Heating differences between Alderlea t6 and Summit le?

[dvellone]

Is there much difference in the way these two stoves heat given the cast iron outer jacket of the Alderlea and absence of it on the Summit?

Also, how necessary is the fan to each stove’s performance? I’ve been heating the house with an old cast iron Upland and don’t even need to run the ceiling fan - the temp throughout the whole home is fairly consistent within 1- 2 degrees. Will the convective design of the Alderlea and Summit be dependent on the fan? Thanks, Daniel

 

[MongoMongoson]

I can't compare the Summit to the Alderlea except to say the greater thermal mass of the cast iron might make for a "softer" heat. Maybe, less immediate after starting a fire and it might give off a little more heat for longer as the fire diminishes.

Comparing the Summit to and old smoke dragon, I can give more insight. The Summit provides less radiant heat. It radiates from the stove top and through the door. Your old cast iron stove would radiate from all sides, making it feel like it is giving off a LOT more heat.

I find I use the blower for a couple of reasons. I used to have an All Nighter Big Moe and had no trouble cooking us out of the house with it. The Summit does not provide the same level of BTUs/hr. I find the blower on the Summit helps the stove provide more BTUs per hour (while also consuming more wood per hour) by stripping more heat from the firebox and keeping the flue temperature at a safe number. If the house is cold, we can warm it up faster by moving air with the blower. If you are in a situation where you are able to keep the stove fired 24/7, you may not need the blower.

The second reason I use the blower is because we have a bit too much draft. I have a stove pipe damper in place, and we will use that to help reduce the draft. However, sometimes with softer woods (we get a lot of box elder) and high winds we can still have situations where the temperature continues to rise with the damper fully closed and the primary air "shut". Turning the blower on high can strip enough heat to start to bring the temperature down from a gradual increase to a gradual decrease until the stove starts to cruise nicely between 500 and 650 degrees measured with an in-pipe thermocouple 18 inches above the stove top.

If I were questioning whether I needed the blower, I would get it. If you have it installed you can safely leave it off. If you don't have it, you might find times when you wish you did.

 

[begreen]

They are both convective stoves. The Summit may heat up the space a little quicker due to less mass surrounding the firebox. I have a friend that heated almost exclusively with a Summit until recently adding a heat pump. This is in a single story, mostly open floor plan. They have no blower on the stove but the place is well insulated. The heat is pretty even in the house except for the bedrooms which are restricted by 32" doorways.

The Alderlea retains and releases the heat slowly as the fire dies down leading to more even room temps with less temperature swing between loadings.