QUADRAFIRE 5700 Step Top

[fisherman]

Can anyone help? I am looking to purchase a QuadraFire model 5700 Step Top wood stove.
I have a 1400 sf ranch home with a basement that is a mirror image of the top 1400 sf. I currently have a wood burning circulator in the basement and I want to hook a new stove in its place. Does anyone have a 5700 that they could tell me about. How you like it? Dislikes?

THANKS

 

[fisherman]

Any comments on this stove? Please let me know....
Flood me with comments on this stove if you can.... I am looking to buy one, but I would love to hear all about people who have it.....

Thanks so much

 

[nshif]

I have its little brother the 4300 and its a great stove. Heating 2000 Sq Ft with about half of that with 24' ceilings and it keeps up just fine. Can easily reload with a good coal bed after 10 hours, have pushed it to 11. The ACC works great and makes restarts a breeze. Great ash removel system and very well made.

 

[fisherman]

DO you think I will be over powered by the 5700? Its in a basement so I am thinking that the concrete floors and walls with take in some of the heat. I want to offset the upstairs with it. Do you think I can control the 5700 to make it work so that it will maintain an even temp in the entire house? Also with a double lined factory built chimney ( with the mineral fiber - powder) in between the 2 pipes....how hot does this entire pipe get? Should I be able to touch it or should it be hot ?

THANKS

 

[begreen]

Why put a big stove in an area where you know part of the wood burned is going to be wasted heating up the earth and outdoors? It's almost impossible to calculate this scenario. I don't understand why folks insist on using a brute force basement stove and then complain about poor upstairs heat and large wood consumption. This is like having a compact car with a 440 hemi engine in it, carrying around 600 lbs of sand in the trunk all the time, and then complaining about bad performance and gas mileage.

fisherman, sorry for the rant, but this seems to come up daily. how big is the house? how well insulated? what are all the options for installation?

 

[fisherman]

Very well insulated basement it is finished. The house has fiberglass insulation in all walls and all new replacement windows in the home.

With regard to options for insulation, I just need to get the heat upstairs which is not that hard. I was thinking about putting the forced hot air return vent over the top of the stove ceiling.

ABout the 5700 can't I use it damped down too...... according to others who have this stove and a few dealers, they say that this stove would work well..... I am so confused.

 

[begreen]

How big is the basement? Is it a large open space living that you frequently use? How large is the house?

Is the basement currently cut off (by doors) from the upstairs?

 

[fisherman]

I use it for my shop and pool table area. Also have the washer and dryer down there..... I would like to make it a rec room one day soon.

The upstairs of the home is a ranch home with 1400 SF of living space. The basement is a mirror image of the upstairs, so technically if we combine the spaces we have about 2800 sf. There is no outside bilco door. There is a staircase located at 1 end of the house near the kitchen and it is open and clear for the heat to enter there. The stove will be in the middle of the basement.
Does this help?

 

[begreen]

Yes, that helps with the original question. Thx, I didn't see the multiple threads. I'll keep responses to this one thread and merged them into one.

The stove is a good stove. It's a beast of a heater, so your concern is justified, especially in a well insulated space.

What is the current "wood circulator" being used? How well is it working (or not)?

 

[fisherman]

The wood circulator is not efficient at all... it burns wood fast and does not hold heat. I dont really like it. I just was wondering if the 5700 will blow me out or will I be able to control it so that the heat is comfortable. Is there a big heat difference between the 4300 and 5700? The dealers tell me it all depends on where in the USA I am located and where it will be installed. They say being in a basement I might need a larger stove like the 5700 so that it will compensate for the location. In your opinion, do you think the 5700 would be a bad choice or is the 4300 just as good. Price wise they are about 100 dollars difference.

THANKS

 

[begreen]

I suspect the dealer is correct. They are thinking about you being comfortable in the main living space. Your concern about too much heat is valid for the basement area. I suspect it will be too hot down there in order to make it comfortable upstairs. Ranches are often hard to get a good heat balance in. If you are ok with that, then go for it.

A big stove will work, but if it is loafing 70% of the time, it may be inefficient. Based on what you have said so far, what about an in between sized stove that has a 3 cu ft box instead? Have you looked at a PE Summit stove, Lopi Liberty or Avalon Olympic? Are you in far northern or southern NJ? If southern, you may be fine with the 4300.

Can you provide more information about the current setup? What's the main heating system? By wood circulator, what do you mean? Is this a wood furnace tied into the ductwork of the current forced air system? Or do you have a boiler? Can you post a picture of the current system?

 

[RonB]

I've got the Quad 5700 in my basement. It's a new install, and therefore hasn't been thru an entire season yet. So far I like it. My setup would be similar to yours-ranch, size, age, insulation etc. I heated my entire house from the basement with an older pre EPA large Vestal stove for 3-4 years and had no negative issues in doing it. With advice from those at this forum I selected the large 5700 to install in the Vestal's place. I will get around to posting pics of the old install and the new later this winter. You should be able to search on my name to look up older posts related to my questions and application. If you can't find them I will try to link you to them another time--it's getting late. Just so that you know, when you heat the entire house from the basement, the basement gets real warm. Too warm most of the time to enjoy. Upstairs (main floor) it's a little warm tonite at 75degrees. Downstairs it's about 82. Bedrooms just right at 68-70. Outside air is 31.

 

[RonB]

Fisherman, Here is one of the threads concerning the Quad 5700 that I spoke of, https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/6566/

Pay special attention to what Gunner had to say. That helped with my decision.

 

[Gooserider]

Very well insulated basement it is finished. The house has fiberglass insulation in all walls and all new replacement windows in the home.

With regard to options for insulation, I just need to get the heat upstairs which is not that hard. I was thinking about putting the forced hot air return vent over the top of the stove ceiling.

ABout the 5700 can't I use it damped down too...... according to others who have this stove and a few dealers, they say that this stove would work well..... I am so confused.

CODE VIOLATION WARNING Please note that it is a significant building code violation to have an HVAC return duct w/in ten feet of a wood stove

You also need to look at your air supplies and make sure that you have adequate makeup air for your stove in addition to that needed by the dryer and furnace.

In general, if you search the threads, you will find lots of people that have attempted to use their HVAC systems to circulate stove heat, and very few have succeeded. It generally doesn't work for several reasons.

Gooserider

 

[JayS66]

I purchased the Quad 5700 last winter. I replaced an old boilerplate stove from the 70s. I was hoping to cut down on my consumption of 8+ cords/per yr. to heat our 1200 sq. ft. ranch. I installed the stove in the basement (approx. 500 sq. ft.).
I put an addition that 'L's out the back (400 sq. ft.) A bilco door was installed and this is where I dump many loads of firewood throughout the winter.
Above the stove are 2 floor grates (6"x30") that allow the heat to rise into a large living area. A stairway and door allow return air back into the basement. I am able to maintain a 68-70 temp in the main area, however the basement is well above 80 and the bedrooms that are above the garage typically go down to 60. When the temps dip below 20, I need to feed the quad every few hours.
I think the ratings for 10 hour burns are somewhat overated.
Overall I very pleased with the stove. I am able to put up to 26" logs strategically placed.
My main reasons for the purchase were to conserve wood (I burned at least 6 cords last year [I think it was a few heating degrees warmer though])
Looks - Its great to be able to see the fire.
Size - It's one of the larger fireboxes on the market - I had about 10 cords of wood that is over 21" long (mixed in with wood of 18" or less)

Some drawbacks: the glass needs to be cleaned more than you feel like it. Once a week would do it.
The ash seems to pile up quick at an accelerated rate. As the ash bed forms it seems to prevent it from completely burning and thus creates even more ash. I think I need to clean out the ash more frequently (every few days) My old stove seemed to burn it down further.

I paid about 2000 and got the gold trim door (the stock guy gave me the wrong box) and black pedestal legs. I didn't need a blower. I would highly recommend this stove.
I hope this helps.

 

[Todd]

I purchased the Quad 5700 last winter. I replaced an old boilerplate stove from the 70s. I was hoping to cut down on my consumption of 8+ cords/per yr. to heat our 1200 sq. ft. ranch. I installed the stove in the basement (approx. 500 sq. ft.).
I put an addition that 'L's out the back (400 sq. ft.) A bilco door was installed and this is where I dump many loads of firewood throughout the winter.
Above the stove are 2 floor grates (6"x30") that allow the heat to rise into a large living area. A stairway and door allow return air back into the basement. I am able to maintain a 68-70 temp in the main area, however the basement is well above 80 and the bedrooms that are above the garage typically go down to 60. When the temps dip below 20, I need to feed the quad every few hours.
I think the ratings for 10 hour burns are somewhat overated.
Overall I very pleased with the stove. I am able to put up to 26" logs strategically placed.
My main reasons for the purchase were to conserve wood (I burned at least 6 cords last year [I think it was a few heating degrees warmer though])
Looks - Its great to be able to see the fire.
Size - It's one of the larger fireboxes on the market - I had about 10 cords of wood that is over 21" long (mixed in with wood of 18" or less)

Some drawbacks: the glass needs to be cleaned more than you feel like it. Once a week would do it.
The ash seems to pile up quick at an accelerated rate. As the ash bed forms it seems to prevent it from completely burning and thus creates even more ash. I think I need to clean out the ash more frequently (every few days) My old stove seemed to burn it down further.

I paid about 2000 and got the gold trim door (the stock guy gave me the wrong box) and black pedestal legs. I didn't need a blower. I would highly recommend this stove.
I hope this helps.

Have you tried using fans to help circulate? I put one inside my vent and it evens out the heat a little better.

 

[Mike Wilson]

Very well insulated basement it is finished. The house has fiberglass insulation in all walls and all new replacement windows in the home.

With regard to options for insulation, I just need to get the heat upstairs which is not that hard. I was thinking about putting the forced hot air return vent over the top of the stove ceiling.

ABout the 5700 can't I use it damped down too...... according to others who have this stove and a few dealers, they say that this stove would work well..... I am so confused.

CODE VIOLATION WARNING Please note that it is a significant building code violation to have an HVAC return duct w/in ten feet of a wood stove

You also need to look at your air supplies and make sure that you have adequate makeup air for your stove in addition to that needed by the dryer and furnace.

In general, if you search the threads, you will find lots of people that have attempted to use their HVAC systems to circulate stove heat, and very few have succeeded. It generally doesn't work for several reasons.

Gooserider

Wow... Code Violation in big red letters? For a moment I thought Elk was back.

Fisherman, check with YOUR local building department before doing this, to determine what regulations, if any, you must abide by.

-- Mike

 

[Jimbob]

DO you think I will be over powered by the 5700? Its in a basement so I am thinking that the concrete floors and walls with take in some of the heat. I want to offset the upstairs with it. Do you think I can control the 5700 to make it work so that it will maintain an even temp in the entire house? Also with a double lined factory built chimney ( with the mineral fiber - powder) in between the 2 pipes....how hot does this entire pipe get? Should I be able to touch it or should it be hot ?

THANKS

That is similar what I do with our stove. The concrete walls(insulated from OUTSIDE) soak up the extra heat and slowly releases it when the stove is out.

I have an inline fan and some ducting to bring heat upstairs to the opposite end of the house.

I don't have the same type of chimney as you do, but the father-in law does, and his chimney's exterior sometimes gets to about the same temp as a hot cup of coffee, I'd say ~ 140 F, usually just warm, though.

Here are some pics of my setup, which was approved by my insurance co. inspector.

 

[Jimbob]

You will probably want to do a neater job than I did, if you normally spend time down there.

 

[Jimbob]

This is the fan I used.
Soler & Palau PVP-8.
Check out the hilbilly fabric couplers...

 

[Jimbob]

And the ducting....

 

[Todd]

Jimbob, is that right over your stove? How long is the run of duct?

 

[Jimbob]

Jimbob, is that right over your stove? How long is the run of duct?

Yep, it is right over the stove.
The run of 8" duct is about 35 feet long, to bring heat into the living room, which is on the opposite end of the house. There is also a 5" duct branched off, to provide a bit of extra heat to the bathroom.

The inline fan moves less air than a furnace, which is probably why I was allowed to do it.

My setup has passed 2 seperate wood stove inspections....

 

[Todd]

Jimbob, is that right over your stove? How long is the run of duct?

Yep, it is right over the stove.
The run of 8" duct is about 35 feet long, to bring heat into the living room, which is on the opposite end of the house. There is also a 5" duct branched off, to provide a bit of extra heat to the bathroom.

The inline fan moves less air than a furnace, which is probably why I was allowed to do it.

My setup has passed 2 seperate wood stove inspections....

How does it work out? I've thought of doing something like that, but blowing cold air down to the stove.

 

[Jimbob]

It works very well.
Blowing the cold down to the stove would work too I imagine. The cool air drawn out of the rooms would be replaced by the warm air from the stove.