Woodstock Fireview Input Wanted

[akennyd]

Hello to all!! I've been lurking here, reading and learning (hopefully).

I've been very impressed by what I have read about the Woodstock Fireview. I have been getting their flyers in the mail for a couple of years now but I have just recently started getting serious about selecting a wood stove for my home. The wife and I are getting ready to add on to our house and part of the agreement was that I could have a wood stove

Now for my question/comment...

Again, I like all the positive comments and reviews I have read about the Fireview (seems to be a GREAT stove) but I just keep getting the feeling from looking at it in pictures that it is really SMALL. I'm not talking heat capacity wise, I mean in physical appearance. To me it almost looks like a toy. I'm having trouble getting past that.

Any comments or suggestions are welcomed, just don't shoot me for my comments!!

FYI...The stove will be going into a 28'x15' family room with a 20' cathedral ceiling. The house is now about 1100 sq ft one story and a half (upstairs bedroom with an open loft). The addition will be 780 sq ft all on bottom story.

I had considered making a trip to see one in person at the factory (really would like to do that) and possibly pick one up but I don't think I want to drive 18hrs. :^(

Thanks,

Kenny

John 3:16

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

The fireview is rated at 55,000 BTU's. That should nicley heat, if not over heat, your space. Soapstone really holds the heat and delivers a constant BTU curve, that might be to much stove for your space. If you want to look at local dealers, go check out the hearthstone tribute, its more appropriate for your space. However, you will not really get the burn times out of the tribute that you will out of the fireview. Soapstone wood stoves are hard to turn off once they're warmed up!

 

[jdinspector]

It isn't very large, I'll say that. I replaced a VC Resolute stove with the fireview. The fireview is a bit taller, but actually looks narrower than the old stove. I had warming shelves and drying rod accessories on the old VC stove, so it "spread out" a little more. I think you need to either go see one at the Woodstock factory, or find someone local to you (on this forum) who would be willing to show you theirs. I saw a used one that was for sale and was really underwhelmed at the size. I had to rethink my decision, but did go ahead and buy one later in the winter of last year.

If you're thinking that the stove will be a centerpiece of the room, it will. If you have it running, most people will be attracted to it as soon as they walk into your house. However, it isn't the huge centerpiece like a full sized fireplace is.

It is hard to believe that this stove will do the job of heating a large space, but it does. I bought mine at the end of last year and didn't have enough dry wood for the remainder of the year, so only was able to burn maybe 10 total days with dry wood. It was impressive on those days. Luckily, when I got into my unseasoned wood, it was warming up and I didn't have too worry about really cold nights.

Go see one.

 

[Todd]

With all due respect I have to disagree with MSG. If your going to heat 1800 sq ft In North Carolina I think the Fireview would be perfect and the Tribute would be too small unless your just interested in short ambiance fires and want to heat the room it's in.

As for the size, it's not huge but it seems large enough to me. The efficiency of this stove is so high it doesn't need to be huge like the old stoves. You also need to consider the size of the hearth that it will be required to sit on, it will make the stove look larger and take up more space than you think.

 

[akennyd]

I also was thinking that in heating capacity (based on the stove's rating and users comments) the stove would be just about right. It is more of a physical appearance thing that I'm worried about.

Thanks to all who have posted comments Please keep them coming!

Kenny

John 3:16

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

With all due respect I have to disagree with MSG. If your going to heat 1800 sq ft In North Carolina I think the Fireview would be perfect and the Tribute would be too small unless your just interested in short ambiance fires and want to heat the room it's in.

As for the size, it's not huge but it seems large enough to me. The efficiency of this stove is so high it doesn't need to be huge like the old stoves. You also need to consider the size of the hearth that it will be required to sit on, it will make the stove look larger and take up more space than you think.

i read the post as 1000 square feet! lol. 1800 squares is a whole different story need.... more..... coffee...

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Kenny, I can certainly relate to what you are feeling. The first time I saw a Fireview it was in a large room very much like you have. Wow! That thing is small! How on earth can that heat a home?

Long story short, we bought one....and have never been sorry! One thing that really helped with us was to build the heart up to sit the stove higher. We built it up 16" and it proved to be the right thing to do. It makes the stove look, not so small and the window up higher makes viewing the flame much better.

I was concerned about the heat on or near the floor. Heat rises after all. But that proved to be nothing to worry about as our floors are warmer now than they were with the old stove.

If you've been lurking you no doubt will have read some of my posts but I will just say that we've stayed much warmer in our home since getting the Fireview........and used about half the amount of wood we did before!

If you can take a trip to the factory I would highly advise it.

Good luck.

 

[Slow1]

Interesting - I've never thought it looked at all like a toy, but then again I sort of do think of stoves as fun to play with so maybe they all are to me

I'm betting that if you build up a nice hearthpad to set it on (it deserves it you know) it can quickly become the centerpiece of the room no matter how large it is. I have yet to burn mine but folks seem to comment on (in good ways) pretty soon after being in the house. I just wish I had a nice big room to put it in instead of tucking it between three rooms as i have. Oh well!

I'll join the crew in suggesting that a visit to the factory is worth it. Although I have to admit our drive was only a day trip (a bit of a long day but we did have lunch on way there and ice cream on way home). The place doesn't look like much from the outside but the folks there will answer everything you ever wanted to know about the stoves and show it to you as well.

 

[Wet1]

Kenny,

If the physical size is a major concern, get the dimensions of the stove (w/ and w/o legs) and fab up a copy of it out of cardboard. Place it in your room and go from there. At least this will give you a good idea how it looks in person.

 

[akennyd]

Thanks again for all of the replies and not just replies but very informational replies

Dennis, I have been reading your past postings on firing your Fireview (as well as others who seem to have this stove down to a science) and have been trying to commit them to memory Do you have pictures of your hearth posted here somewhere? It's interesting, I was thinking in the opposite direction...making the hearth small and unobtrusive so as not to take away from the stove... I would really like to see yours.

Kenny

John 3:16

 

[Slow1]

Kenny,

If the physical size is a major concern, get the dimensions of the stove (w/ and w/o legs) and fab up a copy of it out of cardboard. Place it in your room and go from there. At least this will give you a good idea how it looks in person.

An excellent suggestion!

We actually mocked up our hearth pad (only in 2D) by laying out paper and drawing out where the edges would be etc. This resulted in quite a few changes in dimensions and shape (we were exceeding minimum clearances on all sides so we could choose where we wanted the edges) during the course of a week or so that we left it down. We were glad to have done it in the end. You could put your "box stove" on top of it to better visualize how it will look in your space. Sure beats moving a 500lb stove around

 

[akennyd]

I agree, the mock-up idea is just EXCELLENT

Thanks!!

Kenny
John 3:16

 

[DiscoInferno]

Our new Fireview is in a 28' by 20-some great room that is around 20' high at the peak. (pics here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/39969/) It does not seem too small in our setting, although perhaps the hearth helps.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Slow1, I hope this helps but it doesn't show the entire hearth. It is a picture we took during the install. The heart is 42" from the wall and 60" wide.

There is about a foot from the door side to the edge which comes in handy for putting wood down before putting into the stove. With the height, we have a chair sitting there and sit down while putting wood in the stove.

Behind the stove there is a lot of space where at night we put wood for the morning fire. On the side opposite the fire door there is a lot of space which is very handy for drying boots, gloves, etc. I actually was against building the heart up that much and also for the extra space where we put boots and such. However, after using it for 2 years I really like it. I also think with the built up hearth and the size we have that it really is the focal point of the room and we love it.

I actually think the hearth looks better large vs. small.

 

[Bobbin]

I suppose that no matter how many times you guys hear it you will never believe that "size doesn't mattter".

Why do you continue to think that something that's efficient and gets the job done efficienty has to be "big"? I don't get it.

We raised the hearths for both our Fireview and Classic. We did it to increase ease of operation but also to place our beautiful stoves at a level that would give them the prominence in the room they deserve! My thought (I work in the home dec. field) ,was that raising the stove would increae its "presence" in the room. I was all in favor of putting such a pretty stove on "an altar". Let's face it, heat is pretty nice and paying "homage" to a wood stove by elevating it's presence in a room is only fitting!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hey Bobbin, you have to remember that some of us grew up in a different time. Back then if you wanted more heat you had to simply get a bigger stove; not smaller. It is sort of the same thing with a tractor. If you want more power, you don't buy a smaller tractor!

I agree with your thoughts on raising the stove.

 

[Highbeam]

It is a smallish stove. The stove is also square which means it looks smaller than the typical shallow and wide stove such as a hearthstone. If a small stove bothers you then this one might bother you. However, as the previous posts state, the physical size isn't directly related to the output or performance of the stove.

Size does matter in terms of aesthetics and honestly this is not a big stove.

It does have a big rear clearance requirement so know that it will be out in the room unless you are fortunate enough to have an old brick fireplace to place it in front of.