Should I upgrade to a bigger wood-stove insert?

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Dolmar7900

New Member
Dec 22, 2013
22
Whitewater Wisconsin
I have been heating my entire home with the Napoleon 1402 wood insert. I love the stove but I'm thinking about upgrading but I'm not sure if I can find a better stove for my needs. Basically I'm looking for a bigger firebox, increased log length, increased heat output.

I have looked at many 3 ft.³ stoves like Quadra fire, Osburn, lopi. One concern is my Napoleon has two 200 CFM blowers and I'm afraid most others have smaller blowers and I would think less output into the room. I see comparisons of BTU output but I'm concerned they're not going to be 100% accurate to the real world.

I have also seen mixed reviews on many stoves that I like. For example on paper the best stove appears to be the lopi freedom bay. Are there stoves in this category that might be better?

I've even look at older used stoves like the
defiance master's choice which seems like it would put out a lot of heat and it has the reburn system but I can find BTU output for this unit for comparison.

I would really appreciate suggestions on pros and cons of different stoves to put out more heat take bigger logs.

I averaged 5 to 6 cords per year and I have a 16 foot chimney liner if this information helps.
 
One dealer I looked at before my purchase of vc said he had great experience of the 1402. If you are looking for longer burn times then you have to increase the firebox size. If the 1402 is keeping your house warm then stick with it. Unless you are increasing the size of your house, then get a bigger insert.
 
The Osburn 2400 is a serious heater. Don't worry too much about the fans. They don't produce any btus, they just help move the heat. If it will fit the Regency i3100 and the Pacific Energy Summit are also worth checking out.
 
i had a Lopi Freedom (not the bay model) installed in october. that insert really throws some heat. im heating an approx. 1800sf 2 story house with it. my house is poorly insulated and it needs new windows, but thats something ill address next year. i really got to put it to the test over the last month or so. its been quite cold in central jersey for most of december. I'm getting 6 or 7 hours of useable heat and easy relights after 8 or 9 hours. if its not to windy out i can keep my first floor in the low 70's and my 2nd floor in the mid to upper 60's when its in the low 20's outside . the only bad thing i have to say about it is the tapered firebox is a little hard to pack really full. you can get a 17" split in the rear and a 23" split it the front. you need splits of different lengths to really pack the wood in. its like trying to put together a wood puzzle. the Lopi is great high quality stove. Do a little research and try to support american jobs. buy something thats made in the USA.
 
This may be a dumb question but how can the Osburn produce 100,000 BTU with the same size other brands stove produced 30,000 less BTU?
The Lopi freedom bay only produces 74,000 BTU?
Other similar size stoves are 75,000 BTU
 
They all figure different speeds of burning the load. When you load the firebox with 30 lbs of wood, it's going to have the same amount of btus available regardless of the brand of the stove. If you burn through the wood in 4 hours, you might get 100K btu/hr, 5 hours and maybe 80,000BTU, 6 hours 60,000 btu. This is all relative since If I fill the stove with pine there are a lot less btus available than if I load the stove with oak.

As far as the blower goes, it's like the fan on you car when you turn on the AC. The AC is the same size regardless of the fan size/speed. It is going to put out the same amount of cool. If you put the fan on low the air will be cold, if you put it on high, there is lots more noise and the air doesn't have the time to change temperature as much, but you make that up with volume.
 
Thanks eatenbylimestone.
Your explanation was very logical.
So the same size firebox in theory is going to put out the same amount of heat. Unless you have a better stove that is more efficient at burning the wood completely and more effective at moving that air into the room. I would think the fan speed would be the most critical part of the equation and also how far the stove sticks out into the room would also have a bearing for getting the heat out. So really the max burn BTUs are very deceptive number when comparing stoves. Is this correct?

Or can you rely on higher and lower btu numbers to predict what that stove is going to do in your house relative to another stove?
 
I wouldn't call it deceptive, because there are so many variables to the equation. The temperature outside can change the draft so that the stove burns through it's load faster, giving out more btus in cold weather. It's a number to help you make an informed decision. Each stove is different. They also carry a number for how many square feet of house they will heat. Houses have different floor layouts, insulation amounts and ceiling heights. Even location makes a difference. A house in TN that might see 20F is going to need a lot less heat than one in MN that regular sees -40F. They are just numbers to help somebody get an idea on the size stove they will need.

Dolmar7900 said:
Basically I'm looking for a bigger firebox, increased log length, increased heat output.
Click to expand...


The bigger firebox will get you increased log length and heat output. Then I'd look at the weight of the stove. The heavier it is, the longer it will hold the heat after the fire is out. Of course, that means it will take a little while longer to warm up so if you will be wanting quick heat from a cold stove you might want a lighter stove. If you will be burning it non stop, the heavier stove may nice as the mass will spread out how the heat is released into the room.

There are lots of options out there, you just need to figure out which one your wife likes best.
 
Generally firebox size is the best gauge for heat output. The amount of fuel you put into a stove directly effects the amount of heat the stove puts out. I installed my Osburn 2400 insert so it protrudes into the room the maximum as per proper installation. I can only assume this boosts heat output as there is a lot more mass in the room.
 
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