Quadrafire 3100 or 4300?

[jmg-in-alaska]

First time poster. Great site you have here.

My home has a bit less than 1200 square foot downstairs which basically makes up our living area. The bedrooms are down a hallway in the back. I am planning on putting in a quadrafire stove in the next few months and can't decide between the 3100 and 4300. The local dealer says they rate the 3100 as a 1200-1500 sf home (brochure I think says up to 2200 sf), which the 4300 is rated to 1800 sf by the dealer (2500 sf in the brochure).

We also have an upstairs area that I think will be easy to send heat to, but it is basically a play/computer area and is regularly cold in the winter anyways. So heating upstairs is not as important as downstairs where we really live/sleep. It is about 450 sf.

My concern with the 3100 is that it might be too small to put enough heat out to get to the back bedrooms, although it is quite possible it won't. My concern with the 4300 is that it could get the living room/kitchen area (where the stove will be located) too hot, and cook us out of there. Because I have kids, I'd also like the stove to take up as little space as possible, and so the 3100 obviously fits better with that.

Thoughts? Thanks so much in advance.

Jason
Anchorage, Alaska

 

[Jerry_NJ]

I'm more familiar with the 3100-I, the fireplace insert, but I think his and the stove use the same firebox. That said, I think the 3100-I is big enough for 2000 sf on two floors. Quad says too, it is good for up to 2000 sf.

The biggest reason for not buying larger than you need, other than more cost, is it may be hard/impossible to hold the heat output down to an acceptable level.

My vote, buy the 3100 and spend the savings on toys or firewood.

 

[Redox]

Woah!, dude is from Alaska. Is it possible to have too big a stove in Alaska? We're doing about 2600 sf with a 4300, but we live in Maryland. It doesn't get below zero down here.

In addition to the climate and house construction, you have to consider what your goal is. If you are trying to just cut down on oil and gas, get the smaller one. If you are trying to completely replace oil, get the larger one. Sometimes I wish I had gotten the 5100 just for the longer burn time, so that's a consideration, too. Also consider whether you will be burning primarily hard or softwood. If softwood, go larger on the stove.

Chris

 

[burntime]

I vote the other way, you can always burn a smaller fire with the bigger unit and really stoke it up when it gets good n cold. Bigger is the way to go... You can also open a window worst case scenerio to cool down, can't open a window to heat up though

 

[savageactor7]

jmg...bigger is better. We have a QF4300 but wished we had gotten the bigger one.

 

[yukiginger]

You say you have 1200 sf downstairs, which suggests you do have an upstairs. Perhaps your home is very well insulated, but I would actually be inclined to be looking even bigger than the large stove in your choices. I have the 4100 insert, which has the same size firebox as the 4300 stove, and I wish it was larger to better heat my 2600 sf house in western NY state.

MarkG

 

[Jay H]

I have a freestanding 3100 and a small ranch in NJ at about 1100sf. I have the most minimum of fires and it heats my small area pretty well, but it doesn't even get below 0F here, the coldest I've ever seen is mostly in the single digits (not counting wind chill) but like others have said, bigger is better and I would go with the larger unit for your house.. Think bigger house, colder climate, the bigger wood stove is best. You can always have smaller fires in a larger stove, you can't do the converse. I can probably get about 5 hours of 400deg Flue temp fire stoked to the max with the 3100. By morning in a typical overnight situation, it's down to embers but restarted easily unless I wake up in the middle of the night to restoke.

Jay

 

[jmg-in-alaska]

Thanks for all the responses. In response to Honor Society - I think it is possible to have too big a stove here in Alaska. I am in Anchorage which is fairly mild compared to places up north more. We don't burn heating oil - we're all natural gas for now. I will be burning softer woods though - cottonwood and paper birch (hopefully mostly birch as the BTU's tend to be more). Cost is not much of a concern - after all, we regularly pay $300/month for heat, so the stove would pay itself off pretty quick.

My biggest concern is that the stove will take up too much space. I have 2 little kids and would like it tucked back in the corner as much as possible. The 3100 is not only smaller, but has shorter clearance requirements as well. This will be in the living room, so I'd like it to take up as little space as possible.

Yukinger - yeah, I have an upstairs. As I said in my first post, it is about 450 sf and is mostly a game room/computer room. It is usually cold in the winter anyways, so not too many worries on that. Total sf is about 1600 ish. Our home is not super well insulated, but I started replacing windows last year and am going to be replacing the rest of the windows this summer and working on the insulation issues as well to tighten it up.

Fire Honor Society - it does not get below 0 degrees much here either in Anchorage. Occasionally for sure, but not often. We are right on the water, so that helps. It probably stays colder for longer here than NJ though. We can expect it to be in the single digits to teens and low twenties from about October through March. But below 0 is not too often.

I went and saw the dealer on Tuesday. He said I would do fine with either stove. I have the installer coming on Monday, so I'll chat with him about clearances, etc. and see how far out this thing is going to end up with each stove. Either way, I'll be getting the fan on the back of it to help with circulation. Thanks for all the great responses.

My next question will involve safety gates around the stove.

 

[Jfk4th]

My buddy has a 3100 and about 1300 sq ft house.

2 years ago I told him to buy the 5100 and he could always load less if he got too warm or crack a window. He did not listen to me and obviously bought the 3100. Now he is kicking himself and wants the 5100. He did not realize I am a wood stove nut and his ego got in the way. Now he is picking my brain every time he sees me, asking about burn times, prices, firebox size, etc, etc. The 3100 was exactly what I told him it would be, too small of a firebox and not enough burn time. I laughed and said told you so many times when he told me he was getting up all hours of the night because the temps were too low in his house. Maybe a perfectly insulated house he would have no problems, but his like most was not perfectly insulated.

The nice thing about the larger stoves is most importantly the larger firebox O(of course more BTU's). I have 2 of the biggest stoves in my house which is 2100 sq ft. Why, because the freedom of loading it up, charring the wood, and then shutting it down for a nice long burn, all while not burning me out of my house with too hot of temps. Plus the ability to cut large splits and still have plenty of room in the firebox to load it the way you want. True I have more heat than I need, but when it is cold I still walk around in shorts and a t-shirt. The power goes out, no worries, I am good for days, weeks....My wife can load smaller splits if she wants and not get frustrated or more importantly knock out an air tube, having plenty of room..

The 5100 is a nice stove, north/south loader will plenty of room to stuff wood in it. Plus the gold trim and extra 2 little windows on the sides is very classy

The 4300 is probably good enough but take a look again at the firebox, in my book, bigger is always better! Do you only want a Quad? Many other nice companies like Avalon or Pacific Energy

 

[BrotherBart]

I saw a 4300 step-top yesterday in a stove store for the first time. One hellu'va nice wood stove. Built like a Sherman tank. Goofy firebox configuration with that slope in the front of it but a nice stove and good workmanship. I can't see it being too much stove for you. $1,999 with a gold door this one was. If I didn't have the 30-NC already I would have been tempted. The thing should last forever with the quarter inch firebox and 5/16" top plates.

Run that stove right and I think you will love it.

 

[Redox]

I saw a 4300 step-top yesterday in a stove store for the first time. One hellu'va nice wood stove. Built like a Sherman tank. Goofy firebox configuration with that slope in the front of it but a nice stove and good workmanship. I can't see it being too much stove for you. $1,999 with a gold door this one was. If I didn't have the 30-NC already I would have been tempted. The thing should last forever with the quarter inch firebox and 5/16" top plates.

Run that stove right and I think you will love it.

That goofy slope makes it incredibly easy to shovel out the ashes! $2K price is a good deal. I paid $2350 total two years ago with nickel trim and black cast legs, $250 for the blower kit (a little pricey but important IMHO) and an OAK. That and a new Selkirk chimney ($1000) and it should pay off in another couple years. Watching those secondaries doing their thing = priceless!

We have never had anybody burn themselves on a stove, unless they were trying to be lazy and not open the door all the way when reloading The kids and pets can just tell it's too hot to go near. Ours is in a corner and out of the path of traffic. I'd hate to have to deal with a screen.

Chris

 

[jmg-in-alaska]

I saw a 4300 step-top yesterday in a stove store for the first time. One hellu'va nice wood stove. Built like a Sherman tank. Goofy firebox configuration with that slope in the front of it but a nice stove and good workmanship. I can't see it being too much stove for you. $1,999 with a gold door this one was. If I didn't have the 30-NC already I would have been tempted. The thing should last forever with the quarter inch firebox and 5/16" top plates.

Run that stove right and I think you will love it.

That goofy slope makes it incredibly easy to shovel out the ashes! $2K price is a good deal. I paid $2350 total two years ago with nickel trim and black cast legs, $250 for the blower kit (a little pricey but important IMHO) and an OAK. That and a new Selkirk chimney ($1000) and it should pay off in another couple years. Watching those secondaries doing their thing = priceless!

We have never had anybody burn themselves on a stove, unless they were trying to be lazy and not open the door all the way when reloading The kids and pets can just tell it's too hot to go near. Ours is in a corner and out of the path of traffic. I'd hate to have to deal with a screen.

Chris

Thanks Chris. Here is another question - the step top stoves - is it really worth the extra money to get the step top to have the ash tray?

As for burning, I have a 3 year old and a 7 week old. I am sure your situation with the kids works, but there is no way my wife is allowing a burning box in the living room without a fence/gate/something around it.

 

[Redox]

I thought the ash tray looked like a PITA to have to get the ashes down that little hole in the center of the firebox. The ash pan was an option when I bought ours, but I see it is included now. The deciding factor was the legs instead of the pedestal. The bottom lip of the firebox is angled (beveled) to let you get a shovel right into the front and get almost all the ashes in one scoop. Since it burns front to back, this works out very well. I'm not sure this was an intended feature, but it is a nice plus. I also picked the step top because it seemed to offer a little more heat exchange surface for the fire. I think the difference shows up in the efficiency numbers, IIRC.

Admittedly, we've been lucky with our kids, but even neighbors and relative's kids can tell that thing is too hot to touch when they get near it. We used to throw something big in front of it if there was a particularly young child in the house, but normally they would have to get around the dog first to get to the stove. Two lessons in one here: don't mess with the burning box and let sleeping dogs lay. ;-) I used to worry about the cats getting wound up and doing a bank shot off the stove, but it hasn't happened yet. Since the sides and back are shielded, you really only have to worry about the top and front. Maybe someone has a suggestion for some kind of cage to go around it. If it's low enough, you can do simple reloads without moving it around.

Not trying to sway you here (or maybe I am!), but the difference in actual installed dimensions including clearances is only about 2 inches in depth. Not a huge difference if you are concerned about safety.

Good luck in your selection. I think both are good choices. Just go split some wood NOW to be ready for winter!

Chris

 

[Jfk4th]

I saw a 4300 step-top yesterday in a stove store for the first time. One hellu'va nice wood stove. Built like a Sherman tank. Goofy firebox configuration with that slope in the front of it but a nice stove and good workmanship. I can't see it being too much stove for you. $1,999 with a gold door this one was. If I didn't have the 30-NC already I would have been tempted. The thing should last forever with the quarter inch firebox and 5/16" top plates.

Run that stove right and I think you will love it.

That goofy slope makes it incredibly easy to shovel out the ashes! $2K price is a good deal. I paid $2350 total two years ago with nickel trim and black cast legs, $250 for the blower kit (a little pricey but important IMHO) and an OAK. That and a new Selkirk chimney ($1000) and it should pay off in another couple years. Watching those secondaries doing their thing = priceless!

We have never had anybody burn themselves on a stove, unless they were trying to be lazy and not open the door all the way when reloading The kids and pets can just tell it's too hot to go near. Ours is in a corner and out of the path of traffic. I'd hate to have to deal with a screen.

Chris

Thanks Chris. Here is another question - the step top stoves - is it really worth the extra money to get the step top to have the ash tray?

As for burning, I have a 3 year old and a 7 week old. I am sure your situation with the kids works, but there is no way my wife is allowing a burning box in the living room without a fence/gate/something around it.

I have this hearth gate,

http://www.digitalgiftstore.com/g70.html

worth every penny. The nice is also is a "door" that you can open and snap shut behind you when loading up the stove. This is a great price for 139, I paid about 50 dollars more last year. You can also buy extensions if you need more length. My little guys looks at the stove as says "Hot" but I know he really does not know what that means yet. No worries, the gate is good for the kids and does not look too shabby around my Avalon freestanding.