My brother is looking for a stove or fireplace for a house he is designing. The layout will be a 2300 sq ft story half 1000 sq ft open loft upstairs. The living room ceiling will be 18" the rest of the house will be 10' ceiling. The stove or fireplace will be located close to the middle of the house. Originally he was looking at a Supreme Duet but I have him looking at Blaze King ultra and a Regencey F5200. He is wanting an alcove installation if a free standing stove. The main source of heat is an outside boiler but the stove would be used in the shoulder season and to cut back on fuel consumption by the boiler it also heats a 5000 sqft out building. Any other stove or fireplace recommendations?
Stove Recommendations
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Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
A stove should easily be able to heat that space, especially with good weatherization in new construction. Probably need a ceiling fan, blowing up, centered in the peak of the high living room ceiling to move heat down from the loft area.
The big Regency might be overkill in a well-insulated and sealed house, depending on the climate. I would probably lean toward a non-cat stove but a lot of the new stoves sold now will be cats, or at least hybrids. I got my SIL a 2019 PE Alderlea T5 and the initial reports on the 2020s are good. It's a simple yet effective stove with low maintenance costs. Easy to brush the chimney, with its removable baffle. That size might be enough to handle that open, well-insulated space..
The big Regency might be overkill in a well-insulated and sealed house, depending on the climate. I would probably lean toward a non-cat stove but a lot of the new stoves sold now will be cats, or at least hybrids. I got my SIL a 2019 PE Alderlea T5 and the initial reports on the 2020s are good. It's a simple yet effective stove with low maintenance costs. Easy to brush the chimney, with its removable baffle. That size might be enough to handle that open, well-insulated space..
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I mentioned Alderlea T5 to him he is going to look at it. The blaze king is appealing because it can be dampened back for the shoulder season and the long burn times. His wife his home most days but he would like to be able to load it in the morning and burn most of the day so she won't have to reload.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
Does he keep the outside boiler heating the outbuilding all the time in the winter? I guess it has zones so he can maintain both house and outbuilding at the desired temps? What climate are we talking about?
My SIL's house has a similar vaulted ceiling, but only maybe 1500 sq.ft. It is 2x4 construction though, so heat retention isn't great. It was a mild winter here in southern IN, but she was able to burn a short load, five or so medium splits, and house temp was still mid 60s eight hrs. later. The cast iron jacket stores some heat, and a coal bed in the stove seems to throw decent heat for quite a while.
It's not too hard to add a couple of splits and stretch out the burn, if you think she could handle that. With a small amount of added wood, you don't really need to know what you're doing that much.
That said, no question that a cat stove with a bigger box will burn all day, set on low. I'm not sure how low the hybrids like Regency can be burned. But that might not be required if they just need the stove in shoulder season.
I'm also wondering about the install. I see the Duet is a two-sided firebox, but then you mentioned an alcove. The T5 blower is quiet, that would be a consideration for me, as it may be needed in an alcove setup. I'm not sure though..maybe a jacketed stove like PE wouldn't require the blower all the time?
My SIL's house has a similar vaulted ceiling, but only maybe 1500 sq.ft. It is 2x4 construction though, so heat retention isn't great. It was a mild winter here in southern IN, but she was able to burn a short load, five or so medium splits, and house temp was still mid 60s eight hrs. later. The cast iron jacket stores some heat, and a coal bed in the stove seems to throw decent heat for quite a while.
It's not too hard to add a couple of splits and stretch out the burn, if you think she could handle that. With a small amount of added wood, you don't really need to know what you're doing that much.
That said, no question that a cat stove with a bigger box will burn all day, set on low. I'm not sure how low the hybrids like Regency can be burned. But that might not be required if they just need the stove in shoulder season.
I'm also wondering about the install. I see the Duet is a two-sided firebox, but then you mentioned an alcove. The T5 blower is quiet, that would be a consideration for me, as it may be needed in an alcove setup. I'm not sure though..maybe a jacketed stove like PE wouldn't require the blower all the time?
He does burn the boiler all the time in the winter and some in the shoulder season. Th boiler is currently heating a 3800 sq ft shop and does consume a lot of wood. He is a little worried about heating a 5000 sq ft shop and 2300 sq ft house together. Would the T6 be too big?
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
begreen burns smaller loads in his T6 when not as much heat is required. Stove sizing will depend on the heat load. We know the house will be pretty tight, but where is it located, North Dakota, Arkansas? Heating requirements vary quite a bit across the US.
Check out enerzone. I have a 3.4 model and it easily heats my 3400 sqft house. Located in the basement. We leave the door open to the basement and the heat just rolls up the stairs. Huge firebox. I can load the thing up at 9:00 pm and still have a good bed coal at 5:30 am to throw full log on it and it fires right up. Has a nice secondary burn too
I have told them that with the ceiling but i think that is non negotiable the house will also have either propane or electric furnace.
I actually have a tall very high in my hearth room have of a cathedral lol. My Napoleon 1401 does very well in there pretty well heat the first floor but isn't overly hot in that room now the living room with a 9' ceiling and Lopi freedom is another story.
Nice territory for sure. Plenty of wood to cut. Guessing the amount of zero F. days per year is minimal. Something to also keep in mind. This isn't the far north by a stretch.
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