I have been in the past a part time wood burner. However, I enjoy burning wood and especially like the heat produced so I have decided to take the plunge and burn full time. I currently have a small woodstove which does allow for longer burn times. Which stove should I buy? I have been looking at the Harman Oakwood, Pacific Energy Fusion and the Lopi republic 1750. Any recommendations on which one performs the best. My house is small but stacked. The first floor has 750 SF with the second floor having the same with an open loft above the second floor for a total of around 1900 SF. The stove will be installed on the hearth on the lower floor. I want a stove that will produce an overnight burn and still not overheat the lower floor.
Which wood stove to buy
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These three all seem good choices to me for your layout. Certainly nothing smaller, maybe bigger if not well insulated.
I have an Oakwood, which has a different secondary burn technology than the other two stoves you mentioned. It is a downdraft stove, meaning the smoke is forced down and into a burn chamber in the back of the stove (as opposed to the more typical top burn tubes the other two stoves use). If you are putting the Oakwood in a fireplace hearth, as I have, here are two things to keep in mind:
1) Lots of heat is thrown from the back of the stove (I have a small fan on the floor to one side - it can blow cooler air behind the stove to push hot air up and out).
2) You will need to access the back of the stove (ideally every year) to pull out and clean the combustion package - if the stove sits in a fireplace, that means pulling out all 450 lbs of it far enough to remove the back of the stove. Repeatedly.
The stove is a little tricky to learn, but with dry wood it will put out a ton of heat. You need a good, hot bed of coals before closing the bypass damper. I can't say how burn times will compare, but I would guess this stove likes to run hotter than the other two. I think the firebox is a bit bigger and it takes longer logs. Personally I prefer to go bigger and risk overheating than to go small and risk burning oil. That's just me.
Downside is that downdraft combustion package: fragile and not made to last (but not as bad as the VC in Brian's thread: Home made refractory package for Resolute). Clean every year or two, and replace in maybe 5-6 years, I really don't know. And gotta get the stove hot enough for it to work well, but not too hot that it degrades. So I think this stove will end up needing more babysitting and maintenance than a catalytic. But still a great stove, even with the conditional recommendation.
Two super features: top loading door, and set-in cooking grill. And of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think this cast iron stove is a real joy to look at. The best-looking piece of furniture I've ever owned, by far.
I have an Oakwood, which has a different secondary burn technology than the other two stoves you mentioned. It is a downdraft stove, meaning the smoke is forced down and into a burn chamber in the back of the stove (as opposed to the more typical top burn tubes the other two stoves use). If you are putting the Oakwood in a fireplace hearth, as I have, here are two things to keep in mind:
1) Lots of heat is thrown from the back of the stove (I have a small fan on the floor to one side - it can blow cooler air behind the stove to push hot air up and out).
2) You will need to access the back of the stove (ideally every year) to pull out and clean the combustion package - if the stove sits in a fireplace, that means pulling out all 450 lbs of it far enough to remove the back of the stove. Repeatedly.
The stove is a little tricky to learn, but with dry wood it will put out a ton of heat. You need a good, hot bed of coals before closing the bypass damper. I can't say how burn times will compare, but I would guess this stove likes to run hotter than the other two. I think the firebox is a bit bigger and it takes longer logs. Personally I prefer to go bigger and risk overheating than to go small and risk burning oil. That's just me.
Downside is that downdraft combustion package: fragile and not made to last (but not as bad as the VC in Brian's thread: Home made refractory package for Resolute). Clean every year or two, and replace in maybe 5-6 years, I really don't know. And gotta get the stove hot enough for it to work well, but not too hot that it degrades. So I think this stove will end up needing more babysitting and maintenance than a catalytic. But still a great stove, even with the conditional recommendation.
Two super features: top loading door, and set-in cooking grill. And of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think this cast iron stove is a real joy to look at. The best-looking piece of furniture I've ever owned, by far.
I'm a big fan of Pacific Energy - Good value, easy to operate, simple design, life time guarantee on the firebox.
Regardless of stove, the overheating may occur in the loft where the heat will stratify. You'll want a ceiling fan at the peak to help with that. Get a stove of at least 2 cu ft.
Bigg_Redd said:
Time will tell on this one Redd. Ive noticed a can of worms developing on a few threads now. Hopefully it was just one bad run with very close serial #s on the inserts and a new welder that shouldnt of been hired. I hope PE steps up to the plate for these people.
You might want to consider a cat stove like Woodstock or Blaze King for more control and longer burn times at lower heat.
I installed a Oakwood last year and absolutly love it. I heat 2860 sq ft with this stove. Granted I do live in SC. The stove seemed fairly easy to use, even my wife was able to start and burn while I was out of town. The grill is awesome(kids want to cook all the time on it.) If you have any questions please feel free to pm me.
Philip
Philip
I just looked at the summit. Still having a hard time deceiding which stove to get. Is the summit too much?
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