New wood insert - go with small or medium?

[glennsj]

Newbie here - sorry if this is the 100th time for this question but I couldn't find it in a couple searches I tried.

Looking to get a wood insert to supplement gas heat. House is about 3,000+ sq ft and we live in VA. One dealer is saying anything but a small is going to cook us out of the room and claims a medium or medium large you can't burn a smaller fire, or can't do it efficiently. We have friends with a medium and they were skeptical of the dealer's claim.

Our living room is 10 x 25 with flush fireplace mid-way down 25' wall. Ceiling slopes from 9' on fireplace wall to 13' on far wall. Off the end of room is stairwell up to bedrooms. The couch sits across from the fireplace. Plan to get a floor fan and just point it up at the 13' wall to help the hot air up the stairwell. Incidentally there is a cold air return for the furnace up there as well.

So is the dealer right that a medium is going to blast us out of the room?
Can a medium or medium large insert be used in such a way to generate less heat or do they just not work that way?

For the small we were shown a Lopi Answer, for the mediums we were shown Regency H1300, 12400.

Thanks
Glenn

 

[Hogwildz]

Depending on how open the floor plan is, and how much you plan to heat. You may even be able to go large.
As far as the small, the dealer is full of Sheet! And you can burn clean efficient smaller fires in larger stoves. I do it here during the shoulder seasons.

 

[bluefrier]

Don't think so, a medium size insert would not cook you out of a 3000 sq ft house. You can always burn smaller loads to reduce heat output
if you don't need alot of heat.
What is the firebox size of the I2400?
Do to plan to use the stove a space heater in a closed off room?

 

[glennsj]

The living room is 10 x 25 and has 6' opening (on the 13' ceiling side) that leads up to the upstairs bedrooms.
The I2400 has 2.3 cu ft firebox and is steel where the HI300 is same size but cast iron.

 

[Hogwildz]

Personally, I think you will regret it if you go small.

 

[fossil]

Dealer sounds like he's got a bunch of small stoves he's trying to move. You can pretty much burn any size load of fuel you want that'll fit in your firebox. The smaller the box, the smaller the max load. There's no "minimum" size of fuel load in a larger box. We heat ~2500 sq ft with a Lopi Liberty freestanding w/blower, and it does the job. If I burn the heck out of it, I can get the great room to 90F, but I don't...we like it about 74 or so in winter when it's in the teens outside, and that's where I keep it. You need a new dealer who'll try to help you find a solution to your problem, not his. Rick

 

[High_Iron]

The living room is 10 x 25 and has 6' opening (on the 13' ceiling side) that leads up to the upstairs bedrooms.
The I2400 has 2.3 cu ft firebox and is steel where the HI300 is same size but cast iron.

I dont think the HI300 is cast, Unless they changed it in the last year. The Hampton is the identicalstove as the I2400, it just has a prettier face.

 

[Dix]

My PE Pacific is a medium. House is 2000 SF.

It'll heat the whole thing w/ pretty much an open floor plan.

Size, fire box, and house, matters in this case ;-)

 

[eba1225]

Glenn,

Welcome, and I side with the rest of the gang here go with the medium.

I have a Lopi in a 25x12 room and use a fan to circulate the heat around the 2700 sqft house. The main floor is nice while the upstairs stays cool.

EBA

 

[Ken45]

Dealer sounds like he's got a bunch of small stoves he's trying to move.

I certainly agree!

With a 3000 sq ft house, I would tend toward the larger sized stoves. 3000 sq ft is at the upper range for most large stoves.

Ken
PE Summit
Husky 353
Stihl MS170

 

[DAKSY]

The living room is 10 x 25 and has 6' opening (on the 13' ceiling side) that leads up to the upstairs bedrooms.
The I2400 has 2.3 cu ft firebox and is steel where the HI300 is same size but cast iron.

I dont think the HI300 is cast, Unless they changed it in the last year. The Hampton is the identicalstove as the I2400, it just has a prettier face.

Only the facing (facade) of the Hampton is cast iron. The firebox is IDENTICAL to the I2400m. 5/16 steel plate...

 

[daveswoodhauler]

My rec is to go with the largest stove you can fit in your fireplace.....go big and you can always have small fires.

 

[burntime]

I have the hi300. It is the same box as the i2400. I would have gone bigger if I could get the look in a bigger unit...but it heats my 1400 sq ft home in WI fine. You can reduce the load if you need to....

 

[begreen]

Medium

 

[Dix]

Pssssttt.. old post.

 

[karl]

I would consider a large insert. That's a decent size room and with the slope ceiling its going to be a bit tougher to heat than most. Besides, there's nothing wrong with a 75-80 degree room. I love wearing shorts in the winter time.

 

[North of 60]

As dixie said, you guys scared the OP off a year ago after 2 posts. Sept 14 2008. Good practice run on advise though. hh: