Summit,Isle Royale,fireview...not sure

[asmith1]

Hey fellow wood burners.

I'm new to the forum and I have been readig it the last few nights researching stoves for our next house. We sold our old late 70's 1600squ' split level and will be moving into a 1600squ' squareish ranch here in northern central ny(it was 0 last night). The new house is on top of a north west exposure hill (wind chill!). Biggest windows and patio door to the northside of he house. Open floor plan, cathedrals in 16x20 living room and master bed, force hot air heat. R-38 in the cieling

We had a '77 VC vigilant(5yrs), then '04 Avalon Olympic(2yrs) in our old house. Olympic was great for the most part, got to wear a t-shirt all winter and didn't have to get up to fill the stove.

Okay, I have been looking at the PE summit more and more because of the EBT. I was interesting in knowing if this makes the stove more controlable in warmer weather as well as longer run times. I liked that feature on my VC. I also like the look of it the best. Love the long burn times. I was also looking at the Isle Royal as it is on sale locally.

Because this is going in the living room I am also looking at the Fireview maybe to reduce the sauna affect when it is above 30deg out. The spring and fall was tough with the Olympic but great with -20 wind chill.

I know it is always the same problem long burn time vs warmer temp usage and smaller house. My concern with the Fireview is if it wiil be warm enough burning mixed hardwood in pretty cold weather and strong wind with such a small fire box. If I load at 6am and get home at 4pm will there be real coals left and will it put out usable heat on low burn. I dont want to run the furnace. The Olympic would get really hot for a couple hours with very liitle or no primary air. Secondary sounded like a jet engine and then hot coals for ~4-5hrs. Wish I had EBT thermostat on more than a few occasions.

Anyway will the fireview keep up in the cold and will the summit drive me out into the cold. I cant decide. Just lookig for suggestions.

Thanks

 

[Todd]

Go with the Fireview. It will keep up easily with your 1600 sq ft, and won't roast you out on those spring/fall days. Cat stoves work great for when you need those long slow burns. And yes, you will have good coals after 10-12 hrs burning good dry hardwood.

 

[jpl1nh]

All three are well regarded stoves, but of the three, the Fireview consistently has the best reviews. While the firebox is smaller, the cat system and the soapstone construction make this a extremely long heating stove. Absolutely cpable of heating your space. However, it's most effective if you are a 24/7 burner. Literally, I lit my Woodstock stove at the end of October and its still the same fire keeping me toasty today.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Okay, I have been looking at the PE summit more and more because of the EBT. I was interesting in knowing if this makes the stove more controlable in warmer weather as well as longer run times. I liked that feature on my VC. I also like the look of it the best. Love the long burn times. I was also looking at the Isle Royal as it is on sale locally.

Because this is going in the living room I am also looking at the Fireview maybe to reduce the sauna affect when it is above 30deg out. The spring and fall was tough with the Olympic but great with -20 wind chill.

I know it is always the same problem long burn time vs warmer temp usage and smaller house. My concern with the Fireview is if it wiil be warm enough burning mixed hardwood in pretty cold weather and strong wind with such a small fire box. If I load at 6am and get home at 4pm will there be real coals left and will it put out usable heat on low burn. I dont want to run the furnace. The Olympic would get really hot for a couple hours with very liitle or no primary air. Secondary sounded like a jet engine and then hot coals for ~4-5hrs. Wish I had EBT thermostat on more than a few occasions.

Anyway will the fireview keep up in the cold and will the summit drive me out into the cold. I cant decide. Just lookig for suggestions.

Thanks

Welcome to the forum!

Keeping a Fireview controllable is no problem. We simply burn smaller fires and they still last a long time. With temperatures in the 30's or 40's we usually have a small fire in the mornings and then not again until late afternoon....and never have a problem because there are plenty of coals.

As for reducing the sauna effect, definitely. We didn't really believe all we heard about the heat feeling different with the soapstone stove...until we bought ours last year (installed in August so this is our first year with it). It definitely does feel different, and if this stove is to be in the living room you would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful stove.

Will it keep you warm? Naturally nobody can tell you with 100% certainty because so many factors are there. We live in mid-Michigan and although this has not been our coldest winter on record, we have had some pretty raw air. Seems our coldest was one day with the temperature in single digits with 25-35 mph winds gusting to 45-50. The wind died some during the night with it being 20 mph gusting to 30-35. Needless to say, it was cold.

That day as every day during the winter, on top I wear only a light t-shirt when in the house. I was very comfortable. We've had several days like that and never has it been a problem. Also, our previous stove was a big Ashley and during those type days and nights we had to keep that thing stocked up constantly and the far rooms were always cold. I have no idea why because we've done nothing additional for insulation but this winter our far rooms have always been warm. Naturally a little cooler than the living room where the stove is but we certainly don't freeze when showering and have no problem keeping warm in the far bedroom.

If you stock that thing at 6:00 and home at 4:00, you will come home to a warm house and you will have a large bank of hot coals to begin your next burn.

btw, if you've read any of my past posts you will see that I am still amazed after stocking the stove for night, that if I get up during the night, maybe 3-4 hours later, I usually can not see any flame and it is difficult to even see hot coals. Yet the cat. is glowing red (you can see it by looking up through the front glass) and the stove top temperature is around 550 degrees. It simply is amazing.


Now here is the real kicker: We are burning only about 50-60% the amount of wood we did with the Ashley and staying warmer! I'll have a better handle on that at the end of the heating season (mid-May here). We burn mostly white ash, elm and soft maple.

Good luck to you.

 

[Hogwildz]

Keep in mind................
your location & weather, wind etc.
Others agree & disagree, but when in doubt, go larger. You can always burn fewer splits. If you go too small, on the harshest days, a packed smaller stove will not be able to take or heat any more than it already is. And if that is not enough, your screwed., and ending up buying a larger stove anyway. Figure the manufacturers "claimed" heat output at best is in reality 1/2 what they are claiming.

 

[derbygreg]

All three are top notch.

Comparing the Fireview, Summit and Isle Royale, the first thing I notice is log size

Fireview = 16 inch logs
Summit = 20 inch logs
Isle Royale = 22 inch logs

Fireview firebox is 14.5 x 13 x 20” (however big that is)
Summit does not list firebox size. (I can't find it on their website) pacificenergy.net
Isle Royale Firebox Capacity: 3.0 cubic feet

They are with out a doubt all three great stoves. The reason I chose the Isle Royale was the log size and availability.

 

[crazy_dan]

The summit is also 3 cubic feet
The fire view is about 2.2 cubic feet

 

[asmith1]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'm def. a 24/7 burner and I hate to use a match (or propane torch..its just quicker in the morn. before work).

What are you Fireview guys using for stove pipe? I have always used single wall to get a little extra quick heat. I'll be going straight up into a SS class a in the ceiling. I'll prob. be putting a non comb. wall behing it if I go with the fireview. Wont need any extra heat with a bigger stove.

The summit has great clearencess and and is cheaper to buy, deliver, install and set up. $2,035 inc. delivery to the spot is tough to pass up. So is the last Englander 30 at home depot for 800 bucks. I put one in my sister and brother in lawsplace a few years back. Really made me question spending 2200 on my olympic in my old house. The Eng30 runs great.

I am kind if leaning towards the Firview at this time. The more I research modern cats the more I like them.

 

[[email protected]]

I have a Quadrafire Isle Royale and a Vermont Castings Winter Warm Small Insert. I love both stoves but the catalytic Winter Warm is definitely much more efficient. If you are going for primary heat, I recommend a catalytic stove. It will save wood - in my case - close to a cord per year. I live in Minnesota and use these as my primary heat.

 

[Jags]

My guess is that from Feb of 2008 till now, he has probably made his stove choice. ;-P