Was Finally Able To Test My P68...Impressed!

[Enigma869]

We finally have some serious cold here in New England. It was about 20 degrees when I went to bed last night. I run my stove in "Stove Temp" mode and turn the dial down to number 1 (the lowest setting) before I go to bed at night. I suspected that my house might be quite a bit colder this morning, given how frigid it was overnight, and with very high winds. I woke up to 69 degrees on the first floor and 68 degrees on the first floor. Again, this is at the very lowest setting, with almost no flame. I turned it up to number 5, and am now at 74 degrees on the second floor an 72 degrees on the first floor (it's currently up to 22 degrees outside). I had an Accentra insert the previous three seasons. Great stove, but could never keep up when it got really cold, so this is a pleasant surprise. This thing is definitely a "Heat Monster"! I hope that everyone is staying warm.

 

[P38X2]

Warmer on the 2nd floor? You must have great natural convection currents and/or excellent insulation. How big and what kind of house are you heating?

That's a GREAT stove. Glad you're happy with it.

 

[Enigma869]

Warmer on the 2nd floor? You must have great natural convection currents and/or excellent insulation. How big and what kind of house are you heating?

That's a GREAT stove. Glad you're happy with it.

Yeah...it's definitely an odd phenomenon. Our Accentra insert in our last house was much further away from the staircase to the second floor than my P68 is in our new place. It's a 3200 square foot colonial style house built in 2005. The stove is installed in our family room and that room has 20 foot ceilings. The landing at the top of the stairs on the second floor overlooks the family room that the stove is in. It's always warmer on the second floor with this layout. With my Accentra insert in my old house (similar square footage and a Colonial built in 2001) the second floor would consistently be two to four degrees colder than the main floor. I've started running the ceiling fan (in regular mode...not with the blades reversed) to bring the heat down from the 20 foot ceilings and circulate the air. My son's room which is the furthest away (down the hall, and around a corner) is always the coldest room in the house, and usually about 4 degrees colder than it is at the top of the stairs. I just backed the dial down to number 2 and it's down to 71 degrees on the first floor and 72 degrees upstairs (it's 23 degrees outside). 74 degrees is WAY too warm for me. I definitely use this stove a whole lot differently than I did the Accentra. Because the Accentra was under sized, I ran it in room temp and turned it up as high as it would go and pretty much left it like that for most of the Winter. With this beast, I simply can't do that and find myself often turning the dial down. Very, very pleased with this stove and would buy it again, without hesitation. I also cleaned it for the first time (in advance of this cold spell), and it was VERY simple to clean. Far less involved than the Accentra was, as there are not plates to remove and no heat tubes to run a wire brush through.