Morso 2110 vs 3610

[michiganwoodburner]

Hello all,

Thank you for this great forum! Lots of wisdom here.

My wife and I have a 1,600sqft two floor house. First floor is 1,000sqft, second floor is 600sqft. We purchased our house last year and did our first winter. We were very cold last winter and tried to heat with only a 30,000BTU stove & some electric space heaters, in a house that definitely needed an upgrade on its insulation. We've upgraded our insulation and are getting ready for this winter.

We would like to get a stove we can use as our primary heat source that will heat for most of the night (ideally 8 hour burn).

We like the look of the Morsos, but don't like their small fireboxes. The Morso 2110 seems reasonable in that it takes decent sized logs, but I can't imagine it can get very long burn times with such a small firebox. We found online the 3610 (seems to be discontinued), which seems great in that it has a big firebox. However, our question -- is the 60,000BTU of the Morso 3610 too much heat for our space? Would love to hear from someone who has experience with one these stoves.

One thing that's confusing to me is the manufacturers suggest different square footage for different BTUs. For example, Morso says the 3610 can output 60,000BTU and can heat up to 2,400sqft, whereas Jotul says the F500 Oslo outputs 70,000BTU and can heat only 2,000sqft house (or the Jotul F55 with 83kBTU and 2,400sqft). Is this due to aspects of the stove design, or is this marketing mumbo-jumbo?

We've all been in a house with too big of a stove, and my wife and I don't want that.

We were thinking that if ya'll thought the Morso 3610 was not too hot then we could try and track one down.

Thanks!

 

[Squirrely]

Sorry, I can't offer you any model choice advice as I only have the smallest Morso stove. What I can say is that I appreciate Morso's approach to stove design of using a minimal number of simple reliable robust durable parts made to last a long long time.


Greg

 

[michiganwoodburner]

Thanks Greg! Good to hear about your experience. I also appreciate engineering that optimizes for simplicity and reliability. Unfortunately these two things are not valued by our consumerist culture. It is always a relief for me to find a company that does produce quality that it stands behind.

 

[begreen]

Based on the described criteria neither Morso seems appropriate. The larger Morso is not sold in the US anymore. The 2110's firebox is small. Figure 2-3hrs between reload time. Recommend you look at ~2 cu ft stoves. If you want a pure cast iron stove then the Hampton H300 might be a better choice. The Jotul F400 is nice, but hard to get longer than 4-5 hr burns out of in the dead cold of winter when the stove is being pressed for heat.

You might also consider cast-iron clad steel stoves. These stove provide a softer heat and some decent thermal storage for release at night after the fire has died down. In your climate zone I'd look at the Enviro Boston, Pacific Energy T5, Quadrafire Explorer II, and the Napoleon 1400c.

 

[georgepds]

FWIIW.. I live in a house about the same size , 1500 ft^2, evenly divided between two floors, with ~ 6" of insulation in each wall. I heat with a Woodstock progress hybrid...burns lat all night ( ~6 to 8 hrs). This stoves is nice to look at, but pricey

You can turn the fire way down by adjusting the airfeed, and it will still burn slow ( it has a cat) . It is warm in the main room when it is fired to run all night, so I just close the bedroom door. it is still toasty in the morning

A lot depends on how your house is set up. Open plan with a central stove works well

 

[Squirrely]

Berkshire Hearth and Home in Connecticut has a #3610 floor model for sale in their Bargain Bin at $1799.



(broken link removed to http://www.berkshirehearthandhome.com/products)

Greg

 

[michiganwoodburner]

@begreen Thanks so much for your thoughts! Was your only objection to the Morso 3610 that it's not sold? I see online it has a 2.14ft^3 firebox. The list of other stoves looks great. Will be going over the list tomorrow in-depth.

@Squirrely Wow! Thanks so much for this!

@georgepds Thanks for your thoughts. Good to hear your experience with a similar sized house. I think we're trying to stay away from cat stoves.

 

[begreen]

Lack of availability was my primary concern. This is a strongly radiant stove that would work best in a larger area. Is the floorplan pretty open or are there smaller rooms closed off from each other? Are the ceiling heights normal or extra high?

 

[michiganwoodburner]

Lack of availability was my primary concern. This is a strongly radiant stove that would work best in a larger area. Is the floorplan pretty open or are there smaller rooms closed off from each other? Are the ceiling heights normal or extra high?

@begreen The main room that has the stove is an open floor plan (one big room): living room, dining room and kitchen. This is about 533sqft. We have 8ft ceilings (so about 4,300 ft^3). The living room has two large windows (8.5' x 4.5' each) and a glass sliding door (6'2" x 6'4"), this is the area closest to the stove. The main floor is 1000sqft total. The rest of it is a small hallway, with a bathroom, and two bedrooms.

 

[begreen]

With the additional insulation and a large open room it may work out ok. What is the current stove that heated the house last winter? How tall is the flue on this stove and is it 6"?

Most important. Do you have a good supply of wood already split, stacked and dry?

 

[michiganwoodburner]

With the additional insulation and a large open room it may work out ok. What is the current stove that heated the house last winter? How tall is the flue on this stove and is it 6"?

Most important. Do you have a good supply of wood already split, stacked and dry?

@begreen The house has a small stove -- Morso 7648 (only produces 35kBTU), also it takes small logs which increases our labor a lot. The flue single-walled pipe on the outside is about 6.5", is that the measurement you mean? Flue height -- the flue goes from the first floor and exists on the second floor roof. Is that what you mean?

Yes, we do have a good supply of wood split, stacked and dry. We are lucky to have a good sized barn. Last fall (when we moved in) we bought 2x the wood we thought we'd need so we could be a year ahead. This summer my parents had to remove a handful of dead ash (emerald ash borers ) from around their house, so we chopped and split that for winter 18-19 (and probably 19-20 as well). We haven't stacked it yet, just in a pile, but I'm thinking it will be 20-30 face chords. Hard to tell with it on the ground.

 

[begreen]

The 7648 is a room heater, which most Morso stoves are now. The 3610 has about double the heat output. Sounds like your flue system is at least 20ft tall which should draft well. Kudos for thinking ahead on the dry wood.

 

[michiganwoodburner]

The 7648 is a room heater, which most Morso stoves are now. The 3610 has about double the heat output. Sounds like your flue system is at least 20ft tall which should draft well. Kudos for thinking ahead on the dry wood.

@begreen makes sense. Seems like the 7648 would be great for a one room cabin. Good to know re:draft. Thanks for the kudos!

I will let ya'll know what we decide to do and post some pics once we do it.

 

[michiganwoodburner]

@begreen wanted to follow up a few months later -- I tracked down a Morso 3610! It was quite an adventure. The distributor company told me that it was the "last 3610 in North America". He must have meant a brand new one. The adventure is over and we have it burning in our home. It is a WONDERFUL stove. Thank you so much for your help back in August. Your advice helped me and my wife make our buying decision.

I have attached a photo of our dog Larry, enjoying the warmth.

Have a great new year!

 

[begreen]

Lucky you, congratulations! Looks like you may have to put a bed near the stove for someone.

It's a shame Morso has discontinued selling larger stoves in America. They make good heaters.