TL300, Isle Royale, or Other?

[djlarson77]

I like what you're saying about being right next to it (without overheating I assume) and having exceptional burn control.

This is what I was thinking by suggesting a convective heater. We heat 2000 sq ft with one, but it doesn't overheat the area the stove is in.

I'm a little confused on this. I guess I haven't been comparing convective vs radiant heat while comparing stoves, but maybe I should be. Do you have anything in particular in mind? Or are there certain qualities that make a stove more convective than radiant? It seems to me that the cat technology is what allows a lower temperature burn while still achieving the secondary burn within the catalytic converter. Are there any non cat stoves that can achieve secondary combustion at lower temps?

 

[Jags]

My 1.5 cents (devaluation you know) - Don't confine an Isle Royale. These things are built to heat. It ain't no soft heat soapstone, and it ain't no double walled heater either. It is a thick skinned cast iron, no nonsense heater. It is a very controllable stove, but it is 3.0 cu ft of stove. It heats, and it ain't prissy about it. If you confine it without the ability to distribute that heat your room will cook and you will be storing your undies in the freezer.

 

[begreen]

I like what you're saying about being right next to it (without overheating I assume) and having exceptional burn control.

This is what I was thinking by suggesting a convective heater. We heat 2000 sq ft with one, but it doesn't overheat the area the stove is in.

I'm a little confused on this. I guess I haven't been comparing convective vs radiant heat while comparing stoves, but maybe I should be. Do you have anything in particular in mind? Or are there certain qualities that make a stove more convective than radiant? It seems to me that the cat technology is what allows a lower temperature burn while still achieving the secondary burn within the catalytic converter. Are there any non cat stoves that can achieve secondary combustion at lower temps?

It would be good to read up a bit on the differences between stove types, their heating type, loading type and the clean emissions technology. Although stoves may look similar on the outside, there are often significant differences in design.
Some good articles can be found at:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewannounce/13750_2/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/choosing_a_wood_stove/
http://www.woodheat.org/technology/woodstoves.htm

Convective stoves usually have an outer jacket that reduces the radiant heat from the sides and back. Heat is convected naturally or with a fan. The front of the stove still radiates. Examples in a 3 cu ft stove would be the Napoleon 1900, Pacific Energy Summit or Alderlea T6. We have the T6 which is a steel stove with a full cast iron jacket that acts like a big heat sink, softening the heat and releasing it gradually after the fire has died down. Soapstone stoves also have this quality and I would consider the Hearthstone Mansfield for similar reasons. The mass of the stove emits a gentler heat than a solid body cast iron or steel stove. The Woodstock Fireview is a hybrid, soapstone/catalytic combustion stove that has a very loyal following here. It provides long burn times, good shoulder season burning, and a softer heat of the soapstone. The Fireview is a bit smaller in capacity but one I would definitely consider for this application. Woodstock is coming out with a larger version at some point in the future, but we have few details at this point.

All the above mentioned stoves work with a 6" flue. One spot to compare models is at: http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/fswood.htm. Woodstock's website is at: http://www.woodstove.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=62

 

[djlarson77]

If you confine it without the ability to distribute that heat your room will cook and you will be storing your undies in the freezer.

would you suggest spraying them down with water before putting in the freezer? :ahhh:


Thanks for all the helpful tips and links BG. It's quite a process to find the right wood stove, especially for somebody who over thinks things anyway. Just when I think I found the stove I want, there's a reason it probably won't work well for my situation. The Blaze King Princess would probably do the job well even though the confrontational dealer said there's no way I'll fully heat my home with a Princess in the cold MN winters - he proceeded to spew this garbage from his mouth without knowing anything about my house other than the square footage. He said I would need a BK King for sure! Jack*ss. anyway, the Princess was shot down by the boss because she thinks it's ugly and would like a more showy fire and accessory screen. I'm with her for the most part since that was one of our wants from the beginning, but the more I learn, the more I'm leaning towards functionality. We'll get there eventually.

 

[begreen]

Yeah, ultimately the boss will decide. Show her the Fireview, Mansfield and the Alderlea T6 to see if they pass her filter. FWIW, my wife at first thought the Alderlea was too big, but after running it a season, she loves it. It is about as simple to run and low maintenance as a stove gets.

PS: Although lots of folks think that an accessory screen would be nice, I would guess more than 90% use them once or twice and then never again. I would not put this on the priority list.

 

[SolarAndWood]

He said I would need a BK King for sure!

The heat output between the Princess and the King isn't that different both in BKs literature and the anecdotal evidence you will read here. The difference is the King has a 50% larger firebox. So, all other things being equal, you get a 50% longer burn. Or, you can burn a full load of softwood and get the same burn time/heat as 2/3 of a load of a decent hardwood. I run 24 hour burn cycles the majority of the season and 12 hour burn cycles when its cold/blowing out with everything from eastern white pine to locust depending on how much heat we need.

As far as the ugly thing goes, you probably won't get any compliments about the appearance, just the warmth.

 

[Jags]

PS: Although lots of folks think that an accessory screen would be nice, I would guess more than 90% use them once or twice and then never again. I would not put this on the priority list.

I'm with BG. I bought the screen for my IR and returned it without ever using it. With the big windows in the new stoves you will get a pretty darn good light show as it is.

 

[grommal]

PS: Although lots of folks think that an accessory screen would be nice, I would guess more than 90% use them once or twice and then never again. I would not put this on the priority list.

I'm with BG. I bought the screen for my IR and returned it without ever using it. With the big windows in the new stoves you will get a pretty darn good light show as it is.

+1. Bought a screen with the old VC in 1986. Used it once. Didn't even think about a screen for the new Oslo.

But, that screen at least comes in handy for screening potting soil.

 

[summit]

PS: Although lots of folks think that an accessory screen would be nice, I would guess more than 90% use them once or twice and then never again. I would not put this on the priority list.

I'm with BG. I bought the screen for my IR and returned it without ever using it. With the big windows in the new stoves you will get a pretty darn good light show as it is.

+1. Bought a screen with the old VC in 1986. Used it once. Didn't even think about a screen for the new Oslo.

But, that screen at least comes in handy for screening potting soil.

at @ 100 for a screen, very expensive soil sifter!

 

[firefighterjake]

We dealt w/ the Royale when it was produced under the original Dovre name: nice stove, easy to use.... The TL300 is way more stove, and of more solid construction (IMHO) and I think setup better for continuous burning over a season. The small amount of etra learning curve you will encounter to use it is far outweighed by it's superior burntimes and more durable construction... However if you wait till July, Jotul has a nice new top loader coming out then, retailing @2k

I'm quite eager to see this new Jotul . . . not that I'm ready to part with my beloved Oslo though.

 

[firefighterjake]

The princess is no priss. Although, I don't think there is any downside to the King other than the cost of the 8" pipe. Ours sits in the middle of the living space, 3 ft from the couch and 3 ft from where I sit at the dining room table. Big firebox with exceptional burn control. Long burns with junk wood in the shoulder season and will keep up no matter how cold your winter even if you get stuck late at work. The downside of the BK is appearance and lack of a show through the glass. An easy 8 month burn more than makes up for it.

Well as for downsides there is the look of those gawd-awful looking monstrosities . . . on the flip side . . . much like the Woodstock stove line I keep finding myself looking at the BK website as the owner reports of the great heat and phenomenally long burn times is rather appealing . . . just not enough to make me jump ship though.

 

[firefighterjake]

The princess is no priss. Although, I don't think there is any downside to the King other than the cost of the 8" pipe. Ours sits in the middle of the living space, 3 ft from the couch and 3 ft from where I sit at the dining room table. Big firebox with exceptional burn control. Long burns with junk wood in the shoulder season and will keep up no matter how cold your winter even if you get stuck late at work. The downside of the BK is appearance and lack of a show through the glass. An easy 8 month burn more than makes up for it.

8" pipe is a deal breaker for me, takes too much space out of an already small bedroom above. It seems to me like the Princess would be big enough anyway, especially if I get some air movement going with the furnace fan. I like what you're saying about being right next to it (without overheating I assume) and having exceptional burn control. I read some reviews and watched a couple of videos - I'm impressed. We were sort of hoping to buy an accessory screen with whatever stove to enjoy like a fireplace from time to time, but maybe that's a worthwhile compromise to get the other features I've been looking for.

What do you mean by shoulder season and 8 month burn?

A few random thoughts here . . .

I suspect you will find that using the furnace fan to move heated air may be a wash . . . or may not work out very well . . . at least based on the reports of many other members here. Perhaps a better idea to move the heated air would be through the use of fans placed on the floor blowing cool air towards the heated air . . . most folks report pretty good luck in ciruclating the heated air in this manner.

Too hot . . . many folks talk about being too hot in the room with the stove . . . I firmly believe that a lot of this is due to what you load, how much you load and how often you load the stove . . . I've got a big, ol' cast iron Oslo . . . and I rarely find myself driven out of the room by the heat . . . you do need to learn how your stove operates though and know what type of wood to load, how often it should be loaded and how much the firebox should be filled -- depending on the current heating needs.

Screens . . . skip the screen. Almost to a T, everyone who has thought it would be cool to have a screen on their woodstove has figured out that a) you're losing more heat this way, b) watching and listening to the fire through the large "glass" window is just about as nice and c) most folks report that they used their screen once, twice maybe a half dozen times and haven't used it since . . . it's one of the options I know I was tempted to buy . . . and am glad I didn't after listening to other's reports . . . for me it's enough to watch and listen to the fire through the glass.

Shoulder season . . . as mentioned this is generally considered to be Spring and Fall . . . when us 24/7 burners may not be burning full-out . . . burning for some of us is characterized by short, hot fires to take the chill out of the air (although those folks with catalytic converters make us envious by being able to burn low and slow for long periods of time).

 

[MishMouse]

I have the TL-300 installed in my unfinished basement and I have no complaints.

 

[djlarson77]

I'm steering towards the Alderlea or Hearthstone Mansfield (sounds so much more rugged than princess). I'd like to get by with the t5 if I go the Alderlea route, though it would be nice to get bigger fire box and "Extended Burn Technology" of the t6, not to mention the additional BTUs. Burn times experienced with the Alderlea's or Mansfield? I'll do some more searching on here but Geez I spend a lot of time here already!

I understand the advice about difficulties moving warmer air to different parts of the house using forced air. All I can say is I'll give it a try and you'll hear from me around December or January on failure or success.

Thanks for all the sharing of expertise / opinions so far!

 

[begreen]

In your cold climate, I would stick with a 3 cu ft stove, regardless of choice. Burn times will vary depending on the wood, size of the load, how hot you run the stove and what is defined as burn times. Overnight fires are no problem. Burning softwood in the T6 I get a good 10 hrs. and the stove is still gently radiating heat. If you are talking just having nice hot coals for an easy restart, then 12+ hrs is very possible with a full load of hardwood. I think the Mansfield performs equally well from what I've read here.

Suggestion, show your wife each stove and let her decide. You won't go wrong with either one.

 

[djlarson77]

She likes the look of the T5/T6 better than the Mansfield surprisingly enough. Now I guess it's time to go visit the Alderleas in person. One dealer has a T5 in his showroom, wonder if I can find a T6 somewhere.

Do the Alderleas require a high burn temp to achieve secondary combustion? In other words, if we go with the T6 and want to sit in the room for a few hours with a small fire, are we burning inefficiently?

 

[begreen]

That should be fine. It takes a while to get the mass of the T6 up to temp. In the fall/spring, we burn short fires of 3 medium sized splits. The firebox still gets hot enough for secondary combustion. It may not be as efficient, but neither is burning with a screen in the door. At that point it's not about efficiency, it's about ambiance.

 

[djlarson77]

We ended up buying a P.E. Alderlea T5 - Majolica Brown Porcelain Finish. It's supposed to arrive to the local distributor around the 1st of September. I re-visited this thread and see how we were guided in the direction of the T5. Thanks again to all who helped with our decision process. Started the tear-out of the existing closet, currently occupying the T5's space, and bought some nice travertine tile. Can't wait to see the final product - we bought the Majolica Brown Porcelain finish based on a picture. I'll post some pictures after it's installed.

The posted picture is from chimneysweeponline.com. I didn't buy the stove from them, but I would have in a heartbeat if I lived closer to them. It still almost made sense to order from them, especially based on the customer service, but I wanted to give the business to a local dealer who is also installing it.

 

[begreen]

Oooo. You got the glamor unit. Congratulations!

Hope to see lots of pics of the work in progress and the final installation with that puppy burning.

 

[Jags]

That P.E. stove should treat you right.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

We ended up buying a P.E. Alderlea T5 - Majolica Brown Porcelain Finish. It's supposed to arrive to the local distributor around the 1st of September. I re-visited this thread and see how we were guided in the direction of the T5. Thanks again to all who helped with our decision process. Started the tear-out of the existing closet, currently occupying the T5's space, and bought some nice travertine tile. Can't wait to see the final product - we bought the Majolica Brown Porcelain finish based on a picture. I'll post some pictures after it's installed.

The posted picture is from chimneysweeponline.com. I didn't buy the stove from them, but I would have in a heartbeat if I lived closer to them. It still almost made sense to order from them, especially based on the customer service, but I wanted to give the business to a local dealer who is also installing it.

I know im a bit late to this but i have the TL-300 and i cant imagine a better all around stove, You can turn it down all the way to where the wood is dark with no signs of combustion all the while the after burner in the back is burning smoke white hot like an incinerator, or all the way up to a roaring 75000 BTU output. This stove works well whether its 10 deg outside or 50. Good luck with your choice but the TL-300 is one heavy hitter,paid for itself in 2 years too. You can also roast meat inside the stove, or use it as an open fireplace. very versatile.

 

[djlarson77]

Trump, I fell in love with the TL300 and it may very well be the right stove for our situation. It's pretty tough to know what the ideal stove is to fit a particular situation. I'm not sure why anyone would buy a stove without doing research on Hearth.com - probably because they don't know about it. Based on all of the posts I've read (this thread and others), I'm fairly confident on our decision. We won't be sure until November.

Maybe a TL300 in the next house.