Hi, I am fairly new to this forum but have been reading many threads about wood stoves. I am in need of a wood stove that would heat a house that is a 3000 sq ft house. I don't fully heat all rooms. The area that I heat full is more like 2600 sqft. I currently use a Lopi Liberty and use about 12 face cord, which I think is a lot of wood so I would be looking for a effecient burner also. I have been looking at the Harman TL300, Quadrafire 5700 and the Hearthstone Equinox. The Harman seems like a good unit but I don't fully understand the After Burner aspect. I had a Quadrafire 4300 previously and that wouldn't heat my first floor, so I am a little sceptical about another Quadrafire. I don't really know anything about the Hearthstone Equinox
Need a New Freestanding Wood Stove for up to 3000 sqft house
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If that Liberty is heating that barn with only four cords of wood a season, kiss it on the top plate and keep on burning in it.
budman
Minister of Fire
What do you think you will be burning with anyone of those other stoves.
Four cords to heat that home is great.
Four cords to heat that home is great.
about the wood I use. So when I see people in this forum refer to using 3,4 or 8 cord of wood they are talking about full cords not face cords? and on the Equinox how much heat can they take?
sounds like I'm in a similiar situation.
3000 sqft plus with some rooms closed off.
I use about 4 full cords ( 12 face) with my Country Canyon and think that's pretty good. ( I've been wood heating for 30 years).
At some point the problem becomes distribution of the heat over the square footage, not the stove.
I could eliminate oil usage entirely only adding another stove in a different part of the house, but the cost and inconveince would be far form worth it.
I agree with Bart and Budman - you're doing good.
3000 sqft plus with some rooms closed off.
I use about 4 full cords ( 12 face) with my Country Canyon and think that's pretty good. ( I've been wood heating for 30 years).
At some point the problem becomes distribution of the heat over the square footage, not the stove.
I could eliminate oil usage entirely only adding another stove in a different part of the house, but the cost and inconveince would be far form worth it.
I agree with Bart and Budman - you're doing good.
Bigg_Redd
Minister of Fire
I heat 3000sf with a equinox . I think i will burn 41/2 to 51/2 cord on a cold year .
If i fill my stove twice a day with 4 CB foot of wood I will burn about 7 cords in 4 months . Dec to March .
Most of the time we burn 6 .5 CF a day . If the temps are in the high 30s we can burn just one fire from 5.00 pm for 24 hrs and the stove is still warm.
The house will stay warm and there will be ash and some Cole's for a easy start up .
I haven't turned my hot air heat on in a long time . John
If i fill my stove twice a day with 4 CB foot of wood I will burn about 7 cords in 4 months . Dec to March .
Most of the time we burn 6 .5 CF a day . If the temps are in the high 30s we can burn just one fire from 5.00 pm for 24 hrs and the stove is still warm.
The house will stay warm and there will be ash and some Cole's for a easy start up .
I haven't turned my hot air heat on in a long time . John
Bigg_Redd said:
Never heard of Pacific Energy, but looked them up on the internet and it looks like a nice stove, do you own one. How big of a house do you heat with it?
I'd say the Liberty is doing it's job well. Here in the Pac NW, we're heating a 2000 sq ft old farmhouse with the cast iron version of the Summit. Typically we'll go through about 3 full cords of softwood. To use less wood consider insulated curtains or closing off part of the house in winter?
I have a PE summit and heating 5000 sqft. If I had to do it over again, I would have done the Equinox as the Summit will not pull the load when it is 10 below out.
yanksforever
Member
I'm not emotionally (or otherwise) invested in whatever stove you burn. I'll simply say that we heat our ~2600 ft² 2-story (second floor partially vaulted) home just fine burning almost exclusively softwoods in a Lopi Liberty. I'm sure there are other stoves available which would get the job done as well, or perhaps even better in one way or another...but I'm in no hurry to run out and buy a replacement stove. Haven't even thought about it. Perfectly happy with what I've got. Rick
Sorry I just looked at this thread again. I do realize it heats the house but the burn time is killing me. On a good night I get 6 hours max. That is the main reason I am looking for a new stove.
If you want help with perhaps improving your burn times (and therefore saving a ton of money by not having to buy a new stove) give us details on your wood, your air control/burning, how full you are loading, etc. I am in Rochester (can't be far from you) and I burn 5+ full cords easily in a 2.5 cu. ft. Quadrafire insert. I also awoke to plenty of coals this morning so I could reload and relight with minimum effort (after loading it up 8 1/2 hours earlier.
MarkG
MarkG
yukiginger said:
Mostly hardwoods with at least 1 full year of drying, keeping air control to minimum open and loading to full capacity.
MovingOffGrid
Member
I heat 2500 sq ft very easily with a Summit Pedestal and like this stove.
Two story home - 1250 down and 1250 up - R20 walls - R40 ceiling - double glazed windows and some venting to push hot air upstairs. Zero celcius outside now and warm as heck in here. This stove pushes a lot of heat and is easy to run once you get the hang of it. Overnight burn times of about 6 - 8 hours realistically on my big chimney.
BUT, if you want longer burn times though, I'd look seriously at the Blaze King Classic or the Equinox stove. They are the motherload when it comes to Looong burn times. My dealer swears he has burned up to 30 hours on good wood with the Blaze King in his showroom. And it's a BIG stove, over 4 cu ft, so you can run it harder if you need. Blaze King King, is 8" chimney. Not sure about the Equinox.
Two story home - 1250 down and 1250 up - R20 walls - R40 ceiling - double glazed windows and some venting to push hot air upstairs. Zero celcius outside now and warm as heck in here. This stove pushes a lot of heat and is easy to run once you get the hang of it. Overnight burn times of about 6 - 8 hours realistically on my big chimney.
BUT, if you want longer burn times though, I'd look seriously at the Blaze King Classic or the Equinox stove. They are the motherload when it comes to Looong burn times. My dealer swears he has burned up to 30 hours on good wood with the Blaze King in his showroom. And it's a BIG stove, over 4 cu ft, so you can run it harder if you need. Blaze King King, is 8" chimney. Not sure about the Equinox.
dolphins1lrb said:
Okay - back to the burn time issue, then. You say you get 6 hours max on a good night. How do you define burn time - active flames, any burning coals remaining, just a few embers? As we all know the manufacturers are very generous with their burn times. For me, if I can stir up what remains, give it full air for a while and get some coals glowing hot, then reload as I would when starting fresh - with large splits as well as a little kindling on those coals - then this was in my "burn time window." Granted, there was almost no heat being thrown by then, but the unit is still warm.
The Liberty you have is the largest unit made by one of the best manufacturers in the business. If you have money to throw away, then go for something else, but I don't know how much of an improvement you will get. That is, of course, assuming your stove is operating properly, which I can't really determine at this point, but it sounds fine.
MarkG
Fsappo
Minister of Fire
[quote author="BrotherBart" date="1257661551"]If that Liberty is heating that barn with only four cords of wood a season, kiss it on the top plate and keep on burning in it.[/quot
x10 for me. I used 14 face cords to heat 1600 square feet. Buy a new stove if you want a new stove, different heat or longer burn times, but dont buy a new stove to burn less wood. 4 FC of wood for over 2K square feet is the shizzle
x10 for me. I used 14 face cords to heat 1600 square feet. Buy a new stove if you want a new stove, different heat or longer burn times, but dont buy a new stove to burn less wood. 4 FC of wood for over 2K square feet is the shizzle
SolarAndWood
Minister of Fire
4 cord for that much space in western NY is not a lot of wood. I heat about the same space and burn twice that, but it is our only source of heat. How much oil are you burning?
yukiginger said:
6 hour burn is with very little coals but can get it started again with kindling. Which means wen I get home from work I have to start fresh, which is why I would like a stove that could burn longer.
Todd
Minister of Fire
With good hardwood you should be getting more than a 6 hour burn time with that Liberty. How tall is your chimney and what size diameter? Maybe you could use a pipe damper to slow down the draft and keep more heat in the stove?
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