Hi all,
Long time lurker first time poster! I've learned a massive amount in a short time so thank you to all of you for your past posts. I have come to a fork in the road. Here is what I would like out of my insert and why I choose the three models in the subject:
What I want in an insert and what I like about the three finalists:
1) - warming shelf on the Hampton HI300 and on the Alderea T5 Insert
2) - spectacular secondary burn from non-cat stoves and mediocre secondary burn from BK
3) - quite blowers (heard the HI300 in store but don't know about the BK and T5)
4) - cast iron for radiant heating in addition to blower convection
5) - long overnight burn times
6) - ability to load N/S and E/W
What I want to know:
1) - does the warming shelf get hot enough on the HI300, T5 and BK P insert to run a Vulcan Striling Fan?
2) - does the BK Princess insert have enough of a shelf for the 3" fan base to sit on?
3) - what are the blowers like on the T5 and BK Princess?
4) - I really want to be able to hang damp/wet gloves, socks etc from the mantel above any of these stoves and be able to dry them like I used to on my radiators. The mantel has the required clearances from the manuals I've read so I'm hoping to use hooks/nails to create a drying space for wet kid gear.
5) - will all three of these stoves produce roughly equal radiant heat within three feet to dry coats and snow pants hung over whatever kid fence I put up in front of the stove?
6) - lastly, does the Clydesdale have space for a fan? I don't see a warming shelf on that stove but I could forgo the shelf if the others won't produce the heat required for the additional fans.
The reason I want the Stirling fan is because I'm going to need to be able to push the heat out of that room and want to supplement the blowers capacity. Not to mention I just think they are really cool.
I'm pretty sure that any of these stoves is going provide good heat for us right now but if you are curious and enjoy the engineering puzzles you can read about my home's layout etc... below.
Cheers,
Sean
--------------------------------------------------House layout specifics below-------------------------------------------------------
We recently moved from a house with gas heated radiators to a home with a heat pump that can't do it's job based on the fact that it only has registers in the ceilings. The house was built in 1966 and at the time had baseboard heating and the central air was solely used to cool. Over time the baseboard heat was removed and last owners either dealt with the cold or paid very high electricity bills. I refuse to do either. I would prefer to be warm.
We live in central VA at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains. Winters are not terribly cold save for a few weeks like this past one where overnight lows are in the low teens to single digits. Normally average temps are hover around or just below freezing. We have a 1900 sq. foot home with an open living room on the entire left side of the house, left of the front door. Stairs are centrally located just left of the front door. Hallway straight back from front door to back door/deck. There is a 4' opening just right of the front door that leads to a dining room and behind that is the kitchen. There is a den which is to the right of the kitchen through standard 3' door opening with a closed transom above it. 8 or 8.5 ft. ceiling throughout. No ceiling fans but there is a Mitsubishi mini-split at the back of the living room at the far end of the house and directly down a hallway from the den opening.
The insulation in the attic is poor and will be remedied in the spring. The walls seem OK but could be better. Not planning on doing anything with them. The house has all new windows which appear to be very tight but the den is cold as it has three exterior walls and a NNE exposure. It's about 50-55 F in there now with the heat pump set to 68. T-stat is located on second floor. Second floor stays tolerable. We like to sleep cool anyway.
Long time lurker first time poster! I've learned a massive amount in a short time so thank you to all of you for your past posts. I have come to a fork in the road. Here is what I would like out of my insert and why I choose the three models in the subject:
What I want in an insert and what I like about the three finalists:
1) - warming shelf on the Hampton HI300 and on the Alderea T5 Insert
2) - spectacular secondary burn from non-cat stoves and mediocre secondary burn from BK
3) - quite blowers (heard the HI300 in store but don't know about the BK and T5)
4) - cast iron for radiant heating in addition to blower convection
5) - long overnight burn times
6) - ability to load N/S and E/W
What I want to know:
1) - does the warming shelf get hot enough on the HI300, T5 and BK P insert to run a Vulcan Striling Fan?
2) - does the BK Princess insert have enough of a shelf for the 3" fan base to sit on?
3) - what are the blowers like on the T5 and BK Princess?
4) - I really want to be able to hang damp/wet gloves, socks etc from the mantel above any of these stoves and be able to dry them like I used to on my radiators. The mantel has the required clearances from the manuals I've read so I'm hoping to use hooks/nails to create a drying space for wet kid gear.
5) - will all three of these stoves produce roughly equal radiant heat within three feet to dry coats and snow pants hung over whatever kid fence I put up in front of the stove?
6) - lastly, does the Clydesdale have space for a fan? I don't see a warming shelf on that stove but I could forgo the shelf if the others won't produce the heat required for the additional fans.
The reason I want the Stirling fan is because I'm going to need to be able to push the heat out of that room and want to supplement the blowers capacity. Not to mention I just think they are really cool.
I'm pretty sure that any of these stoves is going provide good heat for us right now but if you are curious and enjoy the engineering puzzles you can read about my home's layout etc... below.
Cheers,
Sean
--------------------------------------------------House layout specifics below-------------------------------------------------------
We recently moved from a house with gas heated radiators to a home with a heat pump that can't do it's job based on the fact that it only has registers in the ceilings. The house was built in 1966 and at the time had baseboard heating and the central air was solely used to cool. Over time the baseboard heat was removed and last owners either dealt with the cold or paid very high electricity bills. I refuse to do either. I would prefer to be warm.
We live in central VA at the foot of the Blue Ridge mountains. Winters are not terribly cold save for a few weeks like this past one where overnight lows are in the low teens to single digits. Normally average temps are hover around or just below freezing. We have a 1900 sq. foot home with an open living room on the entire left side of the house, left of the front door. Stairs are centrally located just left of the front door. Hallway straight back from front door to back door/deck. There is a 4' opening just right of the front door that leads to a dining room and behind that is the kitchen. There is a den which is to the right of the kitchen through standard 3' door opening with a closed transom above it. 8 or 8.5 ft. ceiling throughout. No ceiling fans but there is a Mitsubishi mini-split at the back of the living room at the far end of the house and directly down a hallway from the den opening.
The insulation in the attic is poor and will be remedied in the spring. The walls seem OK but could be better. Not planning on doing anything with them. The house has all new windows which appear to be very tight but the den is cold as it has three exterior walls and a NNE exposure. It's about 50-55 F in there now with the heat pump set to 68. T-stat is located on second floor. Second floor stays tolerable. We like to sleep cool anyway.
