Quadra-fire Questions

[5555555]

I am getting ready to replace an old, inefficient woodstove in a house we just bought. We've been looking at the Quadra-fire 4300. The house is about 3000 sq.ft on three levels. THe woodstove will go on the main (middle) level in a large open room. Is there a functional difference between the 4300 step top and the regular 4300? I can't see it in the specs and the dealer can't articulate it. He wants about $400 more for the step top version. Is the 4300 a good choice to heat this house? Also, are the ash removal kit and variable speed blower good additions to this stove?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[nshif]

Same stove Im planning on for my new house. Its just a bit over 2000 Sq and fairly open floor plan. Have pretty much the same questions.

 

[suematteva]

Forum Member Earthharvester has the 4300 step top model you guys are talking about..I think he just installed this fall.

If not along shortly pm him.

good luck!

 

[ourhouse]

Hi welcome to the forum. The difference between the 4300 and the step top is there is a shroud bulit into it. Cold air comes in the back of the stove, flows over the top and comes out the front. With the blower option it moves the air through the shroud and blows it hot. I think the web site www.quadrafire.com shows the difference.

The stove is great. We've had it for about 2 mos. and it heats our house GREAT! We went with the Step Top option because it puts out more heat because of the shroud. It's the easiest woodstove I've ever used and is VERY efficient. My wife also likes how easy it is to use. We got it with the ash pan also. The pan is a little small but it still works okay.

 

[ourhouse]

MSG I think is a Quad dealer and can help also. We also got it with the blower, which works great!

 

[nshif]

Earth,
how large is your house? open floor plan?

 

[ourhouse]

It's about 1500sq the stove is in an unfinshed basement. We have a pertty open floor plan. The stove keeps the first floor around74-78 and up stairs about 68-72. I haven't realy opened the stove up to its max yet.

 

[5555555]

Thanks for the info Earth. My dealer wasn't really pushing the fan. I thought it would be a good idea. How much did you end up paying for your fan and ash removal system. Do you think the 4300 with Step top will be enough to hear 3000 sq. ft., burning pine? A friend told me that he thought the Quadra-fires over-rated the square feet heating capabilities. What do you think?

Thanks again!

Jim

 

[ourhouse]

You might want to look at the 5700. I like to over size stoves a little. I think a lot of guys on this site would agree. If its to hot you can open a window. The 4300 realy cranks out the heat. remember the heat is going to rise, so you'r bottom floor wont get any heat from the stove if you put it onthe 2nd floor. The 4300 might work because you can minus the bottom floor out of you'r 3000sq feet.

 

[ourhouse]

Let us know how you make out. Any other questions let us know. And take a lot of pictures.

 

[nshif]

Thanks for the info, sounds like it fits my house perfectly. looking forward to having it in.

 

[Roospike]

If heating 2600-3000 sf + i would go with the Quadra-fire 5700 STEP TOP but again as stated if going on the second floor of the 3 story home forget figuring the first floor and figure the second and third floors only.

And yes stove are over rated per real world figures and home designs. Every region is different as well as every home design so go larger.

If it was myself and 3000 sf i would get two wood stoves .... #1 for the second and third floor and a smaller on for the first floor
OR
Wood stove on the second floor and maybe a gas wood style stove on the first floor.

Heating 3000 sf with 1 unit is going to be tough if not almost impossible.

 

[Jay H]

I can't answer your question directly, but something of a parallel.. I have a 1100sf expanded ranch in northern NJ and I just installed a 3100 (non step top) model in my living room. No fans, no blowers, but I do a little "room management" by installing drapes on some of the doorways. Like right now, I'm not using the second floor (which consists of 2 small "cape cod" like bedrooms) and the dining room, galley kitchen is not really living space that I spend a lot of time in (I'm a bachelor!! ). So I find having a small fire in my wood stove, I mean like perhaps 4 logs on a 2-3 hour burn can heat my house by a good 10-20 degrees where my living room can go from say a 49deg ambient temp to the mid 60s in a few hours and my surrounding bedroom/hallway, bathroom can rise from say 10 degrees from ambient. Right now, my heat is off and I will make a small fire if it gets below 50. Being single, and an avid camper, I'm plenty happy if the temps are in the mid 50s, so obviously, if I had kids or perhaps a wife, it might be different. I know when I visit my parents who keep it at a blustery 76 or so, I am in Shorts and Short sleeves, it is damm toasty! But since I only have 2 cords and trying to see if I can heat my house this winter using only wood with gas hot water as a backup, I'm seeing how far 2 cords can go.

The 3100i is rated for 2200sf as per Quadrafire's website so I think if I was to make roaring fires, it would be appropriate for my size house if I wanted it to be in the mid 60s... Of course, as mentioned above, a fan/blower will be more efficient for your much larger house but you will be very toasty in the room that the stove is in for sure whether you have a fan or not. That is my experience anyway.

Jay

 

[5555555]

It sounds like maybe the 5700 Step Top is the way to go. The living room where the stove will be located is open all the way to the rafters (2-stories). It has ceiling fans to circulate and mix the air in that room. I was hoping to program the fan in the gas furnace to run periodically to mix air throughout the house and keep the temperatures somewhat uniform. The stairways between floors are wide and open and there is no way to seperate the levels. Is buying the bigger stove and using the furnace fan to circulate the air throughout the house a reasonable approach to heating the house and keeping the temperatures relatively uniform?

I appreciate all the help!

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Roospike]

It sounds like maybe the 5700 Step Top is the way to go. The living room where the stove will be located is open all the way to the rafters (2-stories). It has ceiling fans to circulate and mix the air in that room. I was hoping to program the fan in the gas furnace to run periodically to mix air throughout the house and keep the temperatures somewhat uniform. The stairways between floors are wide and open and there is no way to seperate the levels. Is buying the bigger stove and using the furnace fan to circulate the air throughout the house a reasonable approach to heating the house and keeping the temperatures relatively uniform?

I appreciate all the help!

Thanks,

Jim

#1 Keep in mind when buying a bigger stove you dont have to run the stove at high BTU all the time, You can run a med size stove and a larger stove to the point of putting off the same temp and BTUs of heat into the home. The big difference is with a bigger stove you have more room for ash and wood coal and still have a good amount of room to add more wood and also when the out side tepm drops real low the bigger stove is the one that is going to heat your house.

My stove is rated at 97,000 max BTU and is a 3.0 cf fire box ..... 70% of the time i do not need this size stove to heat my house but as i use my wood stove to heat our home 100% with wood the other 30% comes into play when it get real cold outside and at -18° i can still heat the whole 1800 sf house with no problem.

As most have found out using the house furnace fan / system does not work at all or even very well . You might be one of the lucky ones that has a house set up that can do it but more likely it will not work.
Best bet is ceiling fans to move heat around the home , you can also use box fans , stand fans , doorway fans but ceiling fans are the #1 way to move the bulk of the heat around.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Take 1/3 off any manufactures rating. Its hard to zone heat with a stove when you expect it to heat the entire house. Look at the realistic floor plan that it can heat, and make a decision from there. The step tops are better for blowers, other then that there the same. Im a celing fan guy, not a fan of fan's
I like the look of the step tops better with legs, but that personal preference.