narrowing down my choices

[tash]

We are thinking of putting a wood stove in our main living area. That room is about 500sf, but our house is an open plan and has about 1100 on that floor. Total house is around 2600 plus full basement. All ceilings are normal height except the foyer which is double. House is only 12 years old and fairly airtight (not perfect as it has no wrap, but pretty good). We currently heat with propane and a heat pump. I have been doing lots of research but can't decide between a cat and a non cat. I would favor efficiency over how it gets that efficiency though. I am not afraid of a steep learning curve. We would prefer iron but might consider steel, not really interested in soapstone (no particular reason). I would like something that I don't have to restart every morning (so long burn time). I would like to be able to do very simple cooking such as hot water for tea or ramen, or to keep already cooked things warm.

So which of these do you think would work best for us? Any other ones that I don't have on this list? Ideally I would like to narrow it down to 2-3 to research further.

VC Encore or Defiant
Regency F5100
Pacific Energy Alderlea T5
Blaze King Ashford 30
Monessen VC DutchWest
Vogelzang Performer
Timberwolf 2100 Economizer

Thank you!

 

[Jags]

If I was narrowing the list down...my personal opinion would be PE, BK and Regency (no particular order). Of those three you will have strong performers (not saying some of the others won't), with BK being the standout for low, slow and long burn times.

 

[mellow]

With that small of a room you will want soft even heat, either a catalytic stove or a jacketed stove that will not blast you out of the room.

 

[tash]

Thank you.

Mellow, if the electric is working we can blow air throughout the house. And I don't mind being warm. I don't turn on the AC until the heat is over 85 for more then three days in the summer. I prefer 75-78 year round, and barely function under 74. I glanced at woodstock but they didn't seem like they were any better then the ones I wrote above.

I went and did the math, it's actually over 600sf, not 500.

Here is the room. We want it in the space at the top middle that says "8 feet". The green is our couch and chairs, brown/grey are tables. The angle door goes to the garage. The far left is open to the dining room/living room, the bottom is open to the foyer which is two story to the upstairs hall.

 

[Jags]

I would throw Quad and Jotul in the hat for consideration if cast iron is on your list.

 

[tash]

I have looked at Jotul a bit. What is the burn time like on them? Haven't seen Quad. I do prefer the look of cast iron to steel, but I prefer how well it works to how it looks. Also what is up with the screen thing on Jotul? I don't get it.

The Jøtul F 50 TL Rangeley seems intresting. It has a wintergrill thingy that looks kinda neat. Wondering about cleaning it though.... Also it's kinda big. But that might be ok.

 

[Jags]

Also what is up with the screen thing on Jotul? I don't get it.

Is this in reference to placing a screen in front of open doors? If so - it is exactly that - a "fireplace" feel.

 

[begreen]

I would also consider the Enviro Boston 1700, the PE T6 and perhaps the Quadrafire Explorer II. FYI, we have the T6 in a ~300 sq ft living room in an open floor plan, 2000 sq ft total. No problem with overheating. The Jotul cast-iron jacketed stoves should work too.

 

[tash]

Is this in reference to placing a screen in front of open doors? If so - it is exactly that - a "fireplace" feel.

ok then. Not sure why that's a thing. It already has a glass front (I was surprised at how many have glass fronts now). whatever.


begreen, thanks. What kind of burn time do you get on the T6? I kinda like the iron/steel thing of the PE, but I am not entirely sure why. What is your favorite thing about it? What do you wish was different?

 

[begreen]

Burn time is relative to the temps outside and the wood I burn. With hardwood there is steady heat for about 8 hrs, and good coals with stove down to about 200F up to about 12 hrs.. When temps get below 25 my burn times go down by as much as 50%. This is in a leaky old barn of a house. I like lots of things about the stove. The trivet top is handy, I like the baffle design and overall simplicity of the stove. It is very well behaved whether running a half-load of wood or burning full tilt. The soft heat is very pleasant, I like the eveness of it and lack of strong temperature swings in the room. Having a big roomy firebox is nice too. On the flip side the ashpan and ashdump are useless and the door latch could use improvement.

 

[tash]

I like the trivet top. I saw a photo on here of one with the top swung out and mittens all over. I also read problems with the ashpan, but the stove I had growing up had no ashpan. Not sure if a problem ashpan is better or worse. Could you be more specific on the door latch? Does it stick?

Do you ever do any cooking or water heating on it?

 

[begreen]

I don't use the ash pan at all, except as an occasional bun warmer. The door latch doesn't stick, it's just very basic. Modern latches on the Jotul F55 or BK Ashford 30 are nicer and more positive. Yes we have done some cooking, fast and slow on the stove. I often put the kettle directly on the stove top for hot water when the stove top is up over 500F. The trivet top is also very good for raising bread, just swing it over to the side for a gentle rising.

 

[tash]

I found your lengthy review. I like that you updated it. :D https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/pacific-energy-alderlea-t6-review-part-1.14885/

I think I could deal with basic, not sure I could deal with sticking.

I had someone over for an estimate yesterday. They were very quick, but he said he liked the Blaze King. The other local I have talked to (coming for an estimate later) doesn't like cats because of the maintenance and creosote. But I think that the creosote is from people not using it correctly, like grinding the gears on a manual transmission.

 

[begreen]

BKs do run a bit cooler in the flue which can build up creosote if the chimney is mostly exterior and one is in a cold climate. They recommend only using double-wall connector to keep the flue gases hotter. This is not an issue with the T6 and the fire view is more appealing, IMO. That said the Ashford is good looking and is getting nice reviews and in cold weather one is going to be pushing the stove hotter. That will clear up the glass and keep the flue hotter. You would probably be happy with either stove.

 

[tash]

Not just BKs, ALL cats. He recommended against the Regency F5100 too. I don't really care about the view. I was actually surprised at the number of stoves that have a glass front now. I was expecting a solid metal door. I do like the view as a bonus though. But any view is going to be better then the blank wall and electric heater I have there now