A little less than 1500 sq-ft single story ranch. What are the pro's, con's, etc. of the above stoves.
PE Alderlea T5 vs. HS Heritage/Castleton vs. Jotul Oslo/Castine
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I went to a home show this past weekend and several dealers had stoves set up. Sadly no PE dealers were there as I would LOVE to take a good look at a super 27 or T5. But the Hearthstone dealer had a Castleton on display. I will say one thing. They are beautiful stoves. Gorgeous really. Very sturdy built. Sorry I can't be more helpful...
I hear what you are saying. HS stove are the best looking stoves for the -8 months / year i won't be burning. In contrast, from what I gather, the Jotul and PE's are better burners. I'm kind of leaning toward the PE T5 as the best combo of performance and looks. Anyone with a PE Alderlea, please let me know the Pro's and Con's....
brad wilton
Feeling the Heat
aansorge
Minister of Fire
I'd go with the T5's. I am no expert but read this forums quite often and it seems like Jotuls are to shallow, with short burn times. It just seems like I hear a lot of Jotul owners are disappointed in those two regards and that is a serious concern if you are serious about burning.
These are each totally different stove styles and materials. They will have different behaviors. The Jotul F400/F500 are radiant cast iron stoves. The Castleton/Heritage are soapstone. The Alderlea is a steel stove with a cast iron jacket.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/comparing_stove_materials/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/comparing_stove_materials/
This I knew. Which is the best value? They all cost about the same and all are acceptable looking.
They each will have different behaviors. Value is individual depending on how the stove is going to be used. The question is which fits your needs best? Are there any constraining factors like clearances, corner installation, hearth size, etc..? Will the stove be used 24/7 or more nights and weekends? How will it be vented, straight up or out the wall? Will the flue system be at least 15 ft. tall or will it need to be shorter?
Soapstone is great if you are burning 24/7 and not so great if you come home to a cold house and want a quick fire to heat the place fast.
BradleyW
Burning Hunk
Layout, see attached. Looking to put the stove in the bump out with the *. Would vent straight up through about 10' ceiling and then would have to another 10-12" up outrside to get clearances, So, I should have a pretty decent draft. We currently have oil heat and a little propane direct vent fireplace for backup, located at "F". It's not a heater, but keeps us around 50 in the living room when the electric/oil are out which happens regularly. We live on 16 acres wooded, so we would like to decrease/eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels. We don't need to burn 24/7, but, I'm guessing that once we get going, we will want to burn as much as possible.
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Of the stoves mentioned my preference would be the T5. It's tougher with a stainless steel baffle instead of a ceramic board, it has a long burn time with a regulated secondary air supply, it's convective with close clearances, and it has the mass to soften the heat. The F400 would work, but you will be reloading it more frequently. The F500 is primarily a side loader, not the best for an alcove unless it is quite wide. Jotul makes an equivalent stove to the T5 in the F50 though it's a bit larger. I would also consider that model. But the main thing I think the T5 will help with is the short chimney. Most stoves are going to want 15'+ chimney to draft properly. The PE will work on a 12' flue, but be prepared to add more if the local terrain and trees make a problem.
Question: How wide is the stove alcove?
The primary heating issue will be getting warmth to the other end of the house. With a blower on the stove pointing directly down the hallway this may be taken care of. If not, for more even heat in the house put a table or box fan at the far end of the hallway, placed on the floor, pointing toward the woodstove. Run it on low speed. It will blow the cooler air down low, toward the woodstove. The denser cool air will be replaced with lighter warm air from the stove room. Running this way you should notice at least a 5F increase in the hallway temp after about 30 minutes running.
If you haven't already done so, start cutting wood in 16" in lengths and get it split and stacked now. Dense hardwoods like oak, hickory and locust are going to take 2 yrs to season. If you have any dead standing ash, that would be your best bet for the 2015-2016 winter season burning.
Question: How wide is the stove alcove?
The primary heating issue will be getting warmth to the other end of the house. With a blower on the stove pointing directly down the hallway this may be taken care of. If not, for more even heat in the house put a table or box fan at the far end of the hallway, placed on the floor, pointing toward the woodstove. Run it on low speed. It will blow the cooler air down low, toward the woodstove. The denser cool air will be replaced with lighter warm air from the stove room. Running this way you should notice at least a 5F increase in the hallway temp after about 30 minutes running.
If you haven't already done so, start cutting wood in 16" in lengths and get it split and stacked now. Dense hardwoods like oak, hickory and locust are going to take 2 yrs to season. If you have any dead standing ash, that would be your best bet for the 2015-2016 winter season burning.
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Wasn't sure about that. 10-12' above a ranch roof seemed dubious unless there are cathedral ceilings.
The bump out is 11 x 6 ft with the ceiling pitched inside from 8 -10 ft. The main living room is 17 x 16 with 11 ft ceiling. The chimney will be about 6' inside +18" in attic space + at least 11' outside, all straight up. The more I look, the more the Alderlea T5 seems to be best combo and really has no obvious weakness.
Ok, 11' outside is much better. Alcove installations can be fussy for clearances but you should be fine with a 6 ft wide alcove. Take before and after pics. This should finish out nicely.
Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
I'd go with the jacketed performance of the T5. On here you see a lot of good things about Pacific Energy. Anything else is going to radiate too much into that room...I have a 1250 square foot house and used to have a radiant stove. Way too hot in the living room on its lowest setting and often too cold in the back bedrooms. Now that I have the jacketed stove, the heat is so much more easily regulated. Can I ask why you aren't looking into a Blaze King?
Here's why we have to go so high outside. The bump out where we want the stove is on the right. Chimney needs to go up beyond the main roof peak since it will be less than 10' away.
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Oh, we've looked very hard at the cat stoves like the Blaze King and WS's. Thinking we prefer simplicity and fire view of a tube stove. Ashford 20.1 is still in the running. Would give us more control at the lower end and less likely to chase us out of our living room... An embarrassment of good choices are out there!
Calentarse
Feeling the Heat
The 20.1 is what I thought I wanted as well. I would strongly caution you against getting it with 1500 sq. ft. as the Ashford 30 actually has a lower BTU per hour rating than the 20. Did I mention it heats my house perfectly, without any problems keeping the temps in check? So glad I didn't go with the 20 and trusted people on this site because we've had some cold nights and I've had to turn the BK all the way up for the entire night to keep the house in the 70s. When I was searching for it last year, someone gave me some very insightful information about the BKs and burning style. The larger firebox in a BK does not mean more heat. The heat is so easily controlled, the firebox is really only a reflection of burn times and high heat output. Based on all this, I definitely would steer you towards the 30 firebox if you're considering it.
I can understand wanting the actual visual flames. The BK does not give me much of those unless I have it set on a medium to high output at which time the fire show is beautiful! Otherwise, only the red glow shining on the black, charcoaled logs letting you know the cat is viciously eating smoke
Thanks for the input re: Ashford 30 vs. 20. I've heard the same think from others too. I guess nobodies watching the fire when we're asleep...
I've reloaded my 27 (same firebox as the T5) after more than 16 hours without a match, and 8 hours or so when running hot. It is very easy to control, cool to watch, and just a strong performer. It's in a similar size room with 8' ceilings. You won't get too hot. I'll be looking hard at the super series stoves for my next house.
That said, I'm fond of my Blaze King, but it is pretty boring.
That said, I'm fond of my Blaze King, but it is pretty boring.
The chimney will need a brace at every 5 ft above the point of roof exit. If 10-12 ft it will need 2 braces. You will know better once you actually have the exit point picked out. Guessing by the picture it looks like you may be needing 8 ft of chimney, but a tape measure is much more accurate.
If I was going for a BlazeKing I'd get the larger firebox for longer burn times.
I have no knowledge of the other stoves you mention but I can say I am impressed with our Alderlea T5. Long burn times, efficient on wood and it is a good looking stove as a bonus. I set the stove up so I can head off to bed around 9. Up at 7 rake the coals put a couple of splits on open the air and away it goes. I would buy another one if that means anything.
It's 6 ft from the peak down to the high point of the bump out. Then it's going to be another 1-1.5 ft down to where the chimney will exit. Then add 2 ft. above the peak and that puts me around 9-10 ft.Hope it's under 10 ft. so I don't need 2 sets of braces.
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