"Timberline" Monster stove

[Beetle-Kill]

Hi All,
I'm a new poster, but big fan. I have an old "Timberline" wood stove, in pretty decent shape. I was going to reposition it in my house, in place of one of those '70's pyramid looking stoves. Yup, just bought the place, and don't know anything about it's efficiency. I'm also considering just eliminating both, and going to a Quad 5700, PE Summit, or the like. I'm at 8200 ft. in Colorado, and intend to heat almost exclusivly with beetle-kill pine. And that means 24/7 from late Sept. to May or later. The house is about 2400 sq./ft tri-level, with the stove on the main level. Floorplan is nice and open, and insulation is not horrible, but will recieve more in the future. Windows suck, but I have so many of them, and they're so big I'll need to save for awhile to replace those. Any recommendations on "BIG" wood burners? I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks.

 

[BrotherBart]

Get that Quad or Summit either one on the way. It is gonna be cold in there pretty soon. Put potted plants on top of the other two.

 

[madrone]

put a MAGIC HEAT on it , burn it hot with plenty of overhead [secondary] air ,& monitor the chimni deposits

stop it, pook.

 

[Beetle-Kill]

Pook, just contacted "Harry Potter Flue Service". They have some questions regarding the "Magic Heat". What can you tell me?

 

[Beetle-Kill]

Pook, MH at northern tool, right? Didn't know if those things actually worked. Thanks.

 

[humpin iron]

not thanks, don't go near a MH

 

[Archie]

Beetle, I think these guys are bustin' your b*lls. Hang around, you'll get used to it. They mostly seem harmless.

 

[Beetle-Kill]

Archie- Thanks. This ain't my first rodeo. But seriously, pricewise the Quad and the P.E. are pretty closely matched locally- around $2100 +/-. The Englander nc30 looks good also, but I'm looking at Max. cap. What does everyone think about the "Blaze King-King"? It looks like a CAT-stove, so what are the bennies/drawbacks? I'm half tempted to put a few Quad Castilles in here and call it good.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Beetle, I think these guys are bustin' your b*lls. Hang around, you'll get used to it. They mostly seem harmless.

some are , some are just who they are. you figure it out quickly. BTW archie , nice avatar, good to have a fellow hokie in the house!

 

[begreen]

It will take a year to learn the house and it's shortcomings, so I wouldn't blow a giant wad on heaters right off the bat. Get a decent 3 cu ft stove and place it centrally and you will be off to a good start. Give MountainStoveGuy a PM or wait till he has a chance to add a voice. He's out of Boulder and has a fair amount of high altitude heating experience. And don't mind Pook. He'll put a MH on your toilet given half the chance and then tout it's methane burnoff capacity.

 

[Beetle-Kill]

Stoveguy2esw- Nail on the head with that one. Sooooo, talk to me about the NC30. Other chats on this site really seem to like it. I've not seen one up close, but performance is king. What are your thoughts?

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Archie- Thanks. This ain't my first rodeo. But seriously, pricewise the Quad and the P.E. are pretty closely matched locally- around $2100 +/-. The Englander nc30 looks good also, but I'm looking at Max. cap. What does everyone think about the "Blaze King-King"? It looks like a CAT-stove, so what are the bennies/drawbacks? I'm half tempted to put a few Quad Castilles in here and call it good.

I love the BKK.

Benefits - Huge fire box (4.3 CF which I think is the biggest on the market) - long burn times (BK claims 40 hours) - very affordable in the western half of the country ($2200 or so)

Draw backs - very plain looking (judgement call) - cat needs replacing from time to time - cat ads a bit of complexity and learning curve.

 

[Beetle-Kill]

BeGreen- You are so right, and thanks. And "Yes", Pook would know about Methane, or it's origins me'thinks.

 

[Beetle-Kill]

Bigg_Redd- Thanks for the input. What do you think about burning PINE , with the CAT-stove? I'm just now looking into the BKK, but the local dealer is alittle short on details. The wood I've burned to date gives me a 10 min. "sizzle" at start-up, and is still pretty sappy. Do you think the additional particulate matter will hasten the replacement of the CAT? Sorry if I sound anal, but asking these questions at work(construction estimator) is what I do. Appreciate your input.

 

[begreen]

In a cat stove the steam created by the moisture can create thermal stress and wreck the catalyst. Dry wood is required for optimal operation.

Regardless of stove, if the wood is not seasoned it will be a problem. Pine is not going to give off a ton of btus as compared to other wood. If it is not seasoned, it is going to put out a lot less heat and will regularly gunk up the chimney. Depending on the degree of wood moisture, this build up can be slow or quite rapid. We have had people clogging cap and the top of their flue in a couple weeks of winter burning.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Bigg_Redd- Thanks for the input. What do you think about burning PINE , with the CAT-stove? I'm just now looking into the BKK, but the local dealer is alittle short on details. The wood I've burned to date gives me a 10 min. "sizzle" at start-up, and is still pretty sappy. Do you think the additional particulate matter will hasten the replacement of the CAT? Sorry if I sound anal, but asking these questions at work(construction estimator) is what I do. Appreciate your input.

I think pine is fine. I've never heard that pine has more particulates but even so I can't imagine it hastening the cats demise. FWIW, BKs are made in Walla Walla WA which is smack in the middle of pine country.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

In a cat stove the steam created by the moisture can create thermal stress and wreck the catalyst. Dry wood is required for optimal operation.

Regardless of stove, if the wood is not seasoned it will be a problem. Pine is not going to give off a ton of btus as compared to other wood. If it is not seasoned, it is going to put out a lot less heat and will regularly gunk up the chimney. Depending on the degree of wood moisture, this build up can be slow or quite rapid. We have had people clogging cap and the top of their flue in a couple weeks of winter burning.

One nice thing about the BK cats (and presumably other cats too) is that you can burn wet or greenish wood and bypass the cat.

 

[begreen]

Bad idea Big Redd unless you have a permanent chimney sweep in the house. Burning green or wet wood is a bad plan. Bypassing the cat just means that you are spending most of your wood and time trying to keep the flue hot enough to not accumulate creosote. Why have an expensive stove and then defeat it's strongest feature?

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Bad idea Big Redd unless you have a permanent chimney sweep in the house. Burning green or wet wood is a bad plan. Bypassing the cat just means that you are spending most of your wood and time trying to keep the flue hot enough to not accumulate creosote. Why have an expensive stove and then defeat it's strongest feature?

Did I say it was a great idea?

While not best practice it IS an option that beats no fire at all.

 

[SteveKG]

Our home is 8500' in Colorado. Heated with wood. Our options for wood are ponderosa, lodgepole, and blue spruce [some aspen and cottonwood now and then]...that's what is here. When I was in a little mining shack for a decade, it had single-wall stove pipe, the really cheap black stuff. I had to clean the pipe out a couple times a winter, not creosote but ash which accreted to the walls of the pipe that stuck up from the roof and effectively reduced the inside diameter of the pipe. Our current home has insulated Metalbestos, and in 25 yr. I've checked it but never had to clean it out. I mention the mining place because it was two miles away so in the same environment, same wood, etc., same stove, just different stovepipe.

Our place is smaller than the OP's, about 1100 sq. ft., one room upstairs, open floor plan. We have a 300 sq. ft. greenhouse attached which makes hot air and fans blow that into the living space, helping with heat on sunny days. We burn about 2 cords a year, which includes the kitchen range, for heat and baking, the fireplace, for fun, and the other wood stove at the other end of the house for just heat. We also have a small wood-fired water heater, though it uses so little wood I don't count it in the totals. Our home does sit up on a sunny hillside, and on sunny days that cuts down our need to feed the stoves for several hours a day.

So you should be fine. It may take a heating season to learn your stoves and your house's and family's needs.

 

[Jags]

Big house, high alt, burning pine - go big. The big Quad or the BKK, Summit and NC30 are all good choices.

Knowing that NEXT years wood is going to be "optimal" (Riiiight??) Don't base your purchase on this years fuel. Yep, its not gonna be the optimum fuel for your stove requiring diligence in stove and stack maintenance and operation, but you will make it. Look at the long haul.

I also agree with BeGreen and suggest that you don't go crazy the first year. Get a season under your belt with a nice big stove, then see where you want to go with it.