Need advice on new stove purchase

[travelindog]

Would appreciate advice on a new stove purchase.

-I'm replacing an Appalachian cat stove that has been a disappointment, came with the house. Stove is located lower finished level of 15 year old house which is pretty tight. 8" flue on current stove.
-1800 finished sq. ft. downstairs. 1800 sq. ft. upstairs on main floor. Kitchen/dining/family room upstairs plus three bedrooms. Downstairs is one large area plus two smaller side rooms, pool room and pc room. Home has central electric heat now.
-Current stove is located toward the back wall downstairs. About 12' in front of the wall is the open stairway. Currently have one ceiling fan in family room upstairs, getting another above stairway.
-Live near St. Louis MO.
-Objective is to comfortably heat as much of house as possible throughout the heating season, including fall and spring. We're working folks, not here through the day.
-8"Chimney and cap just upgraded, entire chimney, liner, construction etc. in fine shape per reliable certified contractor.

After reading reviews on this fine website, have narrowed choices to:

-Hearthstone Equinox Can get for $3200 assembled and placed on the hearth. Installation will be simple, and 8" flue will match current pipe and setup.

For the following units, I would try the 6" flue w/ current 8" setup, may have to go 6" chimney based on performance:

-Pacific Energy Summit Classic , $2500 + 300 delivery to hearth

-Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 $2520 + 300 delivery to hearth

-Quadra Fire Isle Royale $2550 + $300 placed on hearth ($200 Stihl gift certificate to buyer)

-Only other stove I'd consider is the Avalon Olympic...haven't priced it yet...not crazy about the appearance compared to the others.

I didn't price fans and accessories in the above prices, just the stoves. I would buy a fan later if needed. We're not required to outside vent here, but I'd add it later if needed.

I called a dealer that sells both the Pacific and Hearthstone brands, and he leaned toward the Equinox, telling me that he thought it would cover the space better. He told me it wouldn't heat me out of the lower area.

Your comments appreciated, thanks!

-

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

the nice thing about the Equinox is its a bigger firebox that the others, and its a hearthstone...its the only one on your list that'll do over 3000sqft....
moving the thing is the challenge.

it could easily "run you out" of 1800sqft, but not if another 1800 shares open airspace.
my other vote would be for the avalon olympic, what a great stove for 2-2500sqft

 

[travelindog]

Thanks

I'll take a bit of time today and get a price on the Avalon Olympic.

One of the concerns with the Equinox is just that, getting too hot downstairs. I figured if I was downstairs for a period, I could crack a window if it got really bad. The sweep mentioned bumping the fan on the central heat, and also the possibility of installing a simple ceiling/floor grate in the ceiling of the lower level, well away from the stove to serve as a cold air return.

Do you know if the equinox allows the use of both the outside air adaptor and the fan simultaneously? I thought I saw a post indicating that wasn't the case with the mansfield model. The dealer didn't know, and he wasn't a fan of outside venting.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

sounds like a smart dealer!
yes, fan and outside air can be used at the same time

 

[summit]

if you are gonna use a fan get a stove that is built for one, like the PE ;-) or the avalon (i am very biased towards the PE.. absolutely bulletproof stove!!), the fan on the hearthstones is an afterthought, requires the ugly and flimsy heatshield, and the mounting system is prone to rattling and noise... also, take a stick of firewood to the dealership and bang on the baffle in the PE with it... then smash it into the baffle of the equinox (if the salesman doesn't stop you first!!), and you'll see the quality difference there... And yes, the equinox, being a radiant stove, will completly blast you out of your downstairs, and being soapstone, you cant immediatly turn it down. For your neck of the wood, i imagine the winter temps don't drop too low, and the equinox would be overkill. Also, your 8" flue should work fine for any stove, i would not see the need to reline with a 6"

 

[Todd]

I think with such a large house you would be better off to have another stove on the main level and keep the Appalachian in the basement. It's awful tricky to get a basement stove to heat a whole house especially one as large as yours. Another option would be a wood furnace?

 

[travelindog]

Good points. thank you. I have been very impressed with the owner ratings on the PE products. The dealer is quite a ways from here, and no one in the area stocks them. I like to look at the goods first, but the stellar ratings prevail.

The upstairs came with a majestic insert that looks nice but performs terribly. Originally I was looking to replace both it and the stove downstairs with high performing units, until the chimney sweep suggested keeping the insert (says it would be very expensive to remove current unit, replace w/ unit, make chimney modifications and remodel hearth). Seems that the chimney on this isn't class A, but I really don't see replacing it and the associated work as a big deal.

I have a knowledgeable dealer rep coming out next week to look things over. Your suggestion on the two units is foremost in my mind now. My real objective is to keep every cent possible away from the local utility.

Question...what brand inserts do you favor:
1) for heating with a fan
2) for heating without a fan

Opening on the fireplace measures 45"wide x 34"high

Thanks again!

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

[quote author="summit" date="1247943739"]also, take a stick of firewood to the dealership and bang on the baffle in the PE with it... then smash it into the baffle of the equinox (if the salesman doesn't stop you first!!), and you'll see the quality difference there... end quote.




woodheat
maybe true, but as a nation wide parts dealer we dont see many newer hs baffles needing replacement(the old cast ones go all the time..). and when it needs new boards they retail for $58...never seen one warp either, cant say that for the pe baffle or the low cost of replacement...

the hearthstone ceraboard has a 5yr warrantee, All the other secondary air components are lifetime. what is pacifice energy's current warrantee on the baffle??

 

[Todd]

You may not have to remove anything from that fireplace, there are wood inserts that are certified to slide right in to the exsisting fire box and you could just run an insulated liner down the current chimney to bring it up to code. Run that by your dealer rep, he should have some good options for you.

 

[summit]

also, take a stick of firewood to the dealership and bang on the baffle in the PE with it... then smash it into the baffle of the equinox (if the salesman doesn't stop you first!!), and you'll see the quality difference there... end quote.




woodheat
maybe true, but as a nation wide parts dealer we dont see many newer hs baffles needing replacement(the old cast ones go all the time..). and when it needs new boards they retail for $58...never seen one warp either, cant say that for the pe baffle or the low cost of replacement...

the hearthstone ceraboard has a 5yr warrantee, All the other secondary air components are lifetime. what is pacifice energy's current warrantee on the baffle??

PE lifetime warranty on the baffle.. and no fine print on damage from "impact or improper loading of wood"

 

[crazy_dan]

I got a summit too and the dealer I bought it from took out the baffle on the floor model to show us. I know my father-in-law's Stove (LOPI Answer) has four fire bricks that sit on top of the secondary burn tubes as the baffle, it works but his tubes are starting to bow now.
The summit has a Stainless steel baffle that has the secondary burn system built in to it. It is one of the better designs that I have seen, But I am partial too.

Of course with it only being a $20 difference I would go with the T-6 has the same guts as a summit

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

i took 2 15yr old pe inserts in last season, one's baffle was twisted metal, the other is passable, i may replace it when the unit sells if the cust wants to upgrade.
i was also very impressed with the current quality of ss baff conctruction, ease of installation etc.
sweeping so many over the years has proven they are great quality stoves

Summit, their baffles are warranteed for life, cool! when did they start that??

 

[summit]

i took 2 15yr old pe inserts in last season, one's baffle was twisted metal, the other is passable, i may replace it when the unit sells if the cust wants to upgrade.
i was also very impressed with the current quality of ss baff conctruction, ease of installation etc.
sweeping so many over the years has proven they are great quality stoves

Summit, their baffles are warranteed for life, cool! when did they start that??

they have had the lifetime warranty for as long as i have know about them... we've been selling them for @ 4 years now, and that has always been their policy, but i think it has been that way for 20 yrs or so, now.. however, the baffle on the smaller vista series DOES NOT carry the lifetime wtty (i think it is 5 years) because the baffle is constructed slightly different than the medium and large sizes.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

hmm, i wonder why people are always trying too buy the them from me? either they dont have a good dealer, or dont know about the warrantee, or its a newer warrantee( w/in 10yrs...)
i'll have to look thru some of the old manuals now, i'm curious

 

[BrotherBart]

They changed the warranty to lifetime instead of five years when they switched to stainless steel baffles and rails instead of the mild steel they used before. Not sure but I believe that was in 1996 or so.

 

[CSCPeter]

Have you looked at the Lopi Liberty, it is the same basic ratings as the Avalon Olympic but to me the look is better.

 

[travelindog]

I'll take a look at the Lopi Liberty. The dealer coming out sells Lopi, Avalon, Hearthstone.

 

[Captdrydock]

Lopi, Avalon are made by the same company..Most parts are interchangeable...

made by Travis Industries

 

[BrotherBart]

The Liberty is one heck of a wood stove.

 

[fossil]

The Liberty is one heck of a wood stove.

For a welded steel plate hunk of butt-ugliness, I sure do like mine. At least the damned door hinges are on the correct side. Rick

 

[Captdrydock]

Just replaced my Fisher, "Grandma Bear" last week with a Lopi "Liberty".. Heated with my Fisher for 32 years.. I have done some remodeling in the last few years and the Fisher became to small for my house.. I looked at a lot of stoves and bought the Lopi Liberty.. I'm heating 2000 sq ft old farm house with large windows (moderate insulation)..

 

[BrotherBart]

For a welded steel plate hunk of butt-ugliness, I sure do like mine. At least the damned door hinges are on the correct side. Rick

A welding shop could fix that. :coolgrin: Why in the hell would a right handed person ever want a stove that has a door that they have to open with their right hand and then feed it with their left hand?

At least one feeble inquiring mind wants to know.

 

[fossil]

How do you know I'm right-handed? Actually, I am right-handed, and right-brained, and right thinking, and I like my stoves just the way they are. They're all-right by me. :lol: Rick