Regency Hampton HI300 vs Pacific Energy Alderlea T5 Classic

Background:
Been burning in a Vermont Castings Aspen for past 11 yrs I've owned house. Installed by previous homeowner, rear vented via 6" steel flexliner up masonry chimney. Home is a 2300 sq ft colonial style.

The Problem:
Although the VC is a cute little stove that can keep the whole house warm if outside temps are above 32F, it is woefully underpowered for a home of this size and must be run at full power, requiring hourly feedings. It is only designed for a 1100 sq ft area. After at least 12 years of reliable service, the firebricks are cracking/crumbling, and the log grate has cracked and is now buckling, causing difficulty removing the ash pan.

The Solution:
A larger free standing stove or a fireplace insert. My current setup looks like this:




Nixed the idea of a larger stove, as I would have to blow out the hearth and match existing bricks, and the arched upper opening of the fireplace is not high enough to accomodate the height of the vents on the larger stoves. So....I opted for an insert. Based on fireplace opening dimensions, I need a medium sized insert. And the best looking inserts I've seen rated at least 75k BTU max were the Regency "Hampton HI300" and the Pacific Energy "Alderlea T5 Class" insert.

Pros and Cons:

Alderlea:
Thought the enamel brown finish looked just a hair nicer
Variable speed (pot) fan, vs only 2 speeds on HI300.

Alderlea Cons:
Price! The unit alone best price was $725 higher than the HI300!!
Firebox size is .0.2 cubic feet smaller than HI300
Weird gap between blower an hearth.


HI300:
much cheaper
Choosing oversize surround is proportionatelly larger all around, not just wider header like the Alderlea.
View of fire through glass is 2 inches wider. Slightly larger firebox.
4 overhead secondary combustion tubes.

Well, I pulled the trigger and put 1000 bucks down on the HI300. Thanks to everyone on previous threads for the HI300 that influenced my final decision! This is a great site! I'll send pics of my final install when it comes, which may take until after Christmas to install.

Thanks Ray. Gonna miss the look of the arched bricks along the opening topside. The oversized surround will mask them. Bart, I am so NOT going to miss trying to coax a fire back to life with just a few glowing embers when i wake up. Hopefully my bellows days will be over!

BrotherBart, wow, noticed you have a lot of BTU power How big is your house? Sounds like a castle!

Bearclaw, I agree, the traditional looking surrounds might not be to your liking with the fieldstone. Price you were quoted was very good though, I paid about 3300 total for mine installed using the existing non-insulated chimney liner. Still pushing my Hampton pretty hard to keep up in these deep winter days and nights, but not feeding it hourly like I did with my small stove. Now I can go several hours without reloading, and getting things going again in the morning is a piece of cake with all the coals. I would have been using about 5g heating oil per day without the stove running. I am down to about one gallon per day now. Based on the current cost of oil and what I am paying for wood (about 150/cord in bulk), I figured out I am saving about 6 bucks per day (about 180 bucks per month during the peak of the heating season). I've discovered the blower is fine with just the two speeds. Most of the time I have it on high, which is not bothersome at all. On low you can't even tell it's on. I really like the way I never have to clean the glass anymore! I've cleaned it one time around Christmas because I had company coming and I wanted it to look perfect. I'll post some pics soon.