Installing an insert into pre-existing chimney. The house is single story 2,600 sq ft rambling ranch built in the 60's with lots, and I mean lots, of windows. The walls are 8' tall, made of 8" adobe bricks, and I installed dual pane windows. The homes environment works great in summer with the adobe walls despite summer temps in the 100's. But, the house is very cold in the winter. Winter temps are typical 30's-40's at night. Sometimes below 32. Zip code is 95658.
Due to the house layout with a couple hall ways, the stove would probably heat about 1,800-2,000 sq ft. Desired minimum is 1,600.
I was thinking about getting an insert of ~75k btu's like the Osburn 1800i or Escape1800i/CW2900. I found the Breckwell which costs less and I like the looks. The Breckwell is rated at 112,000 btu's. The others are rated 65,000 and 75,000 with recommended sq ft up to 1,800 and 2,100. The Breckwell recommended is 2,600 sq ft.
Initially I thought the Breckwell is too large. However, looking at the EPA specs it is very similar. What is more realistic to size the stove by, the manufacturers rated btu at the hottest burn or the EPA btu's? In other words, would the Breckwell be too large? And would burning smaller fires or more damping with the Breckwell be wasting fuel/wood compared to the others?
United States Stove Company Breckwell SW740 2.5 11000-36700
Stove Builder International, Inc. Osburn 1800-I 2.7 9700-36300
Stove Builder International, Inc. CW2900 Insert Escape 1800i 3.9 11600-32200
Thank you!
Due to the house layout with a couple hall ways, the stove would probably heat about 1,800-2,000 sq ft. Desired minimum is 1,600.
I was thinking about getting an insert of ~75k btu's like the Osburn 1800i or Escape1800i/CW2900. I found the Breckwell which costs less and I like the looks. The Breckwell is rated at 112,000 btu's. The others are rated 65,000 and 75,000 with recommended sq ft up to 1,800 and 2,100. The Breckwell recommended is 2,600 sq ft.
Initially I thought the Breckwell is too large. However, looking at the EPA specs it is very similar. What is more realistic to size the stove by, the manufacturers rated btu at the hottest burn or the EPA btu's? In other words, would the Breckwell be too large? And would burning smaller fires or more damping with the Breckwell be wasting fuel/wood compared to the others?
United States Stove Company Breckwell SW740 2.5 11000-36700
Stove Builder International, Inc. Osburn 1800-I 2.7 9700-36300
Stove Builder International, Inc. CW2900 Insert Escape 1800i 3.9 11600-32200
Thank you!
