i have a 1200 sq ft house in new jersey my only heat source is my stove its a very old post and beam house with a loft the center of the house is an A framehouse and there are shed roof additions on each side very little insulation i have been heating with an old all nighter woodstove and it does the job but now i am looking to upgrade i tried it once before and bought a dutchwest with a catalytic combuster and didnt like it what i am looking for is a stove with long burntimes i was looking at the jotul firelight and the lopi liberty i think also the smaller leyden and the harmon exception because of the burn times but i have no experience with the secondary burn technologies. i and would like any input that you all can give me thanks ahead of time i hope i gave enough information keith
help deciding the right stove
- Thread starter oxman
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How tall is the flue on this stove? How much is on the interior of the house?
It sounds like a medium sized stove with a firebox of about 2.5 cu. ft would work for you. A good secondary burn stove will work well for you. You should see reduced wood consumption and a cleaner stack. The Lopi Liberty is a large stove and might be overkill. Perhaps the Lopi Republic or Endeavor would be a better fit. The Harman Exception is also big, but closer. You might want to look at the Pacific Energy Spectrum, Quadrafire 3100. If you are looking into cast iron stoves, I think the Jotul F500 would be a better fit. Also consider the Quadrafire Isle Royale, Lopi Leyden or Vermont Castings Encore - non-cat.
Long burns are possible in all of these stoves. The PE stoves are earning a reputation of being particularly miserly. Too bad the Dutchwest didn't work out. What made you decide to remove it?
It sounds like a medium sized stove with a firebox of about 2.5 cu. ft would work for you. A good secondary burn stove will work well for you. You should see reduced wood consumption and a cleaner stack. The Lopi Liberty is a large stove and might be overkill. Perhaps the Lopi Republic or Endeavor would be a better fit. The Harman Exception is also big, but closer. You might want to look at the Pacific Energy Spectrum, Quadrafire 3100. If you are looking into cast iron stoves, I think the Jotul F500 would be a better fit. Also consider the Quadrafire Isle Royale, Lopi Leyden or Vermont Castings Encore - non-cat.
Long burns are possible in all of these stoves. The PE stoves are earning a reputation of being particularly miserly. Too bad the Dutchwest didn't work out. What made you decide to remove it?
thanks for the reply i couldnt get the performance out of the ductchwest that i got out of the pinebarren stove i had been using for years maybe my fault i am just not a fan of cat stoves ps i havent put a flue in yet but it will probably be about 20' i am moving my stove location to the center of the house thanks keith
My house is more like 1400 sf and with the Jotul Oslo I can really make the temperature go up
You may not need that amount of heat, I really liked the Jotul Castine and only picked up this one as I got a good deal on it. How is the weather where you live in NJ? Does it really dip down into the single digits or is there more 30's days? I'd take a look at the Castine and see if it could work for you. Even without really long burns, you should have enough coals to restart the fires in the morning.
You may not need that amount of heat, I really liked the Jotul Castine and only picked up this one as I got a good deal on it. How is the weather where you live in NJ? Does it really dip down into the single digits or is there more 30's days? I'd take a look at the Castine and see if it could work for you. Even without really long burns, you should have enough coals to restart the fires in the morning.
I thought of the Castine for a small place like that, but then thought with almost no insulation and sole source of heat, to err on the larger side. Trouble is he needs a medium sized stove with a long burn. The Castine will put out about 6hrs of meaningful heat. That might mean getting up in the wee hours to stoke it on those cold nights. To strike the right balance, given the parameters, I'd look hard at a PE Spectrum or Alderlea T5. But my first choice would be to insulate and caulk like crazy. Then I'd probably look at another cat, like a Woodstock stove.
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