Yes, I was torn between the larger unit and the smaller one, but I think I got it right. 10 hour burn times in the coldest nights here in NC in the teens is all that anyone can ask for. I would rather burn it hot and add wood every 10 hours than to have a larger unit with a lot of smoldering and creosote build up. Needless to say, my firebox is rather clean with very little build up. As long as I can load it full around 10:00 at night and it last all night until I feel it up around 7 AM the next morning then I am happy. I am kind of a peddler so I actually enjoy going out messing with it loading the stove. During the day, we keep the loads small where we add a piece every couple of hours as day time here in NC is normally around 50 degrees. Its the nights that can sometimes get cold. The teens is as cold as we will ever see, most of the time its in the mid to upper 20's. That was one of the reasons I went with the smaller unit. I was right on the edge where the larger unit was more than I needed and the smaller one was questionable on being enough. I think running them hot is better than smoldering so I went for the smaller unit. In retro spec, I guess I could have got the larger unit and just cut down on the size of the loads of wood I put in the box but like always, I did not think about it from that angle before buying.