Wood stove insert decision.

[canigolf2day]

Hi all,
This forum is great a ton of advice and helpful people. I finally decided on a stove shop for my purchase and now I need to decide on the insert. My 3 choices are the following: Lennox Performer c210 ($2241), Enviro 1700V ($2099) and the Hearthstone Morgan ($2200 floor model). Any thoughts on any of these units.
Thanks Again Folks

 

[krex1010]

How big is your house? Make sure you get a stove that is capable of doing what you want it to. If I can give you some advice it would be not to jump at the first stove you see. Check out alot of brands, I almost bought a stove at the first shop I went into when I was shopping last year, it would have been a huge mistake the stove was undersized and i am really glad I found this site and got some input from other people before i made my purchase. I was originally looking at smaller stoves, I was afraid of "overheating" my house, and salesmen said I would be fine with a small insert, anyways after talking to people here I took the advice of going one size larger than you think you need. Remember the square footage estimates in those brochures are pretty optimistic, figure a stove will heat 30-50% less area than advertised. As for the stoves you mentioned I looked at the Morgan and I kinda didn't like the door, the latch seemed chincy. I don't know much about the other stoves. There are a lot of other great brands that make some nice inserts, pacific energy, lopi, Avalon, quadrafire, regency, Napoleon , be sure to check out these and other brands. Your going to spend a nice chunk of cash to get a new stove so don't rush the decision, learn as much as you can and do not assume that the salesmen at the shop knows what he is talking about. And if you don't have any wood yet then really take your time looking for a stove because I think you will be hard pressed to find wood that will be fit to burn this season.

 

[spencer186]

I put a Jotul Rockland C550 in in the spring and been burning a couple of weeks now and couldn't be happier. Lots of happy C550 owners on here. The smaller Kennebec and Winterport are also nice.

 

[canigolf2day]

Sorry about that I should have been specific with my heating needs. My house is around 2000 sq ft split level colonial. The fireplace is on one end of the house adjacent to the garage with the dining room kitchen and living room then bedrooms upstairs. I know heating the entire house might be challlanging since the bedrooms are upstairs but if the first floor could be heated with some going up should help with heating cost. I plan on cutting in some grill vents in the cieling to help with heating upstairs after the insert is installed. I have been researching stoves and stores for months and finally decided on a store and now just need to decide on stove. Please refer to my last post on stove choices.
THANKS AGAIN

 

[krex1010]

Based on those 3 stoves and your home size I would go with the enviro 1700. I have never seen one before but I would choose it based onthe larger firebox. I think you would be undersizing the stove if you go less than 2 cu ft in firebox size. I know how big the Morgan is and I believe the lennox is similar in size, which is about 1.7 cu ft. With that size stove and your size home I think you would be having to feed it every 2 or 3 hours to keep your house comfortable. And overnight heating would really not be effective as you would get a quick spike of heat when you fill the stove but then temps may drop quickly as your fuel is consumed. I know that's the way wood heat works but a larger stove will give you longer heat and minimize the yo yo effect on your home temps. Your house 2000 sq ft so I would choose a stove where that square footage falls in the middle of the advertised heating capacity. The Morgan and the lennox both max out at like 1800 sq ft of heating area which means they likely would be running balls to the walls to warm your house. The enviro seems the better fit in my opinion, plenty of room in the firebox for overnight burns, and enough capacity to heat most of your house I would think. Hope my ramblings help you out!

 

[Fsappo]

I'm guessing you cant fit a decent sized insert in your fireplace? Thats why your looking at small inserts for a mid sized home?

 

[canigolf2day]

Sorry again all here are my firebox dimensions,
Height 26 in
Width 38.5 in
Depth 22 in
Back Width 27 in

 

[krex1010]

Yeah you have a larger home and a pretty large fireplace, I think it would be a mistake to put a small insert in there. It sounds like you are interested in trying to heat your home with wood, you mentioned cutting floor vent to help heat get to your second floor. I just think all that effort would be wasted if you go with a small stove. My home is 1500 sq ft and I have a stove with a firebox that is just over 2 cu ft. And I am really glad I didn't listen to the salesmen at a lot of shops that recommended small stoves. I can burn small fires in weather like we have now and it keeps my house very comfortable but when it gets cold I have the extra capacity t crank out more heat and get longer burn times. You are going to drop a good chunk of cash so I would hate to see you regret your stove choice.
By the way, have you started building your wood supply yet?

 

[canigolf2day]

I totally agree about getting a stove large enough. My first choice was the Enviro 1700. It has a 2.5 ft firebox and gives out some good BTU's. I'm thinking I should stay with my first choice.

 

[krex1010]

Getting the size right is more important than getting the right brand IMO. I have never seen one of those stoves but I think you are getting a properly sized stove. So best of luck with it!

 

[KYrob]

I checked out the stoves you mentioned and am curious as to how the Enviro stoves/inserts differ from others. They list the BTU rating nearly double what a stove nearly twice their size advertises. How can a smaller stove produce so many more BTU's? Anyway, if you get a chance, check out the Buck stoves. They are good and they have many that will fit your fireplace and some are listed to heat over 3000 sq.ft. I have a model 74 insert and it is heating about 2850 with no problems.

Rob

 

[krex1010]

Btu ratings for wood stoves are a bunch of nonsense in my opinion, even more misleading than square footage heated ratings. It's not like a heater that burns oil or gas where the btu potential of those fuels is uniform enough to rate a furnace size by btu's. Wood fuel is anything but uniform when it comes to btu potential. When it comes to heating potential with woodstoves the only number you need to look at is firebox size, efficiency matters to but from what I understand all EPA stoves operate around 60-70% efficiency under real world conditions, so you can take that variable out of the equation as long as we are talking about EPA stoves.

 

[canigolf2day]

Hi Again All,
The Enviro has 2.5 firebox, the Lennox Performer has a 2.5 firebox and the Hearthstone Morgan has the 1.7 firebox. I am eliminating the Morgan from my list. Now its between the Enviro and the Lennox. The stove shop i am using only carry these 3 manufactures of wood stove inserts so i need to choose one of them or go to another shop which I d would rather not do. The owner/installer is great and very knowleagable and took the time to come to my house and go over everthing. He is also a mason which helps. I just feel very comfortable with them also I have good things about them thru some local folks.
Thoughts or Advice very appreciated.
Thanks,

 

[krex1010]

Here's a few things to think about when making your choice. You definitely want a blower, so is a blower standard on either stove? Is the blower variable speed or does it just have low, med and high settings, variable speed is nice IMO. Also where is the blower located on each stove, blowers will need maintenance from time to time so having the blower easily accessible is nice. Does the stoves allow for north south loading or east west, I kinda like n s loaders. What are the stoves made of? Steel or cast iron? Both have their attributes. How far each stove will stick out on your hearth may be a factor for you. Anyways just trying to give you some things to think about. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Nasty Ash Beech]

The Enviro 1700 is a great insert, I have the Kodiak version which is the same as the Venice only doesn't look as fancy I guess. The firebox is 2.5 cu ft. and it really puts out a lot of heat. I use the blower all the time too, I think they come standard on the Enviros.