Mansfield & Heritage owners Help!! Please reply asap!!

[geka]

My husband and I have to come to a determination soon as to which stove to purchase...Heritage or Mansfield. We would love to get the Heritage as the set up would work much better for us with the rear vent but we fear it will be too small.

Here are the specifics:
1. We presently have a VC Defiant. It is 24 years old and has done a great job heating our home. We are completely satisfied with what it does for us. BUT we want something more efficient. The BTUs for this VC are in the 55,000 range.
2. Our house is an old farmhouse with 2800 square feet.
3. The stove would be in the middle of the house near a stairway that fans out into most of the upstairs.

Which stove should we purchase? It would sit on the hearth in our kitchen where the VC sits now. A rear vent is a huge plus as it can then sit out on the hearth. With the top vent of the Mansfield we would have to push it back into the fireplace around 9 inches.

Help help!!

Please send your suggestions asap.

The Equinox would be too big for the area. It is either the Heritage or Mansfield...or to throw more out there..the Phoenix??

Thanks!!

 

[edthedawg]

I love my Heritage and our setups are similar but I think you want the Mansfield w/ the outside air feed and the blower kit, despite the setback into the firebox and the higher cost. The blower kit will help move that heat out into the house, and the outside air feed will keep you from burning w/ air you just paid to heat up. One caution I offer is the front door vs side door. We use the side loading door almost exclusively. Smoke, ash, and cinders routinely come out in alarming quantities whenever we open the front loading door. But with the 40% larger firebox and 25k higher max BTU, you probably need to just suck it up and go with the Mansfield. Good luck and we look forward to seeing your install & future stories!

 

[geka]

Thank you so much for your very informed reply. Question: I am the ignorant wife so feel I can ask ... what is an outside air feed?

 

[edthedawg]

Simple question - simple answer The stove gets its primary and secondary combustion air from a 3" dia hole down low on the back, left side of the stove. It is naturally wide open to the room, and you can modulate the primary intake w/ a lever on the front of the stove. It draws air from the room, burns it, and sends those combustion gases up the chimney. This creates a vacuum effect - the house has to let that air in thru all the cracks and gaps in its exterior somewhere. So you're in essence creating air motion in your house - drawing the freezing cold outside air inside on purpose! Some people don't like this idea and decide to plumb a little metal duct outdoors to feed the stove. The fire really won't care what temperature air it is fed to burn, but you should see less draft pulling into the house if you use it. It is generally not mandatory but I have heard of instances (Highbeam) where inspectors have wanted to see it used when it's available.

 

[geka]

Thank you so much for the instant reply. I will pass this information on to the hubby. You have been a huge help.

 

[struggle]

Mansfield end of this story.

My house is also about the same square footage except that is including basement and top floor (ranch).

 

[linckeil]

another vote for the mansfield - no doubt about it given your home. i have one in my 2500 sq ft house and i think it's ideal for my open floor plan.

 

[Highbeam]

In your previous thread I voted that the heritage won't be up to the task and I still feel that way so given those choices a Mansfield is the superior performer.

The mansfield will cost you about 4000$ and is rated to heat 1800-2500 SF with the 1800 SF figure reserved for old farmhouses in Jersey. Be prepared to use this stove to its 80,000 btu capacity. It is 31" tall to its top flue so if you can fit that stove in your fireplace then I would ask you to consider the Alderlea T6 by Pacific energy.

The T6 is 29.125 inches tall, rated for 2000-3000 SF and makes 97000 btu, weighs the same as the mansfield and costs 2400$. The T6, being more of a convection stove will do a better job of sending hot air throughout the large home.

Is there enough room between the top of these stoves and the fireplace to fit a 90 degree bend directly onto the stove collar? Then you can bring them out of the fireplace.

 

[geka]

No can't bring the Mansfield out of the fireplace because of the top vent. If it was rear yes. Wish it were rear. Thanks.

 

[struggle]

Is that right $4000 for a Mansfield?

 

[buckeye]

I heat a 2500 sq ft brick house with no insulation in the walls with a heritage. The more experience I get burning, the better it performs. With that being said, I would go for the mansfield if money and room were not an problem. I had no choice, I had to vent out the back. the mansfield was wider and taller than would fit in my fire place.

Click on the link in my signature line and there is a picture of the house I heat with the heritage.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I don't own a soapstone, but, since you asked...

MANSFIELD

 

[Buck1200]

I heat a 1700sq ft, 1911 balloon framed house in northern VT with a Heritage. Before the insulation it was tough on everyone... cold mornings, cold ends of the house, 250 gallons of oil on top of the 4 cord of wood. But now that it's been fully tightened up (calculated heat loss around 55kbtu at design day conditions), the Heritage is perfect.

Given my experience and your house size and previous stove selection, I'd vote for the Mansfield.

Good luck!

 

[geka]

Many thanks to everyone. We ordered our Mansfield today. The top vent is an issue...wish it were rear vent... and it is going to be a job to work around it but we will. Looking forward to that soapstone heat.

 

[pyro68]

if you don't mind cutting the wood in the 18" range you can get wonderful results loading the mansfield north to south, (putting the wood in so the ends are pointing toward you and the back of the stove instead of side to side) good luck. Really curious, was the mansfield actually 4k?

 

[geka]

The Mansfield is $3100 but that does not include piping or paying the government it's due.

 

[edthedawg]

Did $3100 include the blower kit or heat shields? enamel finish? installation? I think you can probably cobble together your own fresh air kit, presuming you can find any way to route a 3" duct to the back of the stove from anywhere outside. I plan to build my own soon - got the parts, just no time...

 

[Highbeam]

Is that right $4000 for a Mansfield?

Woops, I was looking at the equinox but you can spec a mansfield at 4000$ by starting with the base model at 3150, brown or black porcelain at 450, blower-heatshield-OAK at 470, gets you well past 4000$ plus tax and delivery.

Plane jane equinox is 3900$, any color you want (as long as it's black) for 0$, blower-heatshield-OAK 650$!!, puts you well past 4500$ plus tax and delivery.

Tom's site gives good pricing information that is said to apply pretty well across the nation.

(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hsmansf.htm)