New guy PE Vista

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Wildflush

Minister of Fire
Dec 27, 2022
834
MA
Hello all,

Been lurking here since the summer learning new information all the time. I grew up with stoves when my parents put in a Franklin Wood Stove in our family room and a coal stove in our living room in the 70’s. Helped my dad make a coal bin back then.

Fast forward. My wife has been wanting a stove for a few years and was not sure how it could be done since we don’t have a chimney with our cape. She wanted more off grid capability for safety especially with the way the world is now. Started research and learned about the class A chimney system. Looked at stoves back in March and settled on the non cat Vista LE. We went all black with the leg option and steel corner pad. It’s in my game room so wanted a traditional look and we both liked the large glass door for viewing. Only one dealer had one in stock but took 3 months for the class A chimney to come from Canada. Install done in June and the professionals we used were excellent. Flue comes off back corner of house about 20’ high. Upgraded to stainless roof brace. Stove cost about $2,300.

We knew about 1.6 firebox which many on this forum say is too small. We find it a perfect size. Close set back to corner wall facing our open floor plan kitchen. House is 36 x 26 with 3 bedrooms upstairs. Natural gas forced hot water is the main source of heat. Also have a 24K BTU Fujitsu Halcyon mini split system on the main floor where the stove is and 15K upstairs in the master bedroom. We use this for heat in the shoulder seasons and AC in the summer. We love this system and how efficient it is.

Started getting wood in spring with 3/4 cord of 5 year old split cherry. Got another 3.5 cords from 3 different sellers all about 1 to 1.5 years split mixed hardwood. Price of cord ranged from $260 to $325. Got all my stacks top covered and off the ground with Patio bricks and 8 and 10 ft PT 2x4’s. Used T post on ends. Re-split some in the summer smaller to have a mix of sizes. Some stacks are along my driveways cement retaining wall with excellent sunlight and wind. Have used about a 1/3 to half cord so far.

After watching a guy on the net from Alberta with a Vista we knew this was for us. Our main floor has no problem getting to 77 when it’s in the teens or 20’s outside. Upstairs temp 70-73. Bigger is not better in our case. Stack it before I go to bed and it’s still 68 downstairs in the AM. Granted our house is 21 years old and insulated well with a new slider and some new windows. The $38 eco fan is awesome and does move the warm air.

We used 50% less gas in Nov and 46.4 less in Dec and that’s with gas appliances so very happy with the stoves performance and how it does not eat wood fast.

Glad I found this forum!
 
My SIL's old friend recently got one, and I'm looking forward to seeing it run next time I get out there.
I've been getting him small dead/dry stuff and sending it home with him, a carload a week. He just moved into his present house and hasn't had a chance to bank a wood supply yet.
 
My SIL's old friend recently got one, and I'm looking forward to seeing it run next time I get out there.
I've been getting him small dead/dry stuff and sending it home with him, a carload a week. He just moved into his present house and hasn't had a chance to bank a wood supply yet.
Mail order wood has to trump artisan firewood!
 
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went all black with the leg option ....Flue comes off back corner of house about 20’ high.

We knew about 1.6 firebox which many on this forum say is too small. We find it a perfect size. Close set back to corner wall facing our open floor plan kitchen. House is 36 x 26 with 3 bedrooms upstairs.

Started getting wood in spring with 3/4 cord of 5 year old split cherry. Got another 3.5 cords from 3 different sellers all about 1 to 1.5 years split mixed hardwood.

After watching a guy on the net from Alberta with a Vista we knew this was for us. Our main floor has no problem getting to 77 when it’s in the teens or 20’s outside. Upstairs temp 70-73. Bigger is not better in our case. Stack it before I go to bed and it’s still 68 downstairs in the AM. Granted our house is 21 years old and insulated well with a new slider and some new windows. The $38 eco fan is awesome and does move the warm air.

We used 50% less gas in Nov and 46.4 less in Dec and that’s with gas appliances so very happy with the stoves performance and how it does not eat wood fast.

Glad I found this forum!
That's what our friend got, black with legs. Looks good! They had it in stock, and installed it next time they were in the area. I was debating helping him install it, but I would have been 25 miles away from my tools. Plus his insurance wanted it installed by a pro. Installer is an Amish guy, so I think chances are good that he is somewhat competent. But he probably stuck him with a lightweight liner, and it's not insulated. It's an interior chimney though, so I guess it'll be alright, though not optimal. I shoulda told him what to demand of the installer...my bad. 😔
His chimney isn't that tall...maybe 15' or so, but I'm not certain.
The stove must be an easy breather like the T5 I got my other SIL's, because he can cut the air all the way and still has a lively fire. Some of the wood I've been getting him is softer, faster burning stuff, so that contributes to more fire even when the air is cut. I've been getting him up to speed on how to get slower burns. He texts, but he's not giving me a lot of feedback, which sucks for a detail guy like me. 😏
His new house is small, but a piece of Swiss cheese with 9.5' ceilings. He's working on tightening it up. He's got a couple mini-splits, but with the small firebox I imagine it's a bit chilly in there by the time he gets home from work. I wanted him to go bigger but he liked the smaller footprint of the Vista. I think it handles his heat needs OK as long as he's there to feed it. "Started getting wood this spring with 3/4 cord of 5 year old cherry." So this Cherry was in rounds for five years, then you split it this spring? I had some similar aged rounds that I split in the fall. Sapwood was easily scraped off with a hatchet but heartwood was solit and dry enough, and I'm burning some of that now. Burning Cherry smells great! 😊
Agreed about finding the hearth forums. Before I came here, I was trying to burn Red Oak that had been split less than a year. These guys straightened me out in a hurry! 😏
 
Mail order wood has to trump artisan firewood!
Yeah, especially since I'm not charging him. 😏 I figure he's got plenty of other stuff to spend money on, trying to seal up the Swiss cheese house, remodeling, and so on..
 
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Hello all,

Been lurking here since the summer learning new information all the time. I grew up with stoves when my parents put in a Franklin Wood Stove in our family room and a coal stove in our living room in the 70’s. Helped my dad make a coal bin back then.

Fast forward. My wife has been wanting a stove for a few years and was not sure how it could be done since we don’t have a chimney with our cape. She wanted more off grid capability for safety especially with the way the world is now. Started research and learned about the class A chimney system. Looked at stoves back in March and settled on the non cat Vista LE. We went all black with the leg option and steel corner pad. It’s in my game room so wanted a traditional look and we both liked the large glass door for viewing. Only one dealer had one in stock but took 3 months for the class A chimney to come from Canada. Install done in June and the professionals we used were excellent. Flue comes off back corner of house about 20’ high. Upgraded to stainless roof brace. Stove cost about $2,300.

We knew about 1.6 firebox which many on this forum say is too small. We find it a perfect size. Close set back to corner wall facing our open floor plan kitchen. House is 36 x 26 with 3 bedrooms upstairs. Natural gas forced hot water is the main source of heat. Also have a 24K BTU Fujitsu Halcyon mini split system on the main floor where the stove is and 15K upstairs in the master bedroom. We use this for heat in the shoulder seasons and AC in the summer. We love this system and how efficient it is.

Started getting wood in spring with 3/4 cord of 5 year old split cherry. Got another 3.5 cords from 3 different sellers all about 1 to 1.5 years split mixed hardwood. Price of cord ranged from $260 to $325. Got all my stacks top covered and off the ground with Patio bricks and 8 and 10 ft PT 2x4’s. Used T post on ends. Re-split some in the summer smaller to have a mix of sizes. Some stacks are along my driveways cement retaining wall with excellent sunlight and wind. Have used about a 1/3 to half cord so far.

After watching a guy on the net from Alberta with a Vista we knew this was for us. Our main floor has no problem getting to 77 when it’s in the teens or 20’s outside. Upstairs temp 70-73. Bigger is not better in our case. Stack it before I go to bed and it’s still 68 downstairs in the AM. Granted our house is 21 years old and insulated well with a new slider and some new windows. The $38 eco fan is awesome and does move the warm air.

We used 50% less gas in Nov and 46.4 less in Dec and that’s with gas appliances so very happy with the stoves performance and how it does not eat wood fast.

Glad I found this forum!
Yah people tried telling me on this forum that my little pacific energy fp16 (1.6 cft box) would be to small for my climate and sized home but 90% of the time my wife and I are escaping outside when its 10 degrees outside to cool off
 
That's what our friend got, black with legs. Looks good! They had it in stock, and installed it next time they were in the area. I was debating helping him install it, but I would have been 25 miles away from my tools. Plus his insurance wanted it installed by a pro. Installer is an Amish guy, so I think chances are good that he is somewhat competent. But he probably stuck him with a lightweight liner, and it's not insulated. It's an interior chimney though, so I guess it'll be alright, though not optimal. I shoulda told him what to demand of the installer...my bad. 😔
His chimney isn't that tall...maybe 15' or so, but I'm not certain.
The stove must be an easy breather like the T5 I got my other SIL's, because he can cut the air all the way and still has a lively fire. Some of the wood I've been getting him is softer, faster burning stuff, so that contributes to more fire even when the air is cut. I've been getting him up to speed on how to get slower burns. He texts, but he's not giving me a lot of feedback, which sucks for a detail guy like me. 😏
His new house is small, but a piece of Swiss cheese with 9.5' ceilings. He's working on tightening it up. He's got a couple mini-splits, but with the small firebox I imagine it's a bit chilly in there by the time he gets home from work. I wanted him to go bigger but he liked the smaller footprint of the Vista. I think it handles his heat needs OK as long as he's there to feed it. "Started getting wood this spring with 3/4 cord of 5 year old cherry." So this Cherry was in rounds for five years, then you split it this spring? I had some similar aged rounds that I split in the fall. Sapwood was easily scraped off with a hatchet but heartwood was solit and dry enough, and I'm burning some of that now. Burning Cherry smells great! 😊
Agreed about finding the hearth forums. Before I came here, I was trying to burn Red Oak that had been split less than a year. These guys straightened me out in a hurry! 😏
You're right about that. They are easy breathing stoves. Even with the air control all the way down and a full firebox there will be a very lively fire but thats If I don't turn it down quick enough
 
Yah people tried telling me on this forum that my little pacific energy fp16 (1.6 cft box) would be to small for my climate and sized home but 90% of the time my wife and I are escaping outside when its 10 degrees outside to cool off
I was surprised to see that your fp16 is listed with a higher EPA test BTU output than the bigger Super box. 🤔
How big an area are you heating? Is you place pretty tight, and well-insulated?
How tall is your chimney?
 
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I was surprised to see that your fp16 is listed with a higher EPA test BTU output than the bigger Super box. 🤔
How big an area are you heating? Is you place pretty tight, and well-insulated?
How tall is your chimney?
I'm heating about 800-1000 sqft, my entire house is 1400sqft of living space with a 300sqft florida room off the back. My house was built in 1987 and is fairly insulated except the windows are kind of old and need replaced but that doesn't affect anything even though I can feel coldness around the window. And the chimney is 25ft in a wood chase all the way up.
 
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That's what our friend got, black with legs. Looks good! They had it in stock, and installed it next time they were in the area. I was debating helping him install it, but I would have been 25 miles away from my tools. Plus his insurance wanted it installed by a pro. Installer is an Amish guy, so I think chances are good that he is somewhat competent. But he probably stuck him with a lightweight liner, and it's not insulated. It's an interior chimney though, so I guess it'll be alright, though not optimal. I shoulda told him what to demand of the installer...my bad. 😔
His chimney isn't that tall...maybe 15' or so, but I'm not certain.
The stove must be an easy breather like the T5 I got my other SIL's, because he can cut the air all the way and still has a lively fire. Some of the wood I've been getting him is softer, faster burning stuff, so that contributes to more fire even when the air is cut. I've been getting him up to speed on how to get slower burns. He texts, but he's not giving me a lot of feedback, which sucks for a detail guy like me. 😏
His new house is small, but a piece of Swiss cheese with 9.5' ceilings. He's working on tightening it up. He's got a couple mini-splits, but with the small firebox I imagine it's a bit chilly in there by the time he gets home from work. I wanted him to go bigger but he liked the smaller footprint of the Vista. I think it handles his heat needs OK as long as he's there to feed it. "Started getting wood this spring with 3/4 cord of 5 year old cherry." So this Cherry was in rounds for five years, then you split it this spring? I had some similar aged rounds that I split in the fall. Sapwood was easily scraped off with a hatchet but heartwood was solit and dry enough, and I'm burning some of that now. Burning Cherry smells great! 😊
Agreed about finding the hearth forums. Before I came here, I was trying to burn Red Oak that had been split less than a year. These guys straightened me out in a hurry! 😏
Actually the Cherry is older than 5 years and was already split and stacked. My parents sold their house and I grabbed the cherry they had. Was covered all this time so it was really nice and not punky.

I heat 1,872 sq ft with no problem and as another member said it can drive us out. We crack a window and slider at times. Don’t need a bigger or a more expensive stove. I work from home and can feed it. I let the stove cool to 250-300 and reload raking coals forward. We really like the setup. Using double wall insulated flue I believe EXCEL. Was more expensive than the stove! In my state stove has to be inspected and my insurance company gets a copy of compliance.

Funny about burning red oak too soon. I tried telling my buddy in Maine that he’s burning oak way too soon in his Jotul Oslo 500. Bought him a moisture meter and his oak is 27%. He insists it’s fine to burn. No wonder why his glass is black. 🙄
 
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tried telling my buddy in Maine that he’s burning oak way too soon in his Jotul Oslo 500. Bought him a moisture meter and his oak is 27%. He insists it’s fine to burn. No wonder why his glass is black. 🙄
27%, yikes! 😯 I'd be brushing every month if I was burning that soggy stuff!
If I spend the time to get and stack the wood, I wanna get as much heat as possible out of it.
 
Still can’t believe how hot this little stove gets. It’s 35 out and put in 3 splits before I had to run an errand and house temp went from 75 to 78 when I got back. Now cracking a window. House was 66 this morning when I got up and outside temp was 26.
 
Still can’t believe how hot this little stove gets. It’s 35 out and put in 3 splits before I had to run an errand and house temp went from 75 to 78 when I got back. Now cracking a window. House was 66 this morning when I got up and outside temp was 26.
I'm glad to hear it, as I was unsure if the Vista was big enough to handle my friend's leaky place with high ceilings. From what he says, it is doing OK. And I think that as he gets the place tighter, it may even be able to hold heat well enough to where the house can still be semi-warm by the time he gets back from work.
 
I'm glad to hear it, as I was unsure if the Vista was big enough to handle my friend's leaky place with high ceilings. From what he says, it is doing OK. And I think that as he gets the place tighter, it may even be able to hold heat well enough to where the house can still be semi-warm by the time he gets back from work.
Yes granted my house is only 20 years old so it’s tight. Now if I had a leaky farmhouse with more sq ft I would probably have a bigger stove for higher btu’s and overnight burn times. Last night upstairs was 73 and had the sheets off. Mild and rainy here now so just a small fire with cherry stove top around 450 which is fine. Tomorrow 50’s so no fire