How big of a firebox should I upgrade to?

[weee123]

So I’ve got myself an older osburn 1600 with a 1.85cuft firebox. 21ft chimney, 1600 sqft bilevel house (stove is in downstairs living room thats half underground) that it heats very well (whole house mid 70s).

My huge complaint that I have with it are the tiny burn times, 4-5 hours or so. My idea of burn time is from start to being able to restart the stove with the remaining coals.

How much bigger of firebox and what recommendations do all of you fine people have?

 

[begreen]

It depends on the size of the fireplace and whether you want more heat or just a longer burn time. IIRC the Osburn 1600 is an E/W loader. If the heating is ok, then switching to a 2-2.5 cu ft stove with a deeper, N/S loading firebox many be all that's needed. If more heat is desired, then go for a 3 cu ft insert.

 

[weee123]

It depends on the size of the fireplace and whether you want more heat or just a longer burn time. IIRC the Osburn 1600 is an E/W loader. If the heating is ok, then switching to a 2-2.5 cu ft stove with a deeper, N/S loading firebox many be all that's needed. If more heat is desired, then go for a 3 cu ft insert.

So N/S provides for a longer burn time than E/W? I've actually resorted to processing my firewood to 12" lengths so I can load N/S if i choose too. Yes I like the amount of heat that it outputs but just want a longer burn time of say around 7-8 hours and be able to restart the stove easily. The osburn 1600 I've got is a free standing stove not an insert. It's whats pictured in my avatar

 

[begreen]

A N/S firebox can be loaded fully because the wood can't roll up against the glass. This means one gets more usable capacity out of the firebox. It sounds like a PE Super insert would do the job. It has a square firebox and an 8-10 hr burn time is common for this stove.

 

[weee123]

A N/S firebox can be loaded fully because the wood can't roll up against the glass. This means one gets more usable capacity out of the firebox. It sounds like a PE Super insert would do the job. It has a square firebox and an 8-10 hr burn time is common for this stove.

Ok I understand now thank you for your help!

 

[begreen]

If you need really long burn times then a cat insert like the BK Princess will do the job well.

 

[weee123]

Alright, I’ll definitely look into that. Loading up with shorter splits and a 5” round N/S to see what kind of time I can push out of it. Can definitely fit way more wood that's for sure!

 

[ABMax24]

I think I'd be looking in the 2.5cuft range.

I like the look of the Pacific Energy Neo 2.5, that's what I would get.

 

[weee123]

Alright I’ll definitely start looking into 2.5 cuft stoves for next season. It seems that the PE’s are highly recommended here. What about stoves from other manufacturers, or are PE’s just that much better?

Also i got a good 5.5 hour burn time out of that experiment I did last night with N/S loading and the stove was only 2/3 full. So I may be able to eek out a 6 hour burn time for this year with a full load

 

[begreen]

Many fireplace inserts have shallower E/W fireboxes in order to fit into more fireplaces. Some PE inserts are deeper which affords the squarer firebox and N/S loading. Not many companies do this in a medium-sized insert. You need to go up to their larger 3 cu ft models to get true N/S loading of a 16-18" split. The exception in the PE line is the Neo series which are flush and thus have shallower fireboxes. The Neo 1.6 is an E/W loader. The Neo 2.5 is also primarily an E/W loader, but will accommodate a 14" split when loaded N/S. This is similar to Drolet and Regency's 2.4 cu ft inserts. The Super and Summit are not flush so the added depth extends out onto the hearth. They are true N/S loaders. PE also has some unique features that are different from other tube secondary stoves. The firebox components are stainless steel and there is no fragile baffle board to worry about. They have a baffle box that routes the secondary air in its bottom chamber. The secondary air is regulated via the EBT. These features combine to extend the burn time and keep maintenance simple.

 

[weee123]

So my stove is a free standing unit, not an insert so I’m not limited size wise. If I could get almost an 8 hour burn out of a 2.5 cuft stove I’d be real happy about that. I started processing my firewood last year to 12-14” so I have more options on how to load it like do N/S loadings. Unfortunately most of the seasoned wood im working through now is around 16” so I have no choice but to go E/W until I get into that wood.

I like the idea of that stainless baffle the PE’s have that you’re explaining, especially if it means longer and cleaner burns. My osburn only has a rear boxed tube thats part of the firebox and a stainless tube at the front of the box. My baffle is also firebricks stacked on a thick piece of iron running front to back to support them.

Here’s a pic of the unit and the inside for visual reference.

 

[begreen]

Several older stoves from Lopi and Osburn used to use firebrick for the baffle. They were certainly tougher than today's baffle boards, but the modern versions burn cleaner.

 

[weee123]

I can’t wait to see the difference between this stove and a stove 33 years newer. Probably going to be a night and day difference. Although I will miss the sheer ruggedness of this old one

 

[EbS-P]

You want to look at the bigger Drolet stoves. Considerably cheaper than the PE. I do like the stainless steel baffle but at 60$ for a new vermiculite I’ll be carful and pocket the cost difference of the stoves. But if you like the looks of the PEs they are great stoves by all accounts.

 

[begreen]

Even the 2.5 cu ft Drolets are limited in split length for N/S loading. One has to go up to their big stove to get an 18" N/S loader.

 

[begreen]

Yes, if cost is the main objective then the Drolet Escape 1800i is a great value. There is also the True North TN20.

 

[ratsrepus]

So I’ve got myself an older osburn 1600 with a 1.85cuft firebox. 21ft chimney, 1600 sqft bilevel house (stove is in downstairs living room thats half underground) that it heats very well (whole house mid 70s).

My huge complaint that I have with it are the tiny burn times, 4-5 hours or so. My idea of burn time is from start to being able to restart the stove with the remaining coals.

How much bigger of firebox and what recommendations do all of you fine people have?

GO BIG as you can fit through the door, 3 cu ft is good

 

[mightytitan9]

It kind of depends on how you operate your fireplace/stove. I'm not one to mess with it all the time, I like to load and forget about it for 6-10 hours and be ok.

In my opinion, anything under 2.5 just isn't big enough for most applications. The Osburn 3500 is a whopping 3.5 cubic feet, and I believe the firebox is square so not taper. I could fit a 22" log in my obsurn, and if I angled it, up to a 24 inch. It may be overkill but I prefer to go bigger and then not run it to full capacity rather than have a small one that I'm just running at 100% all the time

 

[weee123]

The drolet 1800 was actually one of the stoves I was looking at. Just how important is the depth of the firebox? Im assuming the longer the split the more burn time since more wood volume?

Did another N/S loading and boy does that burn crazy hot if you dont time things perfectly. Had the stove run away to the point that opening the door didnt even help. Thankfully had plenty of baking soda handy to toss in there to get it under control. Probably ran due to a big hot coal bed and a looser filling of wood allowing a lot of air flow. Really gotta find out where the secondary air feed is so I can block it off if need be.

 

[begreen]

The drolet 1800 was actually one of the stoves I was looking at. Just how important is the depth of the firebox? Im assuming the longer the split the more burn time since more wood volume?

Did another N/S loading and boy does that burn crazy hot if you dont time things perfectly. Had the stove run away to the point that opening the door didnt even help. Thankfully had plenty of baking soda handy to toss in there to get it under control. Probably ran due to a big hot coal bed and a looser filling of wood allowing a lot of air flow. Really gotta find out where the secondary air feed is so I can block it off if need be.

N/S loading = full loading capacity. E/W = partial loading to avoid splits rolling up against the glass as the fire burns down

The stove will burn hotter if the wood is not tightly packed because the air is not being blocked by the full lengths of wood splits when loaded E/W. Loaded N/S the air can travel down the length of the splits. Tighter packing and thicker splits help slow it back down. That and turning down the air sooner will bring back control.

PS: Yes, it's hard to fully and tightly load a stove with a large hot coal bed. Let it burn down a bit more.

 

[weee123]

The stove will burn hotter if the wood is not tightly packed because the air is not being blocked by the full lengths of wood splits when loaded E/W. Loaded N/S the air can travel down the length of the splits. Tighter packing and thicker splits help slow it back down. That and turning down the air sooner will bring back control.

PS: Yes, it's hard to fully and tightly load a stove with a large hot coal bed. Let it burn down a bit more.

Thanks for the tips! The splits definitely weren’t packed as tight as they could be

 

[weee123]

So I think I’m going to go with the 32NC for the size and burn times. Now that I don’t have someone at home to keep the little osburn chugging along while I’m at work it really struggles to keep reheating the house everyday. Whereas when it was run 24/7 it could eventually get the house to temp and keep it there.

The fact I haven’t got into my oak yet probably plays a part as well but people heat their houses with pine with no issues.

 

[moresnow]

That will be a significant change for you. Are you certain they are currently available? Like to know.
The Drolet HT3000 would be a comparable I believe. Available last I knew.

 

[weee123]

Believe it or not amazon actually has em with free delivery. Amazons got everything now a days lol

 

[weee123]

So now that I’ve gotten into some actual cold weather here, without being able to keep the stove running 24/7 anymore, the little osburn 1600 definitely isn’t cutting it anymore. When I had someone at home to keep it burning while I was at work, it was able to maintain the temp in the house no problem. It was also allowed the time required to get the house up to temp as well which takes a while as I’m now coming to realize, especially when it’s cold out.

With the constant cold starts everyday and it not being able to run 24/7 and maintain the temp it flat out isn’t even capable of heating the house comfortably anymore. I need my stove room to get to 75-80 to be able to move heat upstairs but when it’s really cold out on a cold start it has a lot of trouble heating the stove room (which is half below grade in a split level house) to 75.

Now to the meat and potatoes here. So since this little 1.85 cuft stove can’t cut it anymore, should I start to look more into the big stoves like the 32NC? Back when I originally said I was going with it I was still back and forth on if it would be too much and was still debating on the 2.4-5 cuft stoves suggested here. But now that it’s actually winter weather here I’m really considering a 3 cube plus stove.

Am I right to be looking at them or should I still look into the smaller 2.5 stoves?