Suggestions needed for replacement: N-S load, freestanding, modern, 6" flue over 2.4 cu ft.

[OHutton]

Hey all,

I purchased my dad's old house which has an old wood stove from 1994. The stove is fine, but I'd love something a bit more modern, efficient, and where the glass doesn't blacken up instantly. I used to have an Osburn Matrix insert at my old place which was great. I considered going that route again, but I'd love something with a deeper firebox. Over the last 9 years of burning wood, I've figured out (mostly) what I like.

Here are my list of wants/needs:
1. I burn 99% of the time N-S. I just like it that way. I don't like having to cut to 14" to fit it though—like I did with my old Matrix. I'd love to find something which can accommodate something up to 18" so if I ever have to break down and buy my wood, I can burn in the orientation that I like.
2. I actually don't have a strong opinion on cat vs non-cat. Shocking I know. I see the merits of each.
3. I like stoves that are simpler and modern but not too edgy and weird. The green mountain 60 is probably my favorite as I feel like it blends the style of the modern and the traditional pretty well. That firebox is small though and I don't want to pay to get an 8" flue upgrade so I can get the Green Mountain 80.
4. Looking for something at least as big as the 2.4 cuft Matrix. The house is 3400 sqft but I'm in Northern CA and it doesn't get too cold here. I also don't heat primarily with wood either. At our old leaky 2100 sq ft 1930s house we burned 2 cords a year and that's what I expect to roughly use here with a larger 1990s built house.
5. Want a blower, but probably don't NEED one with a freestanding unit.
6. Prefer something on legs vs a pedestal.

Some opinions on particular stoves that I'm familiar with.
Osburn Matrix - Liked it. Ran one for 9 years. Heated well. Would consider another if I can't find something better. Fan was noisy though. Would love a bigger firebox than the 2.4 cu ft.
Green Mountain - LOVE the look. Perfect blend of modern and traditional. Simple design. The cast iron is beautifully done. 80 is the right size, but the 8" flue is too large. 60 is too small at 2.0 cu ft and would leave me wanting more, I'm sure.
Jotul F55 V2 Carabasset - This one is a contender. Bigger firebox at 2.95 but it's a bit more traditional looking than I like.
Blaze King Boxer/Chinook 30.2: Not really into the design of these as much, but the Chinook isn't too bad. I also know they're really great stoves. The Sirocco with legs isn't bad and has a bit of that Green Mountain look but not nearly as elegant. Man, I really want a Green Mountian 80, but the cost of a flue replacement would be steep, I'd imagine.

Am I missing anything with my search?

 

[marty319]

Have you checked out the osburn 3300?

 

[mojoliveshere]

Pacific Energy might work. Either the Neo 2.5 LE (more modern) or the Alderlea T6 LE (more classic).

 

[neverstop]

Pretty confident the green mountain stoves load e/w

 

[OHutton]

Have you checked out the osburn 3300?

You know, I overlooked that one, but it fits the bill pretty well with that straight leg kit. Nice big firebox and the price is reasonable. Thanks!

 

[OHutton]

Pretty confident the green mountain stoves load e/w

I'll look into that. The door is certainly in the front and the firebox is wider than it is deep. I'd probably still load N-S though as the Osburn had the same firebox orientation.

 

[OHutton]

Pacific Energy might work. Either the Neo 2.5 LE (more modern) or the Alderlea T6 LE (more classic).

I checked out the Neo briefly but I think I prefer the look of the Matrix which is a touch simpler in design. I'll look again at it though. The Alderlea is nice but really expensive.

 

[neverstop]

I'll look into that. The door is certainly in the front and the firebox is wider than it is deep. I'd probably still load N-S though as the Osburn had the same firebox orientation.

the logs would need to be cut to ~12" lengths in order to be able to load the Gm60 N/S. I have the shelburne which shares the same firebox. 14" may fit but they would lay on top of the doghouse and be right up against the glass if not touching it. You also couldn't load the portions of the firebox that are outside of the opening to the door.

 

[OHutton]

the logs would need to be cut to ~12" lengths in order to be able to load the Gm60 N/S. I have the shelburne which shares the same firebox. 14" may fit but they would lay on top of the doghouse and be right up against the glass if not touching it. You also couldn't load the portions of the firebox that are outside of the opening to the door.

Oh yikes. Yeah 12" is too short. That would be annoying and my stacks would be falling all over the place.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

How about a PE Summit with legs?

 

[begreen]

There are many choices. The PE Summit, Jotul F45 or F55, Lopi Liberty, Quadrafire 5700, Ironstrike Country S310, Drolet Legend and HT3000, are all worth checking out.

 

[marty319]

So what did you get?

 

[bikedennis]

In Chico I would go with the BK. It's not that cold and theBK can be turned way down for long slow burns and not over heat.

 

[BKVP]

OP, all stoves that can run on low burn rates will have some build up on the glass, ours are no exception (depending upon model).

You can avoid glass deposit accumulations by just burning at a little higher burn rate. This applies to most stoves on the market today.

When comparing units, those with relatively "higher" low burn rates (Btu's) means that in their design and certification testing the amount of air permitted to enter the firebox when completely shut down to low influences (in most stoves) the amount of air that will wash across the loading door glass. Conversely, when you see models in the industry with "lower" low burn rates (Btu's), there is typically less air going across the glass.

Firebox depth (this is actual depth) varies by model. For example a stove that has a 9" deep fire box, (you can look down towards the brick and see how deep they are), fuel is typically further from the glass therefore so are the temperatures that influence how clean the glass remains.

All the models you are reviewing are great stoves....choose the one you like and get plenty of wood cut/split/stacked/stored and you should be good in the years to come.

BKVP

 

[Todd]

OP, all stoves that can run on low burn rates will have some build up on the glass, ours are no exception (depending upon model).
BKVP

Not mine!😎

 

[BKVP]

Not mine!😎

What stove/model are you burning?

 

[Todd]

What stove/model are you burning?

Jotul F45. It doesn’t burn as low as a BK but I haven’t really had the need to wipe the glass at all this season and I burn the lowest setting probably 90% of the time. Previous Woodstocks were pretty good too except for an eventual white haze I got over time.

 

[stoveliker]

That's what bkvp said, if you're burning really low, there won't be enough air flow to keep the window clean.

Your low is 2.4 cu ft per 10 hrs. I.e. 0.24 cu ft per hr.
For a BK 30 box that's 2.9 cu ft for 30 hrs, i.e. less than 0.09 cu ft per hr. At least 2.5 times lower output...

 

[BKVP]

Low isn't the same for all stoves.

 

[Todd]

Right, you can’t group all stoves will have dirty glass at low burn rates. The worst I’ve seen is my old Princess where I had to scape the black off with a razor blade but if you want or need a 30 hour burn you learn to live with it.

 

[begreen]

The idea of burning wood at 55-60º outside is not appealing to me. Instead, I put in a high-efficiency heat pump system 17 yrs ago. I much prefer heating with electrons in mild weather than trying to milk 24 hrs out of a stove, especially on a sunny day when the sun will be warming the house by 10 am. Ultra-long burn times are more of a marketing point. When heat is really needed, the long burn time drops down considerably.

 

[stoveliker]

I disagree. This depends on the sizing of the stove vs the need for heat (and how it changes with outside temps and sun) of a home.
You can't generalize like that.

(Of course "when heat is really needed" is a vague remark, but I agree in mid-winter I am running at 12 hrs or so. Only at 5 F polar vortex cases do I run at 8-10 hrs)

I (do!) use 30 hr burns when it's 40 F outside... It's not a marketing point. It is of actual use.

Others use it in a different manner, to provide a base-heat load, and have another (electrons or fossil) system modulate on top. Meaning one still can reduce the cost of that other heating mode.

The notion that the long burn is only useful at 55-60 F is, frankly, wrong in most cases.

 

[begreen]

It really depends on the heat loss of the house. If a house only needs 10K BTUs/hr when it is 40º outside, then it is either small or quite well insulated. I too burn when it's 40º-45º outside. That is our 12 hr burn cycle time. I suspect that a cat stove would be approximately equivalent, again due to the heat loss of this old house. However, on a day like today when it is 45º at 6 am, but sunny and going up to 65º by 1 pm or so, I don't want to start a fire just to open the windows later on due to too much heat. Do you use the heat pump the same way? Maybe not. For us, heating with electrons is cheaper and much cleaner, especially in milder weather.

 

[stoveliker]

I switch from heat pump to stove when it's colder than 40 F for 24 hrs or more (forecast). (This year I had more wood than normal, and I shifted that to 45 F.)
So at 45 F in the morning, don't burn. I particularly note the "for 24 hrs or more" - if it's 30 on a morning but 48 forecast high, I just use the heat pump. It still has a COP of 2.67 at 17 F, after all.

The electrons for my heatpump are "free" (solar panels make enough to cover the use of the heat pump, either to heat or to cool in summer, of course I paid for the panels first).

My home is 1700 sqft plus an additional 825 sqft in the basement where the stove sits. I have one South facing bay window that I put in next to the dining table (I hated having no windows to the South - made the main floor a bit of a cave in winter).

My attic insulation is fantastic (at air sealed and R57 done by me), my windows are fantastic (triple pane brand new). My walls are conventional 2x4 from 1978. I don't think the insulation was renewed in there since that time.

 

[BKVP]

Right, you can’t group all stoves will have dirty glass at low burn rates. The worst I’ve seen is my old Princess where I had to scape the black off with a razor blade but if you want or need a 30 hour burn you learn to live with it.

Let me try to clarify my point, which I've not done well.

When we test wood stoves we establish the low burn rate using the lowest possible air control setting. And forgive me if the F45 you have is different than the F45V2. Here is there certification numbers including low Btu's.

Then we have the certification number for the PE32. Here are the certification numbers including the low Btu's. You can clearly see that "low" on the PE is about 6,000 fewer Btu's. If you increase the kg/h burn rate of the PE32, by default you increase the amount of air coming into the stove. That in turn increases the amount of air washing across the glass, keeping it cleaner.

The point I was trying to make is the "low" burn is not the same. It's not a big deal so long as readers can see that there is a difference.

BKVP