Going from QF Discovery to ?? insert. HELP!

[Vidiot]

We have been using a Quadrafire DiscoveryIII for 3 or 4 years now. It is the 1st wood stove either of us have used so no real experiance. We have had no issues aside from getting good sessoned wood but that is another topic. We have a brick fireplace in the same part of the house and plan to put an insert in there and get rid of the free standing QF D3 to save space. Its a 2500 sqft rancher and this is in the center of the house. We understandably have trouble getting the two far ends really warm but it makes for good sleeping in the bedrooms out there since we prefer it a little colder.

My questions are :
1) Do you think we will struggle to get as much heat off an insert as we do a free standing unit?
2) Is there a stove that will give enough (atleast what we get now) heat but with a longer burn time since we struggle to get an overnight burn from the QF D3?
I am of course considering a BK Princess 29 as I can't find a bad review and like the idea of longer burn times. I know this is a cat stove and am guessing I will be able to get cooler burns for shoulder season but will it give me the heat I need when its properly cold? My installer recommended the Osburn 3500 and I like the idea of the large firebox suggesting longer burn times. Its also rated at a much higher BTU output than the QF D3 but it seems there is no real apples to apples on the specs so here I am. Spinning the interwebs... Any advice would be greatly appriciated.

 

[begreen]

An insert will heat differently than a freestanding stove which has more radiant surfaces exposed to the room. To come close, the more an insert sticks out of the fireplace onto the hearth, the more it will heat the room without convective (fan) assistance. Both of these inserts are good in this regard.

If maximum heat output is the goal, then the Osburn 3500 is a good choice. It has a large firebox that can be loaded N/S or E/W and can put out a substaintial amount of heat when pushed, yet is still able to burn a smaller, 4-5 split fire when not. It's a conventional, and simple secondary burn stove that with care will last a very long time with fairly low maintenance.

If milder weather heating is the primary goal then the Princess is a great choice. It will definitely have a longer burn time and has a solid reputation behind it. You can load it up and dial it down for a nice low and slow burn that will go on for hours. The firebox is a bit shallower than the huge Osburn which biases it toward E/W loading unless the splits are shorter. With the tech that makes the stove great comes additional complexity and maintenance but it's not onerous and with proper burning habits will become routine.

 

[jaybird396]

Hello, Osburn 3500 owner here. The Osburn will definitely give you overnight burns. It has a huge firebox so that is no problem. Please note, by overnight burns I mean that there is plenty of coals to easily get the morning load going with no problem. The blower fan has a temperature control that will shut it off when the stove burns out and gets cool. In the cold months of winter, if I load it up with a full load of wood before bed around 9 pm the blower is usually still blowing in the morning when I get up around 6am. In other words the stove is still fairly warm for an easy relight.

I used to own a Woodstock Fireview catalytic stove at my old house. It was definitely better at the low and slow burns and I feel it was more efficient than an insert because it was able to radiate more heat out. But it's not an apples to apples comparison because my old house was laid out completely different than my current house.

I will say that with very dry wood (around 14% moisture) I can turn the Osburn down quite low once it gets going. In milder weather I can turn the blower to about half speed and get prolonged secondary combustion with stack temperatures in the 500-600 range as measured by an Auber probe thermometer about 6" above the flue collar. I have an insulated liner with a blockoff plate. Also in Jan and Feb I remove the surround trim from around the insert to allow the warm air to flow out of the fireplace area around the insert just to get every last bit of heat out.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Here's a thread from many years ago by a member who switched to a Blaze King Princess Insert in his home in Maryland. It's worth a read.

P

Thread 'Thoughts on my new Blaze King Princess insert'

Dec 15, 2009

I have been burning my Princess insert over the past 2 months and thought I would post my thoughts about the Princess vs. my former stoves (and in particular, my last stove the Avalon Olympic).

A little history….. I have in the last 10 years burned a step-top non-EPA Fisher, a new VC large Dutchwest cat, and an Avalon Olympic. I was very happy with the performance of my Avalon stove. My decision to switch to a Princess was based on reviews from this forum, the long shoulder season here in MD, the tax rebate, and the $1,200 I got for my used but like-new Olympic... I read all the posts...

• Patapsco Mike

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