Which stove?

[Pacwageo]

So I've spent several hours browsing through this forum and other sites on the web. At my local store, they're currently offering a good deal on three stoves. One being the Hearthstone Heritage, the other being the two flagship Vermont Castings stoves, Defiant and Encore Flexburn.

I'm looking for a wood stove that will be able to efficiently heat my two story home. (if possible) The stove would be installed in my living room which is roughly 430 square feet. My house has standard non-vaulted 8 foot ceilings throughout.The living room has two openings both of which are roughly 5-6 feet wide. The floor plan is somewhat open on the first floor. The house in total is 4 bed, 2.5 bath, 2200 square feet... with all the bedrooms and 2 baths on the second floor. My stair case is enclosed and is about 40-50 feet from where the stove will have to be installed. The wall where the stove will be installed is an external wall.. the insulation throughout the house is pretty good as the house was built in 2002. Also... I live in North-central Ohio... so it does get quite cold here.

I understand the second floor might not get the heat as well as I'd like... and I want a stove that can be comfortably used in the living room without making the room too hot.

My question is this...

What kind of stove would work best for a house like mine? Are any of the three stoves that I mentioned above be any good for my situation?

This is all very overwhelming... any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[rwhite]

Someone will be along to discuss the merits of each of the stoves you mentioned. As far as comparing them goes the Heritage seems to be on par (as far as size) with the Encore, while the Mansfield and Defiant are more similar. Either way I would get the bigger stove if you can afford it.

On the whole I would say that most folks aren't successful trying to heat 2 floors with one stove. What is your current heat source? Are all the rooms being used? I have about 1000 sqft on my main level and 400 above and I cant heat both floors very well. I would cook myself out of the living room long before I heated the upstairs. In my case a small radiant heater supplements. If you can close off most rooms upstairs that may be an option but if they are all being used small heaters in every room is probably not a good idea. If you have central heat I would consider having it zoned. The stove would probably provide enogh heat that the upper zone could be shut off or just not run most of the day and only kick in at night or early morning. SO I guess the answer to can I heat both floors is maybe. Depending on set up you may find that once you have your stove going it does a good job but I wouldn't go into the project thinking its a sure thing.

 

[Pacwageo]

Thanks for the comments! That helps me understand a little more. I have an electric furnace, with a heat pump and floor registers... In my home there's about 1200-1300 square feet on the main floor and about 900-1000 square feet on the second. Some of the rooms are on the second floor are only used when family is staying with us... or will be used if / when my wife and I have children.

What you said about the second floor makes sense. I guess I really don't have any expectations of the heat making it up there. What I really don't want to happen is be cooked out of the 430 square foot living room by putting too large of a stove in there... or by not having enough heat and being cold. It's a tricky balance I guess.

Andrew

 

[logger]

I know some people still like their VCs, but when I was researching our last stove purchase, I found enough comments and reviews to stear me away from VC. I've heard their customer service, warranties, and replacement parts have all given people problems and that they arent quite the company they were 20 years ago. Again, I dont run a VC and the old one from the late 80s that my uncle runs is great, but Im sure you can find more of the same reviews if u do some research. Best of luck.

 

[begreen]

Welcome. Is this the only stove dealer near you or do you have more options? In Hearthstone I would be looking at the Mansfield.

 

[Pacwageo]

There are other dealers in my area, I'm just not aware of any other deals going on. The VC stoves are on sale for $800-$1000 off... making them comparable in price to similarly sized Jotul stoves. However, according to the spec sheets the VC is considerably more efficient than an equally sized Jotul. I know you really can't rely on these things, but it does make it tempting. I know VC had its issues but the new Flexburn stoves appear to be better than the previous generation stoves.

I guess if I was looking for a good stove, what brands are doing well these days? What's lower maintenance and efficient for a home like mine? I know the Hearthstones are rated well.. but I really dont want to mess with cracked tiles. I'm aware catalytic converters go bad after two years... but if you don't get one... can a stove still be efficient?

 

[begreen]

With proper care a good cat should last at least 5 yrs. There are many good stoves out there. I'm going to assume by the choices so far that you are looking for a classic styled stove. The Jotul Oslo and F50 or F55 are popular. Quadrafire makes the Cumberland Gap and Isle Royale. Pacific Energy makes the Summit or Alderlea T6, and Enviro makes the Boston. I don't think you would go wrong with any of these stoves. They all have an excellent track record.

In cat stoves consider the Woodstock Progress Hybrid and the Blaze King Ashford 30.

 

[Pacwageo]

Ok thanks! That helps a lot. So is it safe to say the CAT VC stoves are probably not a good contender?

Edit: And yes, I'm leaning slightly toward the classic style. Cast iron seems to be a proven material.

 

[begreen]

Right now we are in a wait and see mode with VC. They are beautiful stoves and we all want to see them succeed, but over the past 5-6 yrs we have seen too many people get burned on refractory damage and poor warranty coverage to be comfortable recommending them. They are a somewhat complex stove and repairs are expensive. Word is they have improved their design and materials. Hope this turns around, but at this point it is unknown. It takes 3-5 years of 24/7 burning to find out.

 

[Pacwageo]

I see... that's unfortunate, because they are beautiful stoves. I guess i"m not really worried about looks as much as I am about its functionality.

 

[bholler]

if you are not to worried about looks I would look at plate steel stoves you get more bang for your buck that way. But cast stoves are really pretty and great stoves to I am not busting on cast at all they just cost more.

 

[begreen]

Yep, lots of less expensive steel stoves out there. I only suggested cast and cast-jacketed because of the initial choices.

 

[BrotherBart]

Steel stoves are beautiful.

 

[bholler]

I thought the same thing but then he said he wasn't worried about looks

 

[begreen]

Actually he said that function is more important than form. Not that good looks weren't important. That's why I included several good steel stoves dressed in nice cast-iron jackets.

 

[rwhite]

Thanks for the comments! That helps me understand a little more. I have an electric furnace, with a heat pump and floor registers... In my home there's about 1200-1300 square feet on the main floor and about 900-1000 square feet on the second. Some of the rooms are on the second floor are only used when family is staying with us... or will be used if / when my wife and I have children.

What you said about the second floor makes sense. I guess I really don't have any expectations of the heat making it up there. What I really don't want to happen is be cooked out of the 430 square foot living room by putting too large of a stove in there... or by not having enough heat and being cold. It's a tricky balance I guess.

Andrew

A large stove can be regulated by just building a smaller fire. You will become comfortable with operating the stove in time and be able to regulate the heat on the floor that it's on. The issue will be if you try to create enough heat to make it upstairs you may cook yourself out. My insert is 1.8 cuft. If I had to do it all over again it I think I have something in the 2.5 range

 

[Pacwageo]

rwhite thanks for the heads up. So it sounds like I need to get a slightly larger stove.

For my house (which is 2200 square feet between two floors) it sounds like I should be looking for a stove that is a bit larger... like the VC Defiant or the Jotul F500 Oslo. I like the VC 2N1 idea as it can run efficiently with or without the catalyst... Would a stove rated for 2,400 square feet be too much for a home like mine? Like I said, the room where the stove would be is 430 square feet but it's fairly open...

thanks for all the advise!

Andrew

 

[jillybeansisme]

Size matters. I had the same concerns and have been investigating which one to buy for my next house. for the same reasons as you, I was convinced I was going to get a little soapstone and have learned that would be a big mistake. I also thought I was going to get a catalyst, now I'm sure I will not. Look into some dealer sites other than the dealerships near you -- the bargin prices on a stove that everyone is saying has poor customer service might not be a such a good deal after all. I'm actually going to spend the same or a little less money and treat myself to the legs rather than the pedestal and get more stove that will do the better job and where I can control the size of the fire (and not run it at max to not do what I want). Check out chimneysweeponline.com That site has a lovely comparison chart for all the stoves he sells -- it'll give you some more perspective.