How to compare these 2?

[letmebegus]

We are definitely in the demographic of a stove for secondary heat. (heating the main living areas from my cheap 66 deg w furnace to something comfortable using wood) I am home all day and will be running it all day from Dec to Feb here in frigid Raleigh North Carolina. The furniture/ aesthetic qualities weigh heavily in the decision process so it will be an enameled fancy looking stove.
Our home is only 1800 ft but the bedrooms will be closed off and I'm not sure I care about the front dining room.
Fireplace will be in the back of home which has 17' ceiling, so even though i am only trying to heat 1200 feet there is some volume.
I looked at a display Regency Hampton H300 enameled brown that seemed very simple, low maintenance. It was quoted at almost $3k but after talking to the owner, he might sell it for just over $2k
Today or tomorrow I will be going to see a Jotul F400.

What differences should I pay attention to?

My initial research doesn't put the Jotul that much more expensive than the Regency list at $3k so due to the name brand factor.

I think I liked the ash removal system for the H300 and the supports that hold the wood away from the glass.

I will be going back to visit the H300 after viewing the F400 because ...that's how I shop... continually trying to learn.

I have been trying to get a wood stove going in my house for several years now, this may actually be the year, but I would like to make the right decision so, I may miss this winter too and continue to run at 3% efficiency with my prefab heatilator

Thanks in advance for the always helpful advice here. I have read much as a troll on this site.

 

[Jags]

Just pointing out that you are considering two very well liked stoves - but stoves on the smaller side of things. At 1.7 cuft (H300) - an overnight burn is probably going to be difficult at best if that is of any concern to you. And depending on your level of insulation you might even be pushing the stoves a bit to heat the 1200 SQFT, which of course will shorten burn time even more.

 

[DougA]

All I can add is that many people with ash removal systems (me included) never use them. It's often easier to use the shovel. There will be people that disagree and when I bought mine, I was looking forward to tossing out the ash shovel. I changed my opinion after a month of use. Ash drawers also are prime problems for gasket leaks, etc.
What I'm suggesting is that an ash drawer is not such a big plus.

Agree with jags. Go larger than the literature suggests as almost everyone finds that overly optimistic.

 

[Grisu]

Agree with Jags, consider going larger. Jotul F500, Quadrafire Explorer 2, maybe even the 3, Hearthstone Manchester, Enviro Boston 1700, BlazeKing Ashford 30 if you want to go catalytic for more even heat output.

 

[letmebegus]

Agree with Jags, consider going larger. Jotul F500, Quadrafire Explorer 2, maybe even the 3, Hearthstone Manchester, Enviro Boston 1700, BlazeKing Ashford 30 if you want to go catalytic for more even heat output.

Those are all great looking stoves!
I will probably avoid the catalytic for some reason.
The last thing want is to put the time energy and money into this and not have quality results.
Glad to hear Regency is well liked, but bummer their biggest enameled is truly a small stove.
I have fairly limited selection at dealers here, do out of state dealers ever ship these stoves freight?

 

[branchburner]

Next time you are at the Jotul shop, take a look at the F500... there's a LOT more room to load up that firebox than with the F400, for not much more $, as I recall. You can side-load logs almost two feet in length. My square footage is similar to yours, and a drafty old farmhouse in a cooler climate, but I would never consider a firebox under two cu ft.

My neighbor just spent over a grand on a very small inexpensive stove and is kicking himself (with respect to it being small, not inexpensive... but the fact that it is so small suddenly made it SEEM expensive, for the heat he can get out of it).

 

[begreen]

Looks like there is a Jotul dealer in Raleigh:
http://jotul.com/us/Dealers/find-your-dealer
+1 for the Enviro Boston 1700, especially if a convective front loader works better for the smaller hearth footprint and closer clearances.
http://enviro.com/find-a-dealer/dealer-locater/?country=2&prov=46&city=Wilson
Fireplace Center
119 South Tarboro St.
Wilson, NC
27893 USA
Ph: 252-237-0294
F: 252-237-0294

 

[letmebegus]

It looks like the Pacific Energy Alderlea T5 is an available option as well, and may fit my remodel. Any qualms on Pacific energy stuff? They are offering Manufacturer incentives unitl October 31
I've seen a reply from begreen disussing radiant heat from a cast iron vs. a different type of heat from a cast iron jacketed steel stove. Could anyone elaborate on that?

 

[letmebegus]

+1 for the Enviro Boston 1700, especially if a convective front loader works better for the smaller hearth footprint and closer clearances.
http://enviro.com/find-a-dealer/dealer-locater/?country=2&prov=46&city=Wilson
Fireplace Center
119 South Tarboro St.
Wilson, NC
27893 USA
Ph: 252-237-0294
F: 252-237-0294

When I searched Enviro's website they only pulled up a Charlotte location, Wilson is better for us. Weird. Thank you begreen.
This is going to be fun now that I have been shown so many choices.

 

[DougA]

This is going to be fun now that I have been shown so many choices.

Oh YESSSS. Nothing better than decisions on which stove to buy.

 

[Grisu]

The T5 would also be a great choice. I have the simple steel version (PE Super) as insert and could not recommend it more. Nevertheless, if you ever intend to heat your whole house with that stove it could fall a bit short. The Boston has a 2.5 cu ft firebox for a bit more firepower when it gets really cold.

I will probably avoid the catalytic for some reason.
The last thing want is to put the time energy and money into this and not have quality results.

The BK Ashford will give you quality results and some. It has a thermostat controlled catalytic burn which will allow you a low heat output and long burn times when it is not that cold. In the midst of winter you can turn it up, still get great efficiency, and a much more even heat than with a secondary burn stove (which burn very hot early in the burn before they taper down over the next hours). Quite a few members here burned several years in a secondary burn stove, then upgraded to a BlazeKing stove and could not be happier. IMHO, almost the only reason not to go with an Ashford 30 would be its price that is certainly in the upper range of the suggested stove models. Some words to the other suggestions:

Jotul F500: Great, proven stove. More of a radiant heater. Works much better as a sideloader than a frontloader. However, side loading option cannot be used in a corner or alcove install!
Quadrafire Explorer 2: Just released one year ago but the first comments were really positive. Quadrafire usually makes good stoves.
Quadrafire Explorer 3: Came out just a few months ago. No firsthand experiences yet. Could be a bit large for your space meaning you would mostly run it on partial loads. One of the very few toploading secondary burn stoves out there.
Enviro Boston 1700: Steel firebox in a cast iron jacket; thus no gaskets to be concerned of. Cannot remember reading any bad review about it or the 1700 series overall.
Hearthstone Manchester: Maybe a bit too large for your space. Some early problems with it but Hearthstone seemed to have fixed at least some. Again, is intended to be a sideloader; consider that when planning a corner install.

 

[jeff_t]

I have a PE Super 27, same guts as the T5 without the cast iron shell. Wonderful heater.

Had a Blaze King, sold it with the house over the summer. Quality results would be an understatement.

If you want a kick butt heater that is also a fine looking piece of furniture, check out Woodstock.
http://www.woodstove.com

 

[letmebegus]

I went and saw the Jotul 500, it is definitely simple. The basic mechanisms didn't look like they would be much of a concern for breaking due to their simplicity.
The Dealer had sample colors, this one comes in flat, blue black enamel, brown enamel, and ivory enamel. The sample of blue black enamel he showed me didnt look like what I expected. Is it truly an enamel? because it is $300 less than the brown and ivory. I had read somewhere on this forum that it is more durable than the enamels, so would that make it not a true enamel?
It seems strange that with some of these stoves, I am buying one for over $3grand sight unseen. There are no dealers around with floor models of what I am interested.