Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum and fairly new at burning wood. I have a 1100 sq ranch that I am heating with a 20+ year old Pacific Energy Vista. Bought it used 3 years ago. Works like a champ but has a few hairline cracks and it's starting to show its age a little. Now that I'm committed to burning in this house, I'm thinking of replacing it. I'm looking at a discounted Pacific Energy T4 ALDERLEA because I love this stove.. and it's basically the same thing, with jacketed cast. I would love an overnight burn and my bedroom is upstairs above the garage. Garage is unheated and that room is not temperature regulated. That said.. when my stove is cranking.. upstairs is plenty warm.. sometimes too much at first. House is insulated well and has good windows and doors. I go from 6 to 8 inch insulated class A chimney pipe....so I definitely want flue Temps to be hot enough. A bigger stove with smaller fires will probably create cooler chimney temperatures.. which isn't good. A bigger stove cranked will be really overkill. So... thinking hard about this Alderlea. Clearances work and in every way seems like a good fit. Question is about going from a 20 year stove to brand new, and all steel to jacketed. Also, will the how air travel upstairs with that stove like my current all steel stove. I'm in upstate New York. Thank you!
Replacement woodstove
- Thread starter Wakajawaka
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Welcome. The Vista is jacketed too. It has a steel jacket instead of a cast iron one. Both the Vista and the T4 are convective in nature.
Can you post a picture of the areas of concern where there are hairline cracks.
Can you post a picture of the areas of concern where there are hairline cracks.
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![[Hearth.com] Replacement woodstove](/talk/data/attachments/334/334133-0cef495adcac909dcc2109b0616ea52c.jpg?hash=KxRMZQbm6h)
The cracks are repairable. They can be ground out, then welded. But if a replacement is desired, the T4 will perform well as a convective stove. My preference is the T5. It has several advantages over the T4 like the swing away trivet top, better and simpler baffle system, longer burn time, North/South loading, and more thermal mass. The mass helps reduce room temperture swings for more even heating. In milder weather when less heat is desired, just burn smaller 4-5 split fires. Then add a couple of splits at a time to sustain the fire.
The T4 has the swing trivet top and I believe tge same baffle system. Would also fit the clearances in my space. I'm not interested in repaing my stove given it's age. Rather sell it and put the money towards a new one. Smaller fires in a bigger stove means lower flue temps... from my understanding. Going from 6 to 8 inch chimney pipe will reduce the temps even more, potentially leading to more creosote. Anyway.. this is a lot of theory. Biggest questions I have are will the heat radiate upstairs as good with tge T4 and will I potentially have longer burn times- or just longer heat dispersion into my home. Will a brand new stove run any better or different than a 20 year old stove?
![[Hearth.com] Replacement woodstove](/talk/data/attachments/334/334136-22a29d568c9f40bb803bb3538606a342.jpg?hash=JIBs-ulfuq)
The T4 top is a fixed trivet. The firebox has a combo of tubes and a short baffle. It's quite different from the T5, inside and out. As long as the firewood is fully seasoned and the fire doesn't smolder, creosote should not be an issue. A stove pipe thermometer will help verify that the flue gases are hot enough.
Radiant heat is line of sight. The Vista's heat is convectiing upstairs. So will a T4 or T5.
Gotcha. Thanks again. Maybe I'm misunderstanding but tge picture of the T4 I'm looking at is a new 2019 leftover in black enamel. The top swivels away on the right and left sides. I can't see the inside of tge firebox.
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That explains the difference. The new Vistas and T4 are not the same inside as the old Vista which had the typical PE baffle and they lost the split trivet. This changed for the LE and LE2 models. The dealer can not legally sell the previous version as new after May 2020 unless it's the LE model which I think came out mid to late 2019. The previous version can be sold as used though I'm not sure how this affects warranty.
He's selling it as used. No warranty. Said pre 2020 epa regulations. He's a dealer.. just said he never sold it. Pre 2020 epa regulations aren't necessarily a bad thing I find think. It's a risk with no warranty but for what it is 1800 is a pretty good price I think.
It will be fine as a burner and I prefered the older style T4s. They are basically tough and trouble-free stoves and you know how it operates already. It's looks sharp in black enamel. Happy burning!
Thanks buddy. I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I'm strongly thinking about it. I was thinking of a drolet that does up to 1800sq, and it's a lot cheaper. To your point though.. I have experience with the PE and the T4 is pretty close to the Vista. I do love the look of it in black enamel. Just seems rock solid and if it performs like my current stove I'd be happy. If it performs slightly better.. all the better! Thanks again!
They are in two different leagues, visually, operationally, and for utility. I'm cooking a turkey breast on the trivet top of the T6 right now.
I wouldn't be cooking on it, at least not with any frequency. I'm just a PE fan now that I have one and know that it's over 20 years old. I haven't heard anything bad about Drolets. The one I like is Deco ii. I get the feeling it would be just fine, but I'd probably realize why they are in different leagues before long.
Don't hesitate; if it's a good deal, you can afford it, get the one you like and know.
Nothing wrong with Drolets but why risk regretting it?
Nothing wrong with Drolets but why risk regretting it?
True. I'm not planning on swapping stoves out all the time. I'd like to get one that's going to be a fixture in the house. The no warranty is the only drawback but I believe in PE as rock solid. I know this price is probably 2k cheaper than brand new. And to your point, it has pre 2020 features that have a strong track record.
It sold new for about $1000 more back in 2019. By now that is half-price for a new T4 LE.
Half price plus tax. Upwards of 4k all said and done. That's not happening. I was seriously considering another used one or a Drolet because they're cheap and I can get brand new with warranty. I think if I pass this PE up I won't be getting another one. Not at full price.
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