Help newbe pick

[Jeremy McNutt]

I am building a home in the Kansas City suburbs. I am interesting in buying my first wood burning stove. The first floor will be 1177 ft^2 and the second floor will be 1445 ft^2. The stove will be installed in a 18' x 13' great room with a 7' wide opening into a 11' x 11' foyer. The stove will be in the corner next to the opening into the foyer. The steps are just off the foyer so this should work well to let the heat rise into the second floor. The house will be well insulated. The flue will run straight up through the second floor and attic and out the roof.

Priorities in order of importance:
1. Large viewing area. We look forward to sitting around and enjoying the ambiance of a fire.
2. Emergency heat for house during power outage.
3. Secondary heating to save money.

Cost is not a huge concern, but i do not want to throw away my money. Please give me some advice on what models to consider or let me know what other information you need to help.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to help me.

Jeremy

 

[begreen]

Welcome Jeremy. You are off to a good start. This will be a 3 cu ft stove unless the place is exceptionally well insulated and sealed. Is there a particular style that appeals to you? Classic, contemporary, stone?

 

[Jeremy McNutt]

We like the classic style with legs. Like Jotul F600. Do NOT like contemporary or solid base.

 

[raybonz]

Welcome to the forum Jeremy ! With a home that size I would only look at 3+ cubic foot wood stoves. Woodstock makes the Progress Hybrid that gives a great fire view or you might consider any other stove in this size range.

Good luck,
Ray

 

[raybonz]

http://www.woodstove.com/progress-hybrid
(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/alderlea/t6.php)
(broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/product-detail.aspx?model=364)
(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/pacificenergy/index.php)

etc. etc..

Ray

 

[begreen]

Yes, I was thinking the Progress Hybrid too along with the Lopi Cape Cod, if a cat stove is ok. If not, the Jotul F600, Enviro Boston, Hearthstone Manchester or Mansfield, and Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 are stoves I would look at.

PS: Your wife and mine think alike. But keep an eye out. BK has been promising a cast jacket stove sometime soon. It may be out by the time you are finished building.

 

[Jeremy McNutt]

"your wife and mine think alike" LOL

You nailed it. She laid down the law about how it should look. Now I have to find a quality stove that meets her style requirements.

I will spend some time looking at the recomendations above. Thanks so much for your help. I will give you progress updates as we make decisions.

Jeremy

 

[Jeremy McNutt]

After some initial research, I am looking at the non cat models. My builder recomended a dealer that he usually works with that carries quadra-fire. My wife also likes the looks of the isle royal the best.

The other models we are looking at are the jotul f600, alderlea T6, and the pacific energy summit with legs.

Can someone give me a general idea of where these should be price wise? Also the major differences. It is somewhat overwhelming figuring all this out. The stoves listed above look to be mostly the same. Is there a comparison thread somewhere that goes over the differences?

Also, in a tight new house is it a big deal to have an outside air kit/intake?

Thanks for the help.

 

[TheBaron]

The cat stoves generally use less air over the burn period, but the traditional epa models you are looking at will use more air.

Will you have an HRV? If so, you probably won't need a fresh air intake dedicated to the stove (OAK)

 

[PapaDave]

Hi Jeremy, and welcome to the Hearth.
That's a lot of space, even for a 3 cu. ft. stove, unless the house is very well insulated and sealed.
Now, more importantly, what's your plan for firewood?
Since the house isn't built yet, you have an opportunity to be ahead of the game re: firewood.
If the lot is being cleared, get the trees processed now. If you need to purchase wood, do it now. Get it cut, split, and stacked ASAP so it'll have a chance to be somewhat dry. If you wait until the house is done, you'll be disappointed.
If I had it to do over, knowing what I know now, I would have gotten at least 2 years worth of wood as soon as we moved here. You've come to the right place, so use our insight to set yourself up for a good experience.
I would have suggested a nice BKK, but the better half obviously prefers a more "handsome" stove.
Where (approx is good) are you located? Got a floorplan we could peruse?

 

[begreen]

After some initial research, I am looking at the non cat models. My builder recomended a dealer that he usually works with that carries quadra-fire. My wife also likes the looks of the isle royal the best.

The other models we are looking at are the jotul f600, alderlea T6, and the pacific energy summit with legs.

Can someone give me a general idea of where these should be price wise? Also the major differences. It is somewhat overwhelming figuring all this out. The stoves listed above look to be mostly the same. Is there a comparison thread somewhere that goes over the differences?

Also, in a tight new house is it a big deal to have an outside air kit/intake?

Thanks for the help.

There's a significant difference in the way that these different stoves heat. The Isle Royale and F600 are radiant heaters. They emit strong heat from the sides, top and front. This is a good type of stove for a large open space with generous clearances. The Alderlea and Summit stoves are convective heaters. The radiate heat from the front, but convect cooler air from the sides and back and gently warm it out the top. The castiron on the T6 has no direct contact with the firebox. It is mass that soaks up and softens the heat output. This is ideal for open spaces where you need close clearances on the stove, yet a lot of heat. It behaves more like a soapstone stove in this regard. The Summit has a porcelain steel jacket and is somewhat in between the two. The jacket softens the side heat radiance, but it has less of a heatsink quality.

The cost is going to depend on the finish and the timing of purchase. In another month or two the prices start to go on sale, especially if this is a stove and spa shop and they need space and want to reduce inventory. It will also depend on how much you doll the stove up. A basic black leg Summit will go for about $2200, but trick it out with a brushed nickel door and legs and it will cost another $750. Not sure about current pricing on the IR and F600 but I would guess about $3K+ and another $500 if enameled. If you are looking at the Summit, you might also price out a Napoleon 1900 in your area. It usually goes for a few hundred less.

For some idea of pricing (west coast) Tom's website covers a good range of stoves. Check out the Hearthstone Manchester while there.(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/fswood.htm)

 

[Jeremy McNutt]

Is a f600 too big to put in the room mentioned above ( 13' x 18')? How close could one sit to it if it is burning? The required hearth area is much larger than I thought. Looks like I am going to have to move one of the doorways and try to figure out a new place for the TV. I found a great deal on the f600. I was leaning toward one of the soapstone stoves but with the deal I found, is hard to pass up the f600 unless it is really the wrong stove for my home.

Thanks for all the help. Everyone has been a big help.

 

[begreen]

With the nice wide foyer opening the F600 could work if there is enough space for the stove with respect to its clearance requirements. If you like it warm sitting 4 ft away would be ok. It might take a fan blowing some foyer air into the room to balance out the heat, but that could be the same issue for any large stove. If the price is right and the stove is in great condition, this could work out.

Tell us and show us more detail about the planned location for the stove and alternatives if there are any.

 

[ArsenalDon]

quadra-fire. My wife also likes the looks of the isle royal the best.

Your setup sounds quite similar to our home layout...we have 2-7 foot door openings....one to the dining room and the other to the foyer which also has the stairwell to the second story. My wife put the demands on the look which is why the Isle Royale won out....then it came to pricing...the enamel Isle Royale was bought in March when the sales started so we snagged it for $2,590. It does radiate like mad so for us with a ceiling fan in the stove room (highly recommended) pushes the air well and heats the living room up to 80 if wanted, and the furthest room upstairs gets up to 70.
Good clearances are needed for this stove as it does radiate the heat...we burn almost exclusively with soft woods but still with large splits and a packed stove we get 5 hour burn times which leaves us a 250-300 degree stove with good coals. With the few times we have gotten a hold of hardwood the burn times went up to 8 hours or so.
I do not know much about the Cape Cod as it is fairly new but Lopi does make a great product.....the F600 was our other choice but the cost was higher for us.

 

[Jeremy McNutt]

 

[Jeremy McNutt]

 

[Jeremy McNutt]

Stove will be in the top left corner of the great room. We would like to have it positioned as a corner install facing into the center of the room. This could present a problem with the side load door of the f600. How far from the corner does the door to the study need to be? It is around 4' now. This does not seem to give us enough space unless I am looking at it wrong. The best install seems to be with the stove facing the front of the house and the door moved approx 6' from the corner to give plenty of room for the hearth. WIfe is really pushing for a "corner" install facing center of room instead of facing front of house.

The deal on the f600 is too good to pass up unless it just will cause problems. Heck I might buy it and try to resell it if it will not work for us.

Thanks for the help.

Jeremy

 

[Premier Fireplace MI]

IMO I would go with the T-6. I have sold many of brands in the last 13 Years. The Pacific Energy is one of the best burning stoves on the Market. There Floating Firebox Design is one of the most resilient and Cleanest Burning on the market. The nice thing about the T-6 is you get the best of both worlds with it being a Steel Stove with a Cast Wrap. Quad is not what it once was I would put my PE over a Quad any day of the week. However with it being New Construction have you thought about a EPA Box that is a built in?

 

[ArsenalDon]

We would like to have it positioned as a corner install facing into the center of the room. This could present a problem with the side load door of the f600

As you can see from avatar pic...corner install eliminated side load stoves for us too

 

[raybonz]

The F600 is a good stove but it is a radiant stove so sitting near it will make you feel hot.. If you want to sit near a stove then you need to consider soapstone for radiant heat or go convection which spreads the heat much better by moving the heated air while radiant heats objects.. I can sit near my T5 and not feel baked for me convection is much more comfortable and a blower helps spread the heat better especially when it is cold.. Not much more I can say about this..

Ray

 

[northwinds]

(snip) Quad is not what it once was I would put my PE over a Quad any day of the week. (snip)

*Puffing my chest out*

Never mind. You win. I'll just keep heating my home. You keep selling PE's.

Edit: This is not a put-down of PE. They make great stoves. As does Quad.

 

[Oldhippie]

http://www.woodstove.com/progress-hybrid
(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/alderlea/t6.php)
(broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/product-detail.aspx?model=364)
(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/pacificenergy/index.php)

etc. etc..

Ray

I love them all, but especially the T6 Pacific Energy in black enamel, and the Woodstock progress-hybrid. is fine and the lopi in the brown enamel is gorgeous too.

...and they are all going to do a great job.

 

[ArsenalDon]

Alright...let's end this now....Happy wife, Happy Life...anyone married over 30 years like me knows I am right....so what does she like?

 

[begreen]

Mine is quite happy with the T6 and she loves Jotuls (as do I).

 

[ArsenalDon]

Mine is quite happy with the T6 and she loves Jotuls (as do I).

As long as she is happy....you being happy does not really matter.....