PE Alderlea T4 or T5, or True North?

[RShim]

I am looking to purchase my first wood stove. Visited a local stove and chimney company recommended by friends, who carry PE products, including TrueNorth and Alderlea. I have a single story home, approx. 1000 sq. feet. Open kitchen/living area with 3 bedrooms and bath down the hall. Although on a budget in my self-sustainability venture with much yet to do - I am willing to upgrade to Alderlea if the knowledgeable people/users in this forum recommend over TrueNorth TN20 (just under 2K with tax and shipping). For the size of my home I understand that the TN20 or the Alderlea T4 are adequate. However, I do plan to cook on my stove top. I am likely going to be selling my home within 10 yrs and moving to the northwoods of Wisconsin.
- Do the swing out warming grates add much convenience to stove top cooking?
- Will I regret not getting the larger firebox of a T5 if I go with either of the other two PE models?
- From reading this forum - getting the blower option seems smart to help regulate the heat in the smaller home, yes?

Input is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Todd]

I don’t think the T4 trivets swing out like the T5 or T6 so that may impact any direct surface cooking.

You may also want to look into the smaller Drolet stoves. Good bang for your budget stoves that also qualify for the tax credit.

 

[begreen]

In Wisconsin, if the house insulation is just average then the T5 will work well. Cooking with the swing away trivets is great. One can bring a pot to a boil on the direct stovetop or slow cook on the trivet top. The TN20 is a good heater and also has the square firebox, but with conventional tube secondaries. Also, look at the Super LE, it has the same firebox as the Alderlea T5 but without the cast iron jacket, for a lower price. Another good mid-sized stove with a square firebox is the Lopi Endeavor.

 

[RShim]

If you do not mind my adding another into the mix.... The Hearthstone Green Mountain 60 qualifies for the tax credit and is less outright than the PE Alderlea T5. I was assured the Green Mountain operates just fine without a catalytic as I was concerned about the need to replace the CCs every so often. A quick search here at hearth.com on the HS Green Mountain...seems to be a problematic stove unless it is the users...

 

[begreen]

It's a new design that was a problem, especially for early owners. The stove seems to like a strong draft and should work okay if the flue system height is 16 ft or more and not compromised by a taller adjacent roofline. The other issue reported is with ash clogging the catalyst. That is a regular maintenance issue. Note that the manual explicitly states:
DO NOT OPERATE UNIT WITHOUT CATALYSTS.

 

[Da16652]

I am looking to purchase my first wood stove. Visited a local stove and chimney company recommended by friends, who carry PE products, including TrueNorth and Alderlea. I have a single story home, approx. 1000 sq. feet. Open kitchen/living area with 3 bedrooms and bath down the hall. Although on a budget in my self-sustainability venture with much yet to do - I am willing to upgrade to Alderlea if the knowledgeable people/users in this forum recommend over TrueNorth TN20 (just under 2K with tax and shipping). For the size of my home I understand that the TN20 or the Alderlea T4 are adequate. However, I do plan to cook on my stove top. I am likely going to be selling my home within 10 yrs and moving to the northwoods of Wisconsin.
- Do the swing out warming grates add much convenience to stove top cooking?
- Will I regret not getting the larger firebox of a T5 if I go with either of the other two PE models?
- From reading this forum - getting the blower option seems smart to help regulate the heat in the smaller home, yes?

Input is appreciated. Thank you.

No ash pan on the TN20? That would be a dealbreaker for me.