Pioneer vs Pocono vs Hyfire II.

My wife and I took the kids stove shopping during the Christmas recess. We are most likely going to go with Leisure Line but which model would serve our current and future needs best?

Pioneer LE Back Vent: Medium sized unit of 90,000 Btu's maximum. Hopper capacity is 110 lbs.

Pocono Back Vent: Large sized unit of 110,000 Btu's maximum. Hopper capacity is 200 lbs.

Hyfire II Back Vent: Large sized unit of 180,000 Btu's maximum. Hopper capacity is 200 lbs.

The Pioneer is most likely the best choice for us as we live in a post-war Cape Cod style house of just 950 square feet. Cape Cod houses like mine have a master bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen on the first floor with two smaller bedrooms upstairs with a full bath.

But, an argument could be made for choosing the Pocono over the Pioneer for several small, but important reasons.
1). Increased thermal output matching that of the existing oil-fired hot air furnace.
2). Nearly twice the hopper capacity of the Pioneer.
3). The Pocono should have better resale value for people looking to upsize their stove.

And again, not to be repetitive, but an argument could also be made for choosing the Hyfire II over the Pocono.
1). Can be run with one or both burners which when used together produce an enormous amount of heat.
2). Added redundancy and reliability by having dual burners.
3). Variable btu output across such a wide spectrum makes this stove suitable for any size home be it a cape or a three story colonial.
4). Can be ducted directly to an existing hot air furnace if one chooses this method.
5). I could take this stove with me when I move to a larger home.

Any opinions would be appreciated and I wish everyone a happy and healthy New year!

Mark

Both the Pocono and Hyfire can get a Hot air Jacket ,also both can get dressed up a bit by adding 2 rub rails like the Pioneer has one of between the doors and an ash vendor . Also the Lil' Heater can put out 70,000btus . Thanks & Happy New Year ,Dave

Looking at your size of your house, probalby any of them would work just fine, the Hyfire II, might be overkill for that small of an area. Good luck with your choice.
We had a Keystoker 90K for our 1600 sq. ft and did a pretty good job. My Hyfire I works good for our new house in the basement and heat jacket. WIsh it was a Hyfire II. But a boiler is in the future.

Earthman, where is the stove going? basement ? 1st floor (living area)?

Well, because I have decided against installing a chimney, a power vented unit is the best exhaust method for me right now. A metal chimney against the side of my house would not be appropriate for the neighborhood that I live in. Therefore, I don't have many options as to where to install this stove. The best spot seems to be the first floor in either the living room or the dining room.

Thanks for the replies!

Mark

I totally agree with WNY. hy-Fire is way too big.

The Poke either version is a ugly beast that your wife may not want in the living room unless it's your man-cave like mine. After I bought mine I was thinking of returning it with the dealer saying basement stokers need a high coal capacity since you may not be around as much asa 1st floor stove that you'l naturally attend to more. He was right. 2nd year with Poke, great feed system that is shared by all LL's to my understanding.

The Pioneer is a bit smaller and more decorative for the female folk while stilll maintaining the same excellent feed system of the prior two.

In your case if you have reasonable insulation you'll likel need to do, say, 25-30 #'s a day with a feed rate of maybe high teens or a bit more if really cold.

If you do have a pretty drafty abode the Pioneer will stilll easily handle it. IMO, back vent Pioneer. Maybe fill the hopper 2X per day, ash removal maybe every 1-1.5 days.

Always get another ash pan, take filled one out, throw empty one in, easy.

remember: man cave = Poke, unless female approves of the Poker ugliness.

coalnewbie wrote:I have to say one feature of the Poke I like is the big hopper and a once a day attend and I think it throws out 4 through to 120K (my estimate) with great flexibility. Not the prettiest but in these times function is everything in my book. Hey LL, how about a gold door option like the Harman DVC. Flatten the ash door and put a little trim on it and a little decor between the ash door and the top vent. Your castings are a little rough. I don't really care I just want heat but I do see a recurring theme that they are not the prettiest. I wonder how many don't get sold as the wife says yuk. Hire a designer from AGA stoves. They look really great but are totally useless - but they sell.

That stuff is on our list for the future . Gold I am not so sure because of cost ,we will have to see if their is enough interest . Thanks ,Dave

EarthWindandFire wrote:My wife and I took the kids stove shopping during the Christmas recess. We are most likely going to go with Leisure Line but which model would serve our current and future needs best?

Pioneer LE Back Vent: Medium sized unit of 90,000 Btu's maximum. Hopper capacity is 110 lbs.

Pocono Back Vent: Large sized unit of 110,000 Btu's maximum. Hopper capacity is 200 lbs.

Hyfire II Back Vent: Large sized unit of 180,000 Btu's maximum. Hopper capacity is 200 lbs.

The Pioneer is most likely the best choice for us as we live in a post-war Cape Cod style house of just 950 square feet. Cape Cod houses like mine have a master bedroom, living room, dining room and kitchen on the first floor with two smaller bedrooms upstairs with a full bath.

But, an argument could be made for choosing the Pocono over the Pioneer for several small, but important reasons.
1). Increased thermal output matching that of the existing oil-fired hot air furnace.
2). Nearly twice the hopper capacity of the Pioneer.
3). The Pocono should have better resale value for people looking to upsize their stove.

And again, not to be repetitive, but an argument could also be made for choosing the Hyfire II over the Pocono.
1). Can be run with one or both burners which when used together produce an enormous amount of heat.
2). Added redundancy and reliability by having dual burners.
3). Variable btu output across such a wide spectrum makes this stove suitable for any size home be it a cape or a three story colonial.
4). Can be ducted directly to an existing hot air furnace if one chooses this method.
5). I could take this stove with me when I move to a larger home.

Any opinions would be appreciated and I wish everyone a happy and healthy New year!

Mark

Despite your size home, I'd go for the Hyfire II. All because of it's incredible flexibility. You can never have enough backup BTU's. Also, you said you'd take it when you go to a larger house.

Nuff said, Hyfire II.

If I decide to install the stove on the first floor of the house and the oil-fired furnace in the basement is no longer used, what should be done to protect the water pipes from freezing in the basement?

Do most people wrap their pipes with electric heat tape?

Thanks again for the help!

Mark

EarthWindandFire wrote:If I decide to install the stove on the first floor of the house and the oil-fired furnace in the basement is no longer used, what should be done to protect the water pipes from freezing in the basement?

Do most people wrap their pipes with electric heat tape?

Thanks again for the help!

Mark

Is this a furnace or boiler in the basement? If is is no longer gonna be used why not replace it with the appropriate coal appliance and have central heating and a warm basement. Does this oil appliance have a real chimney?

EarthWindandFire wrote:If I decide to install the stove on the first floor of the house and the oil-fired furnace in the basement is no longer used, what should be done to protect the water pipes from freezing in the basement?

Do most people wrap their pipes with electric heat tape?

Thanks again for the help!

Mark

Mark, IF you have duct work AND you want the Hyfire II, then basement. Now, what's the temp down there when the oil is off? Put some cheap thermometers around the basement. If you get an average 40*, then you're good. IF you're going stove upstairs, then I suggest turning on the oil and have a stat down there set at it's lowest point. That way, the oil will turn on once in a while, if any and your pipes should be fine.

I've seen a few posts about connecting the stoker to piping which brings in fresh air from outside.

Is their any negatives to doing this, obviously the outside air is extremely cold, especially at these temperatures?

I would imagine that the air pressure inside my house would be less if the stove draws its combustion air from outside.

What about connecting the stoves intake pipe to the cold-air return duct on my furnace. If I ultimately end up placing the stove in the basement, but choose (not) connecting it to the existing supply ducts, would this method still makse sense?

Thanks!

Mark

EarthWindandFire wrote:I've seen a few posts about connecting the stoker to piping which brings in fresh air from outside.

Is their any negatives to doing this, obviously the outside air is extremely cold, especially at these temperatures?

I would imagine that the air pressure inside my house would be less if the stove draws its combustion air from outside.

What about connecting the stoves intake pipe to the cold-air return duct on my furnace. If I ultimately end up placing the stove in the basement, but choose (not) connecting it to the existing supply ducts, would this method still makse sense?

Thanks!

Mark

Piping the combustion air outside is a good idea. Keeps from drawing the cold in as the stoker uses air. Several members have done this with success.

If you put the stoker in the basement, you will more than likely need to connect it to the duct work for proper air distribution.