Hello, All:
I'm a first-time poster who has read the forums exhaustively over the past few days. They have helped me tremendously, but I still need some guidance in choosing which stove to buy.
We live in southwestern New Jersey, near Vineland. The home is a ranch on a full basement - each level is about 2800 SF. The main living area is extremely well insulated. The basement is only a few feet underground and has an entrance door near to the proposed stove location. I chose the basement because it is currently not heated and my wife is going to use it as a craft area. This will be a fresh installation, so I'm not locked in to a particular size chimney. About 1100 SF of the basement is insulated and finished and this is the location in which the stove will be placed. The larger, uninsulated section may be closed off from the insulated section. Directly across from the proposed stove location is the stairway, so I will get some convective movement upstairs. In any case I realize that I will not be able to heat the entire house comfortably with just one stove.
I really don't care about appearance or the materials from which the unit is constructed; I'm looking for heat output and efficiency. I'd also like a realistic burn time of at least 12 hours. So far I've narrowed the choices to the Englander 30 (and its kin), the Napoleon 1900, and the Pacific Energy Summit. The best prices I have found so for are $1000 delivered on the Englander, $1600 delivered on the Napoleon, and $1700 delivered on the Summit.
I love the Blaze King King, the Hearthstone Mansfield, and the Hearthstone Equinox, but their pricing is nearly DOUBLE that of my choices. That has forced me to exclude them. The Jotul 600 and Vermont Castings Defiant have a double door arrangement that increases the gasketed surface area. I'm concerned this will require additional upkeep. The Vogelzangs have fireboxes that are too small.
In reading the boards, the Englander seems to have an enhanced appetite for wood. One poster performed a long-term comparison and recorded the wood consumption of his Englander over a two year period to be double that of another stove in a similarly-sized home. Is that an anomaly, or may I expect to be feeding the Englander more than the others? On the other hand, are the others worth the 60% or 70% premium over the Englander?
Are there other choices I should consider? Are any of my current choices the wrong choice? I appreciate any insight.
I'm a first-time poster who has read the forums exhaustively over the past few days. They have helped me tremendously, but I still need some guidance in choosing which stove to buy.
We live in southwestern New Jersey, near Vineland. The home is a ranch on a full basement - each level is about 2800 SF. The main living area is extremely well insulated. The basement is only a few feet underground and has an entrance door near to the proposed stove location. I chose the basement because it is currently not heated and my wife is going to use it as a craft area. This will be a fresh installation, so I'm not locked in to a particular size chimney. About 1100 SF of the basement is insulated and finished and this is the location in which the stove will be placed. The larger, uninsulated section may be closed off from the insulated section. Directly across from the proposed stove location is the stairway, so I will get some convective movement upstairs. In any case I realize that I will not be able to heat the entire house comfortably with just one stove.
I really don't care about appearance or the materials from which the unit is constructed; I'm looking for heat output and efficiency. I'd also like a realistic burn time of at least 12 hours. So far I've narrowed the choices to the Englander 30 (and its kin), the Napoleon 1900, and the Pacific Energy Summit. The best prices I have found so for are $1000 delivered on the Englander, $1600 delivered on the Napoleon, and $1700 delivered on the Summit.
I love the Blaze King King, the Hearthstone Mansfield, and the Hearthstone Equinox, but their pricing is nearly DOUBLE that of my choices. That has forced me to exclude them. The Jotul 600 and Vermont Castings Defiant have a double door arrangement that increases the gasketed surface area. I'm concerned this will require additional upkeep. The Vogelzangs have fireboxes that are too small.
In reading the boards, the Englander seems to have an enhanced appetite for wood. One poster performed a long-term comparison and recorded the wood consumption of his Englander over a two year period to be double that of another stove in a similarly-sized home. Is that an anomaly, or may I expect to be feeding the Englander more than the others? On the other hand, are the others worth the 60% or 70% premium over the Englander?
Are there other choices I should consider? Are any of my current choices the wrong choice? I appreciate any insight.