Wood Stove Advice???

[jhoff310]

I am looking for advice on buying a wood stove. My house is 2500 Sqft 2 story. I am looking to put the stove in the rear of my house and use "corner door fans to circulate the warm air . I don't expect the upstairs to get the same level of warmth as the main floor <I like it cooler when I sleep anyway>..... I am looking to give my furnace a break If I can cut my furnace use by 50% I will be happy...If I can get more even better

Anyway who makes good affordable stoves? We recently went looking and my wife fell in love with a model made by pacific energy...I really didnt fall in love with the price.

Double wall, triple wall or solid pack chimney pipe.... I would love to use our existing chimney <which is in the center of the house> from the old "coal octopus" that was originally in our house, but I was told that can't be used because its a different style chimney, One guy said put a stainless liner iin and it can be used True or false? so I am looking for all the info I can get.

Thanks in advance
Jeff

 

[Steve NW WI]

Consider a wood furnace that connects to your furnace ductwork rather than a wood stove. You should be able to keep the whole house warm with just wood with a Yukon or other similar furnace. It costs up front, but the payback is pretty quick at the fuel prices we're paying nowadays.

We'll need more details with the type of chimney you have for the coalburner before we can help more with that. I'm no chimney expert, but there's a few on here.

 

[Mike Van]

Jeff, the stainless liner will work most times. Consider what Steve said, people went to central heat for a reason. Not listining to a bunch of small fans is one of them. "Fancy" parlor type stoves are pricey, you pay for all that good looks. If there's room in the basement, and an easy way to get wood down there, I'd look at the furnace option. I did 10+ years ago, and would never go back to hauling wood into the house [and ashes out]

 

[Haywire Haywood]

As far as a stove goes, you'll need a big one with 2500sq ft. The Jotul F600 Firelight would be such a stove. You still won't be happy with the price though. Remember the old saying, "You get what you pay for". You won't remember the extra $500 or $1000 you put in 5 or 8 years from now but will regret not laying it out if you buy an inferior stove.

The furnace option like the Yukon Big Jack would get heat around the house easier and it's connected to the thermostat, but when the power's out, the fan won't run to push it through the system. Crappie Kieth here says that it still works fine without the fan running. Personally, I like my electric bill minus the 220v central air fan running, but my house is essentially a circle and one box fan will circulate air throughout the house fairly easily.

If you don't have basement access from the outside, you're still bringing wood through the house and ash back out with the furnace. I bought an ash vac and that has simplified things and made ash handling cleaner.

Ian

 

[jhoff310]

Thanks guys....I am really not interested in the wood furnace idea. I'm not looking to heat the entire house < if I could that would be great>. I did some more looking online here is what we like
Vogelzang----performer, heats 2200 sqft 12 hr burn 119K BTU, 3.8g emission..how is vogelzang?

regency--f2400 and f3100----2400 8hr burn 75K BTU 3.4g emission...3100 10 hr burn 4.2g emission 80kBTU

avalon---- olympic and rainier olympic is the larger of the 2 rainier can heat 1800 sqft..

can I get away with a stove capable of say 1500 to 1800 sqft since heat rises? Like I said the stove is going in the back of my house and the stairway is in the front.....I have thought about adding "fake" cold air returns in the cieling to the floor upstairs so the heat will rise to the second floor....am I smoking funny cigarettes?


Thanks again
Jeff

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I've heard that putting the vents in the ceiling to get heat upstairs will break fire code in a big way. Better to put a big return in your basement connected to your central air. Block the upstairs returns and force it to pull air from the room with the stove. Just have to keep the basement door open so that it can pull cool air from upstairs down to the basement.

Ian

edit... manufacturers are always generous with their ratings... if they rate it for 1500, that's in ideal circumstances with perfectly seasoned fuel.... keep that in mind.

 

[wendell]

For the size house you have, I would definitely stay with a 3 cf stove and since it seems you are trying to get by as cheap as possible, I would suggest the Englander NC 30. If you have a big box store nearby, you can probably get one on close out for around $1000.

But the PE Summit would be a great choice for moving lots of heat around your house. Also, remember to point your fans toward the stove room to more efficiently move the heat. The extra you pay now will be worth it down the road.

 

[Cambium]

Thanks guys....I am really not interested in the wood furnace idea. I'm not looking to heat the entire house < if I could that would be great>. I did some more looking online here is what we like
Vogelzang----performer, heats 2200 sqft 12 hr burn 119K BTU, 3.8g emission..how is vogelzang?

regency--f2400 and f3100----2400 8hr burn 75K BTU 3.4g emission...3100 10 hr burn 4.2g emission 80kBTU

avalon---- olympic and rainier olympic is the larger of the 2 rainier can heat 1800 sqft..

can I get away with a stove capable of say 1500 to 1800 sqft since heat rises? Like I said the stove is going in the back of my house and the stairway is in the front.....I have thought about adding "fake" cold air returns in the cieling to the floor upstairs so the heat will rise to the second floor....am I smoking funny cigarettes?


Thanks again
Jeff

Hi Jeff...lots of info you need to soak in. At least you got a few months to do so. Without boring you with details on what I did with my wood stove and how much I saved I'll try to give straight up advice.

Look in the classified. Craigslist. I got a new one for $300.(small)
Make sure the outside is cast iron not steel. Steel is ok but cast iron better.
Make sure you tile the floor and wall and follow the code for installing.

Why not a wood fireplace insert with a blower?

A regular size vent with lever will help for sure and you can control it by closing it to let the heat stay downstairs.

numbers and effciency are good to look at but look at the size of wood it fits and amount of wood. Go for the, "up to 20" pieces".

Double Wall is fine (you will get warm heat from that in the room too) Triple wall better but no extra heat off it.

Not sure about the style chimney you got but a liner can be used for regular chimneys.

Heat Expense Without My wood stove = $3000 a year. With wood Stove = $900/yr. 1500 sq ft living space. Ranch. Stove on one end of house. Only 16 inch pieces fit. Need to reload every hour at 25 degrees no wind.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

and don't believe them when they tell you "8 hour burn". That's with perfect wood and it shut down so it smolders. If it's cold out and you need it putting off the heat, you won't be getting 8 hours. This winter when it was in the low teens, I set my "P" alarm by drinking a huge glass of water at bedtime. Get up to "P" and load the stove around 2am.

Ian

 

[NWnewguy]

Some interesting advice here. I agree with the guys saying the furnace would be a good way to go, but if that isn't an option, you should look for a better deal on the PE. As far as burn times, the Summit will get you at least 8 hours or better with decent wood. It will also put out an amazing amount of heat and I think you will be impressed by the overall build and design of the stove. As far as comparing it to cast iron, ask some of the guys that have cracked castiron stoves which they would prefer. The Summit does get a bit pricier when you add the colors to it. I got my PE for a very good deal and was able to stay local, but it was from the 3rd dealer that I called, the first two were out to lunch on their prices. You should also look at the tax advantage from buying a stove, not sure if that is still in affect for this year or not.

 

[indiansprings]

You get what you pay for, other stoves may be less expensive, they'll last a while then you eventually have to replace. The two facorites among our wood customer's in this area are quadra fire and Pacific Energy. Based on what we've seen as wood seller's we are going to install a PE this summer.
Owner's just rant about the heat they put out, I believe they use less wood based on houses of approx the same square footage, at least we have delivered them less, some up to two or three cords less. You never know how the houses are insulated though. Owner's claim less ash as well.

 

[jhoff310]

Thanks so much guys.... I really appericate the advice and info. Like anybody I would like to get off as cheap as possible but I also have to remember you get what you pay for. I'm sure I will have more questions in the future so please forgive me if I become a pain......
I should've came here for info on replacing my burnt up Stihl < I let a friend borrow it> anyway I bought an echo cs310..<the 5 year warranty kinda swayed my decision> ..I am pleased it with but its not my stihl. I have access to my dads Stihl if I need a bigger saw.I know when it comes time to really start processing wood I will eventually upgrade......So far it has processed 6 cords or ash, walnut, some red oak, and hard maple without missing a beat.

Jeff

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Remember the old saying, "You get what you pay for". You won't remember the extra $500 or $1000 you put in 5 or 8 years from now but will regret not laying it out if you buy an inferior stove.

Dem's good advices!

and don't believe them when they tell you "8 hour burn". That's with perfect wood and it shut down so it smolders. If it's cold out and you need it putting off the heat, you won't be getting 8 hours.

I get 8 hours routinely. It's a big stove! I have an old Grandpa Bear Fisher, and if I stuff it full on few coals, 8 hours is easy. I have gotten up to 14 hours. That's in cold weather, with the stove damped down (creosote time!), and loaded with good and locust, and doing top down burning. At the end of 14 hours, I had enough coals to load it up again without having to rekindle a fire.

DO look into top down burning! I am a recent convert, and don't ever plan to go back. Also, bigger chunks take longer to burn. Keep up a good amount of coals, and you don't have to build a roaring fire to get your wood going for the night. Shove the coals to one side, clean out some ashes, then load the wood on the cool side. Move the coals to the top of the new wood, and load up the other side. Makes for some loooong burn times! A cheap ash shovel is good for moving the coals.


My stove is 5/16" plate steel, btw, and I don't think I'm losing much advantage to the cast iron guys. Yes, cast DOES transfer heat better than steel, but not enough to justify passing up a good stove made of steel. Of course, the cast iron makes for a prettier stove. Can't argue that. My Fisher is not a pretty stove!

Jeff, watch the local ads, and see if you can find one. They are built like tanks, will last roughly 3/4 of forever, and will do the job for you. Around here, they show up for anywhere from $300 to $600. Single wall to the ceiling (if your local code allows it), and the best you can afford from there up. Don't go cheap on chimney!

 

[lobsta1]

Forget the Vogeljunk. PE makes VERY good stoves & they stand behind them. Englander 30 is a very good basic no frills stove. DO NOT undersize the stove. New EPA stoves are NOT like the old Fishers & Russos. They absolutely MUST, MUST, MUST have fully seasomed wood!!!! When the temp drops & you are sitting there & trying to get the bed of coals burnt down to a manageable size (ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON"T HAVE FULLY SEASONED WOOD) is not the time to wish you had picked the bigger stove. These new EPA stoves give off comparatively little heat when in the coaling stage. The greatest amount of heat is from the secondary burning of the gasses being output from the SEASONED wood.

What you use for a chimney will depend on what you have now. You have given no details, so no one can say what to do. IF you go into a masonry chimney, by the latest codes, if any part of that chimney touches a combustible material or if any flue liner tile is cracked you must use an insulated hi-temp SS liner.

As far as following the advice of just putting tile down on the floor & wall; I hate being blunt, but that is bad advice. The particular stove you purchase will have particular clearance requirements. The floor installation will call for a certain "K" or "R" factor. (insulation requirements)

I suggest you do some basic research at this site:
http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/library.htm

Good Luck
Al

 

[flotek]

id look for a addon furnace ,theres no reason to have to buy any propane or natural gas unless you need it for your stove dryer ect.after i bought my englander adddon 28-3500 wood furnace i reduced my fuel oil consumption by 100% and we are much warmer