Pacific Energy Summit insert or Neo 2.5

[Boxer]

We bought a new house two years ago. I have heated the last two winters with a Brunco add on furnace that is tied into the heat ducts. I enjoy cutting and burning wood but I hate this furnace. It eats wood like a demon and the house is never really warm. I heated my last house with a OWB and I swear it used less wood.

Next year I am going to have an insert in our upstairs fireplace. We have a 2700 sf ranch with a finished basement. The living room where the insert will be is 40 x 20 with cathedral ceilings and a bunch of floor to ceiling windows. It’s a big room and has the attached garage under it so it’s tough to heat and never really warm. My wife is always cold and loves the heat from a wood stove. I like to keep the house at least 72 all winter if not warmer. If I’m going to cut wood I want to be warm.

Now for my question to anyone who has experience with either of these inserts is, What one will I be happier with? I was set on a PE Summit but when we went to the stove shop my wife spotted the Neo 2.5. She likes the looks of the flush inserts. I would like to be able to heat the upstairs with the insert and maybe get some heat downstairs also. I don’t think I will be able to get the downstairs warm enough with any insert. I will have to decide if I keep using the wood furnace or Propane for the basement I’m afraid.

I also went up the road to the Blaze King dealer. I would love a Princess insert but my wife absolutely hates the looks of it. That would be my first choice but it’s the focal point of our home and if she doesn’t like it that’s that I guess. Any first hand experience or advice would be appreciated. I have heated with everything wood except an insert so I don’t really know what to expect. Ive never really had an efficient stove before either so I’m really looking forward to something I don’t have to feed complete logs every 8 hours.

I have searched and read till my head hurts. Any advice will be considered and appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[Rob711]

I’m looking at inserts myself. Im liking the bk Ashford. Wife approves over the princess. Good luck

 

[thechimneysweep]

We sell PE products and have hundreds of Summit and Neo 2.5 inserts heating homes all over the country. While neither is capable of heating an entire 2700 sq.ft. 2-story house in SE Ohio during the coldest part of Winter, both should easily heat the upstairs, even given the cathedral ceiling and floor to ceiling windows. The Neo 2.5 has a slightly smaller firebox than the Summit (2.5 cu.ft. compared to 3 cu.ft.), but I am also a married man, and recommend you go with your wife's choice.

 

[prezes13]

I am not sure how well insulated your house is and how cold are your winters. I have an isert with 2.2 cf fire biz and it does fenomenal job to heat 1200 sf in my 1994 built raised ranch in ct as long the temps doesn't fall lower than teens. After that I can maintain. So all that said I don't think that the neo will keep your house over 72df. To do that you need more fire power.

 

[Boxer]

The teens are pretty much the norm for daytime highs during a lot of the winter. It’s not at all unusual to be single digits and below zero for days on end.

Will the slightly larger firebox on the Summit make that much difference?

I wish I had a better Blaze King dealer. They only have a Princess and Sirocco 25 on display. They don’t do installs either. They just give you a name of someone to call. Do you still get the warranty if you do your own instal?

Should I be looking at something different other than the two I have listed?

 

[begreen]

I think the advantage of the Summit would be more for its projection into the room. Flush inserts don't naturally convect that well, therefore they don't heat as well without the blower on. The bigger firebox gives you more wiggle room for arranging the splits either N/S or E/W.

 

[BKVP]

The teens are pretty much the norm for daytime highs during a lot of the winter. It’s not at all unusual to be single digits and below zero for days on end.

Will the slightly larger firebox on the Summit make that much difference?

I wish I had a better Blaze King dealer. They only have a Princess and Sirocco 25 on display. They don’t do installs either. They just give you a name of someone to call. Do you still get the warranty if you do your own instal?

Should I be looking at something different other than the two I have listed?

Yes, the warranty is still valid if you install yourself. And the wonderful folks here can help!

 

[brenndatomu]

Not the point here really, but I wonder what the deal is with that Brunco furnace...my neighbor loves his. Heats a HUGE leaky old farm house with it since the early 80s, no problem...doesn't use that much wood either.

 

[Boxer]

Not the point here really, but I wonder what the deal is with that Brunco furnace...my neighbor loves his. Heats a HUGE leaky old farm house with it since the early 80s, no problem...doesn't use that much wood either.

It’s a fine furnace. My personal opinion is if I’m going to burn wood inside my house I want to not only have heat but radiant heat. You don’t get that from a furnace tucked away down in a furnace room in the basement. I got the same type of heat from my OWB and had zero mess and could burn anything I could fit through the door. We were always warm but not wood stove radiant heat warm.

I want to be able to see a fire and feel the heat while I sit in my living room. It seems to brighten up those long winter days. I’m not planning on scrapping the Brunco but its definitely not efficient or enjoyable to heat with.

 

[heavy hammer]

I have a summit insert and heat around 2400 sq feet. It's a great heater unless it gets below zero the furnace doesn't run. We're very happy with ours. I live in northeast Ohio if that helps at all.

 

[Boxer]

Well I went totally off the rails today. The Blaze King dealer is one mile up the road from the PE store. I wanted to go look one more time before I committed.

I have always wanted a Blaze King but it never fit my budget at the time. They made me a deal I couldn’t refuse and best of all the wife approves. I’m the proud new owner of a BK Sirocco 25. I picked it up this evening and my son in law helped me muscle it into the house. I also have decided I am going to do the instal myself. I didn’t buy any liner from the dealer. I’m going to research and maybe make that purchase online. I’m sure I will find good information on that here as well.

I feel like the PE inserts were all top notch and maybe even a little better at producing more heat. I have just always been curious about a catalytic stove. I like the idea of turning it down during shoulder season and will probably save some propane on those days when I would have just used the propane instead of building a fire. I’m sure I will still be burning the Brunco furnace but hopefully this will keep my drafty living room toasty, maybe more than that if I’m lucky. Time will tell.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give your opinions. I appreciate it.

 

[heavy hammer]

Enjoy the new insert I'm sure it won't disappoint.

 

[prezes13]

Don't forget to post pictures and write a review. It's a great stove, might a bit undersized but the future will tell.

 

[Boxer]

Don't forget to post pictures and write a review. It's a great stove, might a bit undersized but the future will tell.

I will for sure. I’m working on the install now. It’s not as big as I wanted but the wife and I compromised and that’s a win for sure. I’m sure I’ll still be burning the wood furnace but I think the insert will keep the living room warm and help the furnace some.

 

[Hogwildz]

We sell PE products and have hundreds of Summit and Neo 2.5 inserts heating homes all over the country. While neither is capable of heating an entire 2700 sq.ft. 2-story house in SE Ohio during the coldest part of Winter, both should easily heat the upstairs, even given the cathedral ceiling and floor to ceiling windows. The Neo 2.5 has a slightly smaller firebox than the Summit (2.5 cu.ft. compared to 3 cu.ft.), but I am also a married man, and recommend you go with your wife's choice.

Most of my 2666sf main house is heated with the Summit. Only 1 room out of the loop gets chilly. If open enough floor plan & good convection loop it is possible to heat quite a large area. I do feel I am lucky with my set up and how open the floor plan is. Even with cathedral ceilings.