Help please with stove advise- newbee

[tryingtostaywarm]

Some opinions please...
We need to replace our existing wood stove (furnace went out for a week last winter and the used stove we bought just didn't cut it)
How important is it to have someone install it i.e. dealer??
Hearthstone, Lopi, and Regency and the brands the dealers that service our area carry
We live in a 2400-2500sq ft farm house in NorthCentral PA right on NY border, in the worst of winter it gets below 0 but -20 is about as low as it usually gets. The upstairs is almost finished being insulated but the downstairs isn't very well insulated.
so were looking at a large stove to heat our house w/ at least 80,000 btu

I like the idea and the look of the Hearthstone soapstone stoves but have no experience with them

We were just about ready to go with an equinox but we have a 6" flue and that has an 8" flue and I don't think you can taper that down, IF YOU CAN PLEASE TELL ME. (to change that we would have to rip out and replace a rocked cement wall over steal entering the chimney and that's not going to happen)

The other stove I'm looking at is the Lopi Cape Cod.
That's a new stove and I cant really find any reviews on it. I'm not sure I want to mess with replacing a catalytic converter but even if that quit working than the non-cat would still work.

.
We wanted a side door to avoid ash on the hearth when we reload it but there aren't a lot of options w/ a side load door. Do people have a problem with ash spilling from the front door

The Regency 3100 seems like it would work OK its not very pretty,
I guess I just don't think the Regency is as pretty,

Spending this much $$ I don't want to ever replace the woodstove again.
The other thing is I've seen in person is the Hearthstone just Smaller than the Mansfield, no one has the Cape Cod in the show room.


Hearthstone Equinox to 6" flue
Hearthstone Mansfield
Lopi Cape Cod
Regency 3100

I've done so many hours of research but at this point the more I look the more confused I get.
?????
Thanks for your advice and input

 

[pen]

Only thing for certain I can tell you is that you are right, it is generally not advised to go from an 8 inch stove collar down to a 6 inch chimney....... Unless the manual were to state otherwise. Most, if not all now, say dropping down is a no go.

 

[Grisu]

Some opinions please...
We need to replace our existing wood stove (furnace went out for a week last winter and the used stove we bought just didn't cut it)
How important is it to have someone install it i.e. dealer??

Depends how handy you are and whether your home insurance requires a professional install. Since you already have the chimney (professionally installed or at least inspected?) replacing the existing stove may not be that difficult. What brand/model do you have right now? Do you have dry wood with an internal moisture content of less than 20%?

Hearthstone, Lopi, and Regency and the brands the dealers that service our area carry
We live in a 2400-2500sq ft farm house in NorthCentral PA right on NY border, in the worst of winter it gets below 0 but -20 is about as low as it usually gets. The upstairs is almost finished being insulated but the downstairs isn't very well insulated. so were looking at a large stove to heat our house w/ at least 80,000 btu

The way you describe your house you will need a stove with at least a 3 cu ft firebox. Maybe you may need something even larger but that will require switching to an 8" flue. Will the stove be installed downstairs? Is that an uninsulated basement or ground floor?

I like the idea and the look of the Hearthstone soapstone stoves but have no experience with them

Large thermal mass. Takes some time to warm up but then provides long-lasting heat, usually described as "gentle". Better suited for the 24/7 burner as for someone who starts up the stove regularly and wants quick heat. They give off quite a bit of radiant heat meaning they have often larger clearance requirements than more convective stoves. Should be placed in the main living area to take advantage of the radiant heat.

We were just about ready to go with an equinox but we have a 6" flue and that has an 8" flue and I don't think you can taper that down, IF YOU CAN PLEASE TELL ME. (to change that we would have to rip out and replace a rocked cement wall over steal entering the chimney and that's not going to happen)

You can ask Hearthstone but I doubt they will recommend it. What kind of setup is that? Stovepipe into masonry chimney? Is there a liner in the chimney?

The other stove I'm looking at is the Lopi Cape Cod.
That's a new stove and I cant really find any reviews on it. I'm not sure I want to mess with replacing a catalytic converter but even if that quit working than the non-cat would still work.

At least one (experienced) member here had quite a bit of trouble with the Cape Cod. I would try the forum search to look for firsthand experiences.

We wanted a side door to avoid ash on the hearth when we reload it but there aren't a lot of options w/ a side load door. Do people have a problem with ash spilling from the front door

If the ash starts spilling over the ash lip it is high time to clean out the stove. That will also make room for more wood.

The Regency 3100 seems like it would work OK its not very pretty, I guess I just don't think the Regency is as pretty,

What other looks do you like or is soapstone your favorite?

Spending this much $$ I don't want to ever replace the woodstove again.

With proper care and maintenance, those stoves will last at least 20 years. Some other options for a 6" flue:
Pacific Energy Summit and T6
Woodstock Progress Hybrid and Ideal Steel (they sell factory direct but back their stoves with a 6-month, no question asked return guarantee)
Osburn 2400
BlazeKing Princess and Ashford/Chinook/Sirocco 30
Quadrafire Isle Royale and 5700
Jotul F55 (looks different than the "classical" Jotuls)
Englander NC30 (the budget option but a very potent heater)

 

[tryingtostaywarm]

Thank you so much for your replies! We had the chimney... inspected when we installed the Waterford... our wood isn't as dry as it should be, but with DH work farm remodel...we do our best. We store a few days in house so that helps a little, sounds like we should get a moister meter although that wont Change the moisture of wood.

We've only been looking at the "big boys" because of what we are trying to heat. The stove is on the ground floor, the basement doesn't need to be heated its not a finished basement.

We try to keep the stove running 24/7 as long as we're home, hopefully I'll be home more than not, but it sounds like the Mansfield might hold at least the coal stage for a fairly long time? We do have gas furnace that we can quick heat the house with but we don't want to run it any more than necessary $ and wont work if power goes out. That helps w/ quick heat up.

I'm pretty sure there is a pipe (liner?) all the way up the chimney. We can use minimum clearances the insurance was very impressed w/ our following guidelines exactly.

I couldn't tell from the smaller Hearthstone how good the ash lip was, and there is not grate to hold wood back on Mansfield was our concern.

trying to upload pic of hearth having problems



I did look at these other stoves (literally about 40hrs research) I really like the Progress Hybrid but being only factory order I think we need someone to install it, I don't want to be responsible for messing up someone's back (would likely be in-laws too) I think the Cape Cod is beautiful but it sound like being a relatively new stove they still have some kinks to work out. We don't want to be the ones to have to find the problems, and we need a stove THIS winter.

I think were going to end up w/ the Mansfield hopefully installed in about a month, hopefully the bitter cold holds out. The glass in the Waterford fell out and broke when I opened the front door so we cant burn it

 

[Ashful]

If I wanted a large side-load stove, I'd be looking at only two units:

1. Jotul Firelight 600 (non-catalytic)
2. Woodstock Progress Hybrid (catalytic)

The Lopi hybrid ain't bad, but it's no Woodstock. If you're open to non-cat, and want something that looks a little nicer in the living room, the Jotul is the ticket.

 

[firefighterjake]

If I wanted a large side-load stove, I'd be looking at only two units:

1. Jotul Firelight 600 (non-catalytic)
2. Woodstock Progress Hybrid (catalytic)

The Lopi hybrid ain't bad, but it's no Woodstock. If you're open to non-cat, and want something that looks a little nicer in the living room, the Jotul is the ticket.

You had me until the very end . . . if I didn't have my Oslo I would have a PH in its place . . . it's really the only other stove that has made me really think hard about replacing my faithful Oslo . . . I personally like the design and think it looks as good as the Jotul line up.

 

[Ashful]

Well, looks are somewhat subjective, but I was more comparing the Lopi to the Jotul, with regard to the cosmetics. They're both large viewing area cast iron stoves. The Woodstock's are so far outside that realm that I was not really including them in the cosmetic comparison. They're a look all their own.

 

[tryingtostaywarm]

I really did like the PH but actually wasn't impressed with Customer service when I called. I know I'm probably the 1st person to say that. 1st of all we couldn't get one till mid Nov at earliest, asked about how people usually get one installed and kind of got an .. Well we are factory direct to keep prices down (although they are not any cheaper than Hearthstone and after shipping ect they are more) and as to how to get it installed well that's your problem. I got the feeling that they sell enough of them they really don't care if I buy one or not.
We can get the Mansfield in 5 days if we pick it up, in a month if they install it. Its not a new hybrid design w/out all the kinks worked out. I'm sure it will be a good stove.

 

[begreen]

The Mansfield is a beautiful big rock of a stove. You should be very happy with it.

 

[Oakwilt]

Just my 2 cents but we had our hearts set on an equinox, we had an 8" flu already installed came with the house, when we went to buy the stove from our dealer we let him talk us into a Mansfield and I'm still kicking myself for it. The Mansfield is ok, never had a log roll out ever, burns clean and long but at 0 to below it doesn't quiet get it done. Here's my two cents find a way to get to 8" or buy a large jotul unless the home is WELL insulated, the cost of going back down to 6" flu would have paid for additional cost of Eq so money was not the issue, we have a four bedroom ranch maginally insulated.

 

[Ricky8443]

are you too far from binghampton? I drove up there (several hundred miles) to purchase a blazeking. If it werent for the long burn times of efficient burn from BK catalytics, id give my money to the oil company.