Best radiant heater and question about Regency catalytic

[Sprinter]

Just three more things:

1. Dry wood
2. Dry wood
3. Dry wood

Meaning around 20% moisture content as read on a moisture meter.

Have fun with your project.

 

[begreen]

Sounds like the wood sellers in Australia must season wood to at least 25% before selling.

 

[Sprinter]

Sounds like the wood sellers in Australia must season wood to at least 25% before selling.

I'm surprised at that. They must have a heck of a bad problem there to legislate something like that. And how would they enforce it? Probably relying on customer complaint. Similar to our "cordage" laws here. The customer still has to be aware.

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

What i think happens is that the supplier keeps the firewood in the north of Victoria in massive piles but split. They then leave it for a year or so and then they sell this to all the garden / landscape businesses around the place. Its very hot and very dry with very low humidity where they store the firewood. It does actually seem pretty dry - but very expensive $600 per cord.....

 

[Ashful]

I agree with you that in our case a stove that gives off more convective heat will work a little better but honestly even a stove with no convective jacket at all will still create allot of convective heat just by the air rising over it and all of the objects in the house that it has heated. What highbeam said that i agree with is that the difference between convective and radiant stoves is greatly exaggerated. Both give off both types of heat. Yes ones with a convective jacket give off less radiant heat and vise versa but for most people the difference is not very great.

Again, depends on environment, but my experience is that the difference can be very substantial. You're right, that both stoves give off both types of heat, but in masonry house (i.e. solid stone exterior walls) any face radiating a lot of energy is just wasted. My Jotuls used to put so much heat into the stone walls surrounding them that the wall was literally too hot to touch, and the 20" thick wall would run over 40F on the outside on nights when the outside temperature was only 10F. With my jacketed Ashford 30's, the wall stays cool inside and out, as there's so little heat radiating off the back and sides of that stove.

 

[bholler]

but in masonry house (i.e. solid stone exterior walls) any face radiating a lot of energy is just wasted.

you could always insulate lol. And yes I know it is not simple in a true masonry structure. I have done a few and it is expensive and you loose the old interior surfaces

 

[Sprinter]

What i think happens is that the supplier keeps the firewood in the north of Victoria in massive piles but split. They then leave it for a year or so and then they sell this to all the garden / landscape businesses around the place. Its very hot and very dry with very low humidity where they store the firewood. It does actually seem pretty dry - but very expensive $600 per cord.....

View attachment 178717

So around $440 USD? That is very expensive indeed. How much do you think it would cost for a supplier to deliver a cord that had not gone through that process? Just curious. I'm just kind of surprised that they don't allow the consumer the choice to season their own if desired, unless the pollution problem is that bad.

 

[Ashful]

you could always insulate lol. And yes I know it is not simple in a true masonry structure. I have done a few and it is expensive and you loose the old interior surfaces

Yeah... did that in my last house. Furred in every wall, applied blue foam board, drywall. That house was only 1870's, and not of any great historic value, so no great loss.

My situation is unique, but it's a case study in just how much difference a convective vs. radiant stove can make. I'm certain no one with framed walls will ever see anywhere near the difference I do, between the two, but there are many others living in old stone houses.

 

[Sprinter]

you could always insulate lol. And yes I know it is not simple in a true masonry structure. I have done a few and it is expensive and you loose the old interior surfaces

That's what I was thinking too. It's a shame to lose all that energy to the environment.

 

[Ashful]

That's what I was thinking too. It's a shame to lose all that energy to the environment.

Wasn't trying to make this another thread about my house, so I'll just say it's a historically significant house, that has been un-messed with for about 250 years. Living in a museum is not cheap or efficient, but I've accepted that.

 

[Sprinter]

Wasn't trying to make this another thread about my house, so I'll just say it's a historically significant house, that has been un-messed with for about 250 years. Living in a museum is not cheap or efficient, but I've accepted that.

i'm envisioning a wall that has "B. Franklin was here" scratched on it. Very cool. Don't change a thing...

 

[BrotherBart]

i'm envisioning a wall that has "B. Franklin was here" scratched on it. Very cool. Don't change a thing...

I have had the pic tour of it. A fantastic place. That I wouldn't want to have to heat or maintain on a bet.

I asked him for a pic of the registration desk. It is that big.

 

[bholler]

Wasn't trying to make this another thread about my house, so I'll just say it's a historically significant house, that has been un-messed with for about 250 years. Living in a museum is not cheap or efficient, but I've accepted that.

I understand that and i am glad there are people like you who are willing and able to live in and maintain houses like that. But my 100 yr old balloon frame house is old enough for me. By the way nothing I posted here about your house was meant to be critical in the least There are some houses that just should not should be messed with.

 

[Ashful]

Bart, I'll have to update those photos for you. I'm in the thick of another project. ;-)

No offense taken or intended bholler. Just always conscious that some here have heard these stories more than they'd like!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Meghann]

The Nectre Mk1 is a radiant heater, it has the highest kilowatt output of any radiant heater on the market in Australia. The laboratory test reported a peak kW output of 21.9 with an overall emissions of under 1 gram per kilo and a maximum efficiency of 80.6%. It is also Australian Made (in the Northern Suburbs of Adelaide) and Nectre have been manufacturing wood heaters for over 35 years. Make sure you concentrate on kW output not just coverage (in sqm/sq) as this can be inaccurate dependent upon the integrity of a company's marketing people...... In the interests of full disclosure I am the Social Media marketing manager for Nectre Fireplaces. Hope this helps!

 

[Meghann]

Hey mate
I am in Crafers in the Adelaide HIlls, pretty much the coldest suburb in these parts.
Nice to hear someone say something positive about the Regency cats as they are the only cats available here as far as I can tell.
The reason I thought primarily a radiant heater was due to our cathedral ceilings - anything with a fan would just end up blowing to the top of this room where a radiant would heat up the actual surfaces below (at least that is my understanding).
Yes I have read good things on this forum about Pacific energy and also Quadrafire - I was just seduced by the idea of a long burn given we go long periods out of the house with work..
Thanks for your input on this. I change my mind everyday between just plunging in on a Regency cat and trusting they will support me or going with a tried and tested oven like a Pacific or Quad.
cheers

Try Nectre's range of radiant heaters, the inventor/owner/designer lives in Crafers too!

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Welcome to the Forums Meghann

i used to own the Nectre Mega in my old house - and it did a decent job of heating the whole house. My only concern with this unit was that it was in-efficient as it didn't have any secondary combustion and therefore it didn't get the most out of my firewood. It did however pump out some good heat. It had a burn time up-to 8-10 hours which wasn't the best considering the near 3.0 cubic feet firebox. it did seem well built and was very easy to operate fill-run-turn down-repeat.

i have now noticed the Nectre Mega now has a LE after the name - what does this mean? has it been advanced at all? it would be my goto heater if it had some proper secondary air.......

 

[Meghann]

Welcome to the Forums Meghann

i used to own the Nectre Mega in my old house - and it did a decent job of heating the whole house. My only concern with this unit was that it was in-efficient as it didn't have any secondary combustion and therefore it didn't get the most out of my firewood. It did however pump out some good heat. It had a burn time up-to 8-10 hours which wasn't the best considering the near 3.0 cubic feet firebox. it did seem well built and was very easy to operate fill-run-turn down-repeat.

i have now noticed the Nectre Mega now has a LE after the name - what does this mean? has it been advanced at all? it would be my goto heater if it had some proper secondary air.......

Hi Auzzie Gumtree!
Thanks for the welcome, great forum when you love wood heating as much as us! You are correct the Mega is now part of Nectre's LE (Low Emission) range and has been updated to comply with the 2019 Australian Standards. As part of this update it does now have secondary combustion. The Mega also now has an additional upper baffle plate to increase the flame path which means more heat into your room, rather than being lost up the flue.

In terms of burn time, the Mega is the V12 of wood heaters, it has a large kW output which naturally means that you will burn through wood more quickly than with a heater that has a lower kW output. To have a heater with the heat output of the Mega and an extended burn time would be like expecting the fuel efficiency of a Holden Spark and the power of a V8 Commodore, just can't have both!

 

[goldencoults]

The Nectre Mk1 is a radiant heater, it has the highest kilowatt output of any radiant heater on the market in Australia. The laboratory test reported a peak kW output of 21.9 with an overall emissions of under 1 gram per kilo and a maximum efficiency of 80.6%. It is also Australian Made (in the Northern Suburbs of Adelaide) and Nectre have been manufacturing wood heaters for over 35 years. Make sure you concentrate on kW output not just coverage (in sqm/sq) as this can be inaccurate dependent upon the integrity of a company's marketing people...... In the interests of full disclosure I am the Social Media marketing manager for Nectre Fireplaces. Hope this helps!

Hey Meghann - yes I did look at the Nectres and they are very well recommended by neighbours and friends who have them.
But in the end my partner just didn't fancy the look of them to be honest.

We have ordered a Pacific Energy Summit - it really seems like a proven performer from everything I have read and is priced well here compared with, say the Quadrafire equivalent (which I also considered).

As a first time burner I am hoping we made the right decision but am pretty confident based on forum reviews - thanks to everyone here for all your advice!

Winter has started here and I have a tonne of wood stacked and waiting for the installation..

 

[Meghann]

Hey Meghann - yes I did look at the Nectres and they are very well recommended by neighbours and friends who have them.
But in the end my partner just didn't fancy the look of them to be honest.

We have ordered a Pacific Energy Summit - it really seems like a proven performer from everything I have read and is priced well here compared with, say the Quadrafire equivalent (which I also considered).

As a first time burner I am hoping we made the right decision but am pretty confident based on forum reviews - thanks to everyone here for all your advice!

Winter has started here and I have a tonne of wood stacked and waiting for the installation..

Fair enough, thanks for considering the Nectre range. I don't have first hand experience with the Pacific Energy range as they are an import but I am sure you will be fine, anyway as they say happy partner, happy life...... One thing to check is that you do get the test results regarding kW output etc. from the Australian website, not the Northern Hemisphere information. We have had several reports of people disappointed because they can't reproduce the performance of the heaters when using Australian hardwood rather than the soft wood that heaters are tested with in the US, Canada etc. I am certain that your dealer will have pointed these issues out to you. Enjoy and stay warm, we live in Stirling and it is starting to get chilly!

 

[Highbeam]

Hi Auzzie Gumtree!
Thanks for the welcome, great forum when you love wood heating as much as us! You are correct the Mega is now part of Nectre's LE (Low Emission) range and has been updated to comply with the 2019 Australian Standards. As part of this update it does now have secondary combustion. The Mega also now has an additional upper baffle plate to increase the flame path which means more heat into your room, rather than being lost up the flue.

In terms of burn time, the Mega is the V12 of wood heaters, it has a large kW output which naturally means that you will burn through wood more quickly than with a heater that has a lower kW output. To have a heater with the heat output of the Mega and an extended burn time would be like expecting the fuel efficiency of a Holden Spark and the power of a V8 Commodore, just can't have both!

Ah but Meghann, you can have both high output and long burn times if you design a stove with a proper adjustable burn rate. Surely your Nectre stove has an air control lever on it to control burn rate? What's wrong with it if it doesn't allow a range of outputs? In the north American market, and perhaps Australian as well, we have blaze king brand stoves and a couple of other brands that allow an extremely wide range of outputs and generous firebox size which means long burns if you want it (think 40 hours) and high outputs if you want it (an 800 degree 4.3 cubic foot stove is hot!).

As far as cars. We also have big turbo diesels. My pickup truck gets better highway gas mileage than most station wagons/mini vans on the road but just last night I loaded over 4000# of green cherry firewood in it. MPG can be cut to 50% when it is working hard. Again, variable output with high efficiency at any output rate.

I remember the old days when a big gas V8 car/truck just got 8 mpg whether it was working or cruising. Things have improved since then. Stoves too!

 

[Meghann]

Ah but Meghann, you can have both high output and long burn times if you design a stove with a proper adjustable burn rate. Surely your Nectre stove has an air control lever on it to control burn rate? What's wrong with it if it doesn't allow a range of outputs? In the north American market, and perhaps Australian as well, we have blaze king brand stoves and a couple of other brands that allow an extremely wide range of outputs and generous firebox size which means long burns if you want it (think 40 hours) and high outputs if you want it (an 800 degree 4.3 cubic foot stove is hot!).

As far as cars. We also have big turbo diesels. My pickup truck gets better highway gas mileage than most station wagons/mini vans on the road but just last night I loaded over 4000# of green cherry firewood in it. MPG can be cut to 50% when it is working hard. Again, variable output with high efficiency at any output rate.

I remember the old days when a big gas V8 car/truck just got 8 mpg whether it was working or cruising. Things have improved since then. Stoves too!

Correct, you can have high output and long burn times with a stove that has an adjustable burn rate, just not at the same time! Our range certainly has adjustable air intakes that can be shut down for a longer or overnight burn but you obviously won't be getting the same high kW heat output whilst it is shut down. My apologies, I wasn't clear enough about that statement. For my own interest do you have non-catalytic heaters achieving 40 hour burn times in the Northern Hemisphere? Blaze King is not currently available in Australia.
Absolutely things have improved and we would like to think our range is a prime example of that fact. We have three full time Research and Development engineers and an active R&D department so if there is not improvement I think there jobs may be shaky!

 

[begreen]

Meghann do you work for Nectre?

 

[Meghann]

Meghann do you work for Nectre?

Hi begreen, yes I do, I did disclose that on an earlier post on this thread. I haven't interacted on any other threads yet. I have only just joined up so I will add it to my profile too. Is that ok?

 

[begreen]

Yes, it's great to have industry folks here to help others with their stoves as long as it's not a sales pitch.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...acturers-retailers-distributors-read-this.41/