The house: 3,500 sq ft of living space, with 1/3 behind closed doors (closed rooms have plumbing, don't freeze, but far from 70 degrees). The basement (an additional 1750 sq ft) has a one side as a walk-out, with an uninsulated brick wall, and the rest of the basement is dry-layed stone foundation (we haven't wasted anyone's time asking for a blower-door test). Attic has 6" of blown-in insulation. Walls are a little less than a 2x4 width, with blown-in insulation, plus house wrap on three sides. 40+ new windows, double glazed, foamed around them. House sits in the open. A breeze is not unusual, but winds of 25mph+ are rare. We are in a relatively cold spot compared to the general region.
Forced hot air oil furnace, thermostat usually set at 64 or lower.
10 years of a pre-EPA stove, then 1.5 seasons running the PH, and now half a year with Woodstock's Ideal Steel. Burning 2yr Red Maple. 6" liner, 30+ feet in internal chimney.
We use about 100 gal of oil annually, plus 8 cord of firewood.
-6 F last night, -4 F and falling tonight. No one home stoking the fire during the day today. Tonight the kitchen (stove room) is 64 degrees (far wall, next to a window, just re-loaded after burning down some coals, so I expect to get back up around 70), living room is 61 degrees. We bumped the oil on once tonight, thermostat is set at 58 for the night. The furthest room (upstairs) has a cold-air return in the floor, so the warm air goes up quite nicely, but I'm not sure what it is running for a temp tonight.
When burning hard (reload 4+ times per day), we clean the cat in the PH every other week. It is a simple task, but with our wood, draft, etc, it will have reduced performance if we don't clean it. We cleaned the liner monthly with the pre-EPA stove, and were still in the frequent checking mindset with the PH, but could probably do just a mid-winter check and a Spring cleaning. The Ideal Steel has been even cleaner burning.
The PH is a simple, enjoyable stove to run. The Ideal Steel is even easier to run. I think the PH will put out a little more top-end heat. We need a second stove - it will make the dead-of-winter more bearable, and will allow us to do longer, slower burns in each stove in more mild weather. After this winter there is an R60 attic in my near future.
In short, we have more extreme circumstances, and we are cooler than you and my wife prefer. We both very much enjoy the PH, and if you've read the archives you know about the company's support ethics. For your circumstances it sounds unlikely that a woodstove on a 6" liner will be a 100% solution, but it might well be an 80 - 90% solution.
