Upgrade from Portland Atlantic 228?

[alext91]

I bought a house in New Hampshire in September 2020, which came with a Portland Atlantic 228 in the basement. The house currently has an unfinished second floor which is sealed off and insulated. So for right now, I am only heating the first floor which is roughly 832sqft. The stove is in the basement, and has a 14x14" vent cut in the floor directly above it (so I am technically heating the basement too). I will eventually have to heat about 1600sqft once the house is finished. In the two winters I've lived here, I have used a lot of wood with this stove, so with fuel prices I am considering upgrading to a more efficient stove. Ideal stove would meet these requirements:

-be able to heat 1600sqft from the basement of the house
-have a burn time long enough to allow me to load before bed (9:30pm) and not have to start a new fire when I wake up (6:30am)
-be at least 75% efficient to qualify for tax credit

Is this list of requirements too much? Should I keep my Atlantic 228 and not worry about it? Looking for insight as I am relatively new to all of this. Thank you!

 

[begreen]

The old Atlantic is inefficient. It will heat but at a hungry rate. Are the basement walls insulated? If not, that is adding insult to injury. An uninsulated basement can suck up to a third of the heat out of the basement walls. I wouldn't worry about the tax credit. Instead, get a low cost efficient heater with a big enough firebox to satisfy the needs. Drolet makes good, affordable stoves under $2000. That's where I would start. Put the savings into basement wall insulation if it is not already insulated.

That said, Drolet's parent company, SBI, is the same as Osburn. A step up from the Drolets would be the Osburn 2000 and 3500 which recently qualified for the 26% tax credit.

New wood stove install

I'd prefer not to deal with a cat anyway to be honest, and I'm not sure there's many (if any) non-cat stoves that meet the standard except for on crib wood. The Lopi Evergreen is a non-cat and qualifies for the 26% credit.

www.hearth.com

 

[alext91]

The old Atlantic is inefficient. Are the basement walls insulated? If not, that is adding insult to injury. An uninsulated basement can suck up to a third of the heat out of the basement walls. I wouldn't worry about the tax credit. Instead, get a low cost efficient heater with a big enough firebox to satisfy the needs. Drolet makes good, affordable stoves under $2000. That's where I would start. Put the savings into basement wall insulation if it is not already insulated.

Thanks for your reply! The basement is insulated and also partially finished, my mistake for leaving that out of the original description. Good to know. I will take a look at their stoves.

 

[begreen]

It's good that the basement is insulated. The basement sq ftg also needs to be included. Is this also 832 sq ft? A bigger stove can be partially loaded during milder weather. Given this is New Hampshire, I would err toward a larger stove for reserve heat and longer burn time.

 

[alext91]

It's good that the basement is insulated. The basement sq ftg also needs to be included. Is this also 832 sq ft? A bigger stove can be partially loaded during milder weather. Given this is New Hampshire, I would err toward a larger stove for reserve heat and longer burn time.

Yes, the house is a cape so the basement square footage is also 832. Good to know, I will take this into consideration!

 

[begreen]

Then definitely get a large stove if the eventual goal is to heat almost 2500 sq ft. Sounds like the Osburn 3500 would fit the bill if the tax credit is essential. Otherwise, the Drolet Austral/Myriad/Legend III or their HT3000 would work. They also make a big Black Stag stove which appears to be the same as the Austral without a glass door.

 

[alext91]

The Drolet stoves also qualify for the tax credit (edit, the escape and HT-3000 Models qualify). I now understand the differences. It seems like the HT-3000 is a lot of stove for the money, especially considering the tax credit. It seems like there are not many other stoves that can compete in this price range.

 

[begreen]

Good to know, thanks for that information. I have been waiting for the EPA database to update.