So here's the short version:
The republic heats this place fine unless it's in the low teens or single digits with wind, then it's a bit of a struggle.
We have a vent free (see sig) in our dining room as a back up but it was supposed to be a stop gap until we replaced it with a Thelin Parlour (that's not gonna happen now that Thelin closed up shop).
No central heat.
Propane, no NG available.
This past fall we got a quote on central heat install and it was almost $7K
We may get others but that's out of control. A friend in another state was working on getting us a quote on a furnace (can't buy one in NYS w/o a license) and we were just going to DIY it because we can't afford $7K. And then DH hurt his back and ended up needing surgery (it'll take a year before he's back to being able to do pretty much everything, possibly longer since it was a disc issue and they take a LONG time to heal).
So, I've been taking care of the heat situation. Which is fine, except-I work about 45 minutes (each way) from home, and when it's really cold out the stove needs a couple logs thrown on the fire to keep it comfy in the house with me gone 11 hours a day. I've been keeping him stocked with smaller splits for daytime refills, but it occured to both of us we'd be really SOL if something happened to ME that kept me from hauling in the wood and doing the am/pm loads with the "real" splits.
Now we're eyeing the VF and thinking of replacing it with either a Berkshire or Portland DV. Either should be able to heat this place based on the numbers, although it seems the Jotul has a higher BTU rating, but a lower effciency rating so I'm not sure which would be better as a whole house heater.
We had (have) an older Berkshire in our Old House (now a rental we're trying to sell). Nice stove, it worked in conjunction with an older model Lopi DV (Hampton Bay DVS I think) to heat that place (@900sqft, poorly insulated, 2 story, NG). Not a big fan of the local Lopi dealer though, but not sure at all about the Jotul one. Can't DIY this with DH out of commission. Will need an LP line run, the VF is served by a 100lb tank we had been filling ourselves (yet another issue to deal with at some point when it runs out lol).
Whichever way we go, the republic will remain the main heat source unless we go on vacation or we're both unable to bring in the wood and feed it.
So any educated opinions on which is a better heater and can handle not running too frequently (hopefully anyway lol)?
And because we've never dealt with this before, who to call about running an LP line? Plumber? Stove shop? LP company? (We also have to get a tank dropped somewhere, since we don't have one now-our hot water and kitchen range are served by two 100lb tanks we plumbed so it pulls from both equally-and I won't be able to load/unload those myself unless someone's got a good trick to teach me lol. So we don't have an existing contract with an LP company.)
The republic heats this place fine unless it's in the low teens or single digits with wind, then it's a bit of a struggle.
We have a vent free (see sig) in our dining room as a back up but it was supposed to be a stop gap until we replaced it with a Thelin Parlour (that's not gonna happen now that Thelin closed up shop).
No central heat.
Propane, no NG available.
This past fall we got a quote on central heat install and it was almost $7K
We may get others but that's out of control. A friend in another state was working on getting us a quote on a furnace (can't buy one in NYS w/o a license) and we were just going to DIY it because we can't afford $7K. And then DH hurt his back and ended up needing surgery (it'll take a year before he's back to being able to do pretty much everything, possibly longer since it was a disc issue and they take a LONG time to heal). So, I've been taking care of the heat situation. Which is fine, except-I work about 45 minutes (each way) from home, and when it's really cold out the stove needs a couple logs thrown on the fire to keep it comfy in the house with me gone 11 hours a day. I've been keeping him stocked with smaller splits for daytime refills, but it occured to both of us we'd be really SOL if something happened to ME that kept me from hauling in the wood and doing the am/pm loads with the "real" splits.
Now we're eyeing the VF and thinking of replacing it with either a Berkshire or Portland DV. Either should be able to heat this place based on the numbers, although it seems the Jotul has a higher BTU rating, but a lower effciency rating so I'm not sure which would be better as a whole house heater.
We had (have) an older Berkshire in our Old House (now a rental we're trying to sell). Nice stove, it worked in conjunction with an older model Lopi DV (Hampton Bay DVS I think) to heat that place (@900sqft, poorly insulated, 2 story, NG). Not a big fan of the local Lopi dealer though, but not sure at all about the Jotul one. Can't DIY this with DH out of commission. Will need an LP line run, the VF is served by a 100lb tank we had been filling ourselves (yet another issue to deal with at some point when it runs out lol).
Whichever way we go, the republic will remain the main heat source unless we go on vacation or we're both unable to bring in the wood and feed it.
So any educated opinions on which is a better heater and can handle not running too frequently (hopefully anyway lol)?
And because we've never dealt with this before, who to call about running an LP line? Plumber? Stove shop? LP company? (We also have to get a tank dropped somewhere, since we don't have one now-our hot water and kitchen range are served by two 100lb tanks we plumbed so it pulls from both equally-and I won't be able to load/unload those myself unless someone's got a good trick to teach me lol. So we don't have an existing contract with an LP company.)
