Need your advice on a new woodstove!

[Pug]

I have had two older wood stoves for several years and they ate wood like crazy. They were not the efficient stoves of today. Also had a pellet stove which I hated when the power went out. I am now thinking about a getting a woodstove in my current home here in Idaho. My house is 1550 sq ft up and 1550 sq ft down in a daylight basement. It is well insulated but does have wood framed, sheetrocked and insulated concrete walls along the front and sides with sliding glass doors along the rear of the home. I am concerned about the future of our country and our personal well being due to all the worldly goings on. I am not a prepper but I call myself a realist with fears for our future. I have been building a large supply of food, a water purifier system and am now concerned that if for some reason we loose power I will not have heat or a way to cook. So here comes purchasing a wood stove to take care of that fear. I will be putting it downstairs and venting it through the wall and up per specs. My requirements are efficiency, ability to cook on it, heat water etc. I don't especially care for a catalytic stove. I have looked at the Vermonts, Quadra Fires, Blaze King, Jotuls, and numerous others. I am leaning toward the Jotul F50 Rangely where it has some nice cooking features, top loading (small wood) and the Jotul F500 and F600 that have side loads also. I think the cooking could be done on about any stove. I like the look of cast iron but am a little concerned about the needs for resealing the seams every few years. For my needs of heating and cooking if we ever have a disaster I need advice. I don't want the old wood/coal cookstove but an attractive stove that hopefully will only be used to warm the basement up occasionally when guests come but be there as a backup if needed. Please give me your opinions on stoves that might work for me. Thanks for your help.
Pug

 

[begreen]

The F50 is a well made stove and a good looker. It should serve you well. It may not heat all 3100 sq ft during zero degree weather but it should keep the basement nice and toasty.

 

[firefighterjake]

Folks often mention about cast stoves needing to have them recemented . . . I sometimes wonder how often they think this needs to be done . . . actually not to go off tangent, but I myself wonder how often this needs to be done? I know I'm on Year 8 and other than changing out a couple gaskets which almost all stoves need to have done my stove still seems pretty solid.

I've heard good things about the Rangeley . . . and it looks good to boot.

 

[Smoked]

If you change you mind on the cats, folks seem to like this one. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-woodstock-ideal-steel-owner-experience.151844/

 

[LocustBurner]

If you change you mind on the cats, folks seem to like this one. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-woodstock-ideal-steel-owner-experience.151844/

Yes, you should absolutely check out the Woodstock line!

 

[MaintenanceMan]

If you like a cast iron stove with cooking grates that isn't a cat and your concerned about the cast iron maintenance/gaskets I'd definitely check out a PE Alderlea T6. A very efficient non-cat stove with a cast iron jacket around a steel firebox with swing out cooking grates. Gorgeous stoves IMO. Great quality and reputation.

 

[Woody Stover]

cast stoves needing to have them recemented . . . I sometimes wonder how often they think this needs to be done

Maybe about 10 years or so is what I've heard. Some brands may hold up better yet. You could probably tell with the incense test if any seams were leaking and needed re-cementing.

Yes, you should absolutely check out the Woodstock line!

It's a hybrid, and will give the OP a cat or tube burn. Just have one extra cat in stock; Long before it ever craps out, the roving bands will have taken your house and stove from you.

 

[Pug]

Getting it narrowed down between these stoves. I haven't been able to actually see a PE 5 and I have heard a couple of not so good things about them like the steel firebox cracking. Maybe older units?
The Jotul 500 I like where it has a nice sidedoor load. The Jotul 50 has some nicer cooking attributes but no side loader and a little harder to get wood into the front. The top load is quite small and maybe won't be used much except when I have smaller or split wood. I hate splitting wood. Cost wise the PE is about $350 less than the Jotuls. Any advice?

 

[begreen]

Do you mean the Pacific Energy Alderlea T5? At 2 cu ft.that stove is a bit smaller than the Jotul F50. The next size up is the T6 which is a pretty close match for the Jotul F55 design wise.

Each stove mentioned is somewhat unique. The Jotul F500 is a side loader and a fully radiant stove. It's a great heater, but maybe not the best for a corner installation or one where clearances are close. The F50 is a top or front loader. The T5 or T6 are strictly front loaders, with a unique swing away trivet top. Both the F50/F55 and the T5/T6 are more convective designs. All are good stoves. I have not read about a crack in an Alderlea. There was a limited run of some Summit inserts that showed the problem several years ago.

 

[Rearscreen]

As a lifetime stove owner of many different brands I was leery of getting involved with a CAT stove as I'm a KISS kind of thinker. Was forced into a CAT because of certain criteria. I'll never go back.

 

[S.ILGuy]

It may be a little late for my two cents, but I settled on an F55 which I installed last fall. My house is 2000 Sq Ft, a longish ranch style. The stove is in the living room nearer one end than the middle. I was a little concerned about the bedrooms being too cool, so I had my son in law (HVAC guy) install a cold air return directly above the stove in the ceiling. It works great with usually only a couple of degrees difference between the bedrooms and the living room in the morning (I run the air handler on "fan" all night to circulate the warm air). As far as the stove, I love it. Once I learned the ins and outs of operation, it has been easy to keep a fire at the temp we need for the weather and far more frugal with wood than the wood furnace at my previous residence. I burn all locally available hardwoods (R. oak, W. oak, Hickory, Maple, Cherry, Walnut, etc.). The F55 holds a fire for hours and there is always a great bed of coals in the morning (I'm not committed enough to get up in the middle of the night to add wood). I also appreciate the hybrid steel/cast construction of the F55 and feel it will last for many years. It cost me a pretty penny since where I live, availability and therefore competition is/are limited, but I feel it was worth it!