireview, which is ~ 30% smaller than the Mansfield, would do the job for you. Maybe look at the Progress. . .

rdust said:

Todd said:

I thought he had more than that and also added an addition this last Summer?

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Dunno, just read this today. Dennis post

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No wonder her never needs to load up his Fireview! 1200 sq ft should be no problem with any of the Woodstock's as long as you don't live in a sieve.

I heat 1800 drafty not well insulated sqft with my Fireview. The stove room and upstairs are in the 70s most of the winter. I set the thermostat at far end of the main floor at 65 and the heat does come on for a few hours on the colder nights. If my main floor was more open and better insulated the stove cold probably heat the whole house in all but the coldest weather.

I have 2100 single level, okay insulation, horrible layout for a stove.
However we dipped into the teens last night and it kept all but the very back bedrooms warm. I have to use a fan just to get the heat from the stove room.

The basement will soon have the jotul to help out. Basement is on that far side of the house, stove sits in a large room with just a crawlspace beneath it.

Heat will kick on right before i wake up, as the stove top has gone south of 300. Makes a decent alarm clock.

This is my third season with the Fireview. I burned about 3 1/2 cords the first year. Last year it was about 4 cords, but we were still burning in May last year! With the warm fall and early winter this year, I may burn less than 3 1/2.

I'm heating on the order of 2500+ Sqft (just learned this number as we had the house appraised and that is how much they calculated our living area to be, I knew it was over 2200, but...). Anyway, I knew I wanted/needed the Progress, now I know why .

Seriously though - the FV has been able to keep us comfortable enough most of the time. We can maintain a 50* temperature difference pretty easily (i.e. 15* ourside, we are 65* inside and that is where we aim to be). The layout of our home is such that the heat flows through very nicely. However, I struggle to maintain much over that. So, if the temperature outside drops to single digits (i.e. 5*f for a day or two with below 0 nights) then I am really pushing the FV as hard as I can and in the morning I will have to kick the backup central heat to get the temps up. Now I imagine that if I were to set the alarm and feed the FV in the middle of the night I might be able to burn less oil in those frigid nights, but I like my sleep. We only get those really cold spells a few nights a year though so it isn't a big deal...

I would not expect that in a colder climate or a leaky house you could replicate my results - our home is fairly tight and decently insulated. However, the steady heat ouput of the FV really has been good for helping to maintain a more steady temp throughout the house.

Okay, so you're looking for a more efficient stove. . .let's say that catalytic stoves are 10% more efficient, and downsizing from 3 cu ft to 2 cu ft would probably help you burn less wood, but you'd get less heat too. I wouldn't downsize unless the Mansfield is roasting you. If you're accustomed to pumping out 80k BTU when it's -40F, I don't think the Fireview will make you happy. . .or maybe you'll be happy being chilly while burning less wood, but the wife will be giving you the "WTF did you do?" look. Doh! If I lived where the temp regularly goes below zero (16F last night = coldest here since last Jan.), I'd be looking at the Progress. It remains to be seen just how good that stove is at sipping wood, but we should have a better idea by the time backorders are filled and one is available. If you want to switch to the most efficient wood heater out there without downsizing, just sell your soul to the aliens and get a BK.

Random thought about the Mansfield: I've read a few threads about Hearthstones which indicated that a lot of heat was going up the flue, and the owners weren't quite happy until they put a damper in the flue. If you don't have a flue damper, maybe installing one would help with running the stove lower and burning less wood.

Flatbedford said:

I heat 1800 drafty not well insulated sqft with my Fireview. The stove room and upstairs are in the 70s most of the winter. I set the thermostat at far end of the main floor at 65 and the heat does come on for a few hours on the colder nights. If my main floor was more open and better insulated the stove cold probably heat the whole house in all but the coldest weather.

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I hear a Progress whispering: "Flattbedford........."

zim said:

ok was just wondering how many sf you all with fireviews are heating ,i got no response from dennis and as everyone on this fourm knows thats the only stove he promotes so a little feed back would help.idont know for sure but i think the fireview puts out about 55000 btu s my house couldn't be heated with a 55000 gas stove so its a no brainer a 55000 wood stove ant gonna do it,what the most sf home out beening heatedown stairsd with a fireview.I heat a 1500 sf ranch with a 1500 sq basement, no one stays down stairs so only heat is from the ceiling fan that pushes air down a open door.when its -20 to -40 its still in the mid 40 s down stairs so never a freeze up what say you all.

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Zim, my apology to you. Evidently this was posted somewhere else and I missed it. Not sure what happened but we can correct it.
It is correct with the 1200 sq ft and even a bit under that. This old crate was extremely drafty until this year when we did some changing. New doors and windows plus more insulation has made a difference for sure as we are staying warmer with less draftyness.

The Fireview does put out 55,000 btu. Heating that basement of yours could pose a problem. Also I think the Mansfield may kick out more heat than the Fireview. Although the Mansifield says 600 stove top for highest the Fireview says 700 but the Mansfield is a much bigger stove so it should give out more heat. All in all, I would not go down in size from the Mansfield if that is heating your home well. If you need more heat, I then would say look strongly at the Progress.

fire_man said:

I hear a Progress whispering: "Flattbedford........."

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I wouldn't call it a whisper. As soon as a have a few bucks I can part with, and you guys help them work all the bugs out of 'em... We have already thought about how the will living room will be rearranged. The clearances of the PH will work much better for us too.

Anybody want a Frieview?

What did you do with your Fireview Tony?

Or a second small stove in the far end of the house, but that would cost much more than the switch when a second chimney factored in.

I think Mrs. Flatbedford would rather move than try to fix this house anyway. Besides, we are fine in all but the coldest, windiest weather with what we have now, and we have a perfectly good furnace to help us through those days.

Flatbedford said:

fire_man said:

I hear a Progress whispering: "Flattbedford........."

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I wouldn't call it a whisper. As soon as a have a few bucks I can part with, and you guys help them work all the bugs out of 'em... We have already thought about how the will living room will be rearranged. The clearances of the PH will work much better for us too.

Anybody want a Frieview?

What did you do with your Fireview Tony?

Or a second small stove in the far end of the house, but that would cost much more than the switch when a second chimney factored in.

I think Mrs. Flatbedford would rather move than try to fix this house anyway. Besides, we are fine in all but the coldest, windiest weather with what we have now, and we have a perfectly good furnace to help us through those days.

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The Chimney guy that helped me change my flue from the Fireview to the Progress liked the FV so much he wants to buy it (offered $1000 cash, maybe that's a little low for a 4 year old FV?) But he did the Progress install for free.

Yup, we may be working those Progress bugs out, but so far so good. I like the longer burn times and warmer house, and quicker reload times.

fire_man said:

Yup, we may be working those Progress bugs out, but so far so good. I like the longer burn times and warmer house, and quicker reload times.

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Gotta love a big steel stove!

I am going to not try and be biased here on my plug for the fireview because every ones preferences are different. I'm heating 2000 square feet of an old, old log home here in MN which is partially drafty the majority of the time.

Last I checked with the stove running, the farthest reach of the house was at 60 degrees with a zero degree night and 10 mph winds. Granted, I have to load more frequently, but anyone that has seen the stove comments on the beauty of the stove, a sacrifice well worth the effort IMO. I put the stove in this fall and have other stoves in the house but this is the only that has primarily ran.

Seems that managing air movement in and out of the stove room is key, I see that as a common thread among a lot of different stove users.

Going from running a cast iron stove to the soft gentle heat my stove room does not blast me out and keeps the house temperatures creeping up. My upstairs temps are much more comfortable as well. The nice thing too is the shoulder season heat is much more manageable.