We are building a new home in coastal Maine and would love some help narrowing down our wood stove choice. The house is 2900 sf with tight insulation (r28 in walls and r49 in ceilings). Stove will go in family room that open up to kitchen and eating area with open concept. Family room will have vaulted ceilings and ceiling fan. We will have a propane boiler and baseboard, but really hopi g stove will carry the weight of heating during winter months given high fuel costs. Currently looking to choose between Jotul F500 V3 Oslo, PE Alderlea T6 and Heartstone Manchester. My priorities are reliability/Dependability, ease of use, good burn time but also want something that looks nice as it will be in a focal point of the room. Tax credit is nice, but don’t want to trade of that against core priorities. Jotul and Hearthstone quality for tax credit, but Alderlea does not. I like the idea of the soapstone and convective heat of the Manchester along with large firebox, but have read concerns about quality/reliability and customer service. The Alderlea seems to be easy to use and solid and dependable, but have read about some disintegrating gasket issues. Jotul seems to have a lot of fans as well, but more radiant vs convective heat. I’d love some feedback from people with real world experience with these stoves. Thanks!
Need help with wood stove for new house (Jotul vs PE Alderlea vs Hearthstone Manchester)
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EbS-P
Minister of Fire
T6 is the best stove on that list. There was some talk that PE was going to retest and see if they could qualify for the tax credit. If if they didn’t I’d probably still choose it.
Evan.
Evan.
I would go with the Alderlea T6 or the Jotul F55. If the flue system height is >25', plan on adding a damper in the double-wall stovepipe.
saberbass
Member
I bought my P.E. stove 2 years ago ( neo 2.5) and ran it every day for 2 winters in a row. Really well built its a good quality heater. I was choosing between a couple but the stainless steel baffle was the tipping point for my choice . It is really heavy duty and easy to remove for cleaning the stove pipe.
Thanks! After more research I was leaning toward the T6 also. I like the idea of a consistent, easy to use and reliable burner and not have to deal with the catalytic maintenance and replacement issues. The stainless steel baffles are a plus. I just wish it qualified for the tax credit, but over 20+ years amortization that is less of an issue Anything else I should be considering?
If you do your own cleaning then ask the dealer to throw in a few baffle gaskets for the secondary tube. Eventually, you may make your own, but this will get you started. After that, just be sure you have fully seasoned firewood.
How tall is the flue setup for the stove?
How tall is the flue setup for the stove?
The stove will connect to a double flue chimney that will be ~35’ high. Havjng a second flue for potential future stove in the basement.
Will the flues be insulated, stainless chimney pipe? What will be the height of the first-floor connection?
I haven’t gotten that far yet as we aren’t breaking ground on the house for a few weeks. Chimney will probably go up in June sometime. What do you recommend for flue lining and insulation? In terms of height of first floor connection I was thinking of going up a foot or so from the stove and then angle 90 degrees to the chimney as I don’t think the T6 has a rear vent option. Any other thoughts/suggestion?
If new, I would do a good quality stainless insulated flue for each level where a future connection is desired. Plan on going up at least 2 ft from the stove for the connection, but much better would be to plan on straight up and through a closet on the 2nd floor.
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Note that basements can be tricky for draft due to negative pressure. This is common in tight new construction. We get a lot of posts in this situation from people complaining that the stove is not getting enough air or that it spills smoke. The solution is not always simple.
Note that basements can be tricky for draft due to negative pressure. This is common in tight new construction. We get a lot of posts in this situation from people complaining that the stove is not getting enough air or that it spills smoke. The solution is not always simple.
mikey
Burning Hunk
I think that they must all good stoves but if looks are important to you always go with a Jotul.
Note that you may need (likely) to add a flue (key) damper for a chimney that tall.
If you're in a right home, consider an outside air kit, so that the stove doesn't have to get its air from your home but directly from the outside. (also more efficient as there is not cold make up air coming into the home)
Can you further explain/clarify this for me? I'm looking at the same stove and do my own cleaning currently with my Jotul f400.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
There is an air tube that the brings the secondary air up the back interior of the stove into the baffle. The F400 the air comes in the sides of the baffle.
There is a small rectangular gasket that seals the tube to the baffle. If you don’t plug this tube when sweeping the debris will fall into the tube and will block the secondary air to the baffle. This gasket I think is to be replaced anytime the baffle is removed. There is a thread documenting how to make one out of fiberglass that lasts much longer.
Yes, it is part of the floating firebox concept with PE stoves. The baffle/secondary air assembly rests on stainless side rails and at the back it sits over the secondary air supply tube. There's a gasket around this tube to seal leakage at that juncture. This setup allows the components to expand and contract with the heat and cooling of the firebox without stressing secondary manifold welds. It's simple and durable and eliminates the need for a fragile baffle board sitting above the fire. I made my own gasket for the secondary tube about 6 yrs ago. It's pretty easy. We'll see how it looks after this season.
www.pacificenergy.net
Floating Firebox – Pacific Energy
www.pacificenergy.net
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