My Floorplan and Insert Selection Clydesdale or Pacifica Alderlea T5

[Malatu]

Hi folks, I've got things narrowed down to my selection of an insert and would value some insight.

Here is a floor plan of the first level of my home. The first floor has about 1010 sq ft of living space. There is another 1,000 sf on the second floor for a total of approximately 2,100 sf of living space. At the top of the stairs there is a foyer that has four bedrooms off of it. In other words, the upstairs has no hall ways. All four bedroom doors and bathroom door are located at the top of the stairs.
I want to go with either the Hearthstone Klydesdale or the Pacifica Alderlea T5. I just installed new energy efficient windows and the house is insulated (house built in 1972). I live in Delaware 70 miles south of Philadelphia.

A couple of questions/comments.
1. Can I heat the entire home with either one of these inserts?
2. Will the two doors in the room with the insert help that room from overheating?
3. To keep the upstairs at 65 degrees, what temp to you think I'd have to keep the room that the insert is in?

Thanks!

 

[Malatu]

Bump.

I'm meeting tomorrow with an installer/dealer to get a site evaluation. I was hoping you guys could give some feedback one way or the other on my selections.. Thanks!

 

[flyingpig]

I'd put the stove in the room you plan to spend more time at. I feel that the TV room will be pretty cold in your configuration. I don't have experience with either of your inserts but from the reputation it should be fine with your home size.

Just for reference, I have Lopi Declaration which is pretty much the same as Klydesdale. My 1000 sq.ft. 1st floor can be heated to around 73F and 68-70F on 2nd floor (1000 sq.ft.) in mid winter. My place is not well insulated but your location will be colder though.

 

[begreen]

Both are good stoves. The T5 may do better in a power outage if that is a consideration.As for size, that would depend on where you are located. In a milder climate this size should be fine. I wouldn't go too large considering the first floor layout.

Based on the floorplan it looks like most of the heat is going to be confined to the Den/Kitchen area with some trickling upstairs and the tv room getting only a little extra warmth. How large is the opening from the kitchen to the hallway? Would it be possible to put a fan (like a table fan) on the floor, blowing the cooler hallway air in towards the den? That will help cool the den and get the heat circulating.

 

[Sprinter]

Welcome to the forum. You will see a lot of good info here. I think it will be very hard to get any appreciable amount of heat around the house, even on the first floor, with the stove in a fairly isolated 200 sf room.

Is that an existing fireplace? You will have some heat through the wall and from the doors into the kitchen areas, but getting heat into the left side of the house would be problematic. I depends a lot on what you expect the stove to do. If you want it to be a primary heat source, that will be tough. If it's for supplement or ambiance in the den, that's different, but I wouldn't have too high expectations for the whole house. The floor directly above the stove room might be nicely warm!

Good sketch and thanks for including it. It will help a lot.

Edit: The fan suggestion by begreen apparently can be quite effective for getting warm air into peripheral spaces.

 

[Malatu]

Both are good stoves. The T5 may do better in a power outage if that is a consideration.As for size, that would depend on where you are located. In a milder climate this size should be fine. I wouldn't go too large considering the first floor layout.

Based on the floorplan it looks like most of the heat is going to be confined to the Den/Kitchen area with some trickling upstairs and the tv room getting only a little extra warmth. How large is the opening from the kitchen to the hallway? Would it be possible to put a fan (like a table fan) on the floor, blowing the cooler hallway air in towards the den? That will help cool the den and get the heat circulating.

View attachment 81086

The opening from kitchen to hallway is 36". Yes, it would be quite easy to place a fan. Also, I failed to mention there is an existing fireplace in the den. So it's predetermined where the new appliance will go. The other option was in the basement but you guys pretty much set me straight that that wasn't my best option.

 

[Malatu]

Welcome to the forum. You will see a lot of good info here. I think it will be very hard too get any appreciable amount of heat around the house, even on the first floor, with the stove in a fairly isolated 200 sf room.

Is that an existing fireplace? You will have some heat through the wall and from the doors into the kitchen areas, but getting heat into the left side of the house would be problematic. I depends a lot on what you expect the stove to do. If you want it to be a primary heat source, that will be tough. If it's for supplement or ambiance in the den, that's different, but I wouldn't have too high expectations for the whole house. The floor directly above the stove room might be nicely warm!

Good sketch and thanks for including it. It will help a lot.

Edit: The fan suggestion by begreen apparently can be quite effective for getting warm air into peripheral spaces.

Even though I've read differently, I'm hoping my downstairs forced air system will help distribute at least some of the warm air to to the far end of the 1st floor. All of the ducts are in the basement and are insulated.

Also, the more I think about it, my biggest concern is the unit I select will be too small.

 

[flyingpig]

I know that this is way out of original plan. But how about putting the stove in kitchen instead, and open the hole in wall and vent the flue out through chimney? It won't be an insert anymore and you may not get much heat in your den. But you'll probably get more heat to the rest of the house.

 

[Malatu]

That is a great idea except there is a double oven on that wall as well as a counter island. Of course, those items aren't represented in my simplified schematic. Thanks for the idea. I appreciate it.

 

[BrowningBAR]

The T5 will give you longer burn times than the Clydesdale.

 

[Sprinter]

No matter how you slice it, stoves are space heaters. It's just going to be darned tough to distribute the heat in any significant way. You may notice that BrowningBAR above has three stoves in his house. He may have some good insight for you on how to handle it.

 

[Malatu]

The T5 will give you longer burn times than the Clydesdale.

That's interesting. Why do you say that? Not that I don't believe you but want to better understand what you say. Take a look at this chart. What piece of data would help me understand why the T5 will give a long burn time. Your answer may help me understand all of the data on the chart.

(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/wicomp8.htm)

 

[BrowningBAR]

Is this the T5 insert or freestanding stove?

Either way, the firebox probably offers more usable space in the T5. The Heritage was listed at 2.3 cu ft and it was actually a sub-2 cu ft firebox. I know people are saying they are getting 10+ hours of heat from the T5 free standing stove and I know that is longer than what the Clydesdale offers.

In fact, when people are comparing inserts, they usually go with the Hampton HI300 over the Clydesdale as it offers better heating ability than the Clydesdale.

 

[Malatu]

Is this the T5 insert or freestanding stove?

Either way, the firebox probably offers more usable space in the T5. The Heritage was listed at 2.3 cu ft and it was actually a sub-2 cu ft firebox. I know people are saying they are getting 10+ hours of heat from the T5 free standing stove and I know that is longer than what the Clydesdale offers.

In fact, when people are comparing inserts, they usually go with the Hampton HI300 over the Clydesdale as it offers better heating ability than the Clydesdale.

Sorry, the it's the T5 insert. The Clydesdale has a 2.4 cu ft box and the T5 insert has a 2.1 cu ft. Because of that I would think the Clydesdale would have a longer burn, though the T5 has a slightly higher efficiency rating. 82.6 to 79%. Which one of these measurements has a greater impact on burn time?

Since I have no experience burning wood (at least in the last 30 years), my current knowledge is coming from what you guys say and what I read.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Sorry, the it's the T5 insert. The Clydesdale has a 2.4 cu ft box and the T5 insert has a 2.1 cu ft. Because of that I would think the Clydesdale would have a longer burn, though the T5 has a slightly higher efficiency rating. 82.6 to 79%. Which one of these measurements has a greater impact on burn time?

Since I have no experience burning wood (at least in the last 30 years), my current knowledge is coming from what you guys say and what I read.

I have never run a Clydesdale. But, what I have seen here is that it is a capable heater and people do like the stove.

But, Hearthstone has a tendency to overstate the firebox size of their stoves. For instance, the Heritage is listed at 2.3 cu ft, but it actually is smaller than that. It actually comes in at about 1.5-1.75 cu ft.

Also, when it comes to burn times, most manufacturers overstate their capabilities on burn times. You will not get 10 hours from the Clydesdale. You can probably expect 5-7 hours of heat with coals to relight in the morning.

Do a search for the T5 and for the Clydesdale and read a few threads. The Clydesdale isn't a bad stove, but, if I were choosing between the two, I would lean towards the T5.

 

[firefighterjake]

I like the idea of an insert in the den . . . but like at least one other person I question whether enough heat will spill out (or be moved actively) to the other parts of the house.

Honestly, I might consider putting in a free standing stove in the TV room.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Honestly, I might consider putting in a free standing stove in the TV room.

That was my feeling as well, but I tend to lean towards multiple stoves to begin with out of habit.

 

[Malatu]

Hmmmm, two wood stove? I don't think that's a possibility for me right now. I'm working hard to get my wife to buy into the insert. Plus, a second woodstove just isn't in the budget. I think I'll be satisfied with the one stove/insert, even thought it won't heat the tv room as much as we'd like. Since we like it on the cooler side, placing the insert in the existing fireplace should be acceptable.work.. I just hope the den doesn't have to be heated to 85 degrees to get the tv room up to -70. I just don't see that happening. The more information I read at this forum, the better I'm feeling about things.

Thanks to all for your input. I'm sure I'll have more questions as things progress. Most likely on a self install!

 

[Sprinter]

I seem to remember that there is a member here with four stoves. Could be wrong. In any case, I'm sure that one at a time would be the prudent route!

With a little ingenuity, I'm sure you can get a lot of the heat into the kitchen areas at least. Removing that lower section of wall that separates the two halves of the house would certainly help, if at all feasible.

In any case, keep us updated on what you do and how it works. A lot of others in the same boat.

 

[Malatu]

I seem to remember that there is a member here with four stoves. Could be wrong. In any case, I'm sure that one at a time would be the prudent route!

With a little ingenuity, I'm sure you can get a lot of the heat into the kitchen areas at least. Removing that lower section of wall that separates the two halves of the house would certainly help, if at all feasible.

In any case, keep us updated on what you do and how it works. A lot of others in the same boat.

I will do that. Thanks!

 

[begreen]

I just hope the den doesn't have to be heated to 85 degrees to get the tv room up to -70. I just don't see that happening. The more information I read at this forum, the better I'm feeling about things.

The fan setup I showed earlier will blow cooler air low, into the den. This will help keep it more comfortable in that room. The cool hallway air will be replaced with warm air from the stove room. It doesn't take much, but the fan should be directional. A simple 12" table fan or box fan running on low speed will do the trick.