Blaze King Ashford 25 or Montpellier II ?

[LogJammer]

Hi,
I am purchasing a new wood stove insert to supplement heat in my home. My home is about 2000 sq ft and is one story. I have large air returns on the ceilings near the hearth and so I hope to use the stove to help heat my home as well as provide a warm spot to read a book in the winter. Based on the specs the VC will heat a larger square footage (the literature says up to 2400 sq ft) while the BK Ashford 25 will heat up to 1600 sq ft. I have a few questions:

1. Are people on this forum generally happy with their Montpellier II stoves?
2. Would the Ashford significantly supplement my home heating? (it is in a large 1000 sq ft room with 8 ft ceilings?
3. What are your general experiences with either model?


Thanks!

 

[begreen]

Both will work for supplemental heating. The BK is a catalytic stove with thermostatic air control, the Montpelier II is a non-cat, with fixed air control (no user setting). Both will need the blower running at least on low speed to convect heat into the room. In this category, the Osburn Matrix, Lopi Medium Flush, and the Pacific Energy Neo 2.5 inserts are also worth considering if they will fit the fireplace.

 

[bholler]

Hi,
I am purchasing a new wood stove insert to supplement heat in my home. My home is about 2000 sq ft and is one story. I have large air returns on the ceilings near the hearth and so I hope to use the stove to help heat my home as well as provide a warm spot to read a book in the winter. Based on the specs the VC will heat a larger square footage (the literature says up to 2400 sq ft) while the BK Ashford 25 will heat up to 1600 sq ft. I have a few questions:

1. Are people on this forum generally happy with their Montpellier II stoves?
2. Would the Ashford significantly supplement my home heating? (it is in a large 1000 sq ft room with 8 ft ceilings?
3. What are your general experiences with either model?


Thanks!

In addition to what begreen said those air returns need to be atleast 10' from the stove and even then multiple large air returns in the room with the stove may cause a negative pressure in that room interfering with stove operation.

 

[LogJammer]

Thanks for the replies bholler & begreen. The information about the air returns is very helpful

I am purchasing the stove from my neighbor's stove store and these are the models that they sell which seem to make sense with my fireplace and needs. I like both stoves but was also wondering if one stove is somehow built better, or if you or anyone else on this forum have had good or bad overall experiences with either stove. Performance, maintenance, craftsmanship etc. any information is helpful at this point to make a decision.

With the 2021 tax rebate for buying stoves the BK ashford 25 would be considerably cheaper as well ( due to some installation costs to make the Montpellier 2 fit in my fireplace).

 

[begreen]

If you are comfortable with running the cat stove and these are the only options then it sounds like the BK is the winner here.