Trying to pick out a new stove

[Philbo]

My lady and I have been looking pretty seriously at buying an older farmhouse with about 4 acres out in the country here. House was built in 1950, 4br, 2 story (2 small bedrooms upstairs with 6.5 ft ceilings), newer insulation in the roof, but not sure about the walls at all. Advertised as 1100 sq ft (not including the concrete basement) and has a brand new heat pump furnace in the basement. The stove would go in the main/living room, which isn't really big or open and doesn't have high ceilings. I'd say the layout is more closed in, smaller rooms than "open", though we may do some remodeling to the layout.

The house is south/southeast facing and doesn't really have any trees to speak of that would shade or block it from sun and wind. At about 3500 ft elevation deep in the Appalachians where we definitely get some temps down close to 0* F in the dead of winter. The worst part about the winter around here though is the wind; we can easily have 50-70 mph winds roll through pretty often.

With that background of house and geography in mind, I've been considering stoves that are rated at a bit more than 1100 sq ft to compensate for harsher than average winters, not the most up to date insulation, and not exactly open floor plan. We like to burn pretty much 24/7 and absolutely need at least an 8 hr/overnight burn time with some nice, usable coals left over in the AM.

Here's some stoves I've considered and looked into a bit for reference:

Jotul F 50 TL Rangeley
Jotul F 500 Oslo
Pacific Energy Alderlea T5
Hearthstone Phoenix

All of these stoves are rated for ~2000 sq ft. None of them are cheap when comparing MSRPs, but we are so tired of using outdated smoke dragons that we have to constantly babysit in our current house.

The Rangeley was the first one I looked at and thought the top loading could be great, but really not necessary at all. Otherwise looks pretty solid, though it's a new design.

Some great friends of ours have an Oslo in their older, draftier, and bigger farmhouse and it's an impressive looking stove. I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying it in their house in the full swing of winter, though so not too much experience. Reviews are pretty much excellent across the board.

The PE Alderlea T series is very well liked on the internet it seems. The T4 firebox is maybe too small for overnight and longer burns so that's why I bumped it up to the T5. The cooktop option is very nice and would certainly be taken advantage of.

The Hearthstone Phoenix is a soapstone/cast iron hybrid and seems like a good fit for this house....I have no firsthand experience with soapstone stoves, though. The heat is described as more "even" and "gentle" over the burn cycle, and the soapstone apparently holds heat for at least a couple of hours or more after the fire has died. It seems like out of all the stoves listed, the soapstone could actually produce the best quality of usable heat in a space this size without having the peak burn cycle periods that may run us out of the living room with the cast iron/steel stoves. Soapstone style seems like a good choice for burning 24/7 as you wouldn't have to worry about that lag time of heat output when starting a cold fire.

Decisions, decisions...

Anybody have any thoughts on the matter?

Any firsthand experience with the real, everyday, all winter long usage pros and cons to cast iron and steel compared to soapstone?

Any particular stoves I should also consider?

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I have a Jotul Castine 400 and have never regretted buying it, except maybe a little the day I wrote out the check. I don't have experience with the other stove makes you mention, but they'd probably work out fine. Jotul stoves seem to have a consistent and high build quality. With good wood and adjusting the vent, I routinely have a nice bunch of coals to start a fresh fire when I wake up the next morning.

 

[rmount]

I have the PE Alderlea T5 and am very happy with it. Heating a 1200 sq ft 1900s farmhouse that was very well insulated and draft sealed during a major reno 6 years ago. The T5 is actually too much stove for here, i wish I had gone with the T4 - but given your questionable insulation you should definitely stick with the T5. Stove is in the livingroom, there is a regular doorway to the large kitchen, another doorway to a small hall with the bathroom and bedroom off of it and an enclosed staircase to the upstairs (1 bedroom and large open area). On very cold nights, -20C or lower I add wood in the night, otherwise I just let it burn overnight and wake to a good bed of coals.
It took me awhile to learn how best to feed the stove so that the livingroom isn't a sauna. Originally, whenever the fire burnt down i would add wood, now i know it is better to wait until the house is starting to cool just a little and then add wood. Also, since I am home all day, I find it is easier to keep a constant heat output by varying the size of splits rather than adding more or less pieces.

 

[Philbo]

I have the PE Alderlea T5 and am very happy with it. Heating a 1200 sq ft 1900s farmhouse that was very well insulated and draft sealed during a major reno 6 years ago. The T5 is actually too much stove for here, i wish I had gone with the T4 - but given your questionable insulation you should definitely stick with the T5. Stove is in the livingroom, there is a regular doorway to the large kitchen, another doorway to a small hall with the bathroom and bedroom off of it and an enclosed staircase to the upstairs (1 bedroom and large open area). On very cold nights, -20C or lower I add wood in the night, otherwise I just let it burn overnight and wake to a good bed of coals.
It took me awhile to learn how best to feed the stove so that the livingroom isn't a sauna. Originally, whenever the fire burnt down i would add wood, now i know it is better to wait until the house is starting to cool just a little and then add wood. Also, since I am home all day, I find it is easier to keep a constant heat output by varying the size of splits rather than adding more or less pieces.

Your layout sounds very similar to this farmhouse we're looking at. Thanks for the great feedback.

What type of wood do you burn? Do you use the cooktop on the T5, and if so, how is it?

The only cons I can see with the Alderlea series for me is that the flue exit is only top exit. In that case I'd have 2 90* bends or 2 45* and a 90* bend, which is less than ideal on a stack that's only about 15 ft or so.

Thanks again.

 

[rmount]

I burn a mix of hardwoods; sugar and silver maple, white and yellow birch, beech, elm, and the occasional oak or ash. I keep a small stack of poplar for quick fires on damp spring and fall mornings when I really don't want much heat. I haven't done much cooking on the stove just a few pots of stew and chilli, it worked well for that.

That would be a lot of bends in a short stack. My stack goes through the ceiling above the stove, but is offset from the stove, if I used 90s I would have needed 2 but I ran it with two 45s and a sloping piece instead.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

The Rangeley was the first one I looked at and thought the top loading could be great, but really not necessary at all.

I forgot to mention that having a side loading door would be a definite plus. Top loading I can't really see because each time you open it the flames would shoot up.

 

[Mad Professor]

I like my "smoke dragon". It takes 26" 10" rounds if the box has burned down and it will hold coals for two days if I filler up then choker down. Furnace will not kick in even if it is 0 oF.

Made of thick boiler plate with no frilly glass windows to break.

 

[Philbo]

Resurrecting this thread...We bought the house mentioned in the 1st post and are still considering what stove to get and where to put it.

We've got a trusted, local chimney sweep coming over this week to check out the layout and give us some advice on potential locations for a hearth and stove. There is an existing masonry chimney that we could go into and line with SS pipe, but putting it there would take up a lot of otherwise usable space in the living room.

Strongly considering the Woodstock Fireview. Everything I've read about them is positive and it seems like the way they burn would be suitable for us. We like to burn 24/7 in winter and the long burn times, combined with the soapstone radiating heat after the hot coals have died down a bit seems like a plus. The cat is also not too pricey, super easy to replace, and supposedly cuts down on how much you need to burn.

Woodstock is having their annual summer sale right now through mid-July and has the stove discounted about $700 including the Federal tax credit.

The only thing that has me a bit concerned is the size of the side loading door and width of the firebox. From what I've read, folks don't have a problem fitting 18-19" splits in there even though it recommends 16". Most of my wood for this year is not cut to 16"...18-19" could work, though.

Anybody have any experience with Woodstock?
"

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

The only thing that has me a bit concerned is the size of the side loading door and width of the firebox. From what I've read, folks don't have a problem fitting 18-19" splits in there even though it recommends 16". Most of my wood for this year is not cut to 16"...18-19" could work, though.

Anybody have any experience with Woodstock?
"

The length of the wood you can use in a stove is no minor concern. Maybe an 18" length will fit into a 16" firebox, but it may require lots of work to fit it in (possibly each time you add wood). Also, look up every user review of Woodstock soapstone stoves you can find. ********** has reviews:

Search Results | ********** Forums Home

 

[blacklocst]

Concrats on the purchase. Whatever stove you buy make sure your wood is seasoned at least a year the new EPA stoves work much better with dry wood. I would be collecting and stacking wood right now, and make sure you cover the top only otherwise you gonna be on here this coming fall asking why your stove isn't heating the house or not getting to high temps.

 

[Philbo]

Yep, I've been all over the hearth forum. Tons of good info there. I was just curious how the folks here feel about em. It's a bit more down to earth on this forum. Sometimes the hearth forums seem a bit removed from practical reality, not so unlike the Chainsaw forum on this site.

Lots of folks say that 18" is no problem with the Fireview. It's the close to 20" pieces where you get some challenges loading.

One of the main things I'm interested in is how these soapstone stoves hold up to continous, all winter long use. It seems like there are a good bit of folks who buy soapstone stoves just as much for the decor and "backup" as opposed to primary heat source.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Philbo]

Ive got about 3 cords of wood seasoning that's been cut, split, and stacked for anywhere between a year to 4 months now.

The place we just moved has a large hay barn where ive got the wood stacked under the roof, but in a breezeway where it gets a pretty consistent cross breeze. I'm hoping this will be good for the curing process.

Got about a half cord cut and brought home yesterday, but that will probably wait till next year as it was cut live and still has a god bit of moisture in it.

Thanks again.

 

[blacklocst]

A friend of mine has a soapstone and I have a cast iron, Jotul 600 and I could swear that the kind of heat his stove throws off is more comfortable than mine. I'll also add that his takes longer to heat up but carries that heat longer.

 

[apn73]

I've got a Hearthston Heritage (55,000 btu, 1900 sq.ft.) and I've fired the holy snot out of that stove fro 6 years now and it has taken it in stride. I'm finally getting some metal warpage on the glass cleaner in the front, at the top of glass, so will need to replace that. Other than that, darn good stover, would highly recommend them. My wife and I bought it because we fell in love with the look of the soap stone and that's one thing, but don't buy one thinking that you're going to get some huge performance advantge with heat storage. Whether you've got a plate steel stove that provides a "flash heat" or the low and slow of the soap stone, at the end of the day the btu's going to the house will be the same. The low and slow is nice if you've got young kids that could come in contact with it, so there is a safety aspect about it. You have to decide if you want the blast of heat, or lower and more tempered. I'm not familiar with all the stoves on your list, but the Hearthstones and Jotuls are top notch. If I had to do it all over again, I think that I would buy a Jotul cast iron stove, costs less than the soap stone and and weighs about 100 lbs. less per given size of stove when compared to cast iron. I don't know the Woodstock stoves very well, but they have a pretty loyal following (I prefer the look of the Hearthstones), but one thing to think about is that the Woodstocks are catalytic stoves as opposed to Hearthstones which are non-catalytic. The Jotuls are non-cats as well.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

If I had to do it all over again, I think that I would buy a Jotul cast iron stove, costs less than the soap stone and and weighs about 100 lbs. less per given size of stove when compared to cast iron.

You cannot go wrong with a Jotul.

 

[apn73]

A friend of mine has a soapstone and I have a cast iron, Jotul 600 and I could swear that the kind of heat his stove throws off is more comfortable than mine. I'll also add that his takes longer to heat up but carries that heat longer.

I believe that your perception is correct about the cast iron vs. soap stone. But as I said in my previous post, you're putting the same btu's to the house at the end of the day, just less peaks and valley's with the soap stone. The soap stone may make more of a difference in a milder climate, but up here in northern New England, you've still got to fire that soap stone stove hard to keep up with the heat loss of the house, that's why I'm thinking that we would have been better off with the Jotul, just my $0.02.

 

[sunfish]

After over 30 years of heating with wood, Jotul is the one for me!...

We love our Jotul 118CB!

 

[blacklocst]

I believe that your perception is correct about the cast iron vs. soap stone. But as I said in my previous post, you're putting the same btu's to the house at the end of the day, just less peaks and valley's with the soap stone. The soap stone may make more of a difference in a milder climate, but up here in northern New England, you've still got to fire that soap stone stove hard to keep up with the heat loss of the house, that's why I'm thinking that we would have been better off with the Jotul, just my $0.02.

Good points.

 

[apn73]

A few more to add to the list are Lopi, Harman and Vermont Castings. My sister has a catalytic V.C. and it has treated them pretty well.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I don't know for a fact becasue I never owned a Vermont Castings. But I've read and heard plenty of comments suggesting that since the company got swallowed up by a huge corporation several years back, quality control has been a big problem. There seem to be numerous used pre-sellout VC stoves on the used market and I'd definitely consider one.