time for a change to something bigger

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clark77

clark77

Member
Jan 11, 2015
175
NJ
So I'm new to this forum and this is my first post. So I've been burning wood to supplement the oil heat in my 2500 sf home. I originally got an insert because I didn't think I was going to burn much but after seeing my oil bill lower a bunch after the first year, I began burning 24/7. Anyway the regency has been a good stove but once the outside temps get to 20 degrees F or lower, the stove can't keep up.
So I'm looking at getting a free standing stove to heat my house better. I would be putting it on from of my fireplace which has a opening of 46" wide by 32"tall. So I'm going to need a rear exiting flue and preferably a 6"flue so I can reuse my existing 6" stainless flexible liner.
So far I've come up with 2 stoves and I'm looking for some feedback on each. Both of which are new stoves but I'm sure you guys have some experience with them.
The two stoves are the Woodstock ideal steel hybrid and they other a hearthstone Manchester. I like the IS but some negatives about it is that I would have to change my hearth (or get a hearth pad) and I would have to wait a couple months for them to build. Also Woodstock is over 4 hours away from me.
The Manchester would be able to go on my existing hearth (blue stone) but I've seen some issues with the side door on the web.
Price wise they will be very equal due to me having to get a hearth pad and driving up to Vermont to get the IS.
So I'm just looking for some positive/negative feedback for each stove. Thanks guys.
 
Welcome. Hearthstone reports they have fixed the early Manchester side-door issue. It's too new a model for us to know how this is working out. There are several rear-vent stoves that may work. With a 32" tall fireplace some could fit partially in the fireplace itself. That might allow for a top vented stove too. Regardless, you will want a block-off plate in the damper area to not waste heat. If you get a stove that has an ember protection only hearth requirement then a simple pad should work. Other stoves to consider are the Jotul F55, Jotul F600 and Quadrafire Isle Royale.

PS: What model is your current Regency? Is this an exterior wall chimney and is there a block-off plate in the chimney? If not, you may not be seeing the full potential of the insert.
 
begreen said:
Welcome. Hearthstone reports they have fixed the early Manchester side-door issue. It's too new a model for us to know how this is working out. There are several rear-vent stoves that may work. With a 32" tall fireplace some could fit partially in the fireplace itself. That might allow for a top vented stove too. Regardless, you will want a block-off plate in the damper area to not waste heat. If you get a stove that has an ember protection only hearth requirement then a simple pad should work. Other stoves to consider are the Jotul F55, Jotul F600 and Quadrafire Isle Royale.

PS: What model is your current Regency? Is this an exterior wall chimney and is there a block-off plate in the chimney? If not, you may not be seeing the full potential of the insert.
Click to expand...


My regency is an i2400 and it's about 8 years old. Well actually this stove is only on its 3rd winter due to a warranty issue from the previous stove.
Block off plate. Not sure I know what that is. Inside the chimney (which is a 14"x 14" or so) is my 6"flex liner. The chimney is in the middle of the house so it stays warm. No other things are tied into this chimney. I have another fireplace (not used) on the opposite side of the house that shares with the boiler and that's on an exterior wall.
 
I've packed the area around the liner near the old chimney damper with insulation. Not much heat is escaping that's way.
 
Thanks for the block plate link.
 
In an interior chimney with block-off plate you can also put an insert in and expect a similar amount of heat that goes into the house compared with a stove. Any heat "trapped" in the fireplace cavity will warm up the fireplace bricks (?) that will slowly release them into the home. The principle will be similar to a masonry heater. You will just need a bit more patience or keep the stove running 24/7. That way you won't need to extend the hearth and give up more space for a stove. You may need a bigger insert, though, although the i2400 may perform quite a bit better with a proper block-off plate.
 
Well bigger inserts are more money than the two stoves I'm looking at.
I do burn 24/7 now and on average burn about 5 cords a year. I definitely work the regency out and that's another reason why I'm looking at a free standing stove.
The size room it's currently in is 19 x 15 with about a 5' door way opening into the hallway.
 
Wow, 5 cords through a 2400, you must be feeding that thing every 3-4 hours. You have already been given some good advice on stoves, but man if it was me I would punch a hole in that chimney up above the stove and install an 8" insulated liner and thimble then install a top vent stove like a BK king or Kuma Sequoia in front of the fireplace and block off the fireplace. You would be a much happier person.
 
You're going to get a bit more heat by going to a .7 cu ft larger stove and a bit more by going to a freestanding stove. Still, I'm wondering if this isn't also a house or stove location problem as well. That's a lot of wood. How large is the house? How well insulated? Does the stove room get very hot in comparison to other rooms?
 
clark77 said:
Well bigger inserts are more money than the two stoves I'm looking at.
I do burn 24/7 now and on average burn about 5 cords a year. I definitely work the regency out and that's another reason why I'm looking at a free standing stove.
The size room it's currently in is 19 x 15 with about a 5' door way opening into the hallway.
Click to expand...

That's certainly true. I just wanted to make sure you did not think a stove would give you a much better heat output than an insert. Especially after you were wondering if the size of your hearth would be enough for the new stove. Overall, stove and insert would give you a similar heat output. The insert would be slower in warming up the house but then also sustain that heat for longer due to the thermal mass of the fireplace.

Besides the stoves you mentioned you can also check out the Quadrafire Isle Royale and the Jotul F600 and F55. The F55 costs a bit more than $2000 and you may have a dealer relatively close.
 
mellow said:
Wow, 5 cords through a 2400, you must be feeding that thing every 3-4 hours. You have already been given some good advice on stoves, but man if it was me I would punch a hole in that chimney up above the stove and install an 8" insulated liner and thimble then install a top vent stove like a BK king or Kuma Sequoia in front of the fireplace and block off the fireplace. You would be a much happier person.
Click to expand...

For the Sequoia, would it not be much easier to install it as an insert then?
 
It's about 2500 sf for the main house and another 1000 for the apartment. We have a mother daughter. The apartment doesn't get any of the heat.
House was built in the 60 and in the last 5 years I replaced all the windows and reinstalled the attic. I'm sure the runs I haven't redone, have iffy wall insulation.
When temps are in the low or high 30's I fill once around 7 or so, then early afternoon and finally around 11 or so. I have good wood so I get 6-8 hrs of decent heat. I haven't had to restart a fire since late October. There's always hot coals in the am to restart. But when the temps get down, the stove is still putting out heat, just not enough so we fill more often.
I don't have a temp gauge in the room but it's prob in the mid 70's.
Just outside the room is 70 and upstairs mid to upper 60's. The bedrooms are cooler but there's no worries about that.
 
Ok, sounds like the heat is getting out of the room. Your plan sounds reasonable, go large, but understand that may require replacing the liner. The largest 6" flue stoves top out around 3.4 cu ft.
 
begreen said:
Ok, sounds like the heat is getting out of the room. Your plan sounds reasonable, go large, but understand that may require replacing the liner. The largest 6" flue stoves top out around 3.4 cu ft.
Click to expand...


That's why I was looking at the ideal steel and the Manchester. Both require 6" flue and exit both top and back.
Any feedback on these two stoves?
 
The Manchester looks like a new stove but I have only seen it on the showroom floor, not in action. Both stoves are new so we have no longer term use and reliability data. There is more feedback on the Ideal Steel which folks like a lot, but it is a more complex stove. The Jotul F55 should also be considered if the desire is to go with a simpler, front loading stove.
 
I'm open for options and the searching I came up with was these two stoves.
Looking for 3.0 c.f. stove with 6" rear exit flue to heat 2000-2500 sf and under $3000.
Front, side or top loading, I have no preference. Would like to have ash pan. Seems easier than the shoveling that I do now.
 
Everybody raves about the IS ash pan. Woodstock ash pans in general seem to get the thumbs up.
 
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Reactions: Tenn Dave
have you considers a wood fire furnace or boiler? much more even heat and thermostatically controlled
 
newyorker said:
have you considers a wood fire furnace or boiler? much more even heat and thermostatically controlled
Click to expand...

I have considered it but it's way to far out of my budget.
 
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