New Home 1,775sf Ranch with unfinished basement.

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The F55 is an excellent stove and a strong heater. It will provide more heat and have a longer burn time due to greater fuel capacity. That said, it will not be strongly radiant on the sides. It is more convective than a pure cast iron stove due to the fact that the cast iron is a jacket. It is a steel stove at heart. This is the same style construction as the Enviro Boston 1700, Quadrafire Explorer III and PE Alderlea T6.

The Drolet HT2000 and the Englander 30-NC are the best examples of ~3 cu ft, value stoves. They are not as fancy, but are excellent heaters. Many people have these stoves here and are satisfied owners.
 
The F55 is an excellent stove and a strong heater. It will provide more heat and have a longer burn time due to greater fuel capacity. That said, it will not be strongly radiant on the sides. It is more convective than a pure cast iron stove due to the fact that the cast iron is a jacket. It is a steel stove at heart. This is the same style construction as the Enviro Boston 1700, Quadrafire Explorer III and PE Alderlea T6.

The Drolet HT2000 and the Englander 30-NC are the best examples of ~3 cu ft, value stoves. They are not as fancy, but are excellent heaters. Many people have these stoves here and are satisfied owners.
Thanks. I guess I get confused because the Drolet is 95K and heats 100 sf less than the Jotul which is 85K. Is that just two different manufacturers reading the data differently? Will one put out more heat than the other or will they be about the same? I just want to make sure I am getting the most heat I can while utilizing my existing 6" flue.
 
Take marketing specs with a very large grain of salt. Maximum btu specs are almost worthless and sq ftg heated is going to vary dramatically with the house design and insulation, climate zone, time of the year, wood used, etc.. Firebox size is a more consistent guide.
 
Given the stove location and setup, I think I would opt for the Drolet. It's a proven workhorse with a little bigger firebox.
 
Thanks. I guess I get confused because the Drolet is 95K and heats 100 sf less than the Jotul which is 85K. Is that just two different manufacturers reading the data differently? Will one put out more heat than the other or will they be about the same? I just want to make sure I am getting the most heat I can while utilizing my existing 6" flue.

Curious what you have decided. That Drolet is a serious heat producer. And reasonable. A friend of mine heats his ranch from the basement with the HT2000. Un-insulated basement I might ad. Nice burn times also.
Welcome from another Iowan! Where are you located? Wood moisture content of 15-18% is about as good as I get.
 
It has been a wile but after much back and forth with my dealer, he is suggesting the Jotul F55 Carabassett. It looks like a very nice unit. 83,000 BTU that is rated for 2500SF. I think the cast iron exterior will radiate the heat much better. My concern is, I think the upgrade will cost me about $1,500.00. According to the dealr the Regency F2400 was $1964.00 and the new Jotul with blower is $3,444.00. I don't know what they are going to do with the the F2400. I am confused because the Drolet HT2000 is 95,000BTU rated for 2400 sf. I could get the Drolet for less than $1500.00 and keep the F2400 for the garage or sell it to offset the cost of the new one.

Any advice would be welcome.

I run a Jotul F55 for my 2000sf cape. It's on the main floor and it absolutely heats the whole house into the 70's on the coldest of days and nights. I'm in NH so those are below zero outdoor temps.

The burn time to keep those kind of temps isn't great. Maybe reloading every 6 to 8 hours if you like it in the 70's. I let it burn through the night (10 hours) and the house is in the low 60's when i get up and reload it.

Personally, I love the stove. I don't know anything about the Drolet but the fact you could have two stoves instead of one for the same price is tempting. I would just do a lot of research on the Drolet and make sure you don't just end up with two stoves that can't handle the job.

Best of luck
 
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Personally, I love the stove. I don't know anything about the Drolet but the fact you could have two stoves instead of one for the same price is tempting. I would just do a lot of research on the Drolet and make sure you don't just end up with two stoves that can't handle the job.

Best of luck
Howdy. I live a bit north of most of my American stove aficionados, and I run a Drolet Austral, a stand-alone stove a little over 3 cubic foot firebox (in the large heater category). It is indeed a solid work horse of a heater. Ive had mine going on 5 years now, and it's handled probably 99% of my heating needs (1000 sf bungalow on each floor, basement & main floor), keeping the electric bill pretty much the same as it is all year long for DHW and other assorted basics...
And you should note that the HT2000 is in the "extra large" heater category, coming in at well over 3 cubic feet IIRC....


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It has been a wile but after much back and forth with my dealer, he is suggesting the Jotul F55 Carabassett. It looks like a very nice unit. 83,000 BTU that is rated for 2500SF. I think the cast iron exterior will radiate the heat much better. My concern is, I think the upgrade will cost me about $1,500.00. According to the dealr the Regency F2400 was $1964.00 and the new Jotul with blower is $3,444.00. I don't know what they are going to do with the the F2400. I am confused because the Drolet HT2000 is 95,000BTU rated for 2400 sf. I could get the Drolet for less than $1500.00 and keep the F2400 for the garage or sell it to offset the cost of the new one.

Any advice would be welcome.

I have a Drolet HT-2000. Nice. You can always put in less or lower quality wood. But can't get more heat out of a small stove. Plus the clearances on the HT-2000 are minimal.