Stove shopping. Using an increaser..

[Kindleling]

First post here. Sorry for the ramble so much is on my mind. I am shopping for a new efficient freestanding stove for my 1800 sf home. I have been using a late 80s Sweet Home stove since house built in 1989. Stove has 8" collar and have an 8" flue. (Single wall on Main floor, double wall thru 2nd loftish floor and another approx 6' outside to cap - all straight from top of stove ). I am giving much thought to a Lopi Endeavor, Liberty or BK Princess. Drawn to the Hearthstone Mansfield but gotta get around my husband who thinks soapstone is a gimmick. I am also worried about having to replace soapstone down the road and coming home from being gone to an ice cold house and having to wait hours before I feel the warmth (am I exagerating?) So I went to the stove shop and realized several of these stoves I like have 6" collars. Are these stoves engineered to work best with 6" flues? I understand you shouldn't use a decreaser, say going from an 8" collar to 6" pipe but any downsides to increasing? Is it funky looking? Not much showing of installs on Google images.

 

[bholler]

First post here. Sorry for the ramble so much is on my mind. I am shopping for a new efficient freestanding stove for my 1800 sf home. I have been using a late 80s Sweet Home stove since house built in 1989. Stove has 8" collar and have an 8" flue. (Single wall on Main floor, double wall thru 2nd loftish floor and another approx 6' outside to cap - all straight from top of stove ). I am giving much thought to a Lopi Endeavor, Liberty or BK Princess. Drawn to the Hearthstone Mansfield but gotta get around my husband who thinks soapstone is a gimmick. I am also worried about having to replace soapstone down the road and coming home from being gone to an ice cold house and having to wait hours before I feel the warmth (am I exagerating?) So I went to the stove shop and realized several of these stoves I like have 6" collars. Are these stoves engineered to work best with 6" flues? I understand you shouldn't use a decreaser, say going from an 8" collar to 6" pipe but any downsides to increasing? Is it funky looking? Not much showing of installs on Google images.

Honestly your chimney is almost 35 years old it most likely needs replaced as well

 

[Kindleling]

Honestly your chimney is almost 35 years old it most likely needs replaced as well

I replaced the flue a year ago. There isn't really anything wrong with the stove and wouldn't be suprised if it lasted a few more decades. I think the house has gotten draftier over time and want a stove that pumps out a little more heat. Unfortunately, there are no online specs online showing what size house the sweethome stove Grand fir model mh-20) was rated for.

 

[bholler]

I replaced the flue a year ago.

Ok

 

[begreen]

IIRC the Grand Fir 20 had a medium-sized firebox of about 2 cu ft. I think it had a baffle, but no secondary combustion system. Does that sound about right? If so, the Endeavor would be a very good choice for a replacement. It should put out more heat burning less wood.

 

[Kindleling]

IIRC the Grand Fir 20 had a medium-sized firebox of about 2 cu ft. I think it had a baffle, but no secondary combustion system. Does that sound about right? If so, the Endeavor would be a very good choice for a replacement. It should put out more heat burning less wood.

I replaced the flue a year ago. There isn't really anything wrong with the stove and wouldn't be suprised if it lasted a few more decades. I think the house has gotten draftier over time and want a stove that pumps out a little more heat. Unfortunately, there are no online specs online showing what size house the sweethome stove Grand fir model mh-20) was rated for.

Probably need some guidance on doing the math here. I measured n/s wall as 22" ( to back wall not brick and e/w wall above brick as 20" and 14" ht from bottom brick to baffle. Online calculator shows 3.5 sf. It seems fairly large to me compared to the newr more efficient systems with secondary systems.

View attachment 311732

 

[EatenByLimestone]

If I had an 8" flue I'd look for a stove made to work on an 8" flue.

 

[Nevins MHP]

The downside to using an increaser is the smoke cools and reduces the draft. If you have extra draft, that may not be much of an issue, but it will hurt your efficiency a tiny bit. I'd recommend looking at putting a 6" line in your current chimney if there is a system designed to work with your existing chimney. If you want a long burn time and a lot of heat, you should look at the Buck Model 91. It still uses an 8" collar. It's efficient enough to qualify for the Federal income tax credit. It uses a secondary burn and a catalyst. Catalysts have come a long way from where they were twenty years ago, so don't automatically discard the idea. The major advantage is the longer burn time possible with Catalytic combustors.

 

[begreen]

Probably need some guidance on doing the math here. I measured n/s wall as 22" ( to back wall not brick and e/w wall above brick as 20" and 14" ht from bottom brick to baffle. Online calculator shows 3.5 sf. It seems fairly large to me compared to the newr more efficient systems with secondary systems.

View attachment 311732

View attachment 311733

The measurement should be at the firebox floor from side brick to side brick, and front lip to the rear brick.

 

[Kindleling]

The downside to using an increaser is the smoke cools and reduces the draft. If you have extra draft, that may not be much of an issue, but it will hurt your efficiency a tiny bit. I'd recommend looking at putting a 6" line in your current chimney if there is a system designed to work with your existing chimney. If you want a long burn time and a lot of heat, you should look at the Buck Model 91. It still uses an 8" collar. It's efficient enoh to qualify for the Federal income tax credit. It uses a secondary burn and a catalyst. Catalysts have come a long way from where they were twenty years ago, so don't automatically discard the idea. The major advantage is the longer burn time possible with Catalytic combustors.

Thanks for your reply. I do have a tube connecting to the outside but uninterested in reducing draft or efficiency so am increasingly leaning more towards just finding a stove with 8" collar for my 8" pipe. I did a quick look at the Buck you mentioned and will read about it more but I think if I were going with that big of a stove footprint, I'd get a BK King. I wasn't too interested in getting a stove that big because I am limited by size of brick pad it sits on. It is made out of 1870s brick from an old livery/feed store so want to leave as is for aesthetics. Not much room as is for setting wood for the day.

 

[bholler]

Thanks for your reply. I do have a tube connecting to the outside but uninterested in reducing draft or efficiency so am increasingly leaning more towards just finding a stove with 8" collar for my 8" pipe. I did a quick look at the Buck you mentioned and will read about it more but I think if I were going with that big of a stove footprint, I'd get a BK King. I wasn't too interested in getting a stove that big because I am limited by size of brick pad it sits on. It is made out of 1870s brick from an old livery/feed store so want to leave as is for aesthetics. Not much room as is for setting wood for the day.

The buck 91, the bk king, and the regency 5200 are the only 8" stoves on the market now I can think of. And all are really big

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Doesn’t JA Roby have one too?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Doesn’t JA Roby have one too?

Just checked and their Ultimate is only 6”.

 

[Kindleling]

The buck the king and the regency 5200 are the only 8" stoves on the market now I can think of. And all are really big

Hearthstone has the green mountain 80 which looks nicer than the BK and I would see more flames than the smoldering burn of the king. Though also big, I have another contender.

 

[bholler]

Hearthstone has the green mountain 80 which looks nicer than the BK and I would see more flames than the smoldering burn of the king. Though also big, I have another contender.

Yes I forgot about that one. But you do know that the bk only smoulders when turned way down and the other 8" stoves are also cat stoves that can be smouldered as well right?

 

[Kindleling]

Bholler, Thanks for that. Just reading threads. Thought since it is a hybrid it isn't quite as smudgie friend has a bk-k and the long burn times are amazing. I am lucky if I have some coals in the morning.

 

[bholler]

Bholler, Thanks for that. Just reading threads. Thought since it is a hybrid it isn't quite as smudgie friend has a bk-k and the long burn times are amazing. I am lucky if I have some coals in the morning.

Any large stove will easily go overnight. You don't have to go up to the really big ones for that or even a cat stove

 

[Kindleling]

Now husband is dissuading me (putting it mildly) from cast iron. Perhaps unfounded. He thinks they havent got any better over 100 years. I told him I would study it out. That really narrows the field and will probably need to consider he increaser again. I will reach out to the companies with the stoves I like for their take on increasing the pipe.

 

[bholler]

Now husband is dissuading me (putting it mildly) from cast iron. Perhaps unfounded. He thinks they havent got any better over 100 years. I told him I would study it out. That really narrows the field and will probably need to consider he increaser again. I will reach out to the companies with the stoves I like for their take on increasing the pipe.

It really doesn't narrow the field much. And is completely untrue

 

[begreen]

Now husband is dissuading me (putting it mildly) from cast iron. Perhaps unfounded. He thinks they havent got any better over 100 years. I told him I would study it out. That really narrows the field and will probably need to consider he increaser again. I will reach out to the companies with the stoves I like for their take on increasing the pipe.

Cast iron clad stoves are an option. The cast iron is a cladding, like a cabinet around the steel stove body. The cast iron jacket provides good looks and a heat sink that makes them very comfortable heaters. There are cast iron clad stoves in the 3 cu ft range made by Jotul, Blaze King, and Pacific Energy.

 

[Kindleling]

Cast iron clad stoves are an option. The cast iron is a cladding, like a cabinet around the steel stove body. The cast iron jacket provides good looks and a heat sink that makes them very comfortable heaters. There are cast iron clad stoves in the 3 cu ft range made by Jotul, Blaze King, and Pacific Energy.

Thanks for the info. I do like the Alderlea but the flue outlet is 6". Right now at the top of my list is the gm80.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the info. I do like the Alderlea but the flue outlet is 6". Right now at the top of my list is the gm80.

That is not a big issue. All of the stoves mentioned at the beginning of this thread have a 6" flue outlet. I don't anticipate draft being a big issue with a 2 story flue system. If anything, the draft might be a bit strong and needing a flue damper. It's ok to connect using the increaser.

 

[BKVP]

You could also purchase 6" double wall and find an adapter to take you from 6" dbl wall to the 8" ceiling support box. That means you can look a host of additional models.

BKVP

 

[Kindleling]

You could also purchase 6" double wall and find an adapter to take you from 6" dbl wall to the 8" ceiling support box. That means you can look a host of additional models.

BKVP

Yeah, I am considering that. Still unclear how that may or may not affect the draft.

 

[bholler]

Yeah, I am considering that. Still unclear how that may or may not affect the draft.

Some setups won't be effected much at all others will have performance issues