Looking to install a wood stove

[steelhead kid]

This summer I plan on putting a wood stove in my living room. My house is 1500 square feet.

After searching old threads I have concluded the super cheap Volgezang wood stoves are not a good investment.Are there any other stoves I should avoid?

I have read theat Englander, Lopi, and Drolet, are good buys. Your reccomendation?....

 

[GlennG]

Yes those are good stoves. I have used a Napolean 1400 to heat my 1800 sq ft house for the last 4 years. I would buy it all over again. I have an Englander NC-15 in my shop and I like it too.

 

[Basso]

Hello,
I have 2 Regency stoves and I am happy with them !!!



Basso

 

[CharlieG]

I have a Hearthstone Mansfield made of soapstone--an attractive stove for a living room.

 

[cuttinstuff]

This summer I plan on putting a wood stove in my living room. My house is 1500 square feet.

After searching old threads I have concluded the super cheap Volgezang wood stoves are not a good investment.Are there any other stoves I should avoid?

I have read theat Englander, Lopi, and Drolet, are good buys. Your reccomendation?....

There are a lot of good stoves out there. A lot of junk also. I have been using an Osburn (the biggest one they have, I forget the number) to heat my 2500 sq.ft. 2 story for a few years now, I am very happy with it. Narrow it down to a couple and then post for comments. Make sure you get a good chimney. Don't put a lot of faith in what the stove manufacturer says as far as what sq. footage the stove will heat, you do not want to go to small, you can always open a window. LOL

 

[CrappieKeith]

Are you really looking for a stove or a furnace...difference being a furnace will heat the entire home not just part of it like a stove?

Is this something you want to sit and look at or would it go in the basement and hook to ducting?

 

[steelhead kid]

Yup a lota choices out there,....

Glad I heard someone mention soap stone. I am interested in hearing more experiences with these stoves. I am thinking about a rear flue Jotul, anyone had one of these?

Any experiences with rear flue exits and outside chimneys?

 

[Marc]

Glad I heard someone mention soap stone. I am interested in hearing more experiences with these stoves. I am thinking about a rear flue Jotul, anyone had one of these?

Any experiences with rear flue exits and outside chimneys?

I've had my Hearthstone Heritage soapstone stove for a year now. I love the look, but I really love the heat storage. I'm in an old, uninsulated farmhouse, so having the ability to store heat in the stone that is released slowly after the fire dies back is very nice. I think that is where they make the most sense.

I'd probably have cast iron if I lived in a nice, tight, insulated space that retains heat well on its own, because soapstone does take a while to heat up. Mine will be about an hour to get the exterior to operating temeprature. If you're looking to have something to do a quick burn in the morning to take the chill off, look elsewhere.

That having been said, if you really like the look of soap over cast, I wouldn't let any of the operating difference hold you back.

The most important thing I can tell you is, if you're sure you want to heat with wood, don't cheap out. But a new (or slightly used, if you feel can judge condition well) quality stove. You'll end up with a more efficient burner and it will last you years.

Vermont Castings, Jotul, Regency, Napoleon, Hearthstone, Woodstock Soapstone, Lopi... these are all names I would trust. My father had a VC Defiant last 20 years that he replaced with a VC Encore, just for some of its convenience that has since lasted 15 and is still going strong.

Here's my stove-

 

[avalancher]

Glad to hear your experiences with a soapstone,we are going to upgrade to a better stove this year, and my wife loves the look of a soapstone.the part about taking awhile to heat up got my attention though,we are often gone the entire day and come home late in the evening and I hate the idea of sitting around for an hour for the stove to heat up,much less the morning fire to take the chill off.
Our house is not real well insulated, and every morning I get up and load the thing down with small split pine to get the fast heat.Generally within 15 minutes the stove is glowing red and makes the waking up effort a little better.Hate to think what a soapstone would do for us.Guess we will scratch that off our list.

 

[steelhead kid]

Nice stove

marc, I like the look of your stove, im not looking for anything with shiny brass and fancy, yours has a cool look too it. My house is pretty well insulated, i am looking to cut heating costs and do like a glass door. the soapstone seems as though it maximizes heat output in the long run, so i am considering either a soapstone stove or soapstone hearth. can you cook on the top of the soap stone?

Avalancher, what kind of stove do you have?

 

[Richard_]

check out http://www.pacificenergy.net/PDF/12 13 SUPD 0907.pdf or this one if you think you need the extra heat output http://www.pacificenergy.net/PDF/17SUMM 0907.pdf , I have one of there inserts , the Pacific model , and it keeps my 1300sq ft home nice and toasty

 

[steelhead kid]

Nice....

dang, those look nice ! I only would need the first one, any idea on how much they cost?

Who makes rear flue exiting stoves?

 

[Marc]

marc, I like the look of your stove, im not looking for anything with shiny brass and fancy, yours has a cool look too it. My house is pretty well insulated, i am looking to cut heating costs and do like a glass door. the soapstone seems as though it maximizes heat output in the long run, so i am considering either a soapstone stove or soapstone hearth. can you cook on the top of the soap stone?

Avalancher, what kind of stove do you have?

You can, but most dealers tell you to put something between the cookware and the stove (like a scrap piece of soapstone, which they can often get) because the stone will stain if it is spilled on. Which I never understood because you can get sinks and counter tops of soapstone, but maybe those have different compositions.

The heat output isn't really affected by the material choice (that's all efficiency and size dependent), just the timing. Like I said with soapstone, you get less in the beginning because of the time it takes to heat up the mass in the soapstone (typically that's called thermal lag) but it holds heat longer than cast iron. It's not uncommon that I'll go to bed with the stove at 450 and find it at 250 in the morning. I do like the window as well.

Regardless of brand, I've seen more failures in steel stoves than cast or stone. I don't know that reliable steel stoves don't exist but I looked only at cast iron and soapstone when I bought last year.

 

[Joshlaugh]

I have a soapstone stove as well, the heritage by Heartstone. I agree that it takes awhile to get it heated up but once it does it works great. And like someone else said don't always believe what the manufacturer says about heating square footage. I plan to buy a Jotul this fall to supplement my heritage stove to bring the overall temp of my old uninsulated house up since one stove isn't enough to heat my house.

Good luck with whichever stove you buy

 

[Richard_]

dang, those look nice ! I only would need the first one, any idea on how much they cost?

Who makes rear flue exiting stoves?

I think they are around $1600.00 for the stove then figure $400.00 for the pipe

 

[unclemoustache]

I've got a Lopi Leyden and don't like it. I'd be happy to sell it to you really cheap!

 

[Marc]

dang, those look nice ! I only would need the first one, any idea on how much they cost?

Who makes rear flue exiting stoves?

Hearthstones and probably some others, are interchangeable. Mine's set up for top, but could be changed to rear without much trouble.

 

[avalancher]

marc, I like the look of your stove, im not looking for anything with shiny brass and fancy, yours has a cool look too it. My house is pretty well insulated, i am looking to cut heating costs and do like a glass door. the soapstone seems as though it maximizes heat output in the long run, so i am considering either a soapstone stove or soapstone hearth. can you cook on the top of the soap stone?

Avalancher, what kind of stove do you have?

I have one of those cheap boxwood stoves.All cast iron and very sturdy,but it goes through a ton of wood.Didnt matter to me in the past, but my cutting days are rather limited this year due to an unforseen injury, now I gotta think about the volume of wood I consume.It does crank out the heat though,in twenty minutes we have the whole house pretty toasty

 

[steelhead kid]

really?

Unclemustache,

Why dont you like your Lopi, I heard they are good? At he local dealer here the 1250 and 1750, are the ones that cost the least, so i was considering a Lopi.

 

[flotek]

dollar for dollar BTU for BTU ,the englander NC-15 is hard to beat .it is epa approved uses little wood and throws big heat youd expect from a huge cast iron unit but for a cheap cost (check out lowes or home depot) ,theres dress up accent kits and legs for it as well although they look pretty nice right from the factory.mine heats a 25x24 garage building to nearly 80 degrees on a frigid january day