Which Wood stove?

[cheseapeke]

We are currently using a pellet insert for our main source of heat. Unfortuantly it does not put out enough and if the temp drops below 50 the oil heat turns on to keep the next room at 65! This insert has been nothing but problems. Therefore we will be switching to wood. The local dealer has these three stoves for us to choose from. The Regency F3100, A large Dutchwest or a 3600 Morso. We have a 200 yr old Greek Revival in chilly Upstate NY with 12' ceilings in most of the house. We do have triple paned windows, but no wall insulation. Any suggestions on what would be best for us? Or even experience with any of these stoves? I want heat, I'd rather wear shorts than long johns and sweat pants as my standard mode of dress.
Deb

 

[babalu87]

Warm and toasty with our Morso 3610

 

[Jfk4th]

How big is your house, be careful about not buying a stove that is big enough. I would slash the recommended sq ft about in half when choosing a size. Example, a stove says it heats 1200-1700 sq ft., it will keep you toasty warm for about a 900-1000 sq ft size house. It depends on how warm you like it, mid 60's, mid 70's. Plus I bought the biggest stove Pacific Energy makes, the Summit, and I highly recommend it. The larger firebox, 3.2 cu ft. makes it really easy to load wood, plus I bought the ash pan option, makes it really easy to clean up, no dust all over the house. Just click on my signature to see my Pacific burning and pics. If you live in Upstate NY, about where, I am sure they have a Pacific Energy dealer not too far away. You really owe it to yourself to look at one. http://www.pacificenergy.net/index.php., search on local dealers after you choose the size you want.

I have also owned an Avalon, which makes really good stoves. It does not pump out as much heat as my Summit but damn near close. The Avalon Olympic is a great stove with a large firebox, very sharp looking too. I owned an Avalon Pendleton, the smallest one, but it pumped out a lot of heat. My father in law has an Olympic Avalon and loves it, has had it for about 15 years and it still looks and works great! The problem with my Avalon Pendleton was the small firebox size, too frustrating, and no ash pan, not very clean......So I bought the Pacific Summit and I have no regrets.

If this is indeed your only heat source I would go with the bigger the better philosophy. Hearthstone soapstone stoves are great also, you can get a large firebox, plus Lopi makes a really good stoves, very sharp looking too.

There are plenty of guys on this website that can tell you a hell of a lot more than I ever could. Just reach out for them, these guys are the "cream of the crop" I am just a little fish in their big pond.

Good luck and Have Fun

 

[sailor61]

Hi Deb,

I can't speak to teh particulars of any of the stoves you're looking at beyond that I also considered a Morsoe - it was a very nice unit but a bit more contemporary appearance than I wanted. ended up ordering a Woodstock Fireview based on the almost unbelievably positive ratings both the company and stove received on here. Based on your description of the style of your home I would suggest you look at their website www.woodstove.com - they have teh fireview and the classic both of which probably would look perfect in your home. I can't speak to my satisfaction with the stove - mine isn't in yet but the company has been superb to do business. True, they don't have local dealers anywhere but (sorry guys) I haven't missed that connection. Woodstock just ended a very good sale - both of these models were discounted $600 and had a promotional shipping rate - keep that in mind if you talk with them. Best of luck in the search - we'all be curious to read what you decide on.

TJ

 

[Gunner]

Did I read this right, you are in NY and have NO WALL INSULATION

 

[Johnnyboy]

I would say the first step would be to get some decent wall insulation man. That's a lot of heat loss. Crinkey!

 

[begreen]

Welcome Deb. What pellet stove do you currently have and how old is it? The recommendations for insulation are right on. You will see more savings and comfort by tightening up the house than by putting in a bigger stove.

 

[elkimmeg]

Did I read this right, you are in NY and have NO WALL INSULATION

I agree with gunner unless you can slow down the heat loss first no stove will carry the heat demand. You could find the one you have now does the job, if only you could retain the
heat it creates

 

[RonB]

Hi Deb, Be nice to have those walls blown full of insulation as previously stated. Beneficial (comfort and economy) for between seasons when you typically run the furnace a little and even in the summer. Also, those 12' ceilings make for a lot of cubic feet of volume to heat. Even if you do insulate I would still go with a big free standing wood stove. You might consider the Quadrafire 5700 (3.44 CF). Here is the link to itbroken link removed to http://www.quadrafire.com/products/stoves/woodStoveDetail.asp?f=5700). I just bought one and waiting for the install. Looks like there are adequate dealers in NY.

 

[cheseapeke]

Well, we have no insulation unless you count brick! We can't blow in insulation because of it. Our house has a little history behind it. It was built buy a man trying to show off his father's wealth. So he chose a Southern Greek Revival! He might have had money but I think he was lacking other things... being the gullible people we are we believed the sellers of our house that they were able to maintain a toasty 70 all winter long! Well the first winter with sub-zero weather and we can't get the downstairs over 50 changed our minds about their honesty! That was 3 1/2 years ago and we then had the pellet stove insert put in. It worked great that season but since then we have had nothing but problems with it. The only way to insulate the walls is to knock them all down (plaster) and insulate and drywall. Money and time, which we have litlle of at this point. But the 3 stoves I mentioned come from the dealer most reccommended in our area. Keep the suggestions coming I want to make a good decision! When we got the pellet insert I had wanted a woodstove but the dealer we went to talked us into the pellet. BIg mistake! So this time I'm going wood.
Deb

 

[burntime]

I have a hampton stove (the regency with a fancy face) and I am extremely happy with it. I don't think it will heat a home with no insulation in sub zero but it definitely will pump out the heat. I think all the stoves are really pretty similiar. Pick it by btus and firebox size to narrow your search. Like others have said...depending on the wood species, load, etc, go bigger than you think you will need. If you were to frame up the walls and insulate starting at the outer extremeties I think you would be better served before you spend the money on a stove though. Good luck.

 

[cheseapeke]

The pellet insert is a Harmon Accenntra. The pellet stoves just don't seem to radiate the heat as the wood does. The Regency we have been reccommended puts out a max of 80,000BTU's and is steel with a lifetime warrenty. Since it will be venting into a fireplace we have to be able to vent out the back of the stove which cut out some of the other options.

 

[burntime]

I think you would enjoy it. Mine is the equivilent of the I2400 at 75000 btus and it will heat a 1400 sq ft 1950's brick ranch in WI to 70 in temps as low at 15 below. May even heat lower but that is as low as it has gotten. The firebox is larger on the 3100 so burn times should be better. Really though...unless you can get a great deal, heat retention would be on my list first. If the outdoor temp is in the 40's I nedd to burn softwood and open windows.

 

[cheseapeke]

Sounds great to me. My comfort level is 76 degrees! I basically stay in the warm rooms. I happen to be cold intolerant and its been pretty tough. I'm okay in the room with the pellet stove but beyond that burrrr! I actually loose currculation in my fingers and toes when I get chilled. I think I really just need to move south! Keep the cuggestions coming! Thanks!