Wanna be cat stove-PE Super Series performance

I lit this thing about 9 last night. Pretty full, top down start, shut it down a little after 10 at around 600°. Got up at 7 this morning, stove top at 300°, full of coals, room temp in the mid 70s.

Over 16 hours later, I just loaded a few small ones to get thru to the evening.





I wish I had this stove at home. It sure is fun to play with. Pretty impressive shoulder season burner.

 

Does this model have the EBT?

 

No EBT. It is a Spectrum that was built in '95. It is the same basic stove as the T5, Super 27, Spectrum, etc of today. They all have the primary and secondary air controls linked together, so as the primary is cut back, the secondary is too. Of course, neither can be closed all the way, but it allows for really good control.

My second weekend burning it, and I already feel like a pro

 

Very impressive!

 

Nice Jeff.

 

Ha, trust me Ray, that's all I can think about lately.
Less firewood from tree to ashes....hopefully by 1/3. Five cord to maybe a little more than 3 would be nice. Less would be even gooder.
Unless something drastic happens, it'll be after tax return.

 

Anything other than what I have.
Actually, I've got my eye on the BK Scirocco 30 as my first choice, unless Englander comes out with something a bit smaller than the 30.
My stove really likes to run about 650-700, but won't stay there more than a couple hours.
I need more control no matter the weather, and longer burn times.

 

How big is your current smoke dragon?
How much space are you heating with it?
What temps do you like the house to be?

Going from an old pre-EPA stove to a new stove is a different monster. Make sure you size it right for your needs. I'm always a fan of going a little larger than your needs for flexibility.

 

Same thought I have.
Effective stove size is about 2.3 cu. ft., house is 1250, and I like to maintain close to 70 in the house through the winter. Now that mom is living with us (for a while anyway), that may need to go up a bit.
Insulation is less than ideal (R-11 with loose vermiculite on top, which compresses it into uselessness) in the attic. Not practical right now to redo the whole attic, but I'm working on the stove room right now.
Normal temps in the winter are mid-teens, with forays into the zero range, and an occasional run down below zero for a few days.
Can a new stove that same size, with more control and longer burns, do what I need?
This, is my dilemma (I still think that should be dilemna).

 

In my experience, no. Especially if you are fighting draft/poor insulation (I have this problem as well.)

The Vigilant was about 2.75 cu ft. The 30NC is 3.5 cu ft. I get a lot longer burns from the 30NC, but it heats about the same as the Vigilant.

 

Yep, I remember.
So, my thought of going large is a good one. If it's a cat, more the better, especially during this weird time of year.
ETA: Ray, now I'm confuzzled again.

 

This is the place. The original part is a modular, and the living room with the stove is an addition, total of 1350 sq ft. The 10'x30' breezeway is enclosed and is now another bedroom. The attic is currently uninsulated, but that is on the list. The rest of the house has R19 fiberglass in the attic, no idea on the walls.

The chimney is 8' of class A, and 5ish of double wall pipe. The stove breathes much better than I expected, and draft is definetly not an issue.

I have no idea yet how it will perform in cold weather, but we have 'similar climates' . I'll keep you posted.

 

This really depends on his insulation. If I recall, the home is pretty drafty. Recommending a 3 cu ft stove for 1250 is admittedly dicey. But it looks like he has a pretty large pre-epa smoke dragon. If it puts out heat like the Vigilant, and that is what he is used to for comfort, than a larger stove will be needed.