Help me decide between the PE T5 or T6

[wendtbd]

My wife and I just moved to Rapid City South Dakota and are new to wood burning stoves.

After purchasing our house we gutted the basement, had a new chimney installed and a SBI Flame wood stove installed. We have been pretty disappointed with the SBI stove and the dealer is returning our money. We burn pine up here in SD but even with pine I am only getting 3 hours burn on a full load of wood and it doesn't seem to throw much heat either. I believe the model is an NXT-1 which is a 3.0+ firebox.

Since this stove is getting returned I decided to do some research this time before buying a new one on a recommendation. I have narrowed it down to the T5 or T6 but can't decide if I really need the large stove. We are in the process of finishing the basement and once done there will be insulation and some rooms that will break the space up. Below is a description of the house.

Built in ~1978 it is a long narrow ranch of 3000sqft, 1500 main floor and 1500 in the basement. The wood stove is installed in the corner of the basement on one side and is directly across from an open staircase. The rooms in the basement will be on the far side away from the stove with about 1000sqft remaining open for our entertainment area. Going up the staircase the kitchen is on one side and the family room is on the other side. Past the family room there is a hallway leading to the bedrooms and bathroom. Currently the top of the staircase is enclosed but in the future we are going to remove the wall in the family room and replace with a railing. This will open the staircase completely to the basement for airflow.

The chimney is a 6" dura-vent that basically goes straight up from the basement through the back of the laundry room out through the roof. It is total of 16' I believe and only the last 3-4' are outside the house. I seem to have a very good draft as I hardly ever have smoke coming into the room from the stove. I plan on installing an outside air supply during the basement remodel.

The PE dealer here is pushing me towards the T5 but I am concerned that this is going to be too small. The basement/rec room will be a main living area so we don't want to heat it so much we can't use the area. We normally keep our house around 67-68 degrees with our gas burning insert upstairs and our baseboard heaters.

I am leaning towards the T6 but I question whether I can really turn it down enough to reduce heat and still have an efficient fire that burns all the wood.

Thanks for any suggestions you have.

 

[Hogwildz]

I myself given with what you described, I would go with the T6. You can load smaller loads in a T6 and achieve heat, and yet no burn yourself out of the house.
For real cold nights and overnight burns, you can do larger loads and have the firepower you need. If your trying to just the room its in, then go with the T5.
With my Summit which is the same firebox, I can do 3 splits, get same temps I do with a full load or less if I need, just a shorter burn period. Of course pine is going to burn fast, but should burn hot also.
That is why I suggest considering the T6, capacity is there, yet you can do smaller efficient burns when needed. See if BG weighs in, he is burning one and can describe it better than I.

 

[jwscarab]

I'm no expert but I would go T6 hands down. My T6 is in use for 1 week only so I think some of my heat concerns are learning curves.

Mine is also in an insulated basement room that is only 20x20 - stove on one side and stairwell on the other. I have yet to get enough heat up the stairs to get the house to 73. Furnace thermo set on 72. Even that small basement room is never too hot with stove temps of 600-650.

I contribute my needing more heat to 2 things. 1) still learning stove. 2) need outside air kit.

I think my stove burns my house air which in turn is sucking in cold air thru cracks on main floor and down stairway - but no hot air coming up.

Long story short - I own a T6 and I could use MORE heat - my noviced oppinion - purchase the T6

 

[wendtbd]

Thanks for the input, it seems I should probably go with the T6.

Like I said I was leaning that way anyway but being a somewhat warm blooded person I wanted to be sure I could actually turn down this beast and get comfortable heat when desired. Until the basement is finished and has some insulation I am sure I won't be turning it down much.

 

[Ivy Frank]

This is a no-brainer.

If money is not an issue, go with the T-6. You'll be able to control heat output to as low as you want. I regularly burn 1 or 2 sticks of wood in our T-6 with no issues - the stove puts out just a bit of heat at that level.

Other stove manufacturers, I couldn't say, as it's not clear how they would react to a small load of wood. The PE summit/T series I can say from experience, no issues.

One thought - 16' may be cutting it close. If you have any drafting issue after installing the T-6, consider adding another section (insulated trip wall of course).

 

[snowtime]

I vote vote the T6 also. As for jwscarabs problem getting enough heat remember this stove starts to really put out when the stove top temp reaches 750 and above. If one never lets it get to those temps them they will not be getting the full benefits from this stove.
I would add 3' to the chimney.

 

[wendtbd]

T6 it is! Thanks everyone

How would I know if I have draft issues? I know one sign is smoke coming into the room when the stove door is open, what are the others? I could add another 3' section pretty easily but I may need to provide additional support since currently I don't run the chimney inside of a chase. I plan on extending the existing chase sometime this spring/summer but don't have the time or ambition at this point.

 

[madison]

Go large.

We looked at both, went with the T6. All of the above are right on.

I would only add if you are sticking it in a basement, the fewer times i would have to walk up and down the stairs to tend/feed the stove, the happier i would be.

Go Large.

Our install pics in the link below.

 

[wendtbd]

That is a great looking install, thanks for sharing.

What kind of stone did you use on the wall and base? I was looking at some of the faux/veneer stone at the local home improvement shop for my install but haven't decided yet. I like the dry stack look but need it to match with the tile we are going to put down on the floor. I don't have any pictures yet but will post some when I finally get started.

Of course doing this before the stove is installed would be ideal but we moved in at the wrong time of year and really couldn't do without the stove. Going to be a bear to move again though.

 

[Patapsco Mike]

Given a bigger or smaller stove of similar design, I would go bigger ten out of ten times. Longer burn times, takes bigger logs, goes longer without having to clean out ashes, puts out more heat if you really need it on a brutally cold day, bigger glass for viewing fire, etc etc.

 

[madison]

The spouse originally thought the T5 would look better in our install, but she liked the T6 once she saw it next to the T5, she liked the dimensions and look of the t6 next to the t5. i was lobbying for the t6 all along because of the 3000 sq ft and cathedral ceilings and a long wall of floor to ceiling windows and 6 sliding glass doors. our boiler still needs to work but gas use is less than half of last yr...



go large. even if you do not have the space, my wife sits 4 ft from the t6 when the stovetop is 600.

 

[wendtbd]

The T6 has been ordered! Thanks again for all the input and great comments.

 

[savageactor7]

^good move bigger is always better imo