Northstar or Constitution, are these too much heat for my home ?

[mark_b]

My second post what a great forum, I have been reviewing posts here for about a month and have decided on 2 different units. I am removing my Preway FP for a more efficient epa rated FP. I am pretty much sold on the Heatnglo Northstar or Heatilator Constitution. my biggest concern is these may be to much heat for my space. The main living/dining room where the FP is located is 20x28 with 8' ceiling's. I have a 1600 sq ft bungalow roughly 40x40, obviously the heat will seep into the kitchen and other bedrooms on the main floor and the front door foyer/ upstairs stairway is located off of the living room (this area we close off in the winter with the french doors I installed to help keep the heat in the living room and only heat the upstairs at night via a separate thermostat / zone, it's the master bedroom). I am on a slab with a nat gas boiler / baseboard water so there are no ducts in the house.
If I were to install an aux air kit the only way I can see to run a duct would be up through the external chase to tap into the upstairs master bed room (if that is even a possibility). My preway is flush mounted into the chase.
With all of that said I mainly want to heat the downstairs and don't want to be roasted out of the house. Some threads say install a smaller unit and run hot, other treads say go big for a longer burn time I am confused. I am in Michigan north of Detroit and it does get cold but my house is pretty tight. Is there a smaller unit that is 75% efficient that will apply for the tax credit (I really want the tax credit and to be more efficient), or should I go with the Northstar or the Constitution and are these to much heat for my home ?
Thanks in advance for any advice, Mark

 

[karri0n]

General consensus is that it's easier and safer to burn a small fire in a big insert than a big fire in a small insert if sizing is an issue. In Michigan, north of Detroit, I would say go for it. it gets dang cold up there, and you just might find yourself opening those french doors and being nice and warm in your bedroom. You could probably run small fires in the daytime, then get it nice and warm after work so you have a nice warm upstairs. You'd be surprised how well you can move the heat with a small fan. I'd imagine you aren't opposed to lowering your NG bill by getting all that heat upstairs, right?

By aux air kit, are you talking about a blower to another room, or an outdoor air kit? My stove doesn't have outdoor air kit attached, though I'd like to get one on there soon. We get by alright without it.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

the dealer selling you the fp should have some insights... unfortunately many just want to sell units, and also, sizing will depend on many factors...
how well insulated is the space?
average winter temp in your area?
northern or southern exposure?

will you be using the fp daily to heat your home? or as supplemental/ back-up?

 

[mark_b]

Thanks for the replies, By aux air kit, I was talking about a blower to another room. I was hopeing to pull some heat into the upstairs , or maybe a better option would be to possibly a return duct vent from the upstairs (with out another blower) to the FP which would draw heat from the living room up. Has anyone done this with a return duct through an external chase, that would be my only option for a duct. Or I can just open the doors and use a fan to blow heat up.
As for how often, I will be burning most of the time, if I can achieve a long enough burn durring the day (I doubt I will get an 8-10 hour burn time from when I leave for work to when I return), right now I am burning when I get home until 11 pm and I shut the blower off on the Preway with a slight fire and lots of hot coals.
Thats it durring the week, on the weekends I burn 6 am to 11 pm, I don't trust leaving a fire going in that old Preway unatended. With a good unit and an air tight door it would be safer to run all night and reload in the am.
I guess I need a bigger box for longer burn times.
Thanks, Mark

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

Thanks for the replies, By aux air kit, I was talking about a blower to another room. I was hopeing to pull some heat into the upstairs , or maybe a better option would be to possibly a return duct vent from the upstairs (with out another blower) to the FP which would draw heat from the living room up. Has anyone done this with a return duct through an external chase, that would be my only option for a duct. Or I can just open the doors and use a fan to blow heat up.
As for how often, I will be burning most of the time, if I can achieve a long enough burn durring the day (I doubt I will get an 8-10 hour burn time from when I leave for work to when I return), right now I am burning when I get home until 11 pm and I shut the blower off on the Preway with a slight fire and lots of hot coals.
Thats it durring the week, on the weekends I burn 6 am to 11 pm, I don't trust leaving a fire going in that old Preway unatended. With a good unit and an air tight door it would be safer to run all night and reload in the am.
I guess I need a bigger box for longer burn times.
Thanks, Mark

i think proper hvac is a MUCH better option than stove direct ducting. my customers have never been totally satasfied with fireplace forced ducting.
hvac ducting on circulate with return or intake near fireplace seems to more effective, with less headache
just my .o2$