Anyone burning an Alderlea T4 LE?

[djhnddjhnd]

I'm in the market for a new stove as a backup heat source for a 1600 sq ft 125+ year old house. I don't think a cat stove is good fit for us (I was also told avoiding a cat for a backup heat woodstove is a smart move.

I like the cast iron (mellower heat?) aspect of Alderlea, and T4 fits the size of this house. It's somewhat hard to get a straight answer from salespeople at stove shops around here as they they don't know the new stoves and don't seem too keen on PE anyway for whatever reason.

I realize the new PEs haven't been out for very long, but thought I'd ask if anyone knows about their ease of use / functionality / quality.
Also I guess they were able to avoid a cat but they still have some plug in / battery thermocoupler which kind of ruins the romance of a woodstove lol.

Thanks for any insights you can provide.

 

[stoveliker]

I don't think they need electricity other than if you have a fan?

PE is a solid brand and I would not hesitate about them in the noncat side of the spectrum.

 

[begreen]

I would recommend an Alderlea T5 LE for that size house in NYS unless the stove room is closed off from the rest of the house. Not only is it a better design, but it also has a square firebox for N/S or E/W loading and no power required.

 

[djhnddjhnd]

I would recommend an Alderlea T5 LE for that size house in NYS unless the stove room is closed off from the rest of the house. Not only is it a better design, but it also has a square firebox for N/S or E/W loading and no power required.

Thank you. The room is relatively closed off from the rest of the house and in the past got far too hot from fires in small steel Danish (Rais Mino 2) stove. Also the T4 is tax credit eligible so that takes some of the sting out of the price tag.

I was told that the EBT system in the 5 and 6 is fantastic and that the secondary burn module in the T4 is fine but ordinary.

However I don't want to make that room unbearably hot in fire season.

 

[begreen]

However I don't want to make that room unbearably hot in fire season.

Understandable. In some cases a fan blowing cooler air into the stove at floor level can even out temperature.

 

[djhnddjhnd]

I don't think they need electricity other than if you have a fan?

PE is a solid brand and I would not hesitate about them in the noncat side of the spectrum.

The T4 LE has an AC or battery operated thermocouple. The T5 and T6 LE models don't - or I don't see it mentioned in their manuals anyway - so I'm guessing it's related to the T4 LE qualifying for the tax credit, sans cat, while T5 and T6 LE don't qualify.

I'd be curious if anyone can explain this more for me. The stove store folks I've talked to don't really know the new LE line all that well.

Thank you!

 

[stoveliker]

Interesting. Though I would want my stove to operate without needing power (batteries or line).

 

[djhnddjhnd]

Interesting. Though I would want my stove to operate without needing power (batteries or line).

Yep. That's the point of the wood stove right? This is making me consider sizing up to a T5.

 

[begreen]

IDK, if the stove now burns cleaner and longer, then it has potential. The stove will still function without power.
FWIW, I have power going to our stove for the digital thermometer which I use all the time for guidance so plugging in the active turbulator is not a big deal. That said, I like the T5's design better for the simpler, one-piece baffle system and EBT2, plus the swing away trivet top is da bomb.