Biggest, meanest,most btu output

[Todd]

I’m a little confused here. Did you say you also are installing an insert? I would think a large insert along with a 3 or 4 cu ft wood stove should have no problem heating a 3000 sq ft log cabin once it’s fully chinked and the logs fully dry out and settle. You may have to supplement with some propane heaters or something else until then. My first couple Winters I had to chase leaks with my caulk gun in my log cabin.

 

[AlexandreG]

What exactly it the insurance company requiring? Is it a ulc listing or is it emissions compliant as well?

Insurance company is asking for the stoves to be csa approved. It is little bit more permissive emissions wise then epa 2020, but this is likely to change in a near future, if possible I'll try to stick to the most strick norms, so i dont end up in a similar situation later.

 

[AlexandreG]

H

I’m a little confused here. Did you say you also are installing an insert? I would think a large insert along with a 3 or 4 cu ft wood stove should have no problem heating a 3000 sq ft log cabin once it’s fully chinked and the logs fully dry out and settle. You may have to supplement with some propane heaters or something else until then. My first couple Winters I had to chase leaks with my caulk gun in my log cabin.

hahaha my bulk caulk gun is always loaded and ready to shoot! Would be way less terrible if i could have left the log wall stack themselves tights when settling/drying. My log house is an extension to an older farm house, and the logs are sitting on top of the old house roof, I placed rebars in the logs so they stay in place when drying, preventing major height lost.l that would have been problematic with the old structure.

I would like to change my ht-3000 for something more powerful if i find that.

I also have to install an insert since my new insurance company won't tolerate my masonry fireplace that was my main heating device. (It was fitted with a kind of homemade insert/heat exchanger/metal and glass doors)

 

[begreen]

You can get a wee bit larger stove but the heat output is not going to be dramatically greater. Adding an insert will increase firepower and will eat more wood.
If you have good clearances around the stove then the Drolet Austral III may be a better bet. It is not much larger, but unlike the HT-3000, it is unshielded which results in much more radiant heat off of the stove. That can help warm up the interior mass of the place or at least feel warmer. The Buck 91 that was suggested also has unshielded sides though it requires an 8" flue. There is also the JA Roby Ultimate.

PS: As a test, one could remove the side shields from the HT-3000 to make it more radiant, just make sure that there are no combustibles within 36".

 

[begreen]

How dry is the firewood currently being burned? The HT-3000 need fully seasoned firewood to perform at its best. A 5% difference in moisture content can make a big difference in BTU output.

The importance of seasoned wood - Dry vs Wet

This is a somewhat extreme case comparing dry wood @ 16% moisture and wet wood @38%. 38% is just under dripping wet or like green wood that was split recently. Adding a second video. Short and to the point. Further thoughts: https://hearth.com/articles/chimneysweep/howetwd.htm

www.hearth.com

 

[AlexandreG]

I

You can get a wee bit larger stove but the heat output is not going to be dramatically greater. Adding an insert will increase firepower and will eat more wood.
If you have good clearances around the stove then the Drolet Austral III may be a better bet. It is not much larger, but unlike the HT-3000, it is unshielded which results in much more radiant heat off of the stove. That can help warm up the interior mass of the place or at least feel warmer. The Buck 91 that was suggested also has unshielded sides though it requires an 8" flue. There is also the JA Roby Ultimate.

PS: As a test, one could remove the side shields from the HT-3000 to make it more radiant, just make sure that there are no combustibles within 36".

I like the idea of doing that test, i do have clearance all around. Is it ok to keep it this way if I like it, or it is unsafe for extended usage?

I saw that buck 91 is made in Insert version too and is definitely on the list for the masonry chimney update.

I tried with no luck to reach j.a. roby today to speak with a representative to get possibly more info about their ultimate . I am looking at the specs, and on paper there is not much of a difference with the ht-3000. Would i not live 6h road from the closet store having it in stock I would go take a look to make my assumptions more accurate. According to Joop member and his un-insulated large stone house, the Ultimate is a beast. He lives in a not much warmer area than I and the housing parameters could be similar.

For the wood moisture, I don't have a meter, but i have different stacks of different firewood, some of it is bone dried larch, fir and pine, 3+years old, also have oak and maple 3 years old, beech 2yo and 1yo. Plus a stack of the left over from building the house including kiln dried construction lumber. I mean, i definitely see a difference in the ability of the stove with well seasoned wood, but I can't push it enough without overheating it.

 

[begreen]

I like the idea of doing that test, i do have clearance all around. Is it ok to keep it this way if I like it, or it is unsafe for extended usage?

From an internal fire burning standpoint it is not unsafe, but the tested clearances will be void. The Drolet Austral III is unshielded from the factory. It is the same stove as the Myriad and Legend III but without the side shielding.

 

[Newbie78]

The only stove in that group of 4 similar stoves (myriad, legend, black stag, and austral) that has side shielding is the legend.

 

[EbS-P]

You need to be aware of that the biggest stove run 8”. Plan accordingly.

 

[AlexandreG]

You need to be aware of that the biggest stove run 8”. Plan accordingly.

This ain't an issue, thanks for making sure i'm aware of it.

 

[BobcatBranch]

You mentioned longevity... That may exclude some of the complicated stoves with crazy baffles, combustors, and weak components (like blankets, and baffles made of vermiculite). Running a "hearth queen" hard may leave you with a schedule full of stove maintenance.

Sure, a $100K Ford raptor would work great on a farm, but all those bells and whistles start breaking quickly with solid use (and occasional abuse). That 3/4 ton work truck with the big block and granny gear would last forever.

Forgive my analogy. I'm simple.

 

[BKVP]

Then again once you get out of the household sandbox there are bigger options https://burnchips.com/products/shop-heaters/

I'm calling them! I need one of their systems for my new 40 x 80 shop. Thanks for posting this...

BKVP

 

[bholler]

You mentioned longevity... That may exclude some of the complicated stoves with crazy baffles, combustors, and weak components (like blankets, and baffles made of vermiculite). Running a "hearth queen" hard may leave you with a schedule full of stove maintenance.

Sure, a $100K Ford raptor would work great on a farm, but all those bells and whistles start breaking quickly with solid use (and occasional abuse). That 3/4 ton work truck with the big block and granny gear would last forever.

Forgive my analogy. I'm simple.

Vermiculite baffles are actually very durable

 

[peakbagger]

I'm calling them! I need one of their systems for my new 40 x 80 shop. Thanks for posting this...

BKVP

Messerschmidt, has a good reputation in the commercial/industrial biomass chip heating field. They did a lot of the installs of chip boilers in VT and NH. Of course those systems challenges are mostly a matter of getting chips to flow out of storage and somewhat uniformly into the boilers without getting jammed. More than a few of those systems were switched to pre qualified chips that are high graded at the yard due to past issues with standard chips that love to get jammed. Froling went one step further and offer Precision Dried Chips that are prescreened and dried making for much easier chip recovery and transport.

 

[AlexandreG]

I went in a local hardware store today and bumped into two interesting thing one next to another.... Drolet HT-3000 and the J.A. Roby Ultimate.

Ht-3000 was listed at 2400

Ultimate was at 2300$ (CND)

Ultimate firebox is way, way bigger then Ht-3000, almost double, the built and quality seems toughest and thicker in every aspect. Welding is nicely done too. The whole unit seems to be a very simple and sturdy unbreakable beast. I was pleasantly surprised and wasn't expecting such quality at a such price. I don't know how it runs, but it seems completely above all the other new epa stoves i have seen lately in term of assembly and materials.

Just in case it could be of any help to anyone.

 

[Southwestpaburner]

Doesn’t the Roby come with or you can get the heat exchanger on top with 2-6 inch ducts and a 450 CFM fan wouldn’t that help his cause

 

[Southwestpaburner]

Like this

 

[AlexandreG]

You can get it in options yes

 

[begreen]

I went in a local hardware store today and bumped into two interesting thing one next to another.... Drolet HT-3000 and the J.A. Roby Ultimate.

Ht-3000 was listed at 2400

Ultimate was at 2300$ (CND)

Ultimate firebox is way, way bigger then Ht-3000, almost double, the built and quality seems toughest and thicker in every aspect. Welding is nicely done too. The whole unit seems to be a very simple and sturdy unbreakable beast. I was pleasantly surprised and wasn't expecting such quality at a such price. I don't know how it runs, but it seems completely above all the other new epa stoves i have seen lately in term of assembly and materials.

Just in case it could be of any help to anyone.

The interior front slope of the firebrick limits the full loading space a bit but it is a big belly. @joop runs one.

 

[Newbie78]

I went in a local hardware store today and bumped into two interesting thing one next to another.... Drolet HT-3000 and the J.A. Roby Ultimate.

Ht-3000 was listed at 2400

Ultimate was at 2300$ (CND)

Ultimate firebox is way, way bigger then Ht-3000, almost double, the built and quality seems toughest and thicker in every aspect. Welding is nicely done too. The whole unit seems to be a very simple and sturdy unbreakable beast. I was pleasantly surprised and wasn't expecting such quality at a such price. I don't know how it runs, but it seems completely above all the other new epa stoves i have seen lately in term of assembly and materials.

Just in case it could be of any help to anyone.

They weigh about the same. In fact, I think the drolet might be a bit heavier. The jaroby is 1/4 steel everywhere I think. The ht3000 has a 5/16 top...

I compared the drolet to the jaroby stoves a few years ago and I got the opposite impression. But not by a bunch.

But overall, I'd say quality is similar. I will reconsider a jaroby in my next life...

 

[Prometeo]

jotul f55 v2 has the highest btu, about 85000 real, tested with cordwood, take a look here

Woodstove Database | Burnwise | US EPA

 

[AlexandreG]

They weigh about the same. In fact, I think the drolet might be a bit heavier. The jaroby is 1/4 steel everywhere I think. The ht3000 has a 5/16 top...

I compared the drolet to the jaroby stoves a few years ago and I got the opposite impression. But not by a bunch.

But overall, I'd say quality is similar. I will reconsider a jaroby in my next life...

On paper I was thinking they are the same. In real life, both of them literally side to side, you can't argue the difference, in favor of the Ultimate . J.A. Roby haven't played with the numbers to make the stove appear better/bigger, they don't need, it talks by itself when you see it.

I contacted J.A. Roby, the man I talked to was incredibly knowledgeable of his products and provide me very good informations, I wouldn't be afraid to ask them support or contacting them to have for the lifetime warranty , they seem proid of their's products. Side note, he told me in the coming months they will release a new massive cooking wood stove with a firebox and heating capacity very similar to the Ultimate, if this could interest some one (i would have jump on this if i wasn't in need right now)

I am considering to do the switch with the Ultimate and possibly saving the ht-3000 as an insert in the masonry fireplace. I will contact sbi today to ask them advice on that specific use of the HT-3000, wich should be fine according to the manual and by the fact the osburn 3500(being the ht-3000's twin) is made in an insert version.

 

[peakbagger]

Just thinking about it. The old Vermont Elm stoves were quite large and they made some extra long models. Deranged Hermit on this site rebuilds them. They have been out of production for quite awhile and have a collectors following so they are not cheap but they were designed to put out a lot of heat.

 

[AlexandreG]

They weigh about the same. In fact, I think the drolet might be a bit heavier. The jaroby is 1/4 steel everywhere I think. The ht3000 has a 5/16 top...

I compared the drolet to the jaroby stoves a few years ago and I got the opposite impression. But not by a bunch.

But overall, I'd say quality is similar. I will reconsider a jaroby in my next life...

For what it is of the weight, Ultimate is heavier, no doubt. 500lbs

Ht-3000 SHIPPING weight 500lbs.... including the skid and crating box, which i was pleased by the quality when i hauled it on 300km in a snow storm last year. I lifted and carried by hand (with a friend obviously) the ht, it aint 500lbs. They play the numbers for the firebox, they do the same for the weight to induce some impressions to the buyer, it tells a lot about the company. I got missing parts on the vortex pipe i ordered from sbi, it was treated like a warranty thing, needing me to fill out tons of paperwork to get them to send me back the part. People over the phone where not interested in helping whatsoever. I felt treated like a number, remembering me when i was in the army going through admin paperwork or pre-deployment checklist...."usine a saucisse"


I literally lifted both of them yesterday, i do not doubt, ultimate is heavier.

 

[Newbie78]

My experience with drolet re customer service hasn't been like that whatsoever.