Prolly too late to have them cut down before winter. I'm afraid it's going to be expensive. Not sure what time of year I'll get the best price, but I don't think now. One is dead and must come down, but the other next to it should also come down, and suspect it would be better doing them together. Guess if I get them down in the spring, might be able to use the wood next year.
How do you get a shorter burn time?
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You may have me confused with someone else, am not that close to montco border, and iirc you said you were around Limerick. That's gotta be over 40 miles from me, an hour or so ride.
As far as the house, much smaller, 2500 sf, much newer than yours,1950's. Similar climate though
. Yeah, if I were to get a second stove, I'd only be burning in it when it got real cold. Loading two stoves all season could get old quick. Actually, we've had a few colder nights, lately, low 20's, (though the daytime highs have been above or around freezing so it will get colder) and now that I've turned the blower up, and the air level, place feels a little more comfortable, I think. But it's definitely not going to be in the 70's inside here with just the Summit, when we get real cold weather. Though, thinking back, I sort of expected that I'd have to use at least some propane to supplement, and to keep the pipes from freezing in real cold weather.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Yep... Pretty close, when talking about climate on a national (heck... international) forum! Originally from New Hope, I just move a little farther west every 15 years or so.
Dave A. How is the Summit heating your house compared with the much smaller Century? I am in somewhat of a similar situation. I went from a 1.8 cf Drolet insert to a 2.8 cf Appalachian catalytic stove. Still learning the stove but I am fighting to keep my drafty 1950"s home much higher than 60 degrees when it is in the 20's outside. Not that much difference in heat output from the smaller stove but I do get much longer burn times. I always assumed the Summit would be the only insert that would have a chance of keeping my home comfortable when it gets really cold outside.
I think you need to look at what the average outside temps are doing over a 24 hour period. E.g. with overnight lows around 20F and daytime highs in the 30's but above freezing, the Summit seems be able to keep average interior temps here above 70. But add wind and daytime highs less than freezing and temps will start dropping into the 60's.(but that's well above 60F.) I haven't experienced a January with it yet. But guesstimating from the weather I've seen, it would probably take a sustained freeze of several days with wind to bring the interior down to 60F (without any supplemental heat)
Compared to the Century, it's night and day. The twice or more longer burn times (firebox 2x size) plus higher heat output. That small Century even in 50's weather couldn't seem to bring the average inside temps above about 68, and that was with about 1000 sf in rooms closed off. (but then again until right before I replaced it, I hadn't learned how to get the most out of it: I wasn't filling the box full, the wood was marginal the first year, et.al. and I was avoiding using any backup heat, which I think you have to resign yourself to do, to maintain sanity when the stove can't keep up.)
But if you mean daytime highs in the 20's and overnight lows into the low teens or single digits, with wind, without any supplemental heat, and day after day, then I could see temps inside maybe dropping to 60F.
What it really boils down to is what your house's actual heat loss is, under various conditions.
I would guess the Summit (the way I'm doing it with the mixed hardwoods, pretty dry (but not maximum dry) wood I have, can put out a net average of about 50K BTU/hr over as short as possible burn cycle, (which is somewhat less than the BK king can do, iirc). And my house probably at worst needs somewhere around 65K BTU sustained over a few day period of our most severe weather. Meaning it might actually need as much as 75K BTU when it's around 0F with wind, (but we've never had that kind of severe weather sustained over a 24 hour period, in this climate, in my lifetime anyway.)
So the Summit is probably one of the highest outputting inserts which only requires a 6" liner. I'd guess the Buck 91, Kuma Sequoia, the big Lennox, and maybe a few others in the 3.5 or greater cf firbox size which require 8" liners can output more heat. But if your heat loss is greater than what the stove can do, your interior temps just won't be maintained.
But I would think, you should be able get more heat out of your Appalachian than the 1.8 Drolet, somehow. I believe hearth member, mellow, has the same Appalachian insert. Might want to talk to him about it.
Compared to the Century, it's night and day. The twice or more longer burn times (firebox 2x size) plus higher heat output. That small Century even in 50's weather couldn't seem to bring the average inside temps above about 68, and that was with about 1000 sf in rooms closed off. (but then again until right before I replaced it, I hadn't learned how to get the most out of it: I wasn't filling the box full, the wood was marginal the first year, et.al. and I was avoiding using any backup heat, which I think you have to resign yourself to do, to maintain sanity when the stove can't keep up.)
But if you mean daytime highs in the 20's and overnight lows into the low teens or single digits, with wind, without any supplemental heat, and day after day, then I could see temps inside maybe dropping to 60F.
What it really boils down to is what your house's actual heat loss is, under various conditions.
I would guess the Summit (the way I'm doing it with the mixed hardwoods, pretty dry (but not maximum dry) wood I have, can put out a net average of about 50K BTU/hr over as short as possible burn cycle, (which is somewhat less than the BK king can do, iirc). And my house probably at worst needs somewhere around 65K BTU sustained over a few day period of our most severe weather. Meaning it might actually need as much as 75K BTU when it's around 0F with wind, (but we've never had that kind of severe weather sustained over a 24 hour period, in this climate, in my lifetime anyway.)
So the Summit is probably one of the highest outputting inserts which only requires a 6" liner. I'd guess the Buck 91, Kuma Sequoia, the big Lennox, and maybe a few others in the 3.5 or greater cf firbox size which require 8" liners can output more heat. But if your heat loss is greater than what the stove can do, your interior temps just won't be maintained.
But I would think, you should be able get more heat out of your Appalachian than the 1.8 Drolet, somehow. I believe hearth member, mellow, has the same Appalachian insert. Might want to talk to him about it.
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Just to clear this up a little better. When the top gets to that temp, it's not been planned to go that high, it's because I've overlooked it. I like to cut the air back when the top gets to about 700-750. I realize even that sounds high, but when the top is measuring 700-750 the Inferno on the front is only reading 300-400 (and that's what most guys are looking at, who aren't checking the stove top.) So I like to check the top in the beginning, to keep it from getting dangerously hot up there.
Later on the top temp is kind of discouraging to look at, it'll be lower than the front. On my Summit, later on the hottest part of the stove is the center front above the door.
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