Pacific Energy FP30 Too much stove?

[rjv140]

Hello. After performing research, I am leaning hard towards the Pacific Energy FP30 (over apex42) which appears to meet my needs. The only concern I have is I am hoping it’s not considered too much for my house. I have a 2600 square foot ranch house with a 288 foot glass sunroom off the great room where the fireplace will sit, which has its own doors. It’s an open floor plan. My ceilings are 9 feet tall and I have a vaulted/peaked great room which is almost 20 feet in the center with large fan. My plan is to run a heat exchanger into my unfinished basement (approx 1700 feet) to devert heat down there in hopes of having warmer floors.

I was hoping to get feedback from someone who has it to weigh in on how much heat is diverted with the heat distribution system. Also, I am interested how the stove runs dialed back vs. wide open to see how well I can control the heat.

Any feedback you can provide is much appreciated.

 

[begreen]

I doubt there will be an issue with too much heat. The high ceiling adds considerable cu ftg to be heated. The FP30 can easily be run with a half-load of wood when less heat is desired. If there is an issue it may be heat distribution, depending on the floor plan. The far rooms in ranch homes that have bedrooms and bath off of a hallway often remain chillier.

 

[rjv140]

Thanks. I am definitely not under an illusion that the back bedroom/bathroom will be warm as kitchen and dining area.

 

[begreen]

Are the basement walls fully insulated?

 

[rjv140]

Not yet. Just poured walls at this point.

 

[begreen]

Insulating the walls will help reduce heat loss a lot. Otherwise dumping heat down there will be less effective.

 

[bcar]

I just put an FP30 in my great room that's 24x24 w/vaulted ceilings. I only have two door ways coming off the great room so not much open area for heat to spread out. For most weather conditions this stove has been a little much for us. I've burned more small loads than anything. I ran a remote heat kit to my basement also and that helped a lot with not overheating the great room, but even without the stove's fan on it still puts off a ton of heat from the glass and the upper grille.

My basement walls are also uninsulated, and one side is a partial walkout with a very drafty door. I have the one fan running down there (plus i run my furnace fan a fair amount) and can't seem to change the air temp by more than one degree with thermometer sitting 15' in front of the fan outlet. I'm sure the effect would be greater if I put the thermometer up by the ceiling.

As far as wide open vs dialed back I run my air controller fully closed (except during cold starts or some reloads) 95% of the time. I have only had to open it up some for real small loads during the day when draft is weaker. A couple times I had some wood that was a little too wet that I had to open it up for also. Most advice you'll see on here for running these EPA stoves is to shut air down as quick as possible.

 

[rjv140]

I just put an FP30 in my great room that's 24x24 w/vaulted ceilings. I only have two door ways coming off the great room so not much open area for heat to spread out. For most weather conditions this stove has been a little much for us. I've burned more small loads than anything. I ran a remote heat kit to my basement also and that helped a lot with not overheating the great room, but even without the stove's fan on it still puts off a ton of heat from the glass and the upper grille.

My basement walls are also uninsulated, and one side is a partial walkout with a very drafty door. I have the one fan running down there (plus i run my furnace fan a fair amount) and can't seem to change the air temp by more than one degree with thermometer sitting 15' in front of the fan outlet. I'm sure the effect would be greater if I put the thermometer up by the ceiling.

As far as wide open vs dialed back I run my air controller fully closed (except during cold starts or some reloads) 95% of the time. I have only had to open it up some for real small loads during the day when draft is weaker. A couple times I had some wood that was a little too wet that I had to open it up for also. Most advice you'll see on here for running these EPA stoves is to shut air down as quick as possible.

Thanks for the feedback. How many square feet is your house and how many levels?

 

[bcar]

Thanks for the feedback. How many square feet is your house and how many levels?

footprint is 1650 with a full basement and partial upstairs. Stove room is on the far end of the house with no upstairs above it