Wife wants T5: Me T6, Help Save our Marriage

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Ceiling fans or box/pedestal fans will work best. Some have used venting with inline fans to some success. Since you are just building, you could talk to your HVAC guy about adding some ways to move the air.

Whether you have the T5 or T6 the room it in is going to be warmer but not to the level you are concerned about. But if it does get too warm, you will need to sacrifice some heat in the further parts of the house.
 
Their website that shows them side by side is a pretty good indicator, it is visibly wider but probably the same depth, right? Still very attractive, and clearance wise might not be that much different - whether it would drive you out of that part of the house being so hot is a different story?
(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/product_line.php)
 
I'd definitely go T6; (biased) the bigger glass window and wider stove might look pretty good in that open layout-
 
madison said:
stork,

jeez, get two t6's. with all that glass and sq ft.

do NOT worry about heating yourself out of the room, read the comments around this site regarding the heat characteristics of these units.

also, where is the stack going, straight up?

stack will be straight up in the right corner. should I worry about the dinette table being 5-6 feet from the stove face?
 
I don't think any woman could ever be convinced that 4" could look like 2ft in her eyes.... I'll be quiet now..

branchburner said:
ohiostork said:
She will be tending the stove most days and likes the idea of the larger box.

That's your angle. Now you must accept the T5 as the right choice and let her convince you that the T6 is better because reloading the stove less often will make her life easier, and help heat more of the house.

It'll never work.

But when it comes to "I told you so" it is better to give than receive. In the wrong situation, those words compound interest at an alarming rate. If you try to convince her 4" makes no difference those four inches could look like two feet in her eyes. You won't get a real feel for how the stove fits the room until it's actually there, anyway. Plus, if the kitchen ends up being "too hot" with the T6 (as it just well might sometimes even with the T5) you'll never hear the end of it.
 
Your house looks like a wide open floor plan, I dont think the T6 would force you out of the room with too much heat.
 
if anyone could post the dimensions of the T6 firebox I would appreciate it. I have scoured the net and can not find the individual width and depth of the box.
 
When I talked to the factory I asked that same question about the firebox. They said it was 18 by 10 by 22. I can not for the life of me remember what the numbers were in relation to though. I went with that cause it's the only place I could get that particular scrap of information. The numbers don't make sense. 18 by 22 seem doable but the 10 I can't see working very well in either the H W or D. 10 doesn't give much room to do much, the wood would have to be split awfully small or cut to almost lumber type dimentions.

They are also the ones who said there is not an operation temp range or over fire temp. Just that you will know that you are over firing when things start to glow and or start warping. Remember this for your warranty should something need to be taken care of.

I hope that might do something for you. At least until some one here has time to get back here with a tape. I would also like to know what the actual box dimensions are. It may be a bit though burning season for us anyhow is now fully under way and our fire won't stop for the next several months.

Also does anyone have an operation temp that seems to do well with out causing any damage?



Owl
 
The height does seem conservative, though it seems like many stoves have 10" as there upper limit for load height. It's 1" above the 9" firebrick. But for what we normally load to, I would say 12". Your personal loading results may vary. Our stove top runs between about 400 and 650 normally, but during peak secondary burn with a full reload can hit 700+.
 
BeGreen said:
The height does seem conservative, though it seems like many stoves have 10" as there upper limit for load height. It's 1" above the 9" firebrick. But for what we normally load to, I would say 12". Your personal loading results may vary. Our stove top runs between about 400 and 650 normally, but during peak secondary burn with a full reload can hit 700+.


Thanks


Owl
 
ohiostork said:
[
Stove mock cutout on the floor. Hard to tell without the drywall up yet. The great room is to the left and the dinette/hearth area to the right. Both T5 and T6 cutouts fit. Really not a huge difference except 2" each side. One question for this newbie is if I want to heat the max area with the T6 am I gonna have to fire it up so much that the dinette area is not usuable due to that room being 90 to acheive 72 elsewhere. I don't envision using box fans etc to move heat. Also what are some tips to get warm air drawn to cooler areas that are further away?

The pictures help. This is a big space. Overheating should not be an issue. The Alderleas convect more than radiate. That's why it has close corner clearances, (though these are minimums, no harm in exceeding them). Nor should the dinette be an issue if it's 6' away from the front of the stove. The dinette area is almost the size of our living room. Overheating is not an issue for us, even when it's only 45 outside. Just make smaller fires, 2-3 splits, when the weather is mild.

Total of these two rooms and hallways is around 1200 sq ft. Main level of house is 3,400.

How is the main level connected to this space? Is it on the same level, or above/below this space. If you can post a floorplan, that would be great. Also, why isn't the stove being located in the great room? Seems like that is where the fireview would be enjoyed more.
 
What direction does the glass face? Not sure how low the big PEs burn, but we routinely overheated our similar 1100 sq ft lots of glass open space with the old stove if we weren't careful about considering solar gain. I would put the bigger stove in that space with a ceiling fan above it.
 
I would start out with how large your hearth pad would have to be. With that being said IMO the T6 would look nice with a raised hearth just large enough to hold the stove and tile on the floor in front the pad that continues over too the french doors. That would give you a smaller looking foot print for that corner you are putting it in.
Raised hearths rule. And with your cathedral ceilings height would not seem to be a issue.
But in the long run the interior belongs too the wife.
 
SolarAndWood said:
What direction does the glass face? Not sure how low the big PEs burn, but we routinely overheated our similar 1100 sq ft lots of glass open space with the old stove if we weren't careful about considering solar gain. I would put the bigger stove in that space with a ceiling fan above it.
Windows all face south onto a covered porch and woods. So no direct sun will ever touch those windows. We look to mainly heat these two large connected rooms And surrounding halls so either stove should do the job....I think. Ceiling fan won't fit with the dinette light close by.
 
How do u post floorplan? I can't figure out how to draw it so I can upload it like a pic.
Reason it's in hearth room was it was never planned to be the main heating source but instead compliment the gas furnace In the main living areas and add to the rustic decor in the kitchen layout. Plus the wife said no to burning wood in the great room. I am ruined too many carpets with soot and ash. Despite being careful it happens.
BeGreen said:
ohiostork said:
[
Stove mock cutout on the floor. Hard to tell without the drywall up yet. The great room is to the left and the dinette/hearth area to the right. Both T5 and T6 cutouts fit. Really not a huge difference except 2" each side. One question for this newbie is if I want to heat the max area with the T6 am I gonna have to fire it up so much that the dinette area is not usuable due to that room being 90 to acheive 72 elsewhere. I don't envision using box fans etc to move heat. Also what are some tips to get warm air drawn to cooler areas that are further away?

The pictures help. This is a big space. Overheating should not be an issue. The Alderleas convect more than radiate. That's why it has close corner clearances, (though these are minimums, no harm in exceeding them). Nor should the dinette be an issue if it's 6' away from the front of the stove. The dinette area is almost the size of our living room. Overheating is not an issue for us, even when it's only 45 outside. Just make smaller fires, 2-3 splits, when the weather is mild.

Total of these two rooms and hallways is around 1200 sq ft. Main level of house is 3,400.

How is the main level connected to this space? Is it on the same level, or above/below this space. If you can post a floorplan, that would be great. Also, why isn't the stove being located in the great room? Seems like that is where the fireview would be enjoyed more.
 
Agree, the hearth design and material may play a factor on the "look".

stork, the corner walls of our kitchen/family room where we created the hearth was approx 38" x 56" (not mentioned inthe signature link posting) We had the same concerns. We were worried about stubbing toes on the hearth, excessive heat, and "the look".

i was nervous that after it was all done, that the wife would not like "the look", especially since she originally wanted the t5. well in this case the "blind squirrel found the nut" as everything came out as we had designed/imagined and we are extremely satisfied. As I type the stove top is 500, the Kitchen 70.2, the Living room which is connected by multiple doors is 68. Furnace is off. And we crashed last night at 10:30, I had put three larger pieces of wood in at 10 PM, cut it back at 10:30, woke up at 8 AM, Kitchen was 68, loaded three splits, and it ignited without kindling.....
 
This website has a chart with sizes. (broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/wscompha.htm)
The difference seems pretty big if it's right, T6 with a 3cu ft box, T5 with 1.97cu ft.
THey also give "hardwood capacity" difference which is pretty big.

Seeing your space, I would almost think that the T5 might end up looking a little small in that space.
Notice how big couches and stuff have gotten since people have been building "open plan" new houses with great rooms and stuff? That's cause people put their old furniture in there and it ended up dwarfed by the space! But I am sure either way it will fit in. Love that cooktop that swings out, how cool!
 
I also go with the cardboard mock-up suggestion. Over the years, I've probably made ten mock-ups of various stuff with cardboard, sometimes to convince someone and sometimes for my own planning. I even did it when we were trying to figure out how to configure counter space in our octagonal kitchen. It can take a little time, but in an hour you can have a good, well-made one to set there and look at, then move it out and place the larger one [in this case] and mull it over.

I'm one who thinks getting the right woodstove is pretty important. If it seems either model will work ok, but one is slightly better, well, not worth making someone unhappy....

When you are done, a box cutter will reduce the mock-ups to fire starter material. Or small enough pieces to go into the recycle bin.
 
It appears that the great room has high ceilings. If that's correct put the ceiling fan in the great room, not the dining room. Agreed that this is mostly going to be about the hearth looking right together with the stove. Our corner hearth is 55" on the wall sides, then projects 36" into the room. The front edge is 25.5".

A simple drawing can be done in the paint program or just draw in with dark pen on paper then scan or photograph it and post.
 

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BeGreen said:
It appears that the great room has high ceilings. If that's correct put the ceiling fan in the great room, not the dining room. Agreed that this is mostly going to be about the hearth looking right together with the stove. Our corner hearth is 55" on the wall sides, then projects 36" into the room. The front edge is 25.5".

A simple drawing can be done in the paint program or just draw in with dark pen on paper then scan or photograph it and post.
BG, are you vertically challenged? I see those wood burner tool are very short, as is the stand?
 
Yeah. Bought by my wife last Christmas and still unused, sigh. Her heart was in the right place, but they are like for a little Morso. My tools are lying on the hearth to the left of the stove.
 
Ok. You guys were right. Did the mock T6 3-d unit out of cardboard. Took about 45 minutes tops to build. Box was huge sitting in our present apartment kitchen. Wife said no way. It is too big. yada yada.
When we took it to the house under construction it fit the space perfectly. In fact the wife was concerned the smaller unit might look too small in the open floor plan. She now is convinced the larger unit will allow for easier access to inserting wood and a less frequent refills. I think I will let her win :)
 
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