New large wood stove and fireplace insert

[heavy hammer]

I'm in the process of buying a larger home about 2400 square feet. It's a ranch with a large basement, a fireplace on the main floor and a 8 inch thimble in the basement with a hearth already setup for a stove. I'm looking for a large stove for heat, the air conditioner intake is in the basement right next to where the stove is so getting heat throughout the house shouldn't be that difficult when running the fan. Regardless with the first floor and the partially finished basement I'm at about 4000 square feet. I have plenty of wood about four years ahead and always looking for more. I have been looking at the jotul 600 and the blaze king. I would like something that puts out a lot of heat. I do not know if cat or non cat would be better for my situation. Any input would be great. The house is all brick, very well insulated, open floor plan. The room in the basement where the stove is going is big. I'm looking for something to radiate heat up and also be used with air conditioner fan when needed. The house is oil heat so burning wood would be great. I do not have the dimensions for the fireplace, but I was just curious in what manufactures to look at. The reason for looking into the jotul and blaze king is dealer is close and already does inspections every year on my Oslo. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[begreen]

Heating from the basement will deliver mixed results. Hopefully the basement is well insulated. The HVAC return by code is supposed to be at least 10 ft from the stove. Is there an open stairwell nearby? The Blaze King King would be a good choice or maybe the large Regency or Kuma Sequoia. Or consider a modern wood furnace. and tap into the main plenum.

 

[heavy hammer]

The return is farther than ten feet it's just that it is in the same room. The stairs going up is at the other end of the room. I don't expect the upstairs to be 85 but I figured with heat rising it should help. The house is very well insulated up and down. Plus all exterior walls are brick veneer. Would you recommend a cat stove over a non cat.

 

[heavy hammer]

Also what about inserts for the main floor fireplace. I do not know the measurements currently, but I was wondering where to start looking?

 

[begreen]

Basement heating typically means 80-85F in the basement in order to have 72F upstairs. If that is ok, just go large. If not and you want more even heat than a smaller stove in the basement plus a good sized insert upstairs will give you more control. A stove is an area heater so you will have a lot more control in keeping each level comfortable with two heaters. For an upstairs insert we'll need full dimensions, front and back and the depth of the fireplace. A picture would help, especially if there are clearance concerns.

 

[heavy hammer]

That could work for the basement since that will be my area workout room large finished second living room, half bath etc. would you recommend the blaze king over the jotul 600? Without knowing the dimensions of the fireplace is that a problem for comparing inserts?

 

[begreen]

The Blaze King will provide a more steady, thermostatically controlled heat over a longer period of time. The Jotul will be more radiant and attractive, but it will need reloading every ~8-10 hrs. depending on the season. The BKK will go 25-40 hrs between loadings depending on the heating requirements.

 

[heavy hammer]

I have never had a cat stove but the blaze king seems to have great reviews. I was just interested in the jotul since I have the Oslo. Would you recommend blaze king inserts as well?

 

[begreen]

The BK Princess is a good insert. In non-cat inserts I would look at the Osburn 2400, Regency I3100, Lopi Freedom, Quadrafire 5100i or the Pacific Energy Summit if one will fit.

 

[kennyp2339]

I generally like BK stand alone stoves, the are great heaters and yes the burn times are as advertised, the BK makes good steady heat, steady is what makes the BK so successful, as for inserts I really don't recommend the BK, I would rather recommend a non cat reburn insert, mainly because they burn at higher temps over coming the masonery heat absorbtion. I just feel that the BK insert wouldn't have enough umph unless the insert area was fully insulated and has a block off plate. Plus with the reburn insert they are easier to take apart on the inside so you can clean the chimney without moving the whole stove. Just my 2 cents.

 

[heavy hammer]

The basement is well insulated and 3/4 finished. Been looking at the blaze king and the kuma sequoia. I have talked to a few dealers who are willing to come out and look at the fireplace on the main floor and the setup in the basement for the wood stove. The room in the basement is going to be a second living room. Both blaze king and kuma seem similar with very happy owners of each. I'm looking for something to put out a lot of heat, with easy operation for my wife, and something built tough. All opinions appreciated, begreen has been very helpful. I just figured it can't hurt to keep getting info, if it seems like I'm beating a dead horse sorry just want to make the right choice.

 

[kennyp2339]

I've started reading about the Kuma's they seem like a fine stove, love the auto convection, but I think you might run into a tough situation with draft, the Kuma's seem to have low tolerances to any draft deveations. The BK seems move forgiving

 

[heavy hammer]

The draft does seem like it could be an issue. I will put it into a masonry chimney that is about 15 to 20 feet tall. I do like that auto convection.

 

[tpm1952]

The draft does seem like it could be an issue. I will put it into a masonry chimney that is about 15 to 20 feet tall. I do like that auto convection.

Iam curious what insert you decided on.

I am in the process of getting an insert myself and I am leaning toward the Jotul C550. We have a 2 story built in 1993 and the FP would go in the LR area. We also have a Lopi in our finished basement.

 

[heavy hammer]

I'm looking at a jotul just not sure which one haven't measured the firebox yet. I love there stoves so I figured try an insert.

 

[begreen]

Jotul's largest insert can be on the small side for some houses. If this is the case, look at larger 2.5-3.0 cu ft inserts too.

 

[heavy hammer]

Who do you recommend?

 

[begreen]

If it will fit, and you want a good looking non-cat insert, the Enviro Boston/Venice/Cabello 1700 is a very nice insert. It's based on the Kodiak 1700 firebox which is a winner. Also check out the Hearthstone Clydesdale and Hampton Hi300. For a KISS workhorse the PE Summit insert is a good heater.
In cats, there are the Kuma Sequoia, BK Princess and Buck 91. BK is also coming out with a new slightly smaller 2.3 cu ft insert, the Sirocco 25 that looks more contemporary, with a very clean design.

 

[heavy hammer]

Thanks also a lot to look at. So many different brands to look at hard to narrow it down. Once again style operation and performance all come into play. Plus the wife loves her jotul stove. She likes the inserts, but can't hurt to keep looking, like I said they all make heat. Just have to decide on which one.

 

[heavy hammer]

What is a KISS workhorse?

 

[begreen]

KISS= keep it short and simple, keep it simple stupid. The big PE stoves have a unique stainless baffle/secondary system that is removable in one piece.

 

[kennyp2339]

BG nailed it on the head, IMO the more simple an insert the better, espically if it's in an existing fireplace, working in a tight area to take a baffle apart, or remove a cat and adjust a by-pass plate is tough, ever little bit of good engineering helps in tight areas

 

[HisTreeNut]

If it will fit, and you want a good looking non-cat insert, the Enviro Boston/Venice/Cabello 1700 is a very nice insert. It's based on the Kodiak 1700 firebox which is a winner. Also check out the Hearthstone Clydesdale and Hampton Hi300. For a KISS workhorse the PE Summit insert is a good heater.
In cats, there are the Kuma Sequoia, BK Princess and Buck 91. BK is also coming out with a new slightly smaller 2.3 cu ft insert, the Sirocco 25 that looks more contemporary, with a very clean design.

I have a Buck 94 which is the non-cat version of the Buck 91. Solid stove & throws off a lot of heat. It uses burn tubes instead of a cat so you have to tend the fire more than you would with a cat stove. it is also more forgiving if your wood is not completely seasoned [under 20%]

 

[begreen]

The stove and insert will be heating a large space with a partially uninsulated basement. Go large. Did you look at the Blaze King King for the basement? That stove has a very big belly, 8" flue, thermostatic operation and though not KISS it has one of the longest burn times on the market. The other option is a wood furnace in the basement.

 

[heavy hammer]

I'm looking at the PE summit. I want something simple and easy to use for the upstairs insert. In the finished basement I'm leaning towards the kuma sequoia.