Hi Everyone,
I own a small (900 square feet) cottage in midcoast Maine. When we are not there in the winter, I leave the heat on low (about 55 degrees), put insulating blankets on the windows and shut doors to rooms that do not have plumbing to keep warm.
Currently there are two sources of heat—a Rinnai wall heater and an ancient Empire wall heater. Both run on propane. The house is kind of long and narrow. The Rinnai is down one end near the kitchen, and the Empire is down the other end near the bathroom and one bedroom.
The Empire is beginning to fail, and I am looking to replace it. One advantage that it has over the Rinnai is that it has a standing pilot, and so does not need electricity to run. Power outages are somewhat common, especially during ice storms—exactly when I would need a good source of heat to keep the pipes from freezing. (By the way, I do have a freeze alarm that calls me when the temperature drops below 40 degrees).
I was looking at a Vermont Castings Intrepid, which of course would be more visually appealing than replacing the Empire with another wall heater. What do people think of this stove?
As a more general question, do you think that heat from a stove like this (with no blower) would be reach an adjacent bedroom (it's kind of around the corner, but no more than 15 feet away) when we are there in the winter and need heat in the house? The Empire has a blower and did fine in this regard.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I own a small (900 square feet) cottage in midcoast Maine. When we are not there in the winter, I leave the heat on low (about 55 degrees), put insulating blankets on the windows and shut doors to rooms that do not have plumbing to keep warm.
Currently there are two sources of heat—a Rinnai wall heater and an ancient Empire wall heater. Both run on propane. The house is kind of long and narrow. The Rinnai is down one end near the kitchen, and the Empire is down the other end near the bathroom and one bedroom.
The Empire is beginning to fail, and I am looking to replace it. One advantage that it has over the Rinnai is that it has a standing pilot, and so does not need electricity to run. Power outages are somewhat common, especially during ice storms—exactly when I would need a good source of heat to keep the pipes from freezing. (By the way, I do have a freeze alarm that calls me when the temperature drops below 40 degrees).
I was looking at a Vermont Castings Intrepid, which of course would be more visually appealing than replacing the Empire with another wall heater. What do people think of this stove?
As a more general question, do you think that heat from a stove like this (with no blower) would be reach an adjacent bedroom (it's kind of around the corner, but no more than 15 feet away) when we are there in the winter and need heat in the house? The Empire has a blower and did fine in this regard.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
