Napoleon 1900 vs Quadra-Fire 5700 vs Jotul F500 vs ????

[Obadiah]

You are absolutely correct, each has it's own applications and neither is the complete answer 100% of the time. I stand corrected. It was and is the best solution for my application. Because of my wifes worsening Asthma condition, we have had to install radiant heat in our floors and not burn ours stove like we used to, in order to remove any particulate from her environment. Although I fire up my Napoleon whenever she is away because I love wood heat, I also understand and appreciate the dynamics of radiant in-floor heating. Warm floors are a wonderful thing too!
Here are a couple of diagrams that maybe helpful for folks who do not fully understand the dynamics of how heat transfers.
The first picture on the left is a good example of radiant heat coming out of a heating appliance, the second is a example of convection, the third shows convection, conduction and radiant, the next one on the right is radiant again, the last one on the right shows both convection and radiant heat. I hope that these pictures clarify the differences in how heating appliances work so folks can make an intelligent choice on what they think will work best for them. As always, thanks for what you guys do here at Hearth.com to help folks. We really appreciate your hard work, honesty, and professionalism. It is great that this resource is available to folks seeking a better understanding of how hearth products function.

 

[begreen]

Yes radiant floors are very nice. I ended up sealing and insulating our crawlspace which eliminated our cold floors. If we had a chilly, large room or area, with no close combustibles, I would probably have a big radiant Jotul or Isle Royale heating it. But our space is smaller and combustibles are close so convective is better. Fortunately, our setup works pretty well for convection. At first it worked too well and too much heat headed right across the ceiling and upstairs. To remedy this I added a false, 12" header between the living room and the hallway with the large open staircase. That really helped.

PS: The cutaway of the Napoleon is pretty cool.

 

[HeatsTwice]

Yes it is cool. But I think it is of one of their smaller stoves - my 1900 is way deeper than the one shown.

 

[Obadiah]

That cut away is of the medium sized stove, which is the Napoleon 1400P.
If you guys look really close at the top where the baffles sit, you will notice they are fire brick, not baffles. I'm really not supposed to say this, but my 1900 has two layers of firebrick in the top of the stove. No ceramic baffles to break every few years. This was a EPA deal to allow the Napoleons to reach secondary combustion temps way faster than with the firebrick. (So those of you who have had troubles with your baffles, don't blame Napoleon, it was not their idea) The thermo-mass of the firebrick took about a hour or so to get hot enough, fine for those who burn their stoves 24/7, not good enough for the EPA who always looks at worse case scenario's. They wanted the stove to reach operating temps much faster. So to comply, Napoleon had to change to the baffle system. This was a major problem for many years, those who were not extra careful would damage them if they over loaded the firebox, or if there was a stob sticking up on the log that caught the baffle edge and broke off a chunk. Napoleon has since upgraded the baffles and they are much thicker, 2" verses, 11/4", so they last longer now. Of course some folks just return their stove back to its original design with the firebrick, which increases the thermo-mass of it considerably.
The older Napoleons has a heavy refractory brick on the sides and then the lighter cinder type firebricks on top. With all that thermo-mass I get another 12 hours of heat out of my stove even when the fire has gone out. Almost like a soapstone stove.
A friend of mine Paul Thompson from Vermont Marble who makes the soapstone surrounds for our Bakers Oven Cookstoves, also makes soapstone firebrick, which I am anxious to try, I'll bet it will be the best thing since sliced bread! I'll give you all some feedback once I try them. I am a firm fan of soapstone, it is like a heat battery for a stove. It really evens out the temps of a radiant type heater.
The installation pics of these 1900s makes me envious, Very nice job installing them
Someday I'll have to send you a picture of mine when I get the new panels on it. Right now it is multi colored as it started its life as burn display unit, so it is green, almond, and black.
I wanted folks to be able to see what the various porcelain colors actually looked like. Someone misplaced the original side panels in our warehouse so it different colors depending on where your standing looking at it.
Kinda embarrassing really. But it still works well.
Now I have a good excuse to finally order those side panels. Thanks guys!

 

[ddddddden]

Yes radiant floors are very nice. I ended up sealing and insulating our crawlspace which eliminated our cold floors. . .

Mr. Green, more details, please. In winter, I put cardboard cutouts in the vents of our crawlspace, and it makes a a nice difference, but I worry about moisture.

 

[begreen]

Yes radiant floors are very nice. I ended up sealing and insulating our crawlspace which eliminated our cold floors. . .

Mr. Green, more details, please. In winter, I put cardboard cutouts in the vents of our crawlspace, and it makes a a nice difference, but I worry about moisture.

We have a very dry crawlspace due to a new foundation, sandy soil with good drainage, large overhanging eaves and a good gutter system. I sealed the sill and any other cracks with a good flexible caulk. Then the sill was insulated with 12" batt insulation, the crawlspace walls are insulated with 2" foam board. Vents are also sealed and insulated. They remain closed from Nov-May. With this arrangement, on the coldest day it does not go below 60 °F in the crawlspace.

 

[ddddddden]

Thanks for the fine example, Mr. Green.