Fireview or Progress Hybrid?

[mlexp]

Good morning.

I'm heating a 3200 Sq. Ft. home in VA with a very old Sierra insert. It protrudes about 9 inches from the hearth, with the lion's share of the firebox recessed.

I can keep the house at 68-70 with temps in the teens outside. The insert is located in a small room in the basement. That room stays at 90+ degrees, and I have a 840CFM turbine fan mounted on the ceiling of that room, that pulls the heat out and pushes it up to the main level (I never run the fan on high, usually between low and medium).

Anyway, getting tired of 7-8 hour burns with a crazy huge night load. So, I'd like to go to something more efficient.

I cant find any info on BTU output on this Sierra insert. Their current inserts are rated at 42,600 max BTUs.

So, my question is, would folks here think a Fireview would hold me? It's rated at 42,100 max BTUs.

My thought is, with the Fireview mounted a few feet outside the fireplace, instead of inside of it, I'd be able to recoup more heat from the unit as all sides are exposed.

My other option is to go with a Progress Hybrid, but man, the cost.

I have a friend with a 06 Fireview he offered to me that can be fitted with the Stainless cat. He said he'd give it to me for $500. But, the cheapest PH I see online, even used are over 3 times that.

Looks like the PH is over 70k BTU, so it no doubt could do it.

I'd hate to buy and install the Fireview just to find out it's not up to the task.

Has anyone been in a similar circumstance replacing an insert with a free stander? What did you choose to replace it with? How did it compare to the insert?

Also, anyone who had a Fireview that they had to replace with a larger stove due to performance reasons? If so, what size home were you trying to heat with the Fireview that it came up short?

Thanks in advance for everyone related experiences and advice.

 

[moresnow]

3200 sq. ft.! Might be a stretch to get a Fireview to cover that area. Mostly from the basement. That's a really beauty stove however. I'd probably snag it and put it on the main floor to lessen the load on your current insert. Then you can admire it also!

 

[Woody Stover]

I would go bigger than the Fireview, especially trying to heat from the basement. The hybrids will throw big heat when needed. Have you considered the Ideal Steel? Not too expensive, and a fairly big firebox.

 

[Mark8]

(broken link removed to http://woodstove.com/images/pdffiles/PDF%20Article%20Downloads/woodstove_sizing.pdf)

The one thing that I don't understand about calculating btu's, if the stove is rated for 55,000 btu's/hr when ran at its max, what is it rated for when you turn the stove down for a 10-12 hour burn. Shouldn't you be sizing the stove to your house when the stove is coasting instead of it's max?


Your not going to be running a stove at its max 24/7 , right?

 

[toddnic]

I'm heating over 2,000 sq. ft. with the PH and it does it easily even at sub-zero temps. If I were you, I'd call Woodstock Soapstone Company and ask them for their opinion. They are very knowledgeable and helpful!

 

[begreen]

Offhand I'd say go for the Progress, but it's always a good idea to call Woodstock to see what they think.

 

[Woody Stover]

if the stove is rated for 55,000 btu's/hr when ran at its max, what is it rated for when you turn the stove down for a 10-12 hour burn. Shouldn't you be sizing the stove to your house when the stove is coasting instead of it's max?

The link you provided says you should figure the average output/hr. will be an average of the low/high output numbers, and you should size the stove taking this into account.

 

[Mark8]

The link you provided says you should figure the average output/hr. will be an average of the low/high output numbers, and you should size the stove taking this into account.

I had to read this part a few times to understand what they meant by a burn cycle, I believe what they are saying is if their stove is turned down for a 8 to 12 hour burn cycle you need to cut the max btu's in half, so a 50,000 btu/hr stove really only puts out 25,000 btu/hr when turned down.

I would think going bigger is better so you get the long burn times, if you went with to small and had to run it at max, you would be going through a load of wood every three hours.

If I'm misunderstanding something from the statement below, please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Woody Stover]

I believe what they are saying is if their stove is turned down for a 8 to 12 hour burn cycle you need to cut the max btu's in half, so a 50,000 btu/hr stove really only puts out 25,000 btu/hr when turned down.

Maybe right after you cut the air on a fresh load, it might be, say, 25K, with no flames in the box, just cat burn. Later in the burn cycle when you are down to coals to the point where you're at 250 stove top temp, it will be much lower.
[/QUOTE]if you went with to small and had to run it at max, you would be going through a load of wood every three hours.[/QUOTE]That's the bottom line, right there; You want to get the overnight burn, plus you want to have some reserve output on the top end to deal with extra-cold temps outside.

 

[firefighterjake]

I would suggest the PH for the size of the home.

 

[jotul8e2]

The Fireview should be well worth $500. All that stone is held in place with cement and it starts to come apart after that many years, to say nothing of the move. A rebuild should put it back in good shape if all the soapstone is sound, but there may be quite a bit of work and even some parts required.

The potential heat output per load is finite and calculable. There are about 175,000 btu/cu. ft. in hardwood, maybe a third less in softwood. The following assumes hardwood - oak, maple, cherry - and some rounding is performed.

If the stove is 72% efficient then you can get maybe up to 126,000 btu per cu. ft. output. And you will be able to load perhaps 75% of the available space. So a Fireview, with its 2.25 cu. ft. firebox, can reasonable be expected to generate a total of 210,000 btu per load. Maybe a little more. That would be an average of 21,000 btu/hr. over 10 hours. And in fact, Woodstock rates this stove as able to generate between 10,000 btu./hour and 42,000 btu/hour with up to a 10 to 12 hour cycle. More, of course, early in the cycle and less at the end. But if you keep it running at 42,000 btu/hour very long you will have a much shorter cycle as there is only 210,000 btus of fuel available.

The Progress is 25% larger and has a higher efficiency, so will generate something more like 300,000 total btus. And Woodstock says you can get 12 to 14 hours on a load. Operating for maximum burn times should give you close to 25,000 btus/hour for a 12 hour cycle, or 30,000 btus/hour for a 10 hour cycle.

The Progress can apparently deliver just short of 50% more heat per hour over a 10 hour burn. This is rather a lot. But for 3100 sq. ft. that does not seem too much.

 

[Woody Stover]

Yeah, if that Fireview isn't too old (date should be on the metal tag on the back) and it hasn't been overfired, cement may last for many years. That would be a helluva price for a newer, cherry Fv. I might snap it up and stick it upstairs if that's an option. You could always sell it, and probably make money if it's in good shape.

 

[Mark8]

I found these images online and gives a comparison of size between the Fireview & Progress.

 

[Rearscreen]

The Fireview has no ashpan and isn't designed to cook on (but you could of course). The PH has the ashpan option, and has 3 cooking temps on the top. It also differs as it's a hybrid. Plus it has a much bigger "fireview". Things to consider.

 

[mlexp]

Thanks to all for the advice. I'm going to try the Fireview first. Cant really lose anything if it doesn't work, and I need to resell. One other thing. I reclaim a huge amount of heat off my single wall pipe now exiting the stove. With the cat engaged, and burning at such a high temp, what flue temps can I expect on pipe as it exits the stove?

 

[begreen]

If it doesn't work within the first 6 months you can trade it up for a Progress with Woodstock.

 

[mlexp]

If it doesn't work within the first 6 months you can trade it up for a Progress with Woodstock.

Ah, thanks. I didnt realize they took trade-ins... Maybe I should inquire about any PH or Ideal models traded in

 

[begreen]

They offer a 6 month satisfaction guarantee. I think all you would pay is return shipping. It doesn't hurt to ask if they have any returns or rebuilds. That happens from time to time.

 

[Woody Stover]

With the cat engaged, and burning at such a high temp, what flue temps can I expect on pipe as it exits the stove?

Even though the cat may be glowing at 1000+, if you have the air cut below 1, I would expect to see flue temp under 250 with a surface meter at 12-18" up the connector pipe. Now, if you are running some flame in the box to get more heat, flue gas temp will be higher. The Fv is pretty good at keeping heat in the room.

 

[Woody Stover]

I will look at my BIL's when I go over there now, but he may not have fired up this AM..warm here today.

 

[toddnic]

Even though the cat may be glowing at 1000+, if you have the air cut below 1, I would expect to see flue temp under 250 with a surface meter at 12-18" up the connector pipe. Now, if you are running some flame in the box to get more heat, flue gas temp will be higher. The Fv is pretty good at keeping heat in the room.

I would agree! The PH has a 81% efficiency rating which means that most of the heat is going to be held in the wood stove. Not much going up the chimney.....

 

[Tiny]

Good morning.

I'm heating a 3200 Sq. Ft. home in VA with a very old Sierra insert. It protrudes about 9 inches from the hearth, with the lion's share of the firebox recessed.

I can keep the house at 68-70 with temps in the teens outside. The insert is located in a small room in the basement. That room stays at 90+ degrees, and I have a 840CFM turbine fan mounted on the ceiling of that room, that pulls the heat out and pushes it up to the main level (I never run the fan on high, usually between low and medium).

Anyway, getting tired of 7-8 hour burns with a crazy huge night load. So, I'd like to go to something more efficient.

I cant find any info on BTU output on this Sierra insert. Their current inserts are rated at 42,600 max BTUs.

So, my question is, would folks here think a Fireview would hold me? It's rated at 42,100 max BTUs.

My thought is, with the Fireview mounted a few feet outside the fireplace, instead of inside of it, I'd be able to recoup more heat from the unit as all sides are exposed.

My other option is to go with a Progress Hybrid, but man, the cost.

I have a friend with a 06 Fireview he offered to me that can be fitted with the Stainless cat. He said he'd give it to me for $500. But, the cheapest PH I see online, even used are over 3 times that.

Looks like the PH is over 70k BTU, so it no doubt could do it.

I'd hate to buy and install the Fireview just to find out it's not up to the task.

Has anyone been in a similar circumstance replacing an insert with a free stander? What did you choose to replace it with? How did it compare to the insert?

Also, anyone who had a Fireview that they had to replace with a larger stove due to performance reasons? If so, what size home were you trying to heat with the Fireview that it came up short?

Thanks in advance for everyone related experiences and advice.

We bought a fireview last year and are happy with it However our home is from the 30s and know insulation in walls 1250sf. And it works at 75, 80 degrees in stove room and 70 to 75 in other parts ( most all windows replaced. My point is I don't think for your size house the FV would cut it . We do use ceiling fans to move heat btw. Live up at 5000 ft in the Sierra Nevadas Cheers

 

[Newburnerwisconsin]

Good morning.

I'm heating a 3200 Sq. Ft. home in VA with a very old Sierra insert. It protrudes about 9 inches from the hearth, with the lion's share of the firebox recessed.

I can keep the house at 68-70 with temps in the teens outside. The insert is located in a small room in the basement. That room stays at 90+ degrees, and I have a 840CFM turbine fan mounted on the ceiling of that room, that pulls the heat out and pushes it up to the main level (I never run the fan on high, usually between low and medium).

Anyway, getting tired of 7-8 hour burns with a crazy huge night load. So, I'd like to go to something more efficient.

I cant find any info on BTU output on this Sierra insert. Their current inserts are rated at 42,600 max BTUs.

So, my question is, would folks here think a Fireview would hold me? It's rated at 42,100 max BTUs.

My thought is, with the Fireview mounted a few feet outside the fireplace, instead of inside of it, I'd be able to recoup more heat from the unit as all sides are exposed.

My other option is to go with a Progress Hybrid, but man, the cost.

I have a friend with a 06 Fireview he offered to me that can be fitted with the Stainless cat. He said he'd give it to me for $500. But, the cheapest PH I see online, even used are over 3 times that.

Looks like the PH is over 70k BTU, so it no doubt could do it.

I'd hate to buy and install the Fireview just to find out it's not up to the task.

Has anyone been in a similar circumstance replacing an insert with a free stander? What did you choose to replace it with? How did it compare to the insert?

Also, anyone who had a Fireview that they had to replace with a larger stove due to performance reasons? If so, what size home were you trying to heat with the Fireview that it came up short?

Thanks in advance for everyone related experiences and advice.

One thing I have learned over the past years is that it's almost always better to go bigger when it comes to stoves. Cats or noncats, it's the same. It's about the firebox size. That's a big house. Get the Progress. If anything, Put the fireview in your main living area to heat a small space.