He did not make it clear like you did, he just said run the stove low and many others have said the same thing just turn it down low for the best burn, your climate and how large your house is might not allow you to run it that low. PE Summit, have had it for 3 full winters and have cussed at it more then I have the wife and that's a lot. Changes will be made before next winter.
I'd make the switch to the Nashua. You've made some insulation upgrades, see how the old stove works. Sell the Summit, make some more insulation upgrades and see where you stand after that. The Summit is too small for you as it stands now. It is better to be warm and inefficient.
I agree with you totally, but to add to that the stove does not work right, jus wish I knew what the problem was. Before this is all done I might have EPA stoves stacked up like cord wood in storage.
I think you just have the wrong stove for your needs. Maybe you have a draft issue. Maybe you have a PE lemon. But, the main issue is that the stove is not the size that you need.
Well the Nashua is hooked up in the shop now and with the winter winding down (I hope) I will get ready for next winter. My PE is a turd, I know it can/should be working better which would have made a difference.
Really hate you are having problems. I run my stoves to keep me warm, never really cared about efficiency.....just cut more wood if needed. Some times I shut them down, when the temp dictates, and when it doesn't I run them hard.
Its been a pizzer to say the least, too many people telling me how great the new stoves are and I am sure they are but not mine. Sure am glad I still have the Nashua as it might have to go back in. I am not one of those people thinking I am saving the earth with an EPA stove.
Hate it you have had problems. I do understand though. I have burned my old Buck for more than 30 years and it has always kept me warm...it is a heating fool. Then my wife wanted her own stove in the kitchen. We wanted a cook stove but didn't have the money or the space, so we settled on the little Hampton, new EPA stove. And although I have been happy with it, I would not give up my Buck, old as it is.
Well, if your up to it, I would make the switch now so you know for sure it runs correctly. Not sure how you had it hooked up before, but I am assuming it take an eight inch pipe/liner, right? The PE is a 6". Did you put in a liner when you installed the PE? Coming from owning four VC stoves, I have talked with many frustrated owners. Chalk it up to a bad stove. Don't let this sour you on modern stoves. Hook up the Nashua, make sure it works, run it next winter and go back to being warm. Then, figure out what you need to going forward. You are now more educated and wise. Use that to you advantage. Edit: change some spelling errors. I am two bottles into champagne and my typing is atrocious.
I installed a new 6 inch class A chimney, block chimney was shot, wished I would have put in a 7 inch now. 2 week work trip coming up Monday so wont happen till the beginning of March. Insulated curtains are here also, projects are backing up.
i think the real question is how is the stove "physically" performing. i mean as far as the way its burning the fuel. is the stove getting into teh secondary zone and holding? is it not getting secondaries. if its "not enough stove" its not enough stove , but if its "enough stove" but isnt burning physically as it should then we would probably want to explore that but we'd need some specifis on how its actually "working" not necessarily "how its heating" most of the folks who i know who run the PE product line really like them, the "design" is solid. could be the stove , could be somthing else, but to get to the bottom of it a descriptive of what is actually going on with the stove would be a great start. bear in mind bro, this is what i do for a living so im not picking im just seeing if there's somthing going on with this that maybe i can help with either in finding a solution or maybe even confirming an issue that would need to be addressed.
Mike with all due respect, I have went over my problems so many times I am tired of it. Plenty of secondary's, dry wood, very high flue temps (damper did not help took it out) with a lower stove top then most reported. Sick of the stove and time to move on, no one could answer my flue temps question. High flue tems from day one and two different chimneys. I know how a wood burner should work and my old one worked great. I am not bashing PE stoves, mine does not work for some reason. Like I said time to move on.
If you have a theory on why my stove has such high flue temps and some what low stove top (compared to many others with PE stoves) I am all ears. A few others have reported the high flue temps also but for the most part most PE owners have lower flue temps and stove top temps higher. I dont like the side shields on the Summit that much either, I think it holds the heat in. Dont want to give you the wrong idea Mike, its just after 3 years with the stove and this being the winter from hell I need to make changes.
How does the Nashua compare to the Summit in cuft? The Nashua may draft fine on the 6" flue. It's worth a try and if you go ahead and swap the stoves now you won't be going into next winter without knowing where you stand. I had an old Sierra on a 8" class A flue, 13' tall that drafted perfect for 30 years. I moved it to the new house and tryed it on a 6" x 13' flue with mediocre results, got some smoke on reloads if conditions were not right. If I could have burned my old Sierra low enough not to overheat my new house without it making gobs of creosote, I would have kept it. But I'm happy with the KS.
Nashua was 4.25 compared to the summits 3.1. How ever the summit does not work correctly so more too it then just the fire box size.
Ignore the Summit. It's dead to you. Even if it work well, it is only a 3 cu ft stove. The King, a big Buck, or the Regency 5100 would all make a mighty fine dance partner.
