wood stove vs. insert

[husky455rancher]

well as some of you know ive been heating my 1200sqft home for 2 years with a dutchwest fireplace insert (non cat). i use only the stove to heat and nothing else. i normally keep the house 70 and i use 3-4 cord a year. the only problem with the insert is the far rooms are a bit nippy at times and the floors are like ice as the cellar is in the 40's when its really cold out. the floors are well insulated aswell.


now i just got a free shenandoah wood stove a few weeks ago. ive been using it exclusively for 2 weeks or so. the floors are nice and warm, the house is evenly heated in every room. the cellar is 72-78 all the time which in tern keeps the water warmer it must save me electricity (electric water heater). all i did was taker the cellar door off and the heat transfers great up here.


the only thing that bothers me about the stove is it seems to use a great deal more wood that my insert does. i realize im getting twice the heat out of it and it just seems to be a better fit all aroud.

am i doing somethign wrong what ill do is after the fires going good ill totally close off the damper in the pipe and ill turn down the intake as low as i can while still getting good heat from the stove. i imagine thats how you get the best burn time. it seems do do ok but im wondering if a stove typicly uses way more wood than an insert.

im gonna use the insert for a couple days to get a comparison but im sure ill like the woodstove better but i just want a idea for wood useage. do you guys have any tips or ideas to get better burn times? sorry for the long post i jus wanted to get it all out there lol, Mike

 

[husky455rancher]

heres pics of both sorry inserts fire is dead and its dirty,looks like a wet log

 

[KsWoodsMan]

The stove is heating twice the area, at least, as the insert. And the part it is heating directly is uninsulated. Makes sense that it is going to use more wood.

Is there anything wrong with operating both? Dampening the stove way down to just warm the floors, keeping it warmer in the far bedrooms and keep the insert going for primary heat in the main portion of the house ?

That way you aren't warming the unused basement quite so much , using less wood and the insert is more accessable for primary use. The entire house stays warmer and more comfortable and you get to see the little lady in shorter PJ s at night .

I wouldn't think you were having a shortage of wood judging by the looks of the stacks in previous posts. LOL

 

[crowbuster]

I would second what Kswoodsman said, that's just what I did before I got my owb. The only time i miss it is when there are wet cloths to dry from working outside and cooking on It occasionally. The woodstove had half again the capacity of my insert so it lasted longer as well. Good luck and enjoy.

C.B.

 

[WetBehindtheEar]

Sometimes a cold basement isn't so bad...

Just an oddball thought here...

a 40 deg basement is PERFECT for making lager beer. You could start the batch in October, let it sit all winter, and crack an AWESOME doppelbock open in late March.



But then, you'd have to suffer through cold floors... a little sub-optimal.

 

[husky455rancher]

all good points although i never picked up the drinking habit. hell i dont even drink coffee lol. i definatly aint gonna run outta wood thats for sure. you should see my to be split pile now its more of a mountain . unfortunatly some of its pine but burn is burn i guess.

im running the insert now and im already hating it compared to the woodstove. the woodstove is so much more forgiving as to the condition of the wood you throw in. i might use it tonight and the wife can use to tomorrow while i work but then the stoves goin back on. oh well if i use more wood i guess that means ill have to cut more

right now its lookin like the insert will kinda be used like the fireplace was more for looks and ambiance.

 

[dingeryote]

Husky455,

I ain't no exspurt, but have been heating the new house(2670sq.ft) with a quadrafire 7100 for three seasons.

It has two gravity remotes and two forced remotes optional, but I chose only one, and don't even need to use it.

Last years LP bill was 178 bucks, and went through about 9 Cords of Oak, Maple, and Cherry.

They are a bit pricey, but will drive you the hell out of the house in coldest January if you turn it loose.

I ran the fan power to an outlet in the basement, and keep a Inverter on standby with a Deep cycle 800CCA battery on a battery tender for power outages.

As fireplaces go, ya can't tell it's actually a furnace.

Just tossin' it out there as an option.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[husky455rancher]

interesting ill have to look into that. not that i can swing a big bill right now but i like to know whats out there for options.

 

[fishercat]

i like the stoves better.

they seem to give off better heat more evenly.

i have a pacific energy summit insert in the house and a grandma bear fisher in the garage.i much prefer the fisher much more.it's easier to get hot and control.

 

[Dok]

Is the new stove actually new, or is it used? If used, made sure all the seals are in good condition. An air leak will cause a stove to burn through wood like that.

Is the new stove a similar sized firebox? If it is larger everything about it is going to be larger, most importantly air openings. Larger stoves burn more wood.

If the stove is used, how old is it? Stoves are a lot more efficient than they were even ten years ago. My Quadrafire uses half the wood our 1991 Heatilator used.

Just some thoughts...
Dok

 

[Zodiac45]

all good points although i never picked up the drinking habit. hell i dont even drink coffee lol. i definatly aint gonna run outta wood thats for sure. you should see my to be split pile now its more of a mountain . unfortunatly some of its pine but burn is burn i guess.

im running the insert now and im already hating it compared to the woodstove. the woodstove is so much more forgiving as to the condition of the wood you throw in. i might use it tonight and the wife can use to tomorrow while i work but then the stoves goin back on. oh well if i use more wood i guess that means ill have to cut more

right now its lookin like the insert will kinda be used like the fireplace was more for looks and ambiance.

+1 Husky,

I've always prefered a stove too an insert if only due too the radiation of heat in the room and not going up the chimney. My Jotul is flued up the chimney but sits out on the hearth. The big cookstove in the kitchen heats an enormous space just due too it's mass and size.

 

[husky455rancher]

the stove is used its a shenandoah r-76 i cant find any info on it. the firebox absolutly dwarfs the firebox in the insert. i was thinking of changing the door gaskit just to do it. it dosent loook that bad but there seems to be a bit of play in the door when the stoves cold. when its up to temp the door is a little hard to open due to expansion.


oh a side note i fired the insert up lastnight and its going again now. its not cold out so i figured id save the wood and let the stove sleep till it gets cold again.


does it mater how i operate the damper and the air intake? by that i mean i normally shut the pipe damper totally when its up to temp and i just open the intake enough to keep the fire decent. is that the best way to do it or is it benificail to open the damper on occasion?