Advice on Stove sizing

Thanks, that was kind of my impression with the fireview, it's twice the size of the F3, but the published numbers threw me off.

 

I don't think EPA gives any information about burn times. So, the F3 may put out as much heat per hour as the Fireview, but for a much shorter time burning more wood per pound of wood to do so, so the same amount of wood will put out more than the same amount of heat, and the stove will hold more wood, so reloads would be less than half as often, with greater heat output over a longer time.

 

So we stopped by Woodstock yesterday and I have to echo everything that people have said about the great service you get there. Jamie showed us around and spent over an hour talking about our options with us. We got to see the prototype Franklin style steel stove as well a large selection of Ideal steel, progress and fireview stoves nearing completion or waiting for pickup. I was somewhat surprised by the size of the place, don't get me wrong it's still a "small" company but there were probably 75-100 stoves in progress, lots of ideal steel stoves.

So a few things based on our visit, I think the ideal steel is out for us, as I've seen people who have them say, they are a BIG stove (especially when they are on a tall raised hearth in the showroom). My wife did like the progress and in our install it would be somewhat lower profile than the fireview but we were a little concerned about it being a little too much stove for the space we are putting it in. The Franklin steel stove would likely be the best size wise however it's still a little ways out as far as availability. While I liked the look of the Franklin better in person than some of the pictures I've seen I think we both are going to like the look of the fireview better. So based on that I think we are most likely going to go with the fireview. We'll probably leave the Jotul in place until we get through a season or two and see how the fireview does in the bitter cold like we had in February this year.

No order yet but I think we are getting close.

 

A visit to Woodstock is memorable. Glad you were able to make it there. Woodstock's input re the best options amongst their stoves for one's set-up is, in my opinion, invaluable. So, wonderful you were able to get there and go over the situation with them. They are interested in determining your needs, rather than simply making a sale. If they think something will not work or is questionable in your situation, they will say so.
I had a Fireview ----no, I HAVE a Fireview, just not in commission at the moment----for a good number of years before I purchased the PH. I'm sure if you purchase a Fireview, you will be as happy with it as I have been with mine. Wishing you many warm nights.

In addition, I think it's a great idea to keep the Jotul in place. Among other benefits, if you find the Fireview is NOT adequate to heat your home, Woodstock will let you exchange it for a PH anytime in the first six months, with a full refund of the cost of the Fireview. You might want to time your purchase so it will arrive at the beginning of the heating season, so you would not have to exchange mid-season, should you find the need to exchange. Or, simply talk with Woodstock prior to purchase. Likely, you could make an arrangement where, if you notified them within the first burning season that you needed the bigger stove, they would let you exchange at the end of the season, even if the time frame were beyond the six months.
In your case, I would strongly encourage doing this, since you seem to have really preferred the PH but simply felt it would put out too much heat.

If cost is not too important, you might want to keep in mind that you can easily burn the PH with less wood for lower heat output. It's low end heat output is not very different from the Fireview's. But perhaps Woodstock felt that even the low end heat output of the PH would be too much for you in shoulder season?

Anyway, the Fireview is a beautiful, very dependable and rugged workhorse that will heat your home for many years with little effort.

 

That does look like a small room to place a PH in. My stove room is 25 x 50 (1200 sq. ft) with cathedral a ceiling and windows around 3 sides, and it sometimes is a bit much for us.

 

Yeah we looked at the colors they had we both like the metallic blue, I'm not as crazy about it on their website but in person it looks real nice. We did look at the stone they had there and while there was some variation the batch they have now seems pretty consistent as far as the overall color. When talking about the color Jamie said the photography on the site makes the difference in stone color look more dramatic than it typically does in person with the stone pretty much being a gray. Based on what I saw that makes sense.