Need stove help...Please!

Hello, I am new here and looking for some much needed advice. For the past 3 New England winters we have been heating almost the entire house exclusively with an old Huntsman box stove in the basement. Bonus room is essentially an addition and heated on it's own zone (hydro-air/oil). Home is new construction, very well insulated, blown-in Cellulose walls & ceilings. Basement sill has iconene around entire perimeter and exterior basement walls are lined with insulating panels. Overall square footage to be heated with stove is @3500

Discovered yesterday, when the chimney was cleaned and some replacement firebricks were going to installed that the stove is damaged and considered a complete failure. This was not an expense that we were anticipating but have no intention of heating with oil through the winter.

All that being said, we need something that won't completely break the bank, can burn 24/7 and accommodate log lengths between 22"-24". The Huntsman was a beast and we have all of our wood cut, split, seasoned and stacked.

I have looked online but there doesn't seem to be too many options. All of the wood stove shops near me are closed on Sunday and Monday so haven't physically looked.

Lastly, it does not have to be attractive as it will be in an unfinished basement and is purely for function.

Thanks,
Jenn

Hey Minister, I will check out the Jotuls you mentioned.

As for the current stove the exterior walls are bending inward causing beaks in the weld joints. Don't believe it is repairable but even if it was I'd rather spend the money on a new one that meets today's standards and won't be an issue with insurance. This, btw was installed with a permit and was inspected by my insurance company before they issued the policy.

Thanks Truck, I'll check it out. Tractor Supply is fairly close.

Begreen, I do agree that the Huntsman was worked too hard. Our original intent was never to heat the whole house, we just wanted to supplement. Turns out with the stove running the heat in most of the house never kicked on. Hadn't considered a wood furnace but perhaps we should. As for breaking the bank, I would prefer to only do this once and not need to replace again in a couple of years so I would rather invest in quality.
Truck, I will have to check the firebox size.

Rideau, I will check out the Wooddtock stove you mention. We are not doing anything particular to direct the heat other than leave the basement door open. Burn and maintain all day, begin again in the morning. We do turn our heat on in the rest of the house it just doesn't kick on.

Thanks Mike, we will need to explore that option. Are we talking an add-on since I have an existing furnace?

Joyful, thanks for posting. Definitely don't need pretty unless we opt to do a fireplace install on the main level. Our configuration is a 4 flue center chimney (central heat, 2 Rumford fireplaces and basement wood stove). The larger if the fireplaces is used regularly for ambiance the smaller has only been used once. Too hot if they are both going.

Not sure if the fireplace install is realistic. Need to take hearth measurements and discuss it with Stove Shop. It would have to be in the smaller of the 2 fireplaces.

Yes I do want to keep this on a budget as it is an unexpected expense. I don't want to be doing this again in a few years.

Not 100% sure what went wrong with the current stove. It has been in the family for well over 30 years and been used in various homes. I believe there were a few factors and our most recent use was the final straw. The chimney sweep that looked at it for us mentioned that the welds were compromised and likely have been pulling in too much air along with likely burning too hot.

Thanks all, really need to check out the Englander.

As for log size, I do agree that it shouldn't be the deciding factor but I believe we currently have at least 8 cord. No one is even remotely interested in trimming a couple of inches off this much wood

Thanks so much all. Looks like I some some great options. For my purposes I will be exploring the Englander, wood furnaces and Woodstock. I am not opposed to Soapstone as I love the properties of the material (have it as counters and sink. I don't think the price of the Hybrid is out of the budget but if I can spend less since it is a basement install I do prefer to do so.

There is no denying that there was user error as this type of thing doesn't just happen. I am new to wood stoves but my husband has grown up with wood for heat. We definitely watch the fire and don't just light it and go, even have a rocking share stationed near by to enjoy the warmth. Husband works for home so can check on it throughout the day when necessary.

Adding a stove to one of the fireplaces Rideau would be a last resort as we prefer to maintain the integrity of both Rumfords.