Help!! I'm drowning or should I say burning in wood stove details!

[Miki]

Like many folks, we are trying to keep heat cost down by using a wood stove - especially after this past winter in northern Ontario. We are lucky enough to have access to a small woodlot and I am lucky enough to have a wood chopper aka THE HUSBAND and a wagon puller AKA BESSY the 1959 Ford tractor.

The stove is for a basement and needs to heat about 1000 sq ft but we will only use the unit occasionally (already have a full time fireplace on main floor).

We are contemplating 3 models - The Regency F1100, the Pacific Energy Vista Classic and the SBI Flame XVR-II. I can't seem to find many comments about the Flame unit on the web but it is almost $1k cheaper than the other 2. Any thoughts about the Flame being good enough for our purposes and the added bonus of saving money? Or should I stick with the others and their more known reputation?

Thanks for your words of wisdom..and humour

 

[begreen]

SBI is a big manufacturer with a wide line of products. Other brands made by SBI are Osburn and Drolet. I've never seen the stove, but the Flame XVR-II looks like a decent stove. Not fancy, and it may have lighter gauge metal than some of the tanks created by SBI, but overall, it looks like an OK stove. In some ways it looks like a variation on the Drolet Eastwood 1500, also by SBI. The PE Vista is an excellent stoves if you decide to get one.

Note, if the intent is to heat the basement well, you will get the best results if the basement is insulated. Often, when the intent is to heat upstairs from the basement, the results turn out disappointing. If you really want to heat upstairs well, an insert in the fireplace may be the best way to go.

 

[InTheRockies]

If I were in your shoes and picking a second stove that won't be the primary source of heat 24/7, I'd economize (as long as the particular stove's specs meet your needs). I just changed out a smoke dragon that was in my house when I bought it. In this economic climate, I'm belt-tightening and didn't want to spend a lot of money on a wood stove. I went with a medium-sized, inexpensive steel stove. I'm in a rural area and the choices here go from a small selection of reasonably-priced stoves at hardware stores to extremely expensive prices at the few local distributors (for example, there's a $1200 markup at one of the local dealers on a Drolet model identical to one carried by the Ace hardware). I'm very happy so far--the new stove is performing better than the old stove did. (The firebox in the old stove was cavernous and it ate wood like crazy. It was also slow to begin dissipating heat--I think due to a combination of large size and thick steel.) I see myself using this stove in the main house for several years--if I ever decide to upgrade, I'll move it to the 1000 sf shop, which has a chimney and pipe set up for a stove.

 

[Nic36]

I have the PE Vista Classic. I've only had a few fires in it so far, but I think I am going to like it. It is a well made, nice looking stove.

But, for an intermittent heat source, it is a little pricey. Also, it claims to take 18" length wood, but 12 inches is closer to reality. The porcelain panels/finish on it look good, but it may hinder heat dissipation some-not really sure. That may be a good thing for my 830 sq ft home though.

PE also makes the regular Vista, which can be a little cheaper, but not much.

I looked at the SBI stove on their site. Just from the picture, it looks like a decent stove. It will probably work well for your needs. It also claims to take 20 inch length wood.

 

[begreen]

Which way are you loading the wood in the Vista? N/S it will only take 12" but E/W it should be pretty comfortable with at least a 16" log.

 

[Nic36]

Which way are you loading the wood in the Vista? N/S it will only take 12" but E/W it should be pretty comfortable with at least a 16" log.

East to West on most stuff. It can probably take a 16" log (or even 18" diagonally), but the door is only about 14 1/2" wide, and inside the firebox is maybe 18" wide from firebrick to firebrick. Maybe I should have said that I think 12" logs are more of an appropriate size for the stove. Putting in more than once piece of max length wood may get a bit tricky.

I love my stove though, and I don't mind the smaller wood after finding out how little I need to heat this house. Plus, splitting 12" long rounds by hand is much easier.

 

[begreen]

I love my stove though, and I don’t mind the smaller wood after finding out how little I need to heat this house. Plus, splitting 12” long rounds by hand is much easier.

Good points. I like your positive approach.

 

[Nic36]

PE Vista Classic in burn mode. I didn't want to give anyone the wrong impression. I would recommend this stove to anyone. I'm very happy with mine so far.

 

[Miki]

The basement is insulated with perimate on the outside of the poured concrete and then the inside has regular wall insulation. I'll check into the Osburn and Drolet versionsl. Had not heard of Osburn, but a Drolet is in the local TSC flyers.

One other question has come up....has anyone heard of problems with pets climbing on top or sleeping underneath if you have the leg versus pedestal style. I know the stove will get quite hot but the cats ........... Any thoughts?

 

[InTheRockies]

I think the heat shield designs of most newer models may do a better job of moving warm air out in to your room and may help keep the cat(s) from wanting to get right next to the stove. My old smoke dragon, which was a pedestal model, had a heat shield that simply pointed upward. A lot of heat went into the stone/masonry alcove that houses the stove. The cat would sometimes get right next to the stove. The new stove, which is on legs, moves warm air into the great room due to the design of the heat shield. There's warmth in front of the stove and the cat, if he's cold, will sometimes lay on the wood floor in front of the stove. He doesn't seem to want to get as close to the new stove.

 

[Burn-1]

I have a PE Vista in our living room and it does a fine job heating the core of our house and will impartially say you can't go wrong with that choice. But, for a good value I think you might want to check out the Enerzone Solution 1.6 which is also an SBI stove line and with a slightly larger firebox than the Vista.

 

[gyrfalcon]

The basement is insulated with perimate on the outside of the poured concrete and then the inside has regular wall insulation. I'll check into the Osburn and Drolet versionsl. Had not heard of Osburn, but a Drolet is in the local TSC flyers.

One other question has come up....has anyone heard of problems with pets climbing on top or sleeping underneath if you have the leg versus pedestal style. I know the stove will get quite hot but the cats ........... Any thoughts?

I was worried about my cats, too, but I've had no problems at all. They had plenty of opportunity to explore the stove when it was cold, but once I started using it, they don't even think about getting up on it, or underneath it. One of my three did make the mistake of touching her nose lightly to the glass door when it was hot and jumped back about three feet, but didn't actually injure that tender nose and has just had a healthy respect for the hot stove ever since.

They may actually be smarter than we are about these things....