How's this used Woodstock Fireview Look?

[KennyK]

You're making the right call. I agree that the IS does not go with the house aesthetic. It looks out of place there.

@begreen, you’ve seen and helped me move me along this journey! I’ll get there! Learning bit by bit...

 

[begreen]

You're in good hands with Woodstock either way you choose to go.

 

[Woody Stover]

Yep, with that layout and insulation/air sealing, the Fireview would just be supplementing your heat requirements when winter weather hits in Boston. That said, in your present situation I'd be inclined to swap the IS for a new Fv; Then you've got a fresh stove, ready to go, and can even pick your color.

 

[Woody Stover]

I think you can pretty well judge how the Fireview would do, based on your experience with the IS and how the heat was moving through the space with your ceiling fans, etc. Obviously with winter temps and wind, heat load goes up. Based on their specs on the website it looks like the IS is a big jump in output from the Fireview. You're going to be limited as far as what stoves will fit in a rear-vent configuration, so it sounds like the Fireview may be one of the few that would work for what you want to do (reclaim room space.) Going with a used Fireview would certainly give you the chance to check out performance with a smaller initial investment..

 

[KennyK]

Based on their specs on the website it looks like the IS is a big jump in output from the Fireview.

I’m having trouble understanding how much of a jump it really is. According to the comparison chart on Woodstock’s site (see pic here), the IS has a 3.2 c.f. firebox (though it slopes back at the top, so some say the usable space is less), compared to the Fireview’s 2.1 c.f. firebox (and from what I hear that’s all useable) which is 2/3rds the size of the IS box, though it gets a 10-12 hour burn compared to the IS’s 12-14 hour burn. The FV is rated for up to 1600 square feet compared to the IS’s 2200. If my math is right, this seems to me to put the FV somewhere around ~72% as powerful as the IS based on square footage heating. However, the max heat output of the IS is 65,000 btu’s compared to the FV at 55,000 max btu’s, which (again, if my math is right) puts the FV at ~85% as powerful as the IS. I know these are just numbers on a page from controlled tests, and real life use depends on many factors, but it doesn’t strike me as a huge difference. I could be wrong...

 

[BrowningBAR]

I’m having trouble understanding how much of a jump it really is. According to the comparison chart on Woodstock’s site (see pic here), the IS has a 3.2 c.f. firebox (though it slopes back at the top, so some say the usable space is less), compared to the Fireview’s 2.1 c.f. firebox (and from what I hear that’s all useable) which is 2/3rds the size of the IS box, though it gets a 10-12 hour burn compared to the IS’s 12-14 hour burn. The FV is rated for up to 1600 square feet compared to the IS’s 2200. If my math is right, this seems to me to put the FV somewhere around ~72% as powerful as the IS based on square footage heating. However, the max heat output of the IS is 65,000 btu’s compared to the FV at 55,000 max btu’s, which (again, if my math is right) puts the FV at ~85% as powerful as the IS. I know these are just numbers on a page from controlled tests, and real life use depends on many factors, but it doesn’t strike me as a huge difference. I could be wrong...

View attachment 233107

Apart from the stove not fitting well within your room, is the IS a good fit heat wise? Or is it too much?

 

[moresnow]

Here attached is a pic of my IS in action. I’d love your overall thoughts on the swap for a Fireview (be it used or new).

Thanks!

-KK

JMO. I like the look/performance/nice new stove tech of what you have (IS) and where it is. Good luck either way. Surely be happy either way.
My problem is I'd likely keep them both!

 

[KennyK]

Apart from the stove not fitting well within your room, is the IS a good fit heat wise? Or is it too much?

I’ve only been running it since the start of this season, and we haven’t had temps below low to mid 30s yet (tonight it’s supposed to go down to 23) so I don’t have a lot to go on, but from what I can tell so far, yes! One concern that some folks (both on this site and at Woodstock had) was the IS overheating my stove room, which isn’t particularly large. The hottest I’ve had that room so far with the IS is 84 and even that hot didn’t feel too hot as the stove puts out such a nice quality of heat. The stove is incredibly controllable, and generally I keep the stove room in the mid to upper 70s and other parts of the house are comfortable. Right now after a night of burning the stove on low (about 12 hours after last reload), it’s 73 in the stove room, 69 in the adjacent rooms, and 66 in the upstairs bedrooms. I’ve basically been running the stove on the lowest setting 95 percent of the time. We’ll see what happens when the temp drops and I open up the stove some more...

 

[Woody Stover]

max heat output of the IS is 65,000 btu’s compared to the FV at 55,000 max btu’s, which (again, if my math is right) puts the FV at ~85% as powerful as the IS.

The EPA test number ranges that are posted on the stove model pages might be closer to real-world expectations than the "max output" numbers. The high ends of those ranges are 42100 BTU/hr for the Fireview and 60530/hr for the IS. And although Woodstock's "area heated" numbers are conservative, winter in Boston, in a house with less-than-ideal insulation and sealing, is going to push the effective area heated down quite a bit.

 

[KennyK]

So, I did it... Yesterday, in one fell swoop I drove an hour and forty minutes to pick up the Fireview and from there drove two hours straight to Woodstock to have them rebuild the stove (followed by another two hours from Woodstock back to Beantown). I decided I didn’t want/have time to get into a big project, but I did want to have a stove that is in good shape, and that this was a good way to get a great stove at a reasonable price. The people at Woodstock are so incredibly amazing! They greeted me with open arms, congratulating me on my score. They said that for $350, I did very well and that while the stove had been overfired, everything was fixable. They are going to rebuild both all internal parts that need it (whole combuster pan area), put in a few new stones where some are busted (one corner one for sure), new seals and gaskets, and also do all aesthetic work like repainting and polishing the stone. They said when the stove leaves it will be like new. On a first look over they estimated it would be $920, which includes a new catalytic converter, but said it could go a little over or a little under - they said whenever they can come in under an estimate they enjoy that. So, for the $350 I paid plus the $920 complete rebuild, I walk away with a basically new Fireview for $1270 (or close to that). Not bad. They said they may have it done by the end of the year (a little over a month), but possibly longer as they are super busy right now. Also, for those of you who followed this thread, I currently have an IS, which I’m returning, and Woodstock was so cool about this, even with me buying a used stove instead of a new one from them. They said, “this is why we have the guarantee, we want you to be happy with what you have.” They even told me to hold onto my IS until the Fireview is ready, even if that’s past the end of 2018 when it’s supposed to be returned, and then I can swap them at the same time and they will be handing me the Fireview and a check for some money back after the whole deal is said and done!

 

[weatherguy]

So, I did it... Yesterday, in on fell swoop I drove an hour and forty minutes to pick up the Fireview and from there drove two hours straight to Woodstock to have them rebuild the stove (followed by another two hours from Woodstock back to Beantown). I decided I didn’t want/have time to get into a big project, but I did want to have a stove that is in good shape, and that this was a good way to get a great stove at a reasonable price. The people at Woodstock are so incredibly amazing! They greeted me with open arms, congratulating me on my score. They said that for $350, I did very well and that while the stove had been overfired, everything was fixable. They are going to rebuild both all internal parts that need it (whole combuster pan area), put in a few new stones where some are busted (one corner one for sure), new seals and gaskets, and also do all aesthetic work like repainting and polishing the stone. They said when the stove leaves it will be like new. On a first look over they estimated it would be $920, which includes a new catalytic converter, but said it could go a little over or a little under - they said whenever they can come in under an estimate they enjoy that. So, for the $350 I paid plus the $920 complete rebuild, I walk away with a basically new Fireview for $1270 (or close to that). Not bad. They said they may have it done by the end of the year (a little over a month), but possibly longer as they are super busy right now. Also, for those of you who followed this thread, I currently have an IS, which I’m returning, and Woodstock was so cool about this, even with me buying a used stove instead of a new one from them. They said, “this is why we have the guarantee, we want you to be happy with what you have.” They even told me to hold onto my IS until the Fireview is ready, even if that’s past the end of 2018 when it’s supposed to be returned, and then I can swap them at the same time and they will be handing me the Fireview and a check for some money back after the whole deal is said and done!

Awesome. They are great to work with.

 

[Gwynthie]

"....we’re struggling with how big it is for our stove room (in terms of physical size) ....We can’t really use the dining room for a dining room anymore because the stove is just so big and comes into the room a good deal (so far this is just a physical space thing, not overheating the stove room)..... Fireview alone is not likely to heat our first and second floor in the real cold weather...."

KennyK - have you thought about the Progress Hybrid from Woodstock? It has similar aesthetics's to the Fireview, but bigger heating capacity. It also has the ability to choose left or right side-loading, which can also help with the space issues. (Although the Progress doesn't have the top loading option like the Fireview. And I believe the Fireview also has a better capacity to cook inside the stove, if that appeals to you.)

We are just completing the process of putting a Progress into our living room. It's taking up a lot less space than I expected. With the rear heat shield, the rear clearance is very workable. The side loading feature and shorter depth for the front (window side) of the stove works really well for our rectangular room.

 

[Gwynthie]

So, I did it... ....They said, “this is why we have the guarantee, we want you to be happy with what you have.” They even told me to hold onto my IS until the Fireview is ready, even if that’s past the end of 2018 when it’s supposed to be returned, and then I can swap them at the same time and they will be handing me the Fireview and a check for some money back after the whole deal is said and done!

Congrats KennyK. Woodstock is an amazing company and it sounds like you found the right stove at the right price.

Do you know what Woodstock does with the returned stoves? Do they sell gently-used items? That also could be a great deal for someone. I've enjoyed looking at the IS artwork. We thought about the IS, but it doesn't go with our home aesthetic either.

Love to hear how you find the new stove once it's stalled.