Considering switching from Harman XXV to Hearthstone Homestead

[jslinger]

Hello,
I used to be somewhat active in the pellet stove section of the forum, but I have recently developed an interest in a wood stove.
The interest mainly comes from my wife, who grew up with a wood stove in the house, and misses the radiant heat emitted from a wood stove.
We currently have a Harman XXV, and I am very happy with it. We live in VT, in a 15 year old house, with 2,000sq ft above grade. Last winter was extremely cold, and we went through 3.25 tons of pellets. The house is 2X6 construction, and based on our pellet usage, seems well insulated. The second floor has four bedrooms and two baths. We close the doors to three of the bedrooms since we have no children. Heating the basement is not a concern.
I included a picture of the first floor. The second floor generally stays within 2* of the first, while the laundry room tends to stay about 6* colder than the rest of the first floor.
I have no experience burning wood so I don't know what to expect. My brother has a wood stove, and his upstairs is always cold. His house is not as well insulated as mine, however. My concern is that the XXV blows at the ideal location for the air to split, so half goes to the kitchen, and half toward the stairs. This is why my second floor heating is so even.
I am worried that won't be the case with the wood stove. The Homestead does come with an optional fan, but that kind of negates the appeal of a "power free" heat source. I suppose I could use the fan only when needed. I am also concerned in the clearances from the stove to my couch and end table. They are both located within two feet of our pellet stove, and that barely radiates any heat.
Any help is appreciated.

 

[Jazzberry]

I would remove the walls on the unused room to make nice big living room and rearrange the furniture. If possible that is.

 

[jslinger]

I would remove the walls on the unused room to make nice big living room and rearrange the furniture. If possible that is.

We have been considering that. That would certainly open up our options for furniture placement.

 

[begreen]

Curious about the stove. The Homestead would not be my first choice. It's not designed for convection, has a narrow firebox and has very a high hearth insulation requirement. Have you considered any other stoves that are built for convection?

 

[jslinger]

Curious about the stove. The Homestead would not be my first choice. It's not designed for convection, has a narrow firebox and has very a high hearth insulation requirement. Have you considered any other stoves that are built for convection?

I have not really done much research. I was mainly looking for advice on expectations concerning even heating throughout the house. But suggestions for specific stoves, are certainly welcome.

 

[begreen]

For a corner installation I would recommend a convective stove that will move the heat in a similar way as the Harman currently does. Most of these are steel stoves but many are steel stoves with a cast iron jacket. Jotul, Quadrafire, Napoleon, Blaze King, Enviro and Pacific Energy all make stoves of this style. The advantages are closer clearances, longer burn times, extra mass which buffer temperature swing, and possibly a deeper firebox for more flexible loading.

 

[jslinger]

For a corner installation I would recommend a convective stove that will move the heat in a similar way as the Harman currently does. Most of these are steel stoves but many are steel stoves with a cast iron jacket. Jotul, Quadrafire, Napoleon, Blaze King, Enviro and Pacific Energy all make stoves of this style. The advantages are closer clearances, longer burn times, extra mass which buffer temperature swing, and possibly a deeper firebox for more flexible loading.

How do you like your Alderlea T6? Does that qualify as a convection stove? I noticed they list the T5 as a combination of the two. I assume they are the same design, just different sizes.
This (broken link removed to http://napoleonfireplaces.com/products/huntsville-1400-wood-stove/) also seems like it might meet my requirements. Or the BK princess.

 

[begreen]

The Alderlea has been a good stove for us. It's convective. The T6 is 3 cu ft, the T5 is 2 cu ft. In this style BK makes the Ashford 30.1. BK stoves are catalytic, so they need a bit more attention, but can run at a steady rate at lower output. More like a pellet stove in that regard.

Any new wood stove is going to want fully seasoned wood to burn properly. Stacking and storing will have to be a priority or you will need to find a good wood seller in your area that actually fully seasons the wood (most don't) .

 

[Pellet_Pete]

Two years ago or so, as I was shouldering my 7th ton of pellets for the winter, I had the same notions as you. Our XXV is our main heater and it is located in a suboptimal part of the house. We had an eligible centrally-located fireplace and decided to put a wood stove there to supplement the pellet stove and have a power-free heating option, with half a mind to upgrading the relative importance of wood if we liked burning. Being supplemental, it took a while and we ended up with a smaller stove. This forum was an invaluable resource for everything from stove choice and installation details to procuring dry wood and building a "better" fire. In the 3 weeks since I first fired it up, we've been thoroughly pleased, especially when temps are warm enough where we don't need to run the pellets. It's reeeeally nice to have a warm house without that drone of the distribution fan! Getting, processing, storing and moving wood around is certainly a chore, but I love trees and wood more than most, so it's more of a labor of love. The best measure of success was my wife telling me "if you croaked, I'd keep the wood stove but not the pellets!" I think you're looking for your stove to be a primary heater, but even if you're looking for it to be supplemental, I'd recommend getting one that would be up to the task of being a primary heater - That's my only regret, as I'm already thinking towards getting a bigger stove.

I hope this keeps your motivation up! Good luck!

 

[MarylandGuy]

I have been running a Hearthstone Homestead for about five years. It's set up as a free standing unit, verses an insert into a fireplace.

I love the stove and it's ability to jump to the secondary burn pretty quickly. I suppose if I were to do it again, I would probably opt for the larger version of that stove. I believe it's called the Phoenix. My stove puts out a lot of heat, but the firebox is pretty small. It would be nice to load more wood at a time.

I bought the stove used and did receive the fan and heat shield (needed to direct the airflow from the fan), but I never hooked it up. I prefer not to use the electric if it's not needed.

When the stove is running full bore, the hearth below the stove is actually cool. The ash pan is below the stove which I assume shields the hearth quite a bit. The ash pan is useless by the way. I have never used it. And as others have had issues with the gasket wearing out, I just didn't need that headache.

Though I like the stove a lot, there really are better stove choices out there now. The Homestead design has been around a long time.