No, but I bet Craig can tell you more about the CombiFire. It has a smallish firebox which is what determines heat output. The amt. of sq. ft, heated really depends on other factors like the climate, the house layout and insulation, etc.
Lopi Leyden & Chimney Advice - HELP!
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By the way, our cold snaps are like this past week (a couple days) 18-19 at night and 24 during the day. I don't know if that means anything.
I will go back and edit my post to be more readable. The intent is for you to get educated. Wood stoves are zone heaters. They may tell you a square footage heat area, but I think one has to have realistic goals. There are 3 important considerations the stove is only part of the equasion Venting another and wood quality. If you viewed it as condensending it was not meant it to be
I did a bad job of making my point. one point is sizing whatever stove to realistic goals I agree that manufactures claims are over stated under ideal conditions and that oversizing is done to compensate. It is my oppinion the Oslo exceeds the room /area being heated. My suggestion would be a medium range. Btu output stove
From personal experience I run VC stoves I can tell you I get 8 hrs of productive heat on a load. I am partcial to supporting American manufacturing Jobs. On tuesday, I am visiting VC opperations in Vt to pick up stoves, they donated to be installed by menbers of hearth.com, to famillies, that normally could not budget for a new effecient EPA approved stove
I had asked Jotul Head of North American opperations in Portland Maine, to participate and they turned a cold shoulder to me. I get nothing from all my effort but satisfaction I helped others
I will also assist installing these stoves. You may not share my sentiment, but I can support a company willing to give to famillies less fortunate. And I am guilty of waving the Stars and stripes
I did a bad job of making my point. one point is sizing whatever stove to realistic goals I agree that manufactures claims are over stated under ideal conditions and that oversizing is done to compensate. It is my oppinion the Oslo exceeds the room /area being heated. My suggestion would be a medium range. Btu output stove
From personal experience I run VC stoves I can tell you I get 8 hrs of productive heat on a load. I am partcial to supporting American manufacturing Jobs. On tuesday, I am visiting VC opperations in Vt to pick up stoves, they donated to be installed by menbers of hearth.com, to famillies, that normally could not budget for a new effecient EPA approved stove
I had asked Jotul Head of North American opperations in Portland Maine, to participate and they turned a cold shoulder to me. I get nothing from all my effort but satisfaction I helped others
I will also assist installing these stoves. You may not share my sentiment, but I can support a company willing to give to famillies less fortunate. And I am guilty of waving the Stars and stripes
As you can see, everyone has opinions on the best stove. I'm surprised Roo hasn't chimned in here about the PE's. Fact is most of the new EPA wood stove brands out there are great heaters. Don't let any one opinion sway you from the stove you like the looks of best. Take your time and check them all out. Check out the review section of this site. Oh, and don't forget Woodstock. ;-)
Thank you Elk - Thank you Todd! I can see the pros and cons of each kind of stove I researched. And yes, Todd, the Fireview is a strong contender - especially since it will give me an excuse to visit my family and friends in NH!! But my main concern was and is the size. As stated earlier - I have a 1300 sq ft home. It is NOT an open floor plan. This entire thread has been about my home and our needs. Page one describes the house and has a picture of our current beast. My husband contends that in order to get the entire house warm we need the bigger stove. I tend to think we need the smaller. (as an example, I say Castine, hubby says Oslo). Its a drafty old house, and though some of the draft can be dealt with, the rest we're stuck with because of the amount of money it would cost to heat it up. I don't want to bake in my upstairs room, but I do want to keep the warmth going through the night. When the doors are closed upstairs, even though my room is directly over the stove, its cold. That's how we heat during the day. My husband used to roast me out, but he learned a lot about a nice fire, and now its just right, but doesn't last. I'd have to get up at 2 in the morning, at least, in order to avoid the oil burner kicking in by 5. Soooooo. That's the size of it. The kitchen is an addition, and is pretty much always cold unless we suck the cool air into the living room. That helps, but not completely. There in lies the bulk of the draft. A poorly constructed addition on the tail end of the thermostat that never really gets warm. Mostly I'm hearing my friend Mr. Be saying go with a smaller unit (ie the Castine or equivalent) or to go with Soapstone - which is about 5-6 hundred or more more money. Anyway, some of the posters on other threads say go bigger, others say its nonesense (as I kind of assumed you did, Elk). I guess smaller is better. Now I just have to convince my husband, and cross my fingers I'm not proven wrong 
Thanks to you all for your advice! eeeeek!
Thanks to you all for your advice! eeeeek!
I think you are on the right track TFire. With a bigger stove in a house with poor circulation, you may just end up with a hotter living room and more wood consumption, not greater comfort. With doors closed, that is almost assured. The best way to get heat into the other rooms is to increase circulation by opening up doors on stairways, rooms, etc. A stove with a built-in fan will help circulation as well. Sometimes a well placed fan elsewhere can help. Is it possible to post a rough sketch of the house layout for each floor? Maybe we can help there as well.
Ok, here we go.. VERY rough sketch. Hope you can see it. I have resizing issues on the computer as well! I'm looking at it now after I uploaded it, and its hard to see. The top half is the upstairs. The top of the bottom half is the enc. porch. The stairs turn. The first part are open, the second part are covered by the upstairs wall - only a tiny opening to thedown stairs. Let me know if you have any questions.
I'm looking at it now after I uploaded it, and its hard to see. The top half is the upstairs. The top of the bottom half is the enc. porch. The stairs turn. The first part are open, the second part are covered by the upstairs wall - only a tiny opening to thedown stairs. Let me know if you have any questions.
Here's a little bigger and darker version.
Do you have any summer, table top or box fans? If yes, I think a few temporary experiments with the existing stove going might be helpful. Also, do you have a portable indoor (or outdoor) thermometer to measure change in temperature?
Do you have any summer, table top or box fans? If yes, I think a few temporary experiments with the existing stove going might be helpful. Also, do you have a portable indoor (or outdoor) thermometer to measure change in temperature?
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Wow, how'd you do that? Well, anyway... we use a floor fan blowing back into the living room, which is weird to me, but it works. We also have corner door fans in the doorways to the living room from the dining room and into the kitchen. and we have a thermometer in the living room, kitchen, and a remote upstairs so we know what's going on with the temp up there.
On your advice, Be, I 'chatted' with Craig about my current Jotul. He said
"The Jotul #4 combi-fire is an interesting stove, because it is really
in the middle to smaller size range, but at the same time it can
really crank out some heat when it is fired up nicely. Also, this
stove tends to have a relatively short burn time because of the
compact firebox and the fact that most of the wood is usually burning
at the same time.
If I were to compare it to a present Jotul, it would be the Castine.
If I were to compare it to a Vermont Castings, it would be the
Acclaim. In other words, a mid-sized stove - not a large one, but at
the same time nothing really small like a 602 or intrepid.
A modern stove will be more adjustable in output also. This means you
can buy, for instance, a stove that is on the larger side of medium
and get a longer burn time out of it. So the important thing is to
look at your needs as far as how you run the stove, what kind of wood
you burn (really dense, or softer, etc.) and use all this to choose a
new unit."
and I replied that it was very helpful, because what we're looking to do is basically get the same temperature, maybe a little warmer without it getting crazy hot, but with a longer burn time. I suggested 10 hours, since Leyden touted a 12-18, I'm learning that's pretty unrealistic? Our current guy burns just like Craig described. fast and furious. My husband managed to make a science of it, so its not so insanely hot, and it slowed down a bit, but we're still looking at about 3-4 hours.
So, I'm wondeirng if Castine's our choice (or similar) or if Oslo is - or if Oslo is actually unsafe - because the safety in a old matchbox house is my MAIN concern.
Thanks again for everything. I know I've been going on and on and on but I really do appreciate it soo much.
"The Jotul #4 combi-fire is an interesting stove, because it is really
in the middle to smaller size range, but at the same time it can
really crank out some heat when it is fired up nicely. Also, this
stove tends to have a relatively short burn time because of the
compact firebox and the fact that most of the wood is usually burning
at the same time.
If I were to compare it to a present Jotul, it would be the Castine.
If I were to compare it to a Vermont Castings, it would be the
Acclaim. In other words, a mid-sized stove - not a large one, but at
the same time nothing really small like a 602 or intrepid.
A modern stove will be more adjustable in output also. This means you
can buy, for instance, a stove that is on the larger side of medium
and get a longer burn time out of it. So the important thing is to
look at your needs as far as how you run the stove, what kind of wood
you burn (really dense, or softer, etc.) and use all this to choose a
new unit."
and I replied that it was very helpful, because what we're looking to do is basically get the same temperature, maybe a little warmer without it getting crazy hot, but with a longer burn time. I suggested 10 hours, since Leyden touted a 12-18, I'm learning that's pretty unrealistic? Our current guy burns just like Craig described. fast and furious. My husband managed to make a science of it, so its not so insanely hot, and it slowed down a bit, but we're still looking at about 3-4 hours.
So, I'm wondeirng if Castine's our choice (or similar) or if Oslo is - or if Oslo is actually unsafe - because the safety in a old matchbox house is my MAIN concern.
Thanks again for everything. I know I've been going on and on and on but I really do appreciate it soo much.
Great info TFire. We're with you on safe. That is first priority. All the recommended stoves are safe, but only as safe as the installation. As long as your setup meets the manufacturer's clearance, hearth and flue requirements you should be fine.
Craig's analogy is a good one. I would have compared it more to a 3CB due to the smaller firebox and shorter burn times. But by Jotul's numbering, it was in between the old #3 (now 3CB) and #8 (now Castine), so I think Craig hit it on the head pretty well. I noticed the combifire looks like it might have been overfired a couple times. It appears to be light grey at the top. Are the gaskets in good shape? If not, air will leak past them and it can be hard to control the beast. Leaky gaskets can also affect the stove's efficiency by introducing air in the wrong location.
Keep reviewing the stoves recommended earlier. They are all good stoves, so it is going to come down to: clearances, preferences (top or side loading, cat or non-cat, cast or soapstone), budget, aesthetics and dealer support.
Craig's analogy is a good one. I would have compared it more to a 3CB due to the smaller firebox and shorter burn times. But by Jotul's numbering, it was in between the old #3 (now 3CB) and #8 (now Castine), so I think Craig hit it on the head pretty well. I noticed the combifire looks like it might have been overfired a couple times. It appears to be light grey at the top. Are the gaskets in good shape? If not, air will leak past them and it can be hard to control the beast. Leaky gaskets can also affect the stove's efficiency by introducing air in the wrong location.
Keep reviewing the stoves recommended earlier. They are all good stoves, so it is going to come down to: clearances, preferences (top or side loading, cat or non-cat, cast or soapstone), budget, aesthetics and dealer support.
TFire said:
OK, it sounds like you are seasoned wood vets
. Like you've mentioned, the floor plan is really not well designed for heat getting around without ducting or circulation. Ideally the house would have an ultra efficient hot water system to keep it evenly heated. But I'm going to defer to your hubby's experience. He knows the house a lot better than I do and it seems like he's already been experimenting qutie a bit. I give him a lot of credit. It sounds like he's been working hard to keep you all warm. Just curious if you've considered a small pellet stove in the kitchen? That seems like the toughest area to heat.Might I make a suggestion please read threw this post I know it is long but it explains the latest modern technology and one way secondary burning extends burn times
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/4188/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/4188/
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you - back to work and exhaustion !! Thanks SOOO Much for all the advice. I'm going to have hubby review everything, and then we'll decide. BTW - I would LOVE a pellet stove in the kitchen, but there's no place for it. Some day we might re-do the kitchen and put in another stove or (my dream) a fireplace (I know, not much for heat, but gosh how I'd love that!! A high one, AHHHHHH. Anyway, thanks again for everything. I'll check in and let you know what we decide. Have a great holiday season and all the best in 2007!
Tfire
Tfire
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