Can't decide between Spectrum or Summit

[Gunner]

New member here...great site guys, I have been reading for awhile now and learned alot.

Here is my situation, if everything goes as planned we will be moving soon, and I would like to put a woodstove in the new house. It's a two story about 1800sqft. quite open, and fairly well insulated I would imagine being only 5 years old. We live in southern Ontario so we have pretty hearty winters. I plan on using the stove as the primary heat source, with the forced air gas furnace set back as backup.

At first I thought the PE spectrum classic would be the best fit, then decided that I would be better off with the summit. Went to the stove shop the other day now I'm not sure, the dealer wasn't saying not to get the summit but did say that most people go with the spectrum...even those in leaky farm houses.

I like the longer burn times and the EBT of the summit but also don't want to buy too much stove.

Tell me if I'm wrong but this is how I see it, the summit is only "hotter" because of the ability to load more wood, if I loaded it to the capacity of the spectrum it would heat like a spectrum right?I realize there is a slightly larger surface area on the summit to radiate heat but lets say you got 3 splits in the spectrum and 3 splits in the summit (imagine the wood is identical) you'd get the same amount of heat right?

What do you guy's think?

 

[wg_bent]

New member here...great site guys, I have been reading for awhile now and learned alot.

Here is my situation, if everything goes as planned we will be moving soon, and I would like to put a woodstove in the new house. It's a two story about 1800sqft. quite open, and fairly well insulated I would imagine being only 5 years old. We live in southern Ontario so we have pretty hearty winters. I plan on using the stove as the primary heat source, with the forced air gas furnace set back as backup.

At first I thought the PE spectrum classic would be the best fit, then decided that I would be better off with the summit. Went to the stove shop the other day now I'm not sure, the dealer wasn't saying not to get the summit but did say that most people go with the spectrum...even those in leaky farm houses.

I like the longer burn times and the EBT of the summit but also don't want to buy too much stove.

Tell me if I'm wrong but this is how I see it, the summit is only "hotter" because of the ability to load more wood, if I loaded it to the capacity of the spectrum it would heat like a spectrum right?I realize there is a slightly larger surface area on the summit to radiate heat but lets say you got 3 splits in the spectrum and 3 splits in the summit (imagine the wood is identical) you'd get the same amount of heat right?

What do you guy's think?

You should go with the Summit...You'll only need 3 splits all winter. (old joke)

I'd say it depends on the layout of the house. If fairly open, then go with the Summit. If the stove will be in a room with poor (airflow) access to the rest of the houes, then go with the Spectrum. In general the 3 split answer is well, sort of. Better way to answer is the two stoves have overlapping heating capability. The Summit has a higher potential output, the Spectrum a lower potential output. Spectrum will be better for fall/spring heating, The Summit better for dead of winter heating. Summit will likely have longer burn times.

The real answer is that both will probably heat the house just fine. How hot do you want the house?

 

[Gunner]

Mid 70'S

 

[Roospike]

Yep , Summit for sure. Your thinking correct to say that the more wood the more heat , the less wood the lesser heat per loaded in the stove. GET the ash pan clean out system too , very well worth it ! Here are some good read on my Summit. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/93/

 

[Roospike]

And this thread .......> https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/3168/

 

[Roospike]

And another .......> https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/2874/

 

[Gunner]

OK,

We have accepted an offer on our house, so it looks like we are moving! I will be ordering a stove for the new place in a week or two.

I have called 3 dealers for pricing and to ask there opinions on stove sizing. All three have initially recomended the spectrum over the summit from my description of the house/layout/insulation and intended use. None have actually seen the house. The last dealer I talked to said that the summit was a WORKHORSE and does not like two be run with just a log or two at a time but is designed to run well loaded.

Then I called PE directly...and they said the correct sizing can be tricky and it is very hard to tell without actually seeing the application. etc

I have found a dealerthat I trust and will get him to have a look at the place in person and will probably go with his recomendation.

Here are some shots of the house... will be removing the gas fireplace in LR and stove will go there. Chimney will be straight up. I'm guessing the house is 1800sqft, but haven't measured.

 

[Gunner]

room the stove will be in

 

[Gunner]

side of house

 

[suematteva]

Gunner,

We were in a similar situation, and went with the bigger stove. Both very happy..In retrospect the smaller option would not have been enough..

For us was between the Mansfield and Heritage, house is around 1900 sqf. Mansfield is supposed to be good up to 2500 or 3000...We are in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. There are times when we are running on the low end, but it is not an issue..The larger firebox gets us longer burn times and for that alone it is worth it..

Congrats on the deal

 

[suematteva]

Gunner,

Will the stove be in outside wall/corner (under TV) opposite or next to the bathroom? Is it exterior or interior chimney?

 

[Gunner]

yes it will be a corner install were the gas unit and tv currently are. Will be removing the gas unit and building a hearth. Chimney will be inside, and straight up.

 

[suematteva]

I would be leaning towards the larger stove longer burn times etc...You are probably going to have to help move the air around ..You may be out in the Niagara region where it is more temperate and that could justify the smaller unit...

If you have not already might be worth taken the family out to see the units?

 

[Rhone]

There's a guy with a Spanish Entry house in Canada in the picture section that I found interesting. He heats his house with a small stove, in a not so new house and calls if I recall 3-4 cords of wood plenty to get him through the winters of Canada. I didn't think it possible, around me I don't think 3 cords is enough for even trailors.

Do you know what the R-Value of the place is? From the looks of things, with the wide open floor plan and windows look particularly oversized, and living in Canada my guess is the Summit would be the wiser choice and, I think with steel stoves you can get away with smaller loads. I've seen a picture of a summit burning two small little log splits and having secondary burn action going. There is NO WAY I'm getting secondary burn action going in my soapstone/cast iron 550 lb unit unless I have at least 4 log splits burning. We'll see if that still the case now that I've improved my installation but the PE Summit does appear to be particularly capable of burning much smaller than usual loads for its size and get away with it. Every installation and situation is different though.

 

[Gunner]

I would be leaning towards the larger stove longer burn times etc...You are probably going to have to help move the air around ..You may be out in the Niagara region where it is more temperate and that could justify the smaller unit...

If you have not already might be worth taken the family out to see the units?

We are south of Hamilton, cold but not as cold as the eastern townships of Quebec. Just me and the girlfriend for now...and I have the green light for any stove I want. :coolsmile:

There is currently 1 ceiling fan in the stove room. I think a doorway fan to help send air up the center staircase would help nicely.

I think that the spectrum could do the job but I feel a true overnight (8hr)burn might be pushing it, as the firebox is not even 2cuft and I'd like to have that option. Also more room for ash longer/bigger splits is nice. I have the feeling that the stove with EBT might be more forgiving for the GF to operate while I'm at work.

Thank you for your thoughts Vintage

 

[Gunner]

Rhonemas,

I do not know the R- Value... the house is 5 years old so whatever minimum code reqirement was for Southern ON in 2001 I guess??

In regards to building smaller fires in steel stoves I think your right. Roospike burns a few splits at a time effectively. I can't see having to fill the firebox

 

[Roospike]

There's a guy with a Spanish Entry house in Canada in the picture section that I found interesting. He heats his house with a small stove, in a not so new house and calls if I recall 3-4 cords of wood plenty to get him through the winters of Canada. I didn't think it possible, around me I don't think 3 cords is enough for even trailors.

Do you know what the R-Value of the place is? From the looks of things, with the wide open floor plan and windows look particularly oversized, and living in Canada my guess is the Summit would be the wiser choice and, I think with steel stoves you can get away with smaller loads. I've seen a picture of a summit burning two small little log splits and having secondary burn action going. There is NO WAY I'm getting secondary burn action going in my soapstone/cast iron 550 lb unit unless I have at least 4 log splits burning. We'll see if that still the case now that I've improved my installation but the PE Summit does appear to be particularly capable of burning much smaller than usual loads for its size and get away with it. Every installation and situation is different though.

Is this the pic you were think of Rhonemas.
Summit. http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/Roospike/FOURM/P.jpg

Yes , I vote for the Summit as well. You can burn 2 small logs at a time with secondary burn. Tho the dealer says one thing .......... me being an owner of the Summit can tell you differently. Most stove are rated 25% over what would be the normal real live use. My house is 1800 sf and the summit is not too big. Its more stove than i need in the Fall & Spring but when winter comes now its the right size........Thats the way it should be. + with the Summit you get the EBT ( Extended Burn Technology ) feature .

My vote is for the Summit.

 

[Gunner]

I knew what you were going to say spike :lol: and I believe you having one burning in your house. I dont know about some of these dealers...one was giving me a price on the summit classic,asked if I wanted the ash dump...I told her it was standard on the classic. Her response Oh yeah!

 

[Roospike]

I knew what you were going to say spike :lol: and I believe you having one burning in your house. I dont know about some of these dealers...one was giving me a price on the summit classic,asked if I wanted the ash dump...I told her it was standard on the classic. Her response Oh yeah!

LOL ...... I asked my dealer a few Pacific Energy questions that should of been known by them and they didnt know . Of coarse when you sell all the different models i'm sure it can get overwhelming of all the options.

I already voiced my opinion on the Summit but had to throw it in again. ;-)
Its one thing to maybe buy the wrong size microwave .........but damn , its a hard lesson to buy the wrong size wood stove. I have heard some people " should of went with the bigger size" but you dont hear anybody say that they bought too big of stove. The EBT is also very forgiving of how much wood you load.

I also noticed in your picture of the "stove room" on the upper back wall a return vent ? Is that is a return vent then you do have the option if ever needed if the room gets too hot you could turn on your house fan to pull some air out of the room and into the parts of the house. dont think it would work too well using full time with the stove as most dont but you might end up being one of the lucky ones.

BTW , Love the new house ..... soon to be "HOME"

 

[suematteva]

I would be leaning towards the larger stove longer burn times etc...You are probably going to have to help move the air around ..You may be out in the Niagara region where it is more temperate and that could justify the smaller unit...

If you have not already might be worth taken the family out to see the units?

We are south of Hamilton, cold but not as cold as the eastern townships of Quebec. Just me and the girlfriend for now...and I have the green light for any stove I want. :coolsmile:

There is currently 1 ceiling fan in the stove room. I think a doorway fan to help send air up the center staircase would help nicely.

I think that the spectrum could do the job but I feel a true overnight (8hr)burn might be pushing it, as the firebox is not even 2cuft and I'd like to have that option. Also more room for ash longer/bigger splits is nice. I have the feeling that the stove with EBT might be more forgiving for the GF to operate while I'm at work.

Thank you for your thoughts Vintage

The GF Factor is an important one! I would go to the bigger unit..Whose bedroom is the chimney going through?

 

[Gunner]

spare/ guest bedroom

 

[Willhound]

Hi Gunner

I too would vote for the Summit. I went through the same dilemma last year, and although I have the insert model, the firebox, EBT etc. is all the same as the stand alone model. I had considered the Pacific which is the smaller insert and in the end it came down to the idea that you can always build a smaller fire in a bigger stove, but not the other way around. This has been stated before, but beleive me it works. My house is a similar size and layout to yours, maybe not as open concept, but if anything, this too would make me want the bigger unit.
Finally, absolutely do not underestimate the usefullness of EBT. If both models had it, the decision would be a lot tougher, but after seeing how it works, I am eternally grateful I bought the model that had it, the Summit.

I saw another thread where someone was concerned about getting the right damper settings for an overnight burn, without over-firing, or causing excess pollution from smoldering. EBT takes care of all that. It is the perfect idiot-proof stove for a guy like me. Fill'er up and let it blast for 10 or 15 minutes, close the damper down completely and go to bed. Wake up in the morning and the house is still warm enough and there are still enough red-hot coals in the firebox to just open the damper up, throw in a few chunks of wood, and sit back with a coffee and watch it take off again. Really easy to control. Wood a little less seasoned than you'd like? Just brought it in from the cold? Don't matter. Toss it in and watch EBT look after it. Perfect for a lazy bum like me.

 

[Gunner]

Willhound/Roospike

I read on chimneysweep I believe that with EBT you can reload onto a bed of coals without opening your damper up and the ebt will take over letting air in to establish the new load then shutting back down when things are rolling. If true that would be a great feature. Have you guys tried reloading without ajusting your damper before? What happened?

 

[Willhound]

Willhound/Roospike

I read on chimneysweep I believe that with EBT you can reload onto a bed of coals without opening your damper up and the ebt will take over letting air in to establish the new load then shutting back down when things are rolling. If true that would be a great feature. Have you guys tried reloading without ajusting your damper before? What happened?

Yes. Works OK, in my opinion, as long as the bed of coals is good and thick and hot, and the wood is good and dry.
Also takes longer than if you open the damper, particularly if your are damped right down.
Where it works real good is if you've had a good steady fire burning, at say, half or 1/4 damper, open the door and fire in new splits, close the door and walk away and works fine so it is nice in situations where you've got the damper set "just right" for the temp you want and you don't want to fiddle with it.

 

[begreen]

Our next door neighbor just installed the Spectrum Classic. Great stove. He put in 3 medium sized soft maple splits around 9:30 pm and still had live coals next morning at 6:30 am. I'm impressed. Not getting anything like that from the Castine so far.