Wife wants T5: Me T6, Help Save our Marriage

[ohiostork]

:question: we just got back from the store. they had a PE T5 on the floor but no PE T6. Wife is concerned the T6 is gonna look a lot larger than the T5. ( I know its same depth basically but 4" wider) .
She likes the idea of a larger firebox but is concerned about the extra mass. As this is a focal point of "her" dinette/kitchen she wants it to be perfect.....or else.
any thoughts from those who have seen both at the store? the top of the T5 actually is curved so that the front actually is about 2" narrower than at its greatest girth. Is this the same with the T6? any advice on the size appearance difference is appreciated. we will be having a dining table about 60" from the ash pan if that helps. doing a corner install. thinking an 50" elevated brick hearth then brick floor for another 16".
room layout is very open with our great room beside the dinette/kitchen. Total of these two rooms and hallways is around 1200 sq ft. Main level of house is 3,400. Thanks in advance.

 

[ohiostork]

Also any additional pics of your own T5 or T6 would be awesome. Thanks to Madison for already sharing his awesome stove and hearth.

 

[Later]

SWMBO says it all.

 

[fossil]

Just buy her the one she wants and deal with it. Rick

 

[JoeyD]

Just buy her the one she wants and deal with it. Rick

I agree. Why prolong it?

 

[ohiostork]

I know. I know. If she was certain then I would not prolong it and give in. But she says that maybe the T6 in person next to the T5 would not be that drastic. She will be tending the stove most days and likes the idea of the larger box. Visually is it that much larger since the depth and height really don't change?

 

[weatherguy]

Just buy her the one she wants and deal with it. Rick

Wise words,

I guess the question is do you want to see her naked in the near future or the T6

 

[szmaine]

Just buy her the one she wants and deal with it. Rick

Wise words,

I guess the question is do you want to see her naked in the near future or the T6

Finally, the opposite view - though, I suppose soon you will have comments that the T6 will achieve the same result. Sigh.

 

[Dix]

Go with the T5.

Later, when you want a new chain saw, trailer, ATV, or whatever, it's a done deal ;-)

 

[branchburner]

She will be tending the stove most days and likes the idea of the larger box.

That's your angle. Now you must accept the T5 as the right choice and let her convince you that the T6 is better because reloading the stove less often will make her life easier, and help heat more of the house.

It'll never work.

But when it comes to "I told you so" it is better to give than receive. In the wrong situation, those words compound interest at an alarming rate. If you try to convince her 4" makes no difference those four inches could look like two feet in her eyes. You won't get a real feel for how the stove fits the room until it's actually there, anyway. Plus, if the kitchen ends up being "too hot" with the T6 (as it just well might sometimes even with the T5) you'll never hear the end of it.

 

[begreen]

Either the T5 or T6 will work as an area heater, but this is a big house. The T6 sounds more proportioned to the heating space.

I went through this for a winter with my wife. She loved the Castine and thought the T6 looked huge. But after lots of refills and a cold snap where the stove couldn't keep up unless fed every few hours, she relented. Tom had a floor model that sealed the deal and one day I swapped out the F400 for the T6. Once in place it did look bigger than the F400, but not outrageously so. And once she started running the stove and making less trips to the wood box, she was sold.

Like a wise, elderly relative of mine said as we looked over her drop dead view in upper NY. "It's nice but, ya can't eat the view."

 

[dispatcher101]

My T5 will be installed on the 23rd, in a corner installation. I will post some pics for you as soon as I get it in. The T6 was just too big for my application, and haven't had the opportunity to see one in real life.

Good luck And just remember...She's always right

 

[branchburner]

... once she started running the stove and making less trips to the wood box, she was sold.

Danger! Trying/hoping to make the sale after taking delivery may result in marital creosote and uncontrolled burns!

 

[gasavage]

Suggestion: Make a cardboard cutout of each stove (approximate) and place each one in the future resting place. Be sure to allow for all required clearances & pipe location.

 

[begreen]

... once she started running the stove and making less trips to the wood box, she was sold.

Danger! Trying/hoping to make the sale after taking delivery may result in marital creosote and uncontrolled burns!

Worked out fine. We both loved the Castine and agree it was the better looking stove. But fortunately, my wife is pragmatic and sees the many benefits of the new stove. She actually likes it a lot now, so I get to be the hero.

 

[branchburner]

... once she started running the stove and making less trips to the wood box, she was sold.

Danger! Trying/hoping to make the sale after taking delivery may result in marital creosote and uncontrolled burns!

Worked out fine. We both loved the Castine and agree it was the better looking stove. But fortunately, my wife is pragmatic and sees the many benefits of the new stove. She actually likes it a lot now, so I get to be the hero.

You are a lucky man.
Actually, I am too. I fought the battle to put a stove in the fireplace, and won. And now she loves the stove. (But that was when oil was over four bucks. And if we didn't have a second fireplace, it woulda got ugly.)

 

[madison]

My wife wanted a t5, but after seeing both, she thought the t5 looked "disproportionate" or too narrow..... Something like that, Tell her it is a lot easier to get the wood thru the larger door and firebox, and she will see more flames with the larger window on the t6. And SHE will not have to get up in the middle of the night to reload.

anyway, whats 4 ", actually you could argue it is 2" on each side off the center of the stove....

 

[wendell]

BeGreen and gasavage speak with great wisdom. The stove in the store and the stove in your home are 2 different animals. 4" isn't too much unless it is but you will be sorry if you end up going too small (ask me how I know!).

Definitely build a mock up of each one. You might be very surprised at how it looks in your space.

 

[johnn]

After many years of being a typical virgo, exhausting countless hours of thought and energy trying to get everything just right on every home improvement project,,,I`ve many times, just a short week later, never noticed or payed attention to the very thing that i spent so much thought on. Buy the shoe that fits!

 

[madison]

Post some pictures and a description/layout of your house and room where the stove will reside.

Cut out a cardboard t5 and t6. And spend days before you actually commit to the purchase. On What, and where the stove resides may have more affect on the "cuteness" of the kitchen than the 4" difference.

Oh, tell her she can cook more stuff on top of the t6, haha. Actually, last thanksgiving our stove top and hearth were loaded with stuff keeping warm for the dinner.

 

[Burd]

Big house bigger stove cant go wrong I vote for the T6

 

[ohiostork]

My T5 will be installed on the 23rd, in a corner installation. I will post some pics for you as soon as I get it in. The T6 was just too big for my application, and haven't had the opportunity to see one in real life.

Good luck And just remember...She's always right

Please do. What size room are you putting it in?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'd go with the T5 and get a Golden Retriever for the cold snaps when the stove just can't keep up. There's nothing like a large lap dog.

Matt

 

[weatherguy]

I think the problem is ohio is having a hard time telling his wife bigger is better

 

[ohiostork]

Post some pictures and a description/layout of your house and room where the stove will reside.

Cut out a cardboard t5 and t6. And spend days before you actually commit to the purchase. On What, and where the stove resides may have more affect on the "cuteness" of the kitchen than the 4" difference.

Oh, tell her she can cook more stuff on top of the t6, haha. Actually, last thanksgiving our stove top and hearth were loaded with stuff keeping warm for the dinner.

[
Stove mock cutout on the floor. Hard to tell without the drywall up yet. The great room is to the left and the dinette/hearth area to the right. Both T5 and T6 cutouts fit. Really not a huge difference except 2" each side. One question for this newbie is if I want to heat the max area with the T6 am I gonna have to fire it up so much that the dinette area is not usuable due to that room being 90 to acheive 72 elsewhere. I don't envision using box fans etc to move heat. Also what are some tips to get warm air drawn to cooler areas that are further away?