Best radiant heater and question about Regency catalytic

[goldencoults]

Hey all.

I don't want to be yet another person on this forum saying "help me choose an oven.." but man there is just so much info out there and a lot of it seems contradictory.

I have a pretty big space - 7 metres x 7 metres with a high raked ceiling and I have been told I need a good radiant heater and this all makes sense to me.. So my first question is what do people like best for pure radiant heat? I have a ceiling fan so I really don't need a fan on the heater.

My next question is - I have read about and spoken to a pretty excited sales person about the Regency catalytic heaters - (F5102 and F3502) and on paper they look great (long burns are great for hills dwelling fulltime workers..) but on these forums there is a lot of dislike for catalytic technology.
So is this dislike based on the old catalytic tech? Is the new stuff better?
Does anyone on this forum have any experience with these particular Regency catalytic heaters?
I mean it seems more enviro friendly as well so I surely need to consider it strongly yeah..?

Sorry about the barrage of Qs and any answers to any of them would be very much appreciated. I am struggling to make sense of it all when everyone seems to have such definite opinions.

(other non-cat heater brands I am considering Pacific energy, Nectre)

cheers

darren

 

[begreen]

Welcome mate. For radiant heat cast iron stoves usually win unless you can find a steel stove that does not have an outer jacket. For a big radiant heater the Jotul 500 and 600 are popular.

Cat stoves have some good virtues and are gaining popularity. Blaze King is probably the leader here but Regency has done a respectable job with their new cats.

 

[goldencoults]

Hey thanks for your quick reply - yeah I think I would walk straight out and buy a Blaze King based on what I have read here, but alas, that is not a possibility down under.

Forgetting the catalytic question, the Regency's are not full cast iron by the look of it - just a cast iron door with a steel firebox so maybe on that basis I should rule them out..

I will investigate those Jotul's.

cheers

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Hi welcome to the forums - where in Aus are you from? if it was me i would be looking at a heater you can burn for 10 hours plus. You will need an efficient hater. Did you have a look at the pacific energy heaters? they have very good build quality as do the regency. if you are burning 24/7 you wont need a radiant heater as once the space is heated you will just be maintaining the heat. If you are doing nightly and weekend burns then a radiant heater might be more advisable.
if it was me i,d be going for the big cat regency - 30 hour burn times might be an exaggeration but i believe 24 hours is easily achievable especially if you have good dry hardwood.

 

[firefighterjake]

Hey all.

I don't want to be yet another person on this forum saying "help me choose an oven.." but man there is just so much info out there and a lot of it seems contradictory.

I have a pretty big space - 7 metres x 7 metres with a high raked ceiling and I have been told I need a good radiant heater and this all makes sense to me.. So my first question is what do people like best for pure radiant heat? I have a ceiling fan so I really don't need a fan on the heater.

My next question is - I have read about and spoken to a pretty excited sales person about the Regency catalytic heaters - (F5102 and F3502) and on paper they look great (long burns are great for hills dwelling fulltime workers..) but on these forums there is a lot of dislike for catalytic technology.
So is this dislike based on the old catalytic tech? Is the new stuff better?
Does anyone on this forum have any experience with these particular Regency catalytic heaters?
I mean it seems more enviro friendly as well so I surely need to consider it strongly yeah..?

Sorry about the barrage of Qs and any answers to any of them would be very much appreciated. I am struggling to make sense of it all when everyone seems to have such definite opinions.

(other non-cat heater brands I am considering Pacific energy, Nectre)

cheers

darren

Not sure if I agree with you . . . at least aways on this forum there is a lot of love for cats and cat stoves . . . some folks opt to go with secondary burners for various reasons, but even those of us with secondary burners -- or most of us anyways -- will say cat stoves are great stoves. Any folks disliking them tend to be folks who either don't understand how they work and how they need well seasoned wood (which is the same for secondary burners incidentally) . . . or folks who may have used older cat stoves.

 

[goldencoults]

Hi welcome to the forums - where in Aus are you from? if it was me i would be looking at a heater you can burn for 10 hours plus. You will need an efficient hater. Did you have a look at the pacific energy heaters? they have very good build quality as do the regency. if you are burning 24/7 you wont need a radiant heater as once the space is heated you will just be maintaining the heat. If you are doing nightly and weekend burns then a radiant heater might be more advisable.
if it was me i,d be going for the big cat regency - 30 hour burn times might be an exaggeration but i believe 24 hours is easily achievable especially if you have good dry hardwood.

Hey mate
I am in Crafers in the Adelaide HIlls, pretty much the coldest suburb in these parts.
Nice to hear someone say something positive about the Regency cats as they are the only cats available here as far as I can tell.
The reason I thought primarily a radiant heater was due to our cathedral ceilings - anything with a fan would just end up blowing to the top of this room where a radiant would heat up the actual surfaces below (at least that is my understanding).
Yes I have read good things on this forum about Pacific energy and also Quadrafire - I was just seduced by the idea of a long burn given we go long periods out of the house with work..
Thanks for your input on this. I change my mind everyday between just plunging in on a Regency cat and trusting they will support me or going with a tried and tested oven like a Pacific or Quad.
cheers

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

i have the pacific energy Neo 2.0 inbuilt - and this can easily give 10 hours of burn time. I've only just got it so i am still working it all out but it is very efficient and if you have dry wood it gives an excellent fire display. the heat from the top of the fire (fan) is so hot you can hardly keep your hand there. The only problem with it is it has to have the fan on permanently - which for most of the time is OK but it can be a bit annoying when you want some quiet time. I was limited to an inbuilt as there was a chimney already here otherwise i would have gone for something else.

 

[goldencoults]

i have the pacific energy Neo 2.0 inbuilt - and this can easily give 10 hours of burn time. I've only just got it so i am still working it all out but it is very efficient and if you have dry wood it gives an excellent fire display. the heat from the top of the fire (fan) is so hot you can hardly keep your hand there. The only problem with it is it has to have the fan on permanently - which for most of the time is OK but it can be a bit annoying when you want some quiet time. I was limited to an inbuilt as there was a chimney already here otherwise i would have gone for something else.

Yeah the Neo is a nice looking heater. The other half fancies that in the house.
Do you know if the freestanding Neo 2.5 would also need to have a permanently 'on' heater?
Ideally I would like to just have it on when I want and go for radiant most of the time..
cheers

 

[webby3650]

i have the pacific energy Neo 2.0 inbuilt - and this can easily give 10 hours of burn time. I've only just got it so i am still working it all out but it is very efficient and if you have dry wood it gives an excellent fire display. the heat from the top of the fire (fan) is so hot you can hardly keep your hand there. The only problem with it is it has to have the fan on permanently - which for most of the time is OK but it can be a bit annoying when you want some quiet time. I was limited to an inbuilt as there was a chimney already here otherwise i would have gone for something else.

I haven't seen any masonry fireplace inserts that require the fan to run, it's typically an option. Interesting..

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Do you know if the freestanding Neo 2.5 would also need to have a permanently 'on' heater?

The free-standing unit will be fine - you can have the fan on when it suits as you get the heat from the whole of the exposed heater.

haven't seen any masonry fireplace inserts that require the fan to run, it's typically an option. Interesting..

I might have misled in my comments - you don't have to have the fan on - its just that if you don't you will lose a lot of the heat up the stack. Dont get me wrong there is still a lot of heat output but a massive difference between fan on and fan off.

We did run the heater for the last 24 hours - and all i can say is very impressive, i cant believe how little wood the unit uses (compared to my last heater which was a bit of a smoke dragon - even though it was a new heater.) the warmth of the rooms is about the same but for less than half the wood....

 

[goldencoults]

The free-standing unit will be fine - you can have the fan on when it suits as you get the heat from the whole of the exposed heater.
I might have misled in my comments - you don't have to have the fan on - its just that if you don't you will lose a lot of the heat up the stack. Dont get me wrong there is still a lot of heat output but a massive difference between fan on and fan off.
We did run the heater for the last 24 hours - and all i can say is very impressive, i cant believe how little wood the unit uses (compared to my last heater which was a bit of a smoke dragon - even though it was a new heater.) the warmth of the rooms is about the same but for less than half the wood....

Seems like a pretty good contender for us.. just want to give the Pacific energy's and the comically named (but good on paper) "Heatilator" a bit of a look now.
I have pretty much given up on the Regency cat. Just too many question marks for the price.

 

[BKVP]

Hey thanks for your quick reply - yeah I think I would walk straight out and buy a Blaze King based on what I have read here, but alas, that is not a possibility down under.

Forgetting the catalytic question, the Regency's are not full cast iron by the look of it - just a cast iron door with a steel firebox so maybe on that basis I should rule them out..

I will investigate those Jotul's.

cheers

Just a mention here,

We have units being tested for both Australia and the ULEB in NZ. It may be months before approvals are obtained, but we are on the way.....

 

[Ashful]

Never seen any dislike for cat stoves on this forum, in fact, just the opposite. Folks buy a non-cat, based on the bias of the salesman at the stove shop, then come here and realize they should have bought a Blaze King cat stove.

I see lots of folks switching from non-cat to cat, after a while on this forum. Haven't seen many go the other way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

but we are on the way....

Sorry to ask the obvious.... But who's we?

 

[webby3650]

Sorry to ask the obvious.... But who's we?

BKVP= Blaze King Vice President.

 

[BKVP]

Sorry to ask the obvious.... But who's we?

My apologies. I am in fact BKVP, which is as Webby points out Vice President of Blaze King Industries. I ventured forth to the lands down under last February and visited both test agencies and retailers. Our anticipation is to become approved for sales in both Australia and NZ by years end. We have units in test labs for this purpose. The Canterbury method requires testing with indigenous fuels to both Christchurch and Nelson areas of NZ and the ASNZ standard will get our products approved for both Australia and New Zealand. We are testing to both standards and expect excellent results.

Stay tuned......

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

We are testing to both standards and expect excellent results.

OMG - this is the first i have heard of this - i assume you cant give too much info but hopefully you will have a presence in Victoria. One of the biggest dealers in Australia is Pivot Stove which is just a few block from work so hopefully it could be there.......

The Finance Controller has given the green light for another stove in the other side of the house - so i will be looking for a long lasting slow burn catalytic stove...... keep me in mind when you need any in home testing hopefully you can keep pricing sharp - but with the currency differential i expect they will be 30-50% more expensive on our side of the pond.

Let me know if there is anything i can help with on this side of the world.

 

[H_b]

My apologies. I am in fact BKVP, which is as Webby points out Vice President of Blaze King Industries. I ventured forth to the lands down under last February and visited both test agencies and retailers. Our anticipation is to become approved for sales in both Australia and NZ by years end. We have units in test labs for this purpose. The Canterbury method requires testing with indigenous fuels to both Christchurch and Nelson areas of NZ and the ASNZ standard will get our products approved for both Australia and New Zealand. We are testing to both standards and expect excellent results.

Stay tuned......

Very cool to hear there will be more options for Christchurch! I think there are only 4 or 5 stoves to choose from at the moment.

 

[BKVP]

OMG - this is the first i have heard of this - i assume you cant give too much info but hopefully you will have a presence in Victoria. One of the biggest dealers in Australia is Pivot Stove which is just a few block from work so hopefully it could be there.......

The Finance Controller has given the green light for another stove in the other side of the house - so i will be looking for a long lasting slow burn catalytic stove...... keep me in mind when you need any in home testing hopefully you can keep pricing sharp - but with the currency differential i expect they will be 30-50% more expensive on our side of the pond.

Let me know if there is anything i can help with on this side of the world.

Thank you for your offer. I will bookmark this thread for the future.

 

[BKVP]

Very cool to hear there will be more options for Christchurch! I think there are only 4 or 5 stoves to choose from at the moment.

One of the difficulties is the requirements themselves. I flew to NZ last year and met with retailers on both N/S islands, test labs in Nelson and Auckland and a distributor in Christchurch. Although things may be changing, as of now a manufacturer that tests to the ULEB, those test results may only get them approved for Nelson and Christchurch areas as others parts of the country do not yet recognize the test method/results. For this reason, we are compelled to test to both the ULEB and the ASNZ requirements, doubling the cost of entry to the market.

For further updates, we can use PM's so as to keep this thread open to the goal of finding a heater that is already available.

 

[Highbeam]

I have a pretty big space - 7 metres x 7 metres with a high raked ceiling and I have been told I need a good radiant heater and this all makes sense to me.. So my first question is what do people like best for pure radiant heat? I have a ceiling fan so I really don't need a fan on the heater.

So 49 square meters is like 450 square feet. Pretty small really. Is this just one room of your home?

The whole concept of radiant heaters vs. convective heaters is entirely overblown. I've had both radiant (stone) and convective (double wall steel) stoves on the same hearth in the same home and both were extremely capable of heating the space. All stoves are a mixture of radiant and convective heat. Ignore this issue when choosing a stove, it doesn't matter in reality.

Burn time is very important but to get the really long burn times like 30-40 hours you need BK. Nobody else can do it yet. You'll be limited to overnight burns plus a small amount of coaling time heat production with the other brands you mention. As such, I would go for the PE and enjoy the benefits of the non-cat which are simple burning, clean burning, nice fireview, and dependable service. No PE smaller than the super size firebox which is like 2.5 cubic feet, aka the T5.

 

[begreen]

The Neo 2.5 is 2.5 cu ft.. The Super series and the Alderlea T5 are 2.0 cu ft. which should work well if the area being heated is just 450 sq ft..

 

[webby3650]

Heck, a couple candles could heat 450 square feet! I sure wouldn't be investing a ton of money in a high end stove and chimney system for such a small space.

 

[bholler]

You'll be limited to overnight burns plus a small amount of coaling time heat production with the other brands you mention.

I am sorry but the Regency cat stoves he mentioned burn much longer than just over night. They do not go as long as bks yet but still quite respectable.

 

[Highbeam]

I am sorry but the Regency cat stoves he mentioned burn much longer than just over night. They do not go as long as bks yet but still quite respectable.

Looks like 15-18 hours max from people who actually own the big 5100. This from a hybrid stove with a huge 4.4 CF firebox and a lame 8" flue requirement.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/regency-5100-the-first-few-months.104350/

The newer F5102 and F3502 look to be a medium stove and a foreign version of the 5100. Hard to tell.