Super 27 vs. T-5

[EatenByLimestone]

Is it worth the extra cash to get the cast iron surround? I love the looks of the cast iron, but am extremely cheap. It looks like there are about 125lbs of cast iron attached to the outside. That should even out the heat a bit. For those with the Super 27, it looks like it has a large ash drawer. Is it big enough to be useful? With my Century I can clean out the stove 2x before the ash drawer fills up. With the Englander, it's a wasted feature. The pan is too small to hold any ash and probably too hot to store anything in.

The cabin it would be going into is small, but is very exposed. I've put 100btu/sq foot into it before and barely had the temperature go up when the wind was blowing. The T-4/Vista might be a better fit for the cabin, but I don't know how long the burns are. I have the Century in there now, but don't know how it fares in the winter as I didn't get up there to go ice fishing this year.

Matt

 

[begreen]

Will the cabin need to be brought up to temp quickly from ambient or just above freezing temps? If so I would get a faster heating stove. For that reason, if you are relying on the stove alone and trying to save money I would not get the Alderlea for here. Even the Super 27 may be overkill. Take a look at the PE True North TN19. It's under $900. It'll get the job done quicker, but still hold an overnight fire. Or get a ~2 cu ft unjacketed cast iron stove (it'll cost ya).

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I would be heating from the outside temp. The dilemma of the cabin is it doesn't require a lot of energy all the time, but sometimes it really needs some btus.

I like the price of the True North and more importantly it has just ember protection for the floor protection. I didn't even know the True North existed.

Thank you. I now have something to ponder and dream about this summer.

Matt

 

[Cynnergy]

The dealer I spoke to said the burn times for the Vista were 3-4 hours. That's a big difference from the Super 27, which he said was about 8 hours (and seems the norm from experience/reviews on here). We decided to go with a Super 27 for our cabin (on end of year sale) and we should have it next week. We wanted something a little bit nicer looking than the TN19 for the living room, and we're planning on being there a lot, so we spent a bit more for that. I'll be able to let you know next winter how it works out if you can wait that long .

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It might take that long before I get around to switching out the Century. How big is the cabin?

I can get 3-4 without problems from the Century. I suppose the Vista/T-4 would be a bit small then. I just love the look of the cast iron.

Matt

 

[rideau]

How big is the cabin? 100 BTUs per foot not making a dent is impressive. If you are talking a 500 square foot cabin, 50,000 BTUs an hour doesn't make a dent?

 

[raybonz]

The big and only difference between the Super 27 and the T5 would be the comfort level sitting hear the cast iron as it never gets above 250 degrees. The Super 27 looks nice for a steel stove and both will provide 10-12 hr. burns. I will be honest I have not experienced the Super 27 so maybe I am wrong about the side temps and hope a Super 27 user will give the side temperatures so the comfort level near the stove can be accessed better..

Ray

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Yeah, it is about 500sq ft. It's really exposed. I am out on a peninsula. I have 4 miles of lake in front of me and 1 mile behind. That 10F sunny but windy day I went up with the dog to go ice fishing and had a 20 something K btu kero heater (yuck), 2 electrics (15 amp each), and a 22K btu wall mounted propane. I was also heating water on the stove. But it really leaves an impression when that happens at 10 and you know it frequently gets down to -20 at night. My front room which is 12*16 was raising 2 degrees an hour. When the wind quit I was able to cut the heat back considerably. In the winter I don't even use the back rooms, but if the kid and wife ever want to go up I'll need to heat that too.

I'm the one with the row of white framed windows at the end of the beach.



Insulation would be my normal first option, but April '11 had this pic taken. I need to make sure the walls can dry when water comes up. Below is the highest it's been since '52 when it was built. It's been in the cabin probably 4 times in that time, but usually only an inch or two.



The water went up 16" inside. When I visited the next day my picnic table shown in the pic had floated down the lake.

Here's how I found the fridge:




Matt

 

[raybonz]

Beautiful location Matt! Bummer on the flooding waters!

Ray

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Thank you. I love it up there. When I was growing up we had a potbelly that my Grandfather had put in. Actually it was the 2nd that he put in. About 2004, when I moved back up to NY, I rebuilt it in an effort to seal all of the cracks and crevices between the castings. I found the top plate had been repaired by my Grandfather and was literally falling apart in my hands. I think it had been heated a bit too hot with coal a few too many times. I imagine the 1st one (which I heard was larger) suffered the same fate. When the cabin was in my Father's hands we put a propane heater in it because he didn't want to deal with the stove.. or I think more likely his insurance company didn't want to deal with it. I pulled the Century out of an old house and had it in storage. The cabin seemed like a good place for it, but at 22K btu it really doesn't cover the needs.

Matt

 

[raybonz]

Thank you. I love it up there. When I was growing up we had a potbelly that my Grandfather had put in. Actually it was the 2nd that he put in. About 2004, when I moved back up to NY, I rebuilt it in an effort to seal all of the cracks and crevices between the castings. I found the top plate had been repaired by my Grandfather and was literally falling apart in my hands. I think it had been heated a bit too hot with coal a few too many times. I imagine the 1st one (which I heard was larger) suffered the same fate. When the cabin was in my Father's hands we put a propane heater in it because he didn't want to deal with the stove.. or I think more likely his insurance company didn't want to deal with it. I pulled the Century out of an old house and had it in storage. The cabin seemed like a good place for it, but at 22K btu it really doesn't cover the needs.

Matt

I agree it gets cold there plus all the wind etc.. Matt you would probably be happier and more comfortable with the cast iron sides or a soapstone stove but feel it could take a while to get the cabin warm compared to a steel stove with or without cast iron..

Ray

 

[rideau]

What a beautiful spot, but I'm cold just looking at it! A bit like putting a cabin on the end if my dock . Must be brutal on cold windy days, especially before the lake freezes. Do you have good curtains over the windows? Honeycomb blinds combined with insulated curtain, and insulation behind and plugs and lightswitches, can make an amazing difference.

I have a PH, and frequently heat my home from 42 degrees in the winter (leave often, and leave electric heat on really low in the bathrooms only. My stove room is full of glass (the entire home is) and is 46 x 16 feet, so bigger than your cabin. I have a Woodstock Progress Hybrid soapstone stove. It has a large glass front window, and an angled fireback that throws a tremendous amount of heat into the room. My home heats from 42 to 56 in the first hour I am there, then increases a good 6 degrees an hour until it reaches about 70, then heats more slowly. And it is open to a home that is a total of over 3500 square feet. I feel pretty confident it would heat your cabin well and quickly. The soapstone heat is incredibly comfortable: feels like the sun is shining on you. I can guarantee that, in a cabin that size, if you sit in front of the stove fifteen minutes after it is lit, you are going to be warm.

On a positive note, at 700 pounds it won't float if you flood! Though it would get pretty darn wet. The legs are 10 inches high, so you'd need a real flood to get into the firebox. If you have room, might be an idea to build a raised hearth for your stove. A six inch raised hearth would take a stove with 10 inch legs to a pretty safe height.
These are both high end expensive stoves. The PH is on sale now, a really good sale, and is $2800. It usually retails for $3600. I imagine the Cape Cod is right up there. Don't know if you want to spend that much heating an occasional use cottage. But it would work. And, if you occasionally lose power out there (looks like you might), you can cook and heat water on the PH, which is nice. May well be able to on the Cape Cod as well, I don't know. PH has a full, three burner cast iron cooktop under the soapstone top.

 

[begreen]

If you are looking at cast iron consider the Jotul Castine, Hearthstone Shelburne, Hampton H300 and maybe the Morso 2110. But with some of those stoves you may be getting up in the night to refill. Given the water level, also consider a bolted down raised hearth.

 

[Cynnergy]

My cabin is 900 sq ft (600 down, 300 up) but we're right on the water on the west coast, so 10F is pretty darn chilly for here.

I'll let you know how we get on next fall. I stood next to a burning Spectrum (Super 27 firebox with fancy porcelain) at the dealer, and I was amazed by how little heat it gave out on the sides. The heat in front of the glass was toasty though.

I've definitely oversized the stove for our climate and cabin size, but hopefully that will help get the cabin up to temp quickly and it should burn overnight.

I second the idea of the raised hearth for you - yikes that fridge pic is crazy!

 

[begreen]

I would consider getting the blower option to accelerate convection if trying to bring the cabin up to temp with just the stove. Or get a radiant stove and wall shield it to keep clearances reasonable.

 

[raybonz]

My cabin is 900 sq ft (600 down, 300 up) but we're right on the water on the west coast, so 10F is pretty darn chilly for here.

I'll let you know how we get on next fall. I stood next to a burning Spectrum (Super 27 firebox with fancy porcelain) at the dealer, and I was amazed by how little heat it gave out on the sides. The heat in front of the glass was toasty though.

I've definitely oversized the stove for our climate and cabin size, but hopefully that will help get the cabin up to temp quickly and it should burn overnight.

I second the idea of the raised hearth for you - yikes that fridge pic is crazy!

The sides, top and back are convective this is why this type of stove is comfortable to sit near.. Radiant heat on the other hand would make you feel hot as they heat objects. WS owners report the radiant heat from their stoves is not as intense. I remember sitting 15' away from my Dad's smokedragon radiant steel stove and feeling like I would catch on fire and hated that thing.. Been a fan of convection stoves ever since.. Thanks dad for showing me what NOT to heat with!

Ray

 

[begreen]

Radiant heat is nice when trying to bring an entire room or cabin up from a cold temp. It takes awhile to warm up not only the air, but also the mass of the room including furniture, cabinetry, walls, etc.. Radiant heat can help warm up the room faster in this case.