advice on replacement stove... Progress Hybrid suitable?

[xvr97]

Hi folks - I'm hoping for some sound advice on a replacement for a 1970's VC defiant for whole-house heating... looking for something modern, clean and efficient. I'd like to try the Woodstock Progress Hybrid, but concerned the house is too small. Woodstock thinks I may be between Fireview and PH, they rate the former at up to 1600 SF and the latter at 1600-2200 SF (I think they are probably being conservative based on review on this forum).

This is for a house in central VT, 1600 ft. elevation, northern exposure. Footprint is 800' with two floors to heat, 9' ceilings, very open floor plan. Stove will be in cathedral living room, 20x20 with 18' ceiling, glass on surround 3 walls totalling 300 SF. Yes, it's almost like living in a greenhouse. Insulation is good R22 walls, R38 or better ceiling, windows are decent but not exceptional.

In principle I'm more comfortable monitoring burn rate to keep from overheating than I am overworking a stove to stay work. Thoughts? Thanks

 

[begreen]

Size-wise I think you will be ok. The Progress is reported to be able to burn over a wide temperature range and the cathedral ceiling increases the cu ftg being heated. Do you have a ceiling fan in the LR? If so, it will help a lot. Run it in reverse (blowing upward) in the winter to reduce draftiness while still moving the hot air that will stratify at the ceiling peak.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I'm with Begreen here. I think the Progress would work good for you, especially considering the high ceilings. I've always sort of leaned toward bigger is better if you have a choice between 2 stoves. Your square footage says the Fireview would do but you will get longer burn times with the Progress and you have a wide range of temperatures. In addition, there is that wonderful cook top in the Progress.

One thing folks notice right away is that there is much more heat comes out the front of the Progress and that is thanks to the larger glass which also lets you have more fire view. We came very close to getting a Progress here but backed out thinking it would be too much for us and it may be. But, there still may be a larger stove in our future and it will be a Woodstock stove. So it will be either a Progress or the new Union which is not on the market just yet. It is coming soon but no date has been set yet. Lots of work to do on it still plus getting the epa testing, etc.

 

[Todd]

I agree with the others, go with the PH, all that glass is a big heat loss and the cathedral ceiling adds to the need for a little more fire power as well.

 

[xvr97]

Thank you all for your insight, this is encouraging! We are installing a ceiling fan above the LR, and are looking at options for smaller fans elsewhere to help move air around. I wouldn't have thought of Woodstock until finding this forum, but I think you all have turned us on to a really nice stove. Really impressed with this forum!

 

[charly]

You should take a trip to the Woodstock Company,, you'll be very impressed with the people and their stoves...you'll be glad you went.. The upside , after seeing how nice their stoves are built , you'll more then likely leave being the proud owner of a new Woodstock stove. That's what happened to me,,, and I just went to look

 

[rideau]

I've had both a FIreview and a PH. I agree with everyone else. The Progress Hybrid will be a very nice stove for your home. North facing at some elevation and lots of glass, especially if the glass faces North (or you get cloudy days),and especially on those few bone-bitingly cold days, you'll be thankful for the extra heating power of the PH. Milder days, it's quite easy to build a smaller fire. The PH is an easily controlled stove. And, simply from an ambiance consideration, much as I love the Fireview, its fire view is in no way comparable to the stunning Progress Hybrid view.

Additionally, although the Progress Hybrid is a larger stove, I have found during the past two years heating with it
I use less wood for the same amount of heat compared to the Fireview, but am easily able to get a great deal more heat from the PH when needed.