In a house we just purchased there is an Avalon Olympic stove which so far is working well. . Not great, but good enough. It burns well and can warm up a fairly large space to a comfortable temperature, but could be warmer and it takes feeding the fire pretty steadily to do this. We're also finding that the burn time isn't long enough for our work day, so things are cool when we get home.
We recently were offered a older,but excellent condition condition Hearthstone II soapstone stove. The fellow offering it claims to have gotten 10+ hour burn times out of it, and that with minimal wood consumption he was able to keep things nice and toasty. They're getting rid of the stove so his wife doesn't have to handle wood anymore.
So, my question: do we replace the Olympic with the Hearthstone? In my head it's trading some firebox size on the Olympic for the stone heat retention, but I'm not sure which is more helpful in keeping a comfortable temperature.
It is possible that sometime in the future we might add a second fireplace set up to this house and could eventually use both stoves. . .but until then. Which will keep our old house warmer longer and with the least wood. Any and all thoughts much appreciated!
We recently were offered a older,but excellent condition condition Hearthstone II soapstone stove. The fellow offering it claims to have gotten 10+ hour burn times out of it, and that with minimal wood consumption he was able to keep things nice and toasty. They're getting rid of the stove so his wife doesn't have to handle wood anymore.
So, my question: do we replace the Olympic with the Hearthstone? In my head it's trading some firebox size on the Olympic for the stone heat retention, but I'm not sure which is more helpful in keeping a comfortable temperature.
It is possible that sometime in the future we might add a second fireplace set up to this house and could eventually use both stoves. . .but until then. Which will keep our old house warmer longer and with the least wood. Any and all thoughts much appreciated!