PE Summit vs. Quad 5700

I am a rookie at this as well but I did post a question on the PE Summit and got some great responses. Go to page 4 and look for "Bigger is better right?" The responses were very helpful to me. Have a good one and good luck cheeting the oil man.

Can't comment on the Quad, never burned one. But...Love my Summit insert after the better part of three seasons burning. 8 hour burns without trying hard and heat the entire 1600 house at -40.

I say go for the Summit! You WON"T be disappointed. The easy to remove baffle is another nice feature of the PE stoves.
Unless you can get the 5700 at a better price.

Fattfire,
You will easily get 8 inch splits in the Summit and 18 inch long is no problem either. I have both a quad 5100 and the Summit(the house I moved in 2 years ago had the Quad 5100 insert). I now have the PE Summit in my Florida. I will tell you that even though I am having problems with some strange smell with my Summit (see-I am done with this I calling the stove shop...) I love this stove. It is much easier to get that overnight burn and the EBT really is a nice feature. I have had unburned fuel(part of log) not burn in the Quad when I shut her down for the night. This does not happen that often but in my book it should never happen. It has never happened with the Summit. The Summit is a heating machine, I am not saying the Quad isn't but side by side, the Summit is a little better. The Quad is a sharp looking stove and burns hot but I just can't get the long burn times that I need. I very seldom use my Quad now even though it could heat most of my house no problem. The problem would be here that at 4:30am the house would be below 65F, not good for me. The Summit packed full will keep my house warm and still have hot coals to start the fire the next morning.

So like others have said choose the one you want, the Quad might take some tinkering, more than the Summit, but many like the Quadra-fire. I think that more like the Summit...

Oh one more thing, if you need a replacement firebrick for the Quad, be prepared to bend over.....With the Summit it is 2 bucks at a stove shop.

Hell I throw you another great stove, the Avalon Olympic(good hot burns, 3 cu foot firebox). Go on the website and find a local dealer (as long as it is not the dealer in Lockport, NY). Look a this beauty in action, you will love it too.

Good luck and don't sweat the small stuff, you can't go wrong with either one of the three.

I have recently purchased a quad 5700 woodstove. I am very pleased with it for the following reasons:

1. takes 24" log so I do not have to worry about cutting the logs to fit. Especially if you get free wood.

2. the larger box makes it so you do not have to clean the ash as often.

3. the 5700 series allows a 2" clearance to a combustable wall if placed in a corner. this gives you better placement options. due to the closer clearances it actually takes up less room than the 4300 series I was going to purchase.

4. My wife is not complaining that the house is too cold.

this stove is heating my entire house 3000 sq ft. single story house.

FatttFire said:

Jimbob! Do you have a hard time loading logs in your summit! I currently cut mine to 18" , and about a 8 to 10 inch tall split! Will I be able to load these in my summit? How big are your splitts and how many can you get in there per load? What kind of actual burn times are you getting?

Thanks,

J

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I don't have any problems loading logs into my Summit, 10" splits might be a bit hard to get into there, 8" or smaller is more like it.
Most of my wood is in the 3-6" range, and ~ 18" long.
If I load 'er right up with softwood, the stove is still WAY too hot to touch 8 hours later, and there is lots of coals for re-start.
I would like to try it on 8" splits of oak or ironwood.

FatttFire said:

Even with softwood, still hot to touch after 8 hours .................................. ( this is me talking to myself ) :-/

Well jimbob I have alot of ironwood, and most of my pile is red oak, maybe I can UPS you a cord to try out, for all your help you have given me! :coolsmile:

Love to see the delivery fee for that! Not to mention the look on the UPS man's face! .............. lol ........

What kind of softwood are you cutting up there anyway?

I think you have convinced me to go with the summit! Do you have any pictures of yours in action?

Thanks

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look on my signature for Summit in action

I have a T6 which is the same as the Summit, but is clad in cast iron. Sometimes described as a Summit in a tuxedo

I load 3 splits EW, then 3 splits NS on top of the EW splits. Splits are +,- 16-18 inches X +,-4-6 inces. That has always given me an easy overnight burn with plenty of coals in the a.m. to restart. I've never burned it full out to the point that I need to add more wood. If I did, it would probably cook me out of the house. I did let it run until my office (off the living room where the stove is located) got up to over 80*. That was enough for me, shut the air down and opened a window

I was on fence too when choosing a stove and the Quad was definitely on my short list. I chose the PE because, given placement of my roof rafters, it would be an easier/better install. It's been great so far. Can't comment on the performance of the Quad but haven't read/heard anything negative about them.

Good luck with your choice !!

FatttFire said:

JFK! I have looked at your pics many times! Nice setup! I especially like the video, good song too!

When you initially starup your stove, how many splits do you put in the fire box? How long does that run on high before you have to add more wood?

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Probably not the best song for me on my video being a Police Officer for the Rangers "I shot the Sheriff....", but at the time it seemed OK.

I usually have 2 north/south and 2 east/west for startup, seems to work pretty well, heats up quickly

FatttFire said:

What kind of softwood are you cutting up there anyway?

Do you have any pictures of your Summit in action?

Thanks

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Mainly Poplar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poplar

.......And another

Ok, one more...

FatttFire said:

I think you have convinced me to go with the summit!
Thanks

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I think P.E. should be sending me a cheque!....:coolsmile:

I have a quad 5700, If you want heat that stove will give it to you... Like any stove overnight burns depend on how much wood is in the firebox and how hot you run the stove. I can get 14+ hrs out of my stove when I shut it right down. but if you are running your stove around 600 degrees, you are not going to get 8 hrs out of a load unless you have a 5 sq-ft firebox....
Right now I am in the process of getting a T6 also for the other side of my house.. I will be able to make a side by side comparison next year, but from everything I read you can't go wrong with the summit.. I like the looks of the T6 over the summit....

The one thing I do like about the 5700 over the T6 is the firebox is longer, 24 1/4 " from brick to glass. I fill it up N/S then I can usually put a coupe pieces E/W right buy the door.

I didn't get a ash pan with my quad, and probably won't use the one one the T6. I just move the coals and shovel.

I don't think you will be disapointed either way you decide to go.

FatttFire said:

I like the looks and automatic draft control on the Summit!

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Is the "EBT" on the Summit really considered automatic draft control, as compared to what Blaze King and VC cat stoves have?