Need big heater for Michigan

[Mich woodcutter]

Edit: Thread moved from BRad's thread to reduce crosstalk.

I would recommend the Pacific energy summit. I have the fp30 which is essentially the same as a summit size wise, and the fp30 is heating 3100 main floor and 1900 basement. It runs 3 loads a day of ash. I am super impressed by this unit, and it's heating beyond my expectations. I run the furnace fan on low and have a ceiling fan in the cathedral stove room.

I just looked at the Pacific eneegy summit to replace my vc......my older defiant was a heating machine. This newer one does not heat worth a crap. Im a little gunshy now.....will the summit heat well?

 

[Mich woodcutter]

Given the stove location and setup, I think I would opt for the Drolet. It's a proven workhorse with a little bigger firebox.

I looked at Drolets at farm and fleet. Are those good stoves?
Hard to believe you can get a good stove at that price

 

[begreen]

I looked at Drolets at farm and fleet. Are those good stoves?
Hard to believe you can get a good stove at that price

Yes, they are solid workhorses. Not fancy, but they get the job done.

 

[Mich woodcutter]

Thank you
I was looking at the HT2000. Its hard for me to imagine getting a workhorse stove at that price.
You could buy 2 of these for what they sell most stoves for

 

[begreen]

I just looked at the Pacific eneegy summit to replace my vc......my older defiant was a heating machine. This newer one does not heat worth a crap. Im a little gunshy now.....will the summit heat well?

The Summit is a very good heater. There are many owners here on the forum. It has a good track record. However, if you are looking for a strongly radiant heater, the Drolet Austral II would be better. The sides of the Summit are shielded which reduces radiant heat from the sides and reduces clearances too. The Austral II is unshielded and quite radiant.

Both of these stoves and the new Defiant Flexburn need dry, well-seasoned wood to perform well. The old Defiant was not as fussy.

 

[moresnow]

Thank you
I was looking at the HT2000. Its hard for me to imagine getting a workhorse stove at that price.
You could buy 2 of these for what they sell most stoves for

Great stove at a reasonable price. Definitely fits your workhorse definition. There are a few users here also. Do a search on that stove make/model.

 

[weatherguy]

Thank you
I was looking at the HT2000. Its hard for me to imagine getting a workhorse stove at that price.
You could buy 2 of these for what they sell most stoves for

I'm a big believer in you get what you pay for but theres a lot of info on those stoves and they're a good bargain. Put dry wood in, get good heat out.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Dry wood is the key to getting everything out of these stoves.

 

[yooper08]

I looked at Drolets at farm and fleet. Are those good stoves?
Hard to believe you can get a good stove at that price

Just about anything from SBI, who is the parent of Century, Drolet, and Osburn, is typically well built. It may not be the fanciest looking thing on the market, but sure as heck does the job.

 

[Mich woodcutter]

Edit: Thread moved from BRad's thread to reduce crosstalk.


I just looked at the Pacific eneegy summit to replace my vc......my older defiant was a heating machine. This newer one does not heat worth a crap. Im a little gunshy now.....will the summit heat well?

Older Defiant circa 2000 was also a heating machine.
My 3 year old Flexburn is marginal.
I was able to pull more heat out of by increasing my chimmney by 1 pipe.
I was amazed that it made a difference but it did.
It still does not compare to that old Definat.
Im thinking about a Drolet

 

[Highbeam]

Kinda makes you wonder why those other plate steel stoves cost so much? Drolet is the Englander of 10 years ago. No BS, just a durable heater for a good price.

 

[begreen]

A lot of owners used to the searing heat the Defiant was capable of are actually missing the radiant heat with their new steel stoves. In those cases I recommend getting a stove without shielding. We had an old *art on here years ago that retired his old Nashua for a PE Summit. He complained constantly that it wasn't putting out enough heat. After many threads and postings back and forth, correcting his burn techniques, we finally got him up to a regular 600-650ºF stovetop. The room was warm and the stove was hot, but he was still crying "where's the heat?". It took me a while to realize that what he was missing was radiant, pants searing heat. I told him to take the sides off the stove but he finally left in a huff and sold the Summit and got a Drolet Austral. After that he was chirping like a bird. Same stove output, but now he had an unshielded stove.
Moral of the story, if that is the kind of heat you seek, then the Austral or an Englander NC32 without the side shields is the best bet. Just be sure that you have the clearances necessary for these more radiant stoves. The PE Summit is a fancier stove in a porcelain jacket that makes it more convective. It has a more sophisticated firebox too. The heat output is close to the same, but it is only strongly radiant in front.

 

[rdust]

A lot of owners used to the searing heat the Defiant was capable of are actually missing the radiant heat with their new steel stoves. In those cases I recommend getting a stove without shielding. We had an old *art on here years ago that retired his old Nashua for a PE Summit. He complained constantly that it wasn't putting out enough heat. After many threads and postings back and forth, correcting his burn techniques, we finally got him up to a regular 600-650ºF stovetop. The room was warm and the stove was hot, but he was still crying "where's the heat?". It took me a while to realize that what he was missing was radiant, pants searing heat. I told him to take the sides off the stove but he finally left in a huff and sold the Summit and got a Drolet Austral. After that he was chirping like a bird. Same stove output, but now he had an unshielded stove.
Moral of the story, if that is the kind of heat you seek, then the Austral or an Englander NC32 without the side shields is the best bet. Just be sure that you have the clearances necessary for these more radiant stoves. The PE Summit is a fancier stove in a porcelain jacket that makes it more convective. It has a more sophisticated firebox too. The heat output is close to the same, but it is only strongly radiant in front.

Oh yes, “Oldspark” I remember it well. Can totally understand after standing next to a neighbors old Defiant and feeling like my face was melting.