Anyone regret going too big or too small?

[whitetailscout]

Has anyone regretted going too big or too small with your stove? I have an Enviro Empress insert getting installed this month, but I keep getting a little nagging voice in my head that is telling to "Go Big" and get the M55 instead. I have an 1100 sf 1 level ranch, and the owner of the stove shop says the Empress is the perfect fit, and the M55 is way too much stove for my little house. Obviously, I appreciate his honesty in not trying to upsell me, but I know some folks like the extra horsepower that a bigger BTU stove puts out. I also like the fact that M55 seems to be less choosy about pellets. We are very well insulated, we had 10" of blown in cellulose put in the attic this past winter. I am driving myself crazy overthinking this!

 

[Don2222]

Hello
I have a split with the stove in the basement. Being in the basement a larger stove was a must. The Empress puts out good heat so it may be fine for one floor.

 

[zzr7ky]

Go big!

You are reducing your effectiveness by using an insert. I used 3 inserts for many years but will not again. I now have a free standing VC Resolute Acclaim on the hearth vented into the fireplace opening and up the chimney and I'm happy. But - I wish I went a size bigger. It does what I need, but it would be much nicer if burn times were longer. The closer you are to 3 cubic feet the better I think.

I have not heard of anyone backing down size wise from any reasonable stove, but a lot of us move up to bigger stoves.

ATB,
Mike

 

[TimfromMA]

You would be better off running a small stove on high compared with a large stove on low.

Stoves are more efficient the hotter they run.

 

[newf lover]

We bought a P68, then insulated (duh) and it is too big for our 1400 square foot house. We burn on low quite a bit and I don't think it burns as efficiently, and when it's not really cold, we get some creosote built up. Now, it was nice during this past winter when it was really cold. There was no problem keeping the place warm.

 

[CaptSpiff]

You are over-thinking it,... but you're in good company on this forum!

You didn't give any info on your past heating experience, or your home layout (ie how will the heat move from the insert to where it is needed). For myself, I'm not a fan of using a space heater to replace my central heating system. I use a stove mostly in manual mode to supplement during real cold spells, and T-stat for the warmer shoulder months. If you are putting out 15-20 Kbtu, your living room is going to cook. If you are pulling that heat away into the farthest rooms, you will need to make more btu. You will likely never be able to distribute the M55 max output, so it'll be loafing its whole life. I think your shop is giving good advice.

 

[steamguy]

From the owner of an Empress, you're going to do just fine. 1100 square feet will be a great match for your stove. Although you didn't tell us what your winters are like - In answer to one of your questions, I've found the Empress to be not too fussy about what you feed it; just make sure to scrape out the burn pot liner daily. Some fuels leave a lot of clinkers, others less so.

I have 2200 square feet, and my Empress' output is almost enough to heat the house by itself on the worst days here. Those days are 40 - 60 MPH winds and temps in the teens. I have tall windows in the living room where the stove is located, so that adds to the challenge. It does very fine for all other times.

But note the comparison - 1100 versus 2200 square feet. I have twice the space, and easily twice the challenge in heating. So even by rough-guess reasoning, you should be just fine and toasty.

My Empress is about a half dozen years old, and I rebuilt the stove last summer with the *new-updated* control board, new circulator fan, and a bit of wiring change, and it put out good heat this last winter, which was the coldest I've ever seen in this part of the country. Those three weeks were unusually cold, and not normal by any means. So you can't base your opinion on my assessment of a few unusual weeks.

I replaced an old Austroflamm (from the days when they came from Germany) with this stove. The old Austro heated extremely well and had lasted for many years.

In considering a change away from this stove: Should I have gotten something different? Yes. Why - something with more power? Yes. But other brand stoves which were available in my area at the time were very disappointing in build quality - One guy was particularly proud of his unit and I asked for a demonstration of it starting up and starting to heat. After the stove put a substantial amount of smoke in the room, I said, 'thanks for showing me, I'll think about it'.

I compared a lot of other stoves to my old Austro, and few were even close to the build quality. But from making all these comparisons, I do like the way that Enviro builds stoves.

In sum: you have a quality unit that will last a long time, and will give you more than enough heat.

 

[Don2222]

From the owner of an Empress, you're going to do just fine. 1100 square feet will be a great match for your stove. Although you didn't tell us what your winters are like - In answer to one of your questions, I've found the Empress to be not too fussy about what you feed it; just make sure to scrape out the burn pot liner daily. Some fuels leave a lot of clinkers, others less so.

I have 2200 square feet, and my Empress' output is almost enough to heat the house by itself on the worst days here. Those days are 40 - 60 MPH winds and temps in the teens. I have tall windows in the living room where the stove is located, so that adds to the challenge. It does very fine for all other times.

But note the comparison - 1100 versus 2200 square feet. I have twice the space, and easily twice the challenge in heating. So even by rough-guess reasoning, you should be just fine and toasty.

My Empress is about a half dozen years old, and I rebuilt the stove last summer with the *new-updated* control board, new circulator fan, and a bit of wiring change, and it put out good heat this last winter, which was the coldest I've ever seen in this part of the country. Those three weeks were unusually cold, and not normal by any means. So you can't base your opinion on my assessment of a few unusual weeks.

I replaced an old Austroflamm (from the days when they came from Germany) with this stove. The old Austro heated extremely well and had lasted for many years.

In considering a change away from this stove: Should I have gotten something different? Yes. Why - something with more power? Yes. But other brand stoves which were available in my area at the time were very disappointing in build quality - One guy was particularly proud of his unit and I asked for a demonstration of it starting up and starting to heat. After the stove put a substantial amount of smoke in the room, I said, 'thanks for showing me, I'll think about it'.

I compared a lot of other stoves to my old Austro, and few were even close to the build quality. But from making all these comparisons, I do like the way that Enviro builds stoves.

In sum: you have a quality unit that will last a long time, and will give you more than enough heat.

Very good assessment steam guy!

 

[stovelark]

x2 guys. The Empress will do great I feel- It does my 1200 sq ft upper level in my house very well. I do believe in good pellets (Spruce Pointe is my first choice), the Empress will reward you. Congrats..

 

[Tonyray]

We bought a P68, then insulated (duh) and it is too big for our 1400 square foot house. We burn on low quite a bit and I don't think it burns as efficiently, and when it's not really cold, we get some creosote built up. Now, it was nice during this past winter when it was really cold. There was no problem keeping the place warm.

we have a 90 yr old poorly insulated house using a P61..
With what we saved on oil and now spend which is much much less on pellets, wouldn't pay us to spend the time and money to insulate..
we we're quite warm at 74 degrees all winter.
Unless pellets jump 100% in cost..

 

[whitetailscout]

Thanks for the feedback guys, sounds like we will be sticking with the Empress. The fireplace is located in the center of the living room, which is 26' long x 14' wide. We really want to do the insert vs. the freestanding stove because we are replacing a freestanding wood stove, and it just takes up too much space. The hearth extends 18" from the front of the fireplace, and the woodstove has the front legs sitting on cement pavers in front of the hearth. It will be nice to get our floor back!

 

[whitetailscout]

Oh, as for our winters, I live in SE Massachusetts. Winter can get cold, but generally not as bone chilling as other places I have lived like Upstate NY and NH!

 

[Don2222]

We bought a P68, then insulated (duh) and it is too big for our 1400 square foot house. We burn on low quite a bit and I don't think it burns as efficiently, and when it's not really cold, we get some creosote built up. Now, it was nice during this past winter when it was really cold. There was no problem keeping the place warm.

Hey newf lover

Try taking off the 6 RPM Auger Motor and Putting on a 4 RPM auger motor! It will be a better fit for your house and you will save pellets! ! ! !

 

[newf lover]

Thanks Don. You do realize that if I do this, it will trigger a new ice age with temperatures below zero in the northeast for the entire winter, right?

 

[Don2222]

Thanks Don. You do realize that if I do this, it will trigger a new ice age with temperatures below zero in the northeast for the entire winter, right?

But then you can put the 6 RPM back in! LOL

 

[Jocko1]

I bought a p 61 a last year for my 2600 sq ft house, and when it gets real cold, below 10 degrees f, I have to turn on my baseboard heat for a little bit to get the temp up a few degrees. I don't mind it though, it's a good idea to have some hot water running through the pipes in the real cold. I probably should have gotten the p 68, but 95 percent of the time my stove is fine

 

[Tonyray]

I bought a p 61 a last year for my 2600 sq ft house, and when it gets real cold, below 10 degrees f, I have to turn on my baseboard heat for a little bit to get the temp up a few degrees. I don't mind it though, it's a good idea to have some hot water running through the pipes in the real cold. I probably should have gotten the p 68, but 95 percent of the time my stove is fine

I bought a p 61 a last year for my 2600 sq ft house, and when it gets real cold, below 10 degrees f, I have to turn on my baseboard heat for a little bit to get the temp up a few degrees. I don't mind it though, it's a good idea to have some hot water running through the pipes in the real cold. I probably should have gotten the p 68, but 95 percent of the time my stove is fine

Our house is 2 story but prob around 2,000 square feet or less.
The P61 sends lotta heat up the steps to 2nd floor...[with the help of a ceiling fan turning low/clockwise at top of steps.
that said,
when it get's down to single digits, we also run our oil furnace baseboard heat just for peace of mind since all our piping is in the UN-heated basement. Save so much oil anyways so no biggie to burn a few gallons now/then.

 

[reallyte]

Due to my poor house layout (stove is an addition which is poorly insulated) I wish I got the cb1200 (bigger). All depends on your floor as others have stated.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I changed the attic insulation from R7 to R54 in the attic before I got the pellet stove. It took me 3 years because I ripped down some 2x4s and made 2x6s for the attic floor and put in R4 foil, R19 between the new 2x6s and Crisscrossed with R30! ! !) Just this year I changed 11 windows to brand new construction Anderson Double pane with UV coating and expanding foam between the wall stud and the window frames. Now all 14 windows are brand new construction Anderson windows. (Not the renewals - heaven forbid! ! !) Also changed the garage door under the house from the old wood R0.1 panel door to ultra high 2" thick R18 insulated metal door with silicone center for complete thermal isolation!

Also upgraded the 45K BTU pellet stove in the basement to 2 dualing 61K BTU convection and radiant stoves for 0 to 122K BTUs for super CHEAP heating power! ! !

Looking forward to next winter now, bring it on while having a beer by the fires!

 

[briansol]

Moving your air laterally down the hall will be your biggest issues more than heat output. you'll have a toasty living area, but cold bedrooms.

 

[Bioburner]

Hello

I changed the attic insulation from R7 to R54 in the attic before I got the pellet stove. It took me 3 years because I ripped down some 2x4s and made 2x6s for the attic floor and put in R4 foil, R19 between the new 2x6s and Crisscrossed with R30! ! !) Just this year I changed 11 windows to brand new construction Anderson Double pane with UV coating and expanding foam between the wall stud and the window frames. Now all 14 windows are brand new construction Anderson windows. (Not the renewals - heaven forbid! ! !) Also changed the garage door under the house from the old wood R0.1 panel door to ultra high 2" thick R18 insulated metal door with silicone center for complete thermal isolation!

Also upgraded the 45K BTU pellet stove in the basement to 2 dualing 61K BTU convection and radiant stoves for 0 to 122K BTUs for super CHEAP heating power! ! !

Looking forward to next winter now, bring it on while having a beer by the fires!

If you want to get the most bang for your $$ on the new windows get some nice thermal lined drapes. We couldn't believe the difference they can make.

 

[CBL]

I had a somewhat of buyers remorse going with the P35i instead of an accentra insert at the time. It was more of a personal decision of liking the cleaner look of black steel instead of cast iron. My remorse went away after this last burning season, it kept my 1700ft early 90's colonial between 74 to 77f and burned a little over 3.5T's doing it. I think anything bigger would either not burn efficiently or just make the space uncomfortably hot.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

The OP needs to talk to jtakeman, he'll tell you all about what happens when you go too small for the situation.

You need to do a heat loss calculation and size the stove so that you hit that figure at the middle setting on your stove's heat output range. The goal is to be able to handle all of the heating requirements and that means having more than the minimum.

We hear about those that undersize all the time. Given the choice picking a larger stove can be compensated for by using a t-stat and on/off mode. Just be sure to have a good swing on the t-stat and be prepared to replace igniters more often than a stove running in manual or high/low modes.

Remember the goal is to heat the abode and thereby not freezing one's hind quarters off.

 

[briansol]

Does Jay even still come around here? haven't seen a post from him in ages....

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

He still gets email and a PC does send an email to the intended recipient.

He hasn't posted here since tax day according to the forum search but last visited on Jun 19 2014.