Quadra Fire 5700 Step Top Pros/Cons for newbie

[Coach9]

Hello everyone!
We are newbies looking to purchase a wood burning stove for our house after a recent propane shortage scare in our small Colorado mountain town. My husband is liking the Quadra Fire 5700 Step Top, but I have seen several negative reviews of Quadra Fire products. We are hoping you might have some pros/cons of this particular stove. We would be putting the stove in our great room. House is a little over 1500 sf total, with great room being about half of that.

If not a fan of Quadra Fire, what would you recommend and why?
Thank you!

 

[Woodsman on the Plains]

I am surprised no one responded to you yet. I am currently working on trying to figure out the best route for us as well. Also newish to wood burning and am trying to decide between a Pacific energy unit or a Quadra Fire. I think I have narrowed it down to one of those two but am open to suggestions. I will watch this thread and see what people suggest. Good luck on your decision making.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

There are a few people that have run the 5700, give them time and hopefully they will pop in.

Most negative experiences with stoves tend to be caused by the wood being wet, or the chimney. Please keep this in mind when reading posts about stove issues. Put your wood up to dry as early as possible in order to give yourself the best experience possible.

 

[savageactor7]

We have the 4300ST and like it...no problems.

 

[MongoMongoson]

My dad has run a Quadra Fire for years with no issues. Sorry, I do not know the model. But Quadra Fire was high on my list of preferred brands when I went looking for a stove because if HE couldn't break it or complain about it, it has got to be a good one.

Our Quadra Fire dealer was closed due to the pandemic when we were looking, so we didn't get to consider them. We went with a PE and it has been good, so no complaints.

 

[begreen]

IIRC, some early versions of this big stove had weld failures creating an air leak on the side of the secondary manifold. Left unnoticed and unrepaired it could damage the stove. This was corrected many years ago. I have not heard of this issue since then. In general, Quad makes good stoves. There are many of them in our region. The 3100 Millenium has been a favorite workhorse for years.

 

[Cindyhc]

Hello everyone!
We are newbies looking to purchase a wood burning stove for our house after a recent propane shortage scare in our small Colorado mountain town. My husband is liking the Quadra Fire 5700 Step Top, but I have seen several negative reviews of Quadra Fire products. We are hoping you might have some pros/cons of this particular stove. We would be putting the stove in our great room. House is a little over 1500 sf total, with great room being about half of that.

If not a fan of Quadra Fire, what would you recommend and why?
Thank you!

Hi , I just had a Quadra-Fire 5700 step top installed, it’s been about 3 weeks now and I’m still learning the ACC and trying to get the “” over night “” burn. Supposed to go 20 hours !? I’m going to watch this thread and see if anyone else chimes in . But, regardless this stove is Big and blows great heat . Just trying to get the right settings to go longer than 5/6 hours .

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It looks like you are in the basement. How tall is your chimney? The amount of draft can radically shorten the burn time. I dont know how you'd get 20 hours out of a tube stove. That's most likely creative marketing. I believe it's a 3 cu ft stove? You'll probably get 8-10 hours depending on wood and chimney.

 

[begreen]

There is no way that I would expect that stove to go 20 hrs except maybe for some banked hot coals covered with ash. 10-12 hrs would be more normal. Less if being pushed hard for heat. Where did the 20 hr expectation come from?

 

[Cindyhc]

There is no way that I would expect that stove to go 20 hrs except maybe for some banked hot coals covered with ash. 10-12 hrs would be more normal. Less if being pushed hard for heat. Where did the 20 hr expectation come from?

There is no way that I would expect that stove to go 20 hrs except maybe for some banked hot coals covered with ash. 10-12 hrs would be more normal. Less if being pushed hard for heat. Where did the 20 hr expectation come from?

Actually your correct, that hour amount came from installers . If I read the information from Quadra fire , it’s up to 15 hours of burn time . I haven’t even seen 8 . I believe a good 5 hours is what I’ve had so far. I’m still going to point the finger at myself, I think it’s something I’m doing, or not doing.

 

[begreen]

Try filling it fuller with no air gaps between splits and close down the air sooner and perhaps farther.

How far was the air closed when the video was shot?

 

[Cindyhc]

Try filling it fuller with no air gaps between splits and close down the air sooner and perhaps farther.

How far was the air closed when the video was shot?

Closed completely and ACC as low as it goes , I also double checked the back one , and closed that also . It was never smothered. Hard wood also . To me, it seems air is getting in . Is there anything else that I could check ?