Large Stove Comparison

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Marshy

Minister of Fire
Dec 29, 2016
840
NY
I'm interested in knowing what larger stoves (make/model) are out there. More specifically, fireboxes of 4 cuft or larger, free standing stove. Also, what kind of air control do they have? I like the thermostatic air dampers the old Shenandoah's had and the BK stoves have.
 
off the top of my head there's the kuma sequoia, and the quadra fire adventure 3, and the bk king which you already have.
 
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off the top of my head there's the kuma sequoia, and the quadra fire adventure 3, and the bk king which you already have.

The kuma is a good stove but pretty small at 3.6 CF and reportedly only 3 of that is usable. The quad spec says 4.5 CF.

Hearthstone makes the equinox at 4.0 CF according to the company.
 
fair enough, the hearthstone equinox 8000 is also 4 cubic feet as does the regency F5100, then of course there's this guy http://www.jimbonham.com/Stove/stove.html
You will find that both of these pale in comparison to the King. Neither have a usable 4' box or will produce any longer burns than other large non-cats. Reportedly pretty poor for their size. And durability, that's another thread....
 
You will find that both of these pale in comparison to the King. Neither have a usable 4' box or will produce any longer burns than other large non-cats. Reportedly pretty poor for their size. And durability, that's another thread....

The wood furnaces, caddy for example, have 4.9 cubic feet, thermostatic control, 1800 cfm blower. Much cheaper than the king, like 50%.
 
The wood furnaces, caddy for example, have 4.9 cubic feet, thermostatic control, 1800 cfm blower. Much cheaper than the king, like 50%.
Really? I've never priced one. Although you've got a higher install price to add it into the existing ductwork. The payout would be good though!
 
Really? I've never priced one. Although you've got a higher install price to add it into the existing ductwork. The payout would be good though!

So drolet makes two furnaces, epa approved, with windows, thermostatic control, big and really big that require no ductwork. They can just blow the hot air into the room or you can attach ducts. They are sold under the model names of heatpro and heatmax. Prices between 1200 and 1900 as I recall from farm stores like menards or actual dealers.

If this is in a basement and regular stoves aren't quite enough just take a look. Many hearth.com members own them and discuss them down in the boiler room.
 
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I don't have and existing duct work in the house. I haveba hydronic systems available to tie into though. The down side of this is if I get an indoor boiler I don't have any thermal storage.
 
Wood furnaces do not require duct work. You can dump the heat from them into the basement and let the heat rise OR you can add ducts, or a combination. All they are is a very large stove, with thermostatic control, a blower, and a shell around the stove to help that blower strip the heat from the stove.

Here are the most popular options.

https://www.drolet.ca/en/products/furnaces/

The heatpro is 4.9 cubic feet.

https://www.drolet.ca/en/products/furnaces/drolet-heatpro-wood-furnace-df03000/#fiche-technique

There are lots of other furnaces available from other companies that are larger. You can gain knowledge of them in the boiler room which is another subforum of hearth.com.

If you want non-epa then there are bigger and cheaper options but they are wood hogs!
 
Thermo-Control units http://www.nationalstoveworks.com/hotwaterstoves.html have indoor hydronic units.

..." about 50% of the heat produced by your unit is used to heat the water and the approximately remaining 50% is released as radiant heat in to the surrounding air...." The 500 firebox is 27X24X24 (9 cu ft) and 125K btu.

We had this unit and it worked well with a pump. It was supposedly plumbed for no power but the floor was below the unit. We replaced it with an oil boiler.
 
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Put a storage tank in a manifold loop with a circ pump. Then utilize a circ pump to control the zones off the manifold/storage loop.
 
Thermo-Control units http://www.nationalstoveworks.com/hotwaterstoves.html have indoor hydronic units.

..." about 50% of the heat produced by your unit is used to heat the water and the approximately remaining 50% is released as radiant heat in to the surrounding air...." The 500 firebox is 27X24X24 (9 cu ft) and 125K btu.

We had this unit and it worked well with a pump. It was supposedly plumbed for no power but the floor was below the unit. We replaced it with an oil boiler.
I actually live 2 hours away from them. I've considered their stoves before but efficiency of another steel box (with SS water tubes) was a little frightening to think about. I haven't seen many reviews on these stoves, maybe I will search on this site. Thanks.
 
You will find that both of these pale in comparison to the King. Neither have a usable 4' box or will produce any longer burns than other large non-cats. Reportedly pretty poor for their size. And durability, that's another thread....
I cant comment on the hearthstone but I can tell you that the regency does greatly improve burn times not to the level of the king but still pretty long and they have not yet had any issues with durability.
 
The previous owner had this installed and on top of the unit was 1 or 1.25+ inch X 16"? plates of soapstone.
 
I cant comment on the hearthstone but I can tell you that the regency does greatly improve burn times not to the level of the king but still pretty long and they have not yet had any issues with durability.
That's good to know. The few people that I've met with the regency weren't satisfied with the burn times. Very likely user error I'd say.
 
That's good to know. The few people that I've met with the regency weren't satisfied with the burn times. Very likely user error I'd say.
We have a few out we sold and they all seem happy with regular burn times of 20 to 25 hours with decent heat output.
 
Hi Marshy,

Edit:
Manufacturer says 4 cubic feet...stores website says 4.7
Looks like they still make it too...

http://homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.../Ne-67n/Ntk-All_EN/R-I5531033?Ntt=wood+stoves


I walked into the local hardware store the other day to land my eyes on this 4.7 cubic foot freestanding stove. The volume of wood you could jam in it is impressive. The pictures obviously do no justice....
http://www.jaroby.com/en/produits.php?id=85

It was selling for $1,600 Canadian....appears to be discontinued though.
 
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My local stove shop burns the 5100, it's huge, he said you can load 90lbs of wood. I asked him about burn times but he said he hasn't put a full load in, it was throwing some serious heat in the shop.
 
On the f5100 how are any of you sweeps cleaning bottom up? Are you able to clean through the bypass damper? I've only done one and found the bypass to be in the way and too offset from the flue when open?
 
Buck 91 cat stove or 94 with burn tubes.
I like the 91 personally, been running one 7 years and love it.


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On the f5100 how are any of you sweeps cleaning bottom up? Are you able to clean through the bypass damper? I've only done one and found the bypass to be in the way and too offset from the flue when open?
Yeah I have no problem cleaning up through the one that has the chimney coming straight off it. What are you cleaning with?
 
Perkins rotary system, the 'medusa'. I've only done one f5100 and it seemed like it was going to be to jagged of an offset if I remember right and I was worried about chewing up my rods. I'll look at it closer next time.
 
Perkins rotary system, the 'medusa'. I've only done one f5100 and it seemed like it was going to be to jagged of an offset if I remember right and I was worried about chewing up my rods. I'll look at it closer next time.
Yeah that is what we use and I havnt had any issues.
 
My local stove shop burns the 5100, it's huge, he said you can load 90lbs of wood. I asked him about burn times but he said he hasn't put a full load in, it was throwing some serious heat in the shop.

I just stuffed my BK King with 108 lbs (and 5 oz!) of Ironwood (Eastern Hophornbeam). Should be good until early Sunday morning. And it's supposed to be below zero tonight. Yay Blaze King!

IMG_20170113_172300.jpg
 
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