Woodstock progress vs hearthstone equinox

[Joyboy]

Hello all,

I am looking for some feedback on these stoves. I have a 4200 sq' house all on one level. It's kinda cut up and I know that whatever I get is going to need a little help. We live in Wyoming and have had some 20 below temps the last couple months.

I want the most heat I can get but the ability to get some decent burn times as well. Don't we all. Lol

I saw on the Woodstock site that the progress with a 2.8 cubic foot firebox is supposed to put out more heat than the equinox with a 4' box. But on the hearthstone site it says the equinox puts out 120k btu compared to 80k for the progress.

My question is can it really? There's a lot of conflicting information out there.

Thanks!

 

[BuckyBeaver524]

With a 4200 sq ft home that's kind of chopped up, you will most likely be better off investing in windows and insulation. No matter what stove you put in it will be a compromise at best. I will say that I have a PH and it is one hell of a heating beast. And it gets 14+ hour burn times in my moderate climate on a 60% load of 4 to 6 normal sized splits. I don't know much about Hearthstone, but they do have some pretty stoves.

 

[Joyboy]

Agreed on the insulation importance. However we are doing some forced remodeling and a stove is in our future. I would like the stove to take as much of the load as it could.

 

[begreen]

Yikes! What happened? Was this a slammer installation?

 

[begreen]

Obviously one stove will not heat the whole place. That is more the territory for a wood or natural gas furnace or boiler. Less important than the peak potential btus output is the continuous heat produced by the stove. The Progress is reported to do quite well at this. A Kuma Sequoia insert might also be worth checking out if it fits. It will need an 8" liner if it does fit. Same with the large Buck 91 insert.

How large is the room or area that this fireplace is in? How open is this area to the rest of the house?

 

[Joyboy]

Fire. I would say chimney fire but my mason insists the chimney is fine. He thinks that a brace inside the framed wall was to close to the firebox and caught on fire. Fire went up through wall and out the roof.

I had been working a night shift and was asleep when a firefighter opened my bedroom door and said "your house is on fire! You have to get out!"

I said "well I better get some pants on then ". Lol it was pretty confusing moment.

Thankfully a neighbor seen it and called it in!

It was a mason chimney with a old fireplace insert in it. We had been pushing it pretty hard because we were about 15 below about then.

 

[Joyboy]

Room size is 800 sq' with another 800 right off of it connected by a French door that is open.

I think we have to tear out all the brick and lower part of fireplace so are going to put a stove inside of it.

I have been moving air around with fans and actually put in a inline fan with duct that pulls air out of the far bedroom and dumps it in the fireplace room. Hoping to get some air movement.

 

[Joyboy]

Here's a quick sketch. I'm no artist

 

[begreen]

Sketch is fine, very helpful. I'm so glad no one was hurt.

Why the demolition of the current hearth? The fireplace looks pretty large. Are you opposed to putting in a large modern insert assuming it fits and the chimney can take an 8" liner?

 

[Joyboy]

The fire burned down inside the walls behind the brick. About 4 studs worth. Which is basically the whole middle section of the hearth. We will never be able to match the old brick so we are going to tear out the whole thing. Since the bottom of the fireplace is getting demo-ed it gives us some flexibility in what we can do.

The fireplace is pretty large but I felt we would get more heat out of a stove. Something kinda like this.

 

[weatherguy]

Good idea, won't that open you up to more options as far as stoves go?
I have the PH and love it, hearthstone are beautiful stoves, that's all I know about them, and they're expensive.

 

[webby3650]

Sounds like there were a lot of clearance issues with your flireplace.

I'd skip the Hearthstone.. I've seen too many durability issues with them for me to buy in. Limited heat output, poor burn times for the size and weight. Problems that Woodstock seem to not have.

 

[Joyboy]

It does open up a lot of stove options but my wife really really likes the soapstone look.

In my search of the forum, I didn't see much about the equinox.

 

[Highbeam]

I had a smaller version of the equinox, the heritage. Looked identical but about half size and used a 6" flue. I always found the stove to be attractive and it did what it said it would do while keeping a clean flue. It was gorgeous, lots of visitors commented and even went up and touched it assuming it would be cold like granite countertops. They were often burned. Hearthstone stoves are only allowed by the manufacturer to be run to low temperatures like 500-600.

I dumped my hearthstone due mostly to durability issues.

The wife might really like the cast iron look if she is okay with the hearthstone style.

 

[Joyboy]

I myself like the cast iron stove looks. Any recommendations on a big cast iron that is pretty efficient?

 

[webby3650]

The Hearthstone Manchester is a real looker in Brown enamel. Respectable heater been durable so far.

 

[toddnic]

My house is 2,400 sq. ft. all on one level and the Progress Hybrid does a great job even when the temperatures reach into the subzero range. With what you describe as it relates to the size of your house and its floor plan, one stove will never heat the entire house. I'm not familiar with the Equinox but I can assure you that the PH is an amazing woodstove and that the constant heat transfer is great. Any chance that you could have two woodstoves in your house? It might be something to consider....

 

[weatherguy]

Yeah, two stoves, one you like and one your wife likes, problem solved

 

[Joyboy]

Lol. Thats a possibility. I do have another fireplace that I could put a insert in.

Also I had a old wood burning cook stove in the back that I actually moved temporarily and put a Avalon arbor down draft stove in for temporary heat till I get this figured out. The problem with where the Avalon is, it's even more isolated than the fireplace that caught fire.

 

[begreen]

View attachment 193337 The fire burned down inside the walls behind the brick. About 4 studs worth. Which is basically the whole middle section of the hearth. We will never be able to match the old brick so we are going to tear out the whole thing. Since the bottom of the fireplace is getting demo-ed it gives us some flexibility in what we can do.

The fireplace is pretty large but I felt we would get more heat out of a stove. Something kinda like this.

Thanks for the clarification. Yes, looks like you could do an installation like that. If you choose that path then be sure to pay attention to the stove's alcove installation requirements unless the entire surrounding structure is completely non-combustible. But now you have an open pallette so play around a bit with ideas. The stove does not need to be recessed into a stone grotto. The more it is out in the open the better for heating. Maybe consider a stone backwall instead of surrounding the stove in stone?

Another option would be to install a modern ZC fireplace that is designed with heating in mind and is ductable to help distribute the heat. This setup can be faced with stone to make a very eye pleasing installation that delivers good heat.

 

[Joyboy]

The Hearthstone Manchester is a real looker in Brown enamel. Respectable heater been durable so far.

So it's just the soapstone stoves you would stay away from in the hearthstone line? The Manchester is a good looking stove!

 

[begreen]

Another 3 cu ft stove like this would be the Jotul F600. There are also 3.0 cu ft cast iron jacketed stoves to consider like the Quadrafire Explorer III, Jotul F55, PE Alderlea T6, and in a cat stove the BK Ashford 30.1.

 

[electrathon]

If I was going to start from scratch I would do an install similar to your alcove picture. I have a Hearthstone. It is gorgeous looking. I get a lot of comments on it. It gobbles up wood. It puts out little heat by comparison to a metal stove. It has very short burn times. Buy something else if you want good heat. Buy one if you want a stunning looking stove.

 

[trguitar]

Just to get the obvious out there...do you really need to heat all 4200 sf, or do you close off some of the house in the winter?

 

[Joyboy]

If I was going to start from scratch I would do an install similar to your alcove picture. I have a Hearthstone. It is gorgeous looking. I get a lot of comments on it. It gobbles up wood. It puts out little heat by comparison to a metal stove. It has very short burn times. Buy something else if you want good heat. Buy one if you want a stunning looking stove.

What stove are you running? I would prefer good heat, looks stunning,very little wood usage and low cost. Hmm. I might be wanting a little much.

On a serious note. I have been amazed at how much heat per wood used, I have been getting out of this Avalon. I know they discontinued this stove because of durability problems but it goes a week on wood that I would have used in two days with my old insert.