Hi all, I am in the process of replacing my inbuilt fireplace with a new freestanding fireplace. The saleman recommended the Woodsman Aspen which is 19.6kW and $2499. I am comparing it to the Woodsman ECR Mk111 which is 16.1kW and is $1599 which I had in my last house and worked great. This house is around 100m and will be fully insulated (ceiling and underfloor) and we have a heat transfer kit. Do we really need to go witht the 19.6! Will it really make that much more difference for the price! Thanks in advance for your advice.
sharchew,
Jan 22, 6:17am
Check out the Yunka woodburners
sanders4,
Jan 22, 6:27am
We use a 16kw fire in a house that has only a small amount of insulation and can only run it at a slow pace due to heat.
red97,
Jan 22, 6:33am
the salesman is just doing his/her job trying to sell you the more costly model, an extra 20% potential output for a thousand bucks. if you feel from your own experience that the 16.1 kw model will do the job then grab a thousand bucks worth of firewood instead of the bigger fire
kakae,
Jan 22, 6:49am
Thanks for your replies so far. He only showed us a Woodsman brochure and seemed verty intent on the Aspen model. I am happy with a woodsman as I did have one installed in my last house. We are doing this through the govt insulation and heating subsidy so am unsure whether they only install this brand via this subsidy. I am definately thinking your way red97, I really don't want to spend another $1000 if I can help it!
t_naki,
Jan 22, 5:40pm
Has the salesman done a heat load calculation on the house of is he just guessing. The actual heat output needed to heat the average home is about 6kW-8kW, if you want to put in a heat transfer system (which I recommend) then I would go a bit bigger but for most houses 16kW would easily heat them.
Consumer have a handy heat load calculator so you can work out the heat needed to heat the space, it is for heat pumps but the same principle applies.
Dont forget that the heat output quoted will be a "maximum output" and roughly 1/3 of that heat is lost out the flue . The quoted outputs can be very misleading
cantabman1,
Jan 23, 3:35am
If the heat output is 19.6 odd then its going to be more effeicent than the cheaper one at 15kw, so in theory, you will burn less wood for more heat I would spend the extra dosh and go for the better model as we did.
golfaholic2,
Jan 23, 4:24am
If you want efficiency , wait until ECan / CERA clear the way for the new technology . Roger Bests burner can run at around 100% thermal efficiency when emission abatement filters or a thermal electric generator is added . A small cost when you consider the advantages .pay for itself in 2-3 years .less if using the TEG .
budgel,
Feb 10, 12:15pm
The smaller fire will be fine for that sized house.
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