Need a big new stove

[swauger74]

I need to replace my 9-year-old POS Hearthstone Mansfield Stove. The thing has started to leak out the top by the edges. No stones are broken just the cement seems have cracked. Talked to two different stores who basically say it's not worth fixing for the amount of time & labor involved to fix it. Either way, I looking to switch brands. The Hearthstone heated my house but I did have to run it fairly hard. And by hard I mean the flue exhaust would get to 500-550f when I would shut the stove down and the stove temp would max out at 500f.

I live in NE PA and have a raised rancher. The stove is in the finished/insulated basement about 1/3 the way in. I had to add a flue damper because my chimney has such a strong draft. It was the only way I could get the stove to burn remotely slow. Above the stove is the living area. I have 3 1'x1' cast iron crates above the stove for the hot air to heat the upper level. I also have the basement door open all of the time for air to circulate. I need a stove with a large box because I try to get long burns out of it. As in I go to bed at 830 pm and am up at 5 am. Leave for work at 730 am and get home at 4 pm. We like the house nice and warm upstairs. The wife prefers it in the mid 70's. Again most of the time the Mansfield was fine. But now it's drafting too much and sucking wood. I've done a limited amount of research here and elsewhere. I'm thinking about the Jotul f600 and the Defiant Flexburn. I have a 6" flue so the BK King is out.

 

[begreen]

Recementing the stones is not impossibly hard, it just takes a bit of patience and the right cement. The good news is that there are a lot of nice large stoves on the market. If you want the softer heat that the Mansfield puts out with a steady release after the fire has died down, consider a cast-iron jacketed steel stove. The cast-iron jacket soaks up the heat during warmup and slowly releases it later. These stoves are welded steel inside which means less leaks and maintenance in the long term. Some 3 cu ft models are the Jotul F55, Pacific Energy Alderlea T6, Quadrafire Explorer III. If you are thinking a cast iron jacketed cat stove then look at the BlazeKing Alderlea 30.1. There is also the Woodstock Ideal Steel or the fancier Progress Hybrid that are both good heaters. Another steel 3.0 cu ft cat stove is the Regency F3500.

 

[kennyp2339]

Why not re-cement the hearthstone and install a second stove on the main floor? If that's not in the cards then look for a stove that has 65,000 btu or more output per hour, sounds like you need to pump the heat out to get the convective loop started in your house.

 

[showrguy]

How tall is your flue ??
I've heard of a few BK Kings that run really well with a tall 6" flue..
My stack is right about 34' for my King Ultra, and I had to install a key damper, cause I had way too much draft..
A course I doubt you'd get Blaze King to say it'd work ??