Hearthstone Heritage vs. Quadrafire 4300

[ourhouse]

I am installing a woodstove in the basement of my 1300 sq. ft. house. The basement is 24x24 with the staircase on the opposite side of where I will be placing the stove. The staircase leads up into the kitchen that has a ceiling fan. The kitchen leads into the dining room and living room where there is another staircase going upstairs. I have narrowed my decision down to the Heritage or the 4300. The Heritage is in the running because I have found a one year old used one for $1200. I am looking for feedback as to which stove I should go with. I know The Heritage is a prettier stove to be putting in a basement. However, for the price I can't help but put it in the running. I know the Quadrafire is going to throw more heat faster but the Heritage holds the heat better over a longer period of time. Given this dilemma, I'm torn and am not sure what to do. Any suggestions/advice?

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Im biased, but the heratige is too good to pass up, the heritage is large for that space, and the 4300 is way overkill. It would crank to much in my opinion, you will like the soft steady heat of the soapstone. For reference, the heritage heats my upper 1800 square feet no problem.

 

[suematteva]

Not familiar with the Quadrafire but we have a hearthstone mansfield in our basement and after 4 seasons with the soapstone we love it. Prior we had a BIG La Compagne boat anchor cast iron stove, black hole for wood consumption and cook you out of the basement. The mansfield is great and we can enjoy the fire. That section of the basement is finished.

 

[DonCT]

I too could be considered biased since I have a Heritage. But if you can get that Heritage for that price, sounds like a deal to me. The soapstone does take "alittle" longer to heat up the area, but it will give you effective heat for much longer. Example: My first overnight burn back in early April, I had the stove stop temp to around 600 at 9 PM. I loaded the stove with 3 decent sized splits of sugar maple, dampered down and let her burn. When I checked it the next morning at 7:30, the stove temp was still at 275 and there were still a nice little pile of coals for a relight.

You will be surprised at the convection heating you will see in your home. As long and you're good and insulated, you should be able to heat your home easily with the Heritage. My home is 1500 sq. ft.

 

[ourhouse]

Thank's for the in put. I ended up buying a 4300 step top quad with a blower. As for the used heritage which I wanted turned out to be POS. When I looked at it , it looked someone tossed it down a flight of stairs. I hope the new Quad works out great. I will keep you updated.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

you will love the quad, thats one heat producing beast.

 

[ourhouse]

Thanks MSG that is what I am hopeing for.