Is the PE Summit an overkill or should I go with Spectrum.....how long are your burn times?

[michiganwinters]

Im having a hard time with the size of the Summit.......they say its for a 3000 sqft house, and mine is only 1500sqft(1900cubicsqft). Im wanting a good long burn time but dont want to get a huge stove that I always have to damper down for fear of creosilt (sp?). So wondering if spectrum would be a better fit for my sized home. All of the reviews on the PE products have been pretty darn positive and better than some of the hearthstone Phoenix (which Ive also been researching). So wonderin about burn times, how much wood do you use and what kind. Pretty much whatever you can tell me about your experience with PE.
Thank you!!
Audrey

 

[CK-1]

Im having a hard time with the size of the Summit.......they say its for a 3000 sqft house, and mine is only 1500sqft(1900cubicsqft). Im wanting a good long burn time but dont want to get a huge stove that I always have to damper down for fear of creosilt (sp?). So wondering if spectrum would be a better fit for my sized home. All of the reviews on the PE products have been pretty darn positive and better than some of the hearthstone Phoenix (which Ive also been researching). So wonderin about burn times, how much wood do you use and what kind. Pretty much whatever you can tell me about your experience with PE.
Thank you!!
Audrey

I have a 3300 sqft home and my Summit heats that pretty good. I have an adequate opening that lets the rising heat make the 2nd floor feel comfortable. It will take around 3 hours to actually feel the heating results. I burn mostly oak and maple and can get a 6.5 hour burn with a single load packed full using a direct connect kit. Should see some improvement when I install a full liner in a few weeks..

 

[Gunner]

At 1500 sqft in MI you could probably go either way. The key is going to be your layout and if the heat will move around well. I heat 1800 sqft in southern Ontario with a Summit and it is perfect match (my layout is very open)

If you are looking for full time 24/7 wood heat I'd go with the summit...but I like a bigger stove. Come jan-feb you'll start seeing posts on how to get rid of that 5 inch coal bed cause they got no room to fit wood in. Burn wise with good hardwood the Summit is a 10-12hr stove the Spec is 8-10hr.

 

[Gunner]

Tell us more about the house. Insulation, windows, floorplan, stove location. How tall would the chimney be? Will this be the only heat source? Will someone be home during the day to load the stove? etc...

Don't worry about running the stove with the air closed all the way...it your wood is dry creo will be a non issue. I run mine closed all the way all the time, got 1 cup of dust out of 22ft. With the EBT it can't smolder.

 

[iceman]

over here in new england bigger is better! get the summit

 

[MrGriz]

I'd much rather build a small fire in a big box than hear the electric heat kick in.

 

[thechimneysweep]

Hi Audrey,

I heat my 1600 sq.ft. house (with LOTS of glass area) with the Spectrum, and always have hot coals 10-12 hours later to start my fresh load. I burn Birch, Maple and Fir. I'm in the Pacific Northwest, so you're in a colder climate, but you'll probably be burning better wood and I'm guessing you don't have the glass roof problem. We've sold hundreds of Spectrums and hundreds of Summits, and based upon personal experience and customer feedback, I'd make the choice based upon insulation: if your house is well insulated, I'd go with the Spectrum.

 

[karl]

A bit off topic, but Tom would you please post some pictures of that house. It looks very interesting.

 

[michiganwinters]

3 bedroom 2.5 bath 1509sqft mainfloor with dining, livingroom kitchen area open with a scissor truss 4/12 interior pitch. The stairwell to the basement is open then there is a short hallway leading to the bedrooms (which may be hard to get heat to that end but I can always put furnace to fan only and block off cold air returns in basement). There will be a ceiling fan in the living room to circulate the air. Walls are R15-R18 all cracks, outlets and windows are foamed. R40 in the celing. The house faces south so plenty of good sunshine in the winter (if its sunny). House has the attached garage on the west side and housewrap to prevent drafts from wind. Great low-e gase filled windows. Im just concerned that I will be heating myself right out of the house with the summit. The only stove Ive ever owned was an old Timberline so I dont know what to expect. Oh I will be buring oak (black and red) and Maple.

 

[michiganwinters]

Tom, sounds like you have good luck with the spectrum. Local dealer says we cant get it in matte black finish only glaze. Im just wondering since you are near the ocean is it a bit milder there in WA then here in MI. Typical winter is -10 - 25 degrees.

 

[thechimneysweep]

Audrey, it doesn't get that cold here very often; maybe 5-6 weeks per Winter. However, I run the Spectrum on DEAD LOW the rest of the time so it doesn't cook us out of the house. Again, I'd choose based upon your house insulation.

PS: The matte black version of the Spectrum is called the Super 27, and you can view it at (broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/pacsup27.htm). Same exact firebox but without the porcelain finish and ash drawer (you can add the ash drawer as an option).

 

[Hogwildz]

You want to get the Summit fired up well, then close the air down for a nice long burn. No creosote problem if you burn it hot enough.
I burned semi wet wood last year and you can see in my cleaning post, not a heck of alot of crud.
Better to crack a window open, then have a full firebox maxed out and still not warm enough.
You can do smaller fires in the Summit, but for a nice overnight burn, pack the beast full, set it and forget it.

 

[Hogwildz]

Very unique and cool pad Tom

 

[Jfk4th]

Awesome crib Tom!

Back to the stove question, I agree with the Hog on this one. I have a Summit and I use it basically to heat 2 rooms. If you have good draft (make sure you have 15 feet of pipe from stove to top) you can do what Hogwildz said. Fill it up, get good coals going, then crank her down and let the EBT do the work. This is what I do pretty much twice a day with average burn times of about 12 hours. I open a window or two if it get too hot, but I would rather have the bigger firebox and more BTU's if I need it than always filling it. The Summit is a great stove, check out my burn and pics......Bigger firebox means you can fiddle a little more with stacking the wood. I go with the Roospike method a use splits and rounds at night, you can't beat it for a long burn
Come join the PE owners, we are growing at a tremendous rate at I have not heard of anybody that does not like the Summit.
Good Luck

 

[Henz]

go the bigger stove. the bigger stove will hold more fuel whic hi nturn will give you longer burn times..I first purchased the Avalon Rainier stove. IT was speced to be perfect, maybe even alittle big for my small 1400sqft house..Let me tell yeah, I loved the looks of the stove and how it burned, but I didnt like waking up and heading downstairs at 3am to an all but out fire..I called the place and they came in with the olympic and I have been real happy..They say 12hr burn time, but I bet its 9 hours of good burntime..But thats basically through the night..The Rainier I was getting like 5-6 hours of good burn time and its spec's at 9hrs.

 

[MrGriz]

I know this is OT, but that is one cool pad Tom! If you ever need help painting again.....Call those guys back, I'm busy that year ;-)

 

[rich81]

get the bigger one and build smaller fires, or damper her down. it has the EBT anyway right? wish i would have chose the summit over super 27 just for the few extra hours of burn time

 

[thechimneysweep]

Hi Audrey,

I just reread your post, and finally noticed your Winter climate description. MINUS 10? Move West. Or go with the Summit.

The house was designed by the architect Robert Bruce for a local sculptor who promptly achieved national fame and moved to New York. It is in the foothills of Chuckanut Mountain http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/215025_chuckanut10.html, but only a 5-minute drive from my retail store. At the top of a long, steep driveway, it is surrounded by trees and isolated from the street and neighbors.

My company installed the original orange porcelain cone-shaped fireplace (went with the orange carpeting) for the contractor back in 1979, when I still worked on the install crew. While we were installing the chimney-from-hell (see photo above), I remarked to my helper that I would love to own this house someday. Eight years and three owners later, I got my wish.

I was single at the time, and soon found that the house was the ideal bachelor pad, with a girlbait factor somewhere on the scale between hot tub and swimming pool. I still love the place, although my wife complains about the 3-story spiral staircase:

If you're on the bottom floor and need something, it is always on the top floor.

If you're on the top floor, you always need something located on the bottom floor.

If you're on the middle floor, you always need two things. Guess where they are.