The crock could probably be enlarged to 8" that would help but it is hard to say how well they will work i would bet that they will be ok. I am sure they would work better with a properly sized ss liner but only one way to tell. You should have the chimney thoroughly inspected though It is very possible you have cracked tiles if you have been burning for years in it.
2 New BIG Hybrid CAT stoves
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Ya I was thinking I might be able to find a mason that could enlarge the thimble.
No visible cracks on liner. 26 years and counting. I think having a chimney in the center of a home makes for less expansion and contraction and no freezing in all but the top 4 to 5 feet.
My Woodstock Fireview burned for 27 years with a cat and heated my 2642 sq. ft. house quite well. I replaced it this year with a new Woodstock Progress Hybrid. I wanted a long burn time stove that offered efficiency, esthetics, and that wonderful soapstone heat. I seriously considered the Blaze King, but in the end I was unwilling to give up the feel of soapstone. I really like the BK thermo control, long burn time, and proven cat system. How can the jury still be out on cat stoves? My fire view was a freaking powerhouse with the cat engaged, in fact it was throttling it back that was my biggest challenge. Really looking forward to using the new PH.
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Ya, just pull the pipe up and sweep it out. Hope I don't get accused of being a crook for suggesting that.
You guys.... taken out of context. Pulling that pipe will provide excellent cleaning access, no doubt about it.
BK will outburn the 5100i? BK is a much smaller unit - its BTU output is barely 40,000 compared to 60,000 for 5100i.
I doubt BK will work well for spaces bigger than 1200sft
I dont know what bk you are looking at but the king would be the comparable bk to the 5100. They have very similar fire box sizes and similar btu output. I like regencies and am looking forward to seeing how the 5100 preforms but your statements about bk's is wrong
You are way off! You can't base a decision on which stove top pick by comparing BTU's. They are all over place, usually WAY exaggerated! I'm heating 2200 square feet with a mid sized BK.
smokedragon
Minister of Fire
I will let you all know when I get my hybrid up and running this winter. Stove will be here late next week, I can't wait.
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
Tenn Dave
Minister of Fire
G'day Gents,
It's been a little while since I have ventured onto Hearth.com and so I apologize for chiming in a little late here. However, this thread seems to have been left a little unresolved and so I am not sure where any of you are with respect to the Regency F 5100 / 3500, but for your convenience and reading pleasure, here is a previous thread started by JJD, who does have real world experience with a Regency F5100
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/regency-5100-the-first-few-months.104350/page-3#post-1853706
At the outset, I would caution anybody trying to run the F5100 on anything other than an 8" flue. As you will read, JJD has some initial problems of overdrawing which reduced his burn times considerably. Scrolling to the end and after accepting some advice from those from the forum, he rectified the situation marginally with some chimney retrofits. However, as you might come to appreciate, he might still not be obtaining the full design benefit of the unit. It would certainly be interesting to learn of his most recent experiences considering your last (North American) blistering winter.
Also, and upon reading some of the posts above, one other thing members might need to think about is the overall household system configuration of your stove and flue and how your house actually uses the system in its totality. To explain, one such consideration is a central chimney configuration and the efficiency of the stove itself. If one stove is more efficient than another for comparison purposes, then this generally means that the more efficient stove will deliver more heat into the surrounding room than the stack itself. Therefore, if your overall household system design (including the flue/chimney) is designed to heat the upper level of the house via the flue/chimney then a more efficient stove as measured by a test alone might not be most suitable solution for your specific requirements. Unfortunately, I am not aware if there is any way to adequately quantify the real differences based upon efficiency measurements alone. Therefore, and as others have hinted at above, one faced with this circumstance may be better off searching for others with a similar "system" configuration so as to better gauge the benefits or not of any particular stove.
I hope this helps
Peter T
PS For those who have followed some of my previous posts, well I still haven't grasped the nettle yet on what stove I will install. I was really keen on the F5100 (F5102 here in OZ) but the price was prohibitive at the time I inquired and I suspect it will be more so now given that the $A has dropped in value considerably (as compared to the USD) in recent times. The F3500 is just being released here also, so I would be keen to learn of any real world experiences with this stove also if they exist. BK is not available in OZ for comparison.
It's been a little while since I have ventured onto Hearth.com and so I apologize for chiming in a little late here. However, this thread seems to have been left a little unresolved and so I am not sure where any of you are with respect to the Regency F 5100 / 3500, but for your convenience and reading pleasure, here is a previous thread started by JJD, who does have real world experience with a Regency F5100
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/regency-5100-the-first-few-months.104350/page-3#post-1853706
At the outset, I would caution anybody trying to run the F5100 on anything other than an 8" flue. As you will read, JJD has some initial problems of overdrawing which reduced his burn times considerably. Scrolling to the end and after accepting some advice from those from the forum, he rectified the situation marginally with some chimney retrofits. However, as you might come to appreciate, he might still not be obtaining the full design benefit of the unit. It would certainly be interesting to learn of his most recent experiences considering your last (North American) blistering winter.
Also, and upon reading some of the posts above, one other thing members might need to think about is the overall household system configuration of your stove and flue and how your house actually uses the system in its totality. To explain, one such consideration is a central chimney configuration and the efficiency of the stove itself. If one stove is more efficient than another for comparison purposes, then this generally means that the more efficient stove will deliver more heat into the surrounding room than the stack itself. Therefore, if your overall household system design (including the flue/chimney) is designed to heat the upper level of the house via the flue/chimney then a more efficient stove as measured by a test alone might not be most suitable solution for your specific requirements. Unfortunately, I am not aware if there is any way to adequately quantify the real differences based upon efficiency measurements alone. Therefore, and as others have hinted at above, one faced with this circumstance may be better off searching for others with a similar "system" configuration so as to better gauge the benefits or not of any particular stove.
I hope this helps
Peter T
PS For those who have followed some of my previous posts, well I still haven't grasped the nettle yet on what stove I will install. I was really keen on the F5100 (F5102 here in OZ) but the price was prohibitive at the time I inquired and I suspect it will be more so now given that the $A has dropped in value considerably (as compared to the USD) in recent times. The F3500 is just being released here also, so I would be keen to learn of any real world experiences with this stove also if they exist. BK is not available in OZ for comparison.
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