Woodstock Guys...talk me into it.

[Dustin]

So, Iv'e been reading a ton about woodstocks here, and i'm pretty sure I love them.

But, here lies the issue.

I have a 2200 square foot, kinda crappy insulated 1955 2 story house. I have an insert in the center of the house, and it heats that end pretty good, but wont get this end any warmer. The room I want to put the stove in is 20x18 on an outside wall, with two doors, one to the laundry room, and one into the formal living room. This room is lower than the rest of the house by about 4 feet, so it's usually cooler.

From you woodstock guys, is a Fireview going to blast me out of this room? I'm going to be setting it infront of the masonry fireplace. This fireplace is large enough that I could actually set a wood stove inside of it, but, I can't do this with the Fireview due to the side load. And I'm looking for a low burn, with a soft heat for this room. It's where I will spend most of my time watching TV, movies, ect.

Should I can my dream to save space in the room? Or will I get used to having a fireview being the main "attraction"


Thoughts?

Dustin

 

[Slow1]

I don't know about talking you into anything here...

What other stoves are you considering? Seems that folks are good at pointing out the pros/cons of various stoves here so if you throw out a few options you are looking at then you will get more feedback of how they compare.

I like the reputation of the fireview but have never been near one that is burning. I hear that they put out very nice steady heat (as apparently any of the soapstone stoves are likely to) compared to a metal stove. As far as I know they are the only soapstone stove with a Cat - which likely results in longer slower and more steady heat output as well. However, there are also lots of other stoves (metal) that have cats and can do long steady output from what I have read.

One of the largest downsides I have heard on the fireview is the cost, tied for second seems to be weight and clearance requirements. Of course once you have the stove in place none of these issues should matter much (sunk costs eh?). The looks is all a matter of personal preference - you either like it or don't, I am more into functionality.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

DF, if you want a beautiful stove that can very easily become the center of attraction and is almost like a piece of fine furniture, plus a stove that not only will save you dollars on fuel and burn wood so cleanly that you don't have to be constantly cleaning the chimney, then perhaps the Fireview is for you! The drawbacks are cost, maybe weight and where the controls are.

To answer the drawbacks, the cost factor is perhaps a drawback for some but you will definitely get your money's worth from this stove.

The weight thing is not really a drawback as most good stoves are going to be heavy. Get a steel stove and it will be lighter for sure but will not heat like the soapstone stoves. Also, we worried a bit about getting the stove moved into the house and up onto our hearth but that did not prove to be a problem at all. It was very easy to move using a furniture dolly.

The controls do prove to be a problem for some but it all depends upon the install. For us it worked out perfectly.


For us, we have a beautiful stove that would match any decor. It is extremely easy and not at all complicated to control the burn, clean ashes and even for checking or cleaning the cat.

Perhaps the biggest plus for us though is the fact that after using this stove for two full winters we can say for certain that we have burned only 50% of the amount of wood we would have burned with our previous stove. That alone will save anyone dollars enough to pay for this stove very quickly.

In addition to using less fuel, after 2 years burning, we still have not cleaned our chimney. However, I do intend to check it now that (hopefully) the burning season has ended. So if one pays to get their chimney cleaned, this also is a big money saver.

Cleaning the cat is such a simple and quick operation that a child could easily do it. How much time does it take? You can probably figure 3-5 minutes maximum and many times even much less. I've done it in less than two minutes.

Here is our stove:

 

[pinewoodburner]

So, Iv'e been reading a ton about woodstock here, and i'm pretty sure I love them.

But, here lies the issue.

I have a 2200 square foot, kinda crappy insulated 1955 2 story house. I have an insert in the center of the house, and it heats that end pretty good, but wont get this end any warmer. The room I want to put the stove in is 20x18 on an outside wall, with two doors, one to the laundry room, and one into the formal living room. This room is lower than the rest of the house by about 4 feet, so it's usually cooler.

From you woodstock guys, is a Fireview going to blast me out of this room? I'm going to be setting it infront of the masonry fireplace. This fireplace is large enough that I could actually set a wood stove inside of it, but, I can't do this with the Fireview due to the side load. And I'm looking for a low burn, with a soft heat for this room. It's where I will spend most of my time watching TV, movies, ect.

Should I can my dream to save space in the room? Or will I get used to having a fireview being the main "attraction"


Thoughts?

Dustin

It will not blast you out of the room. The heat from the soapstone is nothing like the heat from a metal stove. A metal stove when it is running hot, you will not stand close to it very long. With the soapstove, you can stand close to it and not get that blast like from a metal stove. If the room starts getting hot, just open the two doors and the heat will get out. I set my Fireview in front of the fireplace, plus 20 inches to get the clearance from the wood trim. It did not take long to adjust to it sticking out in the room. The only problem that I have had is that everyone uses that room to watch TV when it is cold and I can't watch what I want.

 

[rickw]

Have burned with the FV for most of last season. Like it a lot.

You won't be blasted out of the room; its a gentle, even heat. The stove itself is very sturdy and well made, nothing appears weak. The economy is real; I used maybe 60% of the wood that I did with the old stove. A real benefit is that the burn times are so long that you rarely have to start fires; basically just tossing in more wood. IF you want more convincing just read the reviews or search on Woodstock.

 

[Todd]

My stove room is 22'x15' and I never have a problem with the stove blasting me out, in fact my computer sits 7' away and I can stay there with a good hot stove and cruise around Hearth.com for hours. I think it would work fine for your room and you might be surprised on how the heat will travel to other parts of your house as well. As far as cost goes $1600 for a Fireview including the tax rebate is hard to beat. I bet other stove manufactures and dealers will take advantage of this rebate to increase the stove prices and profits.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Just realized that I forgot to post about the heat. Like Todd, I sit pretty close to the stove while on the computer and never get blasted out. The heat is much different than what you'd feel with a steel or all cast stove. Very comfortable.

I will add that we do use a fan for getting heat to the far end of the house and I learned here on this forum that I was doing it all wrong. You need to blow the cold air towards the heat instead of trying to move the heat. It is amazing the difference this makes.

 

[gibson]

I am surprised that the Woodstock fans didn't crash the server. IMHO beautiful stove and probably good size for that room. I'm not familiar with the Western Oregon winters so that is my only question. As long as you see 30's, 20's and lower at night, overheating should not be a question.

 

[Bobbin]

A quick comment on the heat produced by the Woodstocks. When our present pride of cats were kittens one of them decided it would be a good idea to jump from the couch to the top of the fully fired Fireview... . She landed atop it and then instantaneously leapt off it. I picked her up, inspected her paddy-paws and there was evidence of a any burn. In fact, they were not really even hot. She has not repeated the athletic feat, either.

These stoves put out a lot of heat, but in an even, uninsistant way. As Todd pointed out, you can sit quite close to them and not become so uncomfortably warm you feel you must move out of range. We enjoy a well insulated home and now a well insulated studio, as well. The stoves are fully capable of heating both quite handily with no discomfort to the occupants.