which big stove to heat with? BK, HEARTHSTONE, REGENCY

[DewDog]

3500sqft house, basement install.
9ft ceilings basement & 1st, 2nd floor 8ft. just looking to off set propane and heat pumps when below 35. basement and 1st floor are 1375sqft
800 2nd level. basement is fully finished and has bat insulation. 1st and 2nd floors spray foam open cell. 2x4 construction. all stairs are center of house, large return within range of stove in basement. open concept large common area rooms.
leaning toward regency f5200 pro but get conflicting opinions. BK 40 and the latest hearthstone green Mt 80.

Thoughts on what provides for the needs? my desire, minimum 12hrs of heating per load, subsidies electric and fuel consumption. also have backup for loss of power. plan on burning 35 and below for 4months of the year.
location: northern Kentucky
I have an abundance or locust, oaks, hickorys, walnut, cherry.

 

[begreen]

Based on the climate zone, house insulation, and sealing, the Regency F3500 or a BK Princess or a Woodstock Ideal Steel would be a good fit as long as there is a way for the heat to easily convect to the first floor. Otherwise it will quite hot in the basement in order for it to be 72 on the first floor.

Note that a return grille can not be closer than 10 ft to the wood stove.

 

[DewDog]

Based on the climate zone, house insulation, and sealing, the Regency F3500 or a BK Princess or a Woodstock Ideal Steel would be a good fit as long as there is a way for the heat to easily convect to the first floor. Otherwise it will quite hot in the basement in order for it to be 72 on the first floor.

Note that a return grille can not be closer than 10 ft to the wood stove.

yes sir luckily the return is more than the required distance. I saw that on a thread and checked.
you mention the smaller stoves as a viable option so I'll have to look into those. what are your thoughts on the king 40 running at a lower btu. a longer burntime would be a great plus. I started leaning towards the 5200 thinking the king 40 btus wouldn't be adequate. sounds like I was going overkill.

my father will be living in the basement and I do have concerns of him hot and us cold.

 

[mtndragon]

I have a 3000 sq foot home with a large, open 1st floor layout with two bedrooms attached (all 8ft ceiling) and a second story a frame with two bedrooms upstairs. My house is 70's construction, and I remodeled it in 2004 and increased the insulation and stepped up most of the 1st floor windows, but it's still a bit drafty when the wind really blows. I installed a F5200 in September that has been running non-stop since the first week of October. It is the perfect stove and fit for my situation. I was advised before install that it was going to be overkill and it is absolutely not. Had I gone with the F3500 I would have been understoved. I live at 6300 feet in the Sierra Nevada and we've had a reasonable cool late fall with overnight temps in the single digits and low teens and highs around 32F. The downside of the stove is the 8" pipe, and 8" triple wall duravent isn't cheap if you have a long exterior run like I do.
The stove itself is amazing. I have cleaned ash twice from the firebox since the first week of October, as it burns everything down and leaves almost no ash. So far, I have burned exclusively pine, as that's what grows here. I do have a cord of oak, but haven't needed it, as a full load of pine lasts all night and there's a mountain of coals in the morning. Since October, I have used about two cords of pine. My furnace has not been used at all. I checked the cleanout this week and no creosote. Everything's clean. I am thoroughly impressed with the stove. It keeps my main floor at 70 while running in its optimal zone with the cat engaged and the air intake just cracked a little back from full closed. With pine, this gets me about 4 hours of intense heat and then a gradual throttle down, with coals lasting up to 24 hours with no reload. I have had the main floor as high as 78 before I decided that was just a bit too much and throttled it back. I did go with the airmate and blower and would advise they are both essential if you're not planning on using the fan of a furnace and still heating a 3000+ sq ft space.
I just wanted to provide you with another data point, as when I was looking at different stove options, there was not too much about the F5200 from individuals who actually run them. I seriously considered the King 40 as well, but wanted a stove that could do just a little more with more user control and no thermostat. The Regency 10 year warranty on the cat was also an important factor in my selection. I looked at all the big stoves with cats from different manufacturers and the F5200 seemed to be the best fit for my needs and I am beyond satisfied with the selection.

 

[EbS-P]

Give the basement a mini split heatpump and install a 6 inch BK on the first floor. Basement heat and expecting it to do well across 3 floors is asking a lot. It has good chances to be a Goldilocks situation.

Edit 3 floors 3 zones hvac. Stove in the middle makes the most sense.

 

[DewDog]

I have a 3000 sq foot home with a large, open 1st floor layout with two bedrooms attached (all 8ft ceiling) and a second story a frame with two bedrooms upstairs. My house is 70's construction, and I remodeled it in 2004 and increased the insulation and stepped up most of the 1st floor windows, but it's still a bit drafty when the wind really blows. I installed a F5200 in September that has been running non-stop since the first week of October. It is the perfect stove and fit for my situation. I was advised before install that it was going to be overkill and it is absolutely not. Had I gone with the F3500 I would have been understoved. I live at 6300 feet in the Sierra Nevada and we've had a reasonable cool late fall with overnight temps in the single digits and low teens and highs around 32F. The downside of the stove is the 8" pipe, and 8" triple wall duravent isn't cheap if you have a long exterior run like I do.
The stove itself is amazing. I have cleaned ash twice from the firebox since the first week of October, as it burns everything down and leaves almost no ash. So far, I have burned exclusively pine, as that's what grows here. I do have a cord of oak, but haven't needed it, as a full load of pine lasts all night and there's a mountain of coals in the morning. Since October, I have used about two cords of pine. My furnace has not been used at all. I checked the cleanout this week and no creosote. Everything's clean. I am thoroughly impressed with the stove. It keeps my main floor at 70 while running in its optimal zone with the cat engaged and the air intake just cracked a little back from full closed. With pine, this gets me about 4 hours of intense heat and then a gradual throttle down, with coals lasting up to 24 hours with no reload. I have had the main floor as high as 78 before I decided that was just a bit too much and throttled it back. I did go with the airmate and blower and would advise they are both essential if you're not planning on using the fan of a furnace and still heating a 3000+ sq ft space.
I just wanted to provide you with another data point, as when I was looking at different stove options, there was not too much about the F5200 from individuals who actually run them. I seriously considered the King 40 as well, but wanted a stove that could do just a little more with more user control and no thermostat. The Regency 10 year warranty on the cat was also an important factor in my selection. I looked at all the big stoves with cats from different manufacturers and the F5200 seemed to be the best fit for my needs and I am beyond satisfied with the selection.

how does the your stove run at half throttle? I understand I could be overkilling being I have spray foam upstairs and fully finished basement. it makes sense if I were planning on running 3/4 or more but my intent is medium out put and long burns. when I step down to smaller stoves I fall under the burn time I need. perfect world 12hrs minimum at mid range. this is a new construction home.
will running mid range be an cause for other problems? I could stretch its legs on weekends if needed.ha

 

[DewDog]

Give the basement a mini split heatpump and install a 6 inch BK on the first floor. Basement heat and expecting it to do well across 3 floors is asking a lot. It has good chances to be a Goldilocks situation.

Edit 3 floors 3 zones hvac. Stove in the middle makes the most sense.

I dont have the space for a 1st floor installation. the house design has a large alcove in the basement. the clearance allows to install a propane direct vent on the first floor.

 

[mtndragon]

how does the your stove run at half throttle? I understand I could be overkilling being I have spray foam upstairs and fully finished basement. it makes sense if I were planning on running 3/4 or more but my intent is medium out put and long burns. when I step down to smaller stoves I fall under the burn time I need. perfect world 12hrs minimum at mid range. this is a new construction home.
will running mid range be an cause for other problems? I could stretch its legs on weekends if needed.ha

Mid throttle and below is where this stove excels for me. Keep in mind I am running dry pine, so it burns hot. As soon as I engage the cat, I drop it to mid throttle or lower. If I leave it at full throttle with the cat engaged, the surface temp on the top of the stove gets above 750 F, and I have concerns about over firing the stove. I certainly have gone through a few thermometers, as even the Reotemp thermometer turned yellow from heat discoloration at sustained 700+ top surface temps. One of the amazing things about this stove is the top gets really hot but the sides and base stay cooler (200-250). The heat really is captured by the cat and if you have a blower on the stove, it throws it out into the room and house. It is my understanding that in general cat stoves put out a medium heat over long periods of time. The nice thing about the F5200 is it has a huge firebox and long burn times. If you load it with dry wood, let that wood catch real well and get the cat up to temp, you can really clamp it down and get nice long burn times. Then, if you want to open it up and let it rip, it will, you just have to be mindful about over firing the stove and anything like heat fans, thermometers, etc you put on the top surface as accessories.