Buying a Wood Stove

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

warrior327

New Member
Nov 25, 2012
27
I am brand new to the forums, and am looking to buy a free standing wood stove. Currently I have a prefab ZC fireplace, and am looking to pull it out stud it, drywall it and replace it with a free standing wood stove in the corner of my living room. I live in Mid Missouri where the winters are not as harsh as they are in the northern states. Ranch style house was built in the 80's, and is 1100sq ft. It is not the most efficient home but is by far probably not the worst either. The stove location will be on one corner of the house and the bedrooms are located on the other side off the hallway. Location of stove will be out of the way so my son cannot run into it and burn himself.

What I am trying to determine is what size stove would be best suited for heating my entire home 24/7?. Thoughts on would this stove be enough to heat my entire home to a decent temp mid to low 70's?

I am looking at:
Napoleon 1100 pedestal
BTU Heat Output Range 11,700-42,200
Heating sq ft. 600-1600
Burn Time-7 Hrs High Burn

Thanks
Any response is appreciated.
 
I am in the process of the same project. I got a 13nc from our box store for $650
installed a Selkirk classA chimney
built a new tall hearth pedestal.
Having fun but eager to finish it up soon, my garage door spring broke today and both cars change oil now lights came on within days of each other.
Christmas shopping needed and anniversary is Wednesday.
--when it rains it pours
 
  • Like
Reactions: etiger2007
Welcome, you will get a lot of good info and suggestions here. No experience with Napoleon stoves, but, I heat the same size house with stove in similar location. I'm in Rhode Island we get a 5-6 days a year down close to zero and wind chills down to maybe 10-15 below; the majority of time we hit mid teens at night with daytime highs around 32; don't know how this compares to you. I run the Jotul F400 which has about the same specs; the key was advice I got here run a fan blowing air into the stove room pointed at the stove. I started out with fan blowing out of room but sit like a 22" fan on floor blowing in and what a difference. These newer stoves need dry wood; usually when someone sells you seasoned wood it still needs another 6 months to a year for most hard woods and 2 more years for oak. Start buying, cutting, and scavenging now for future years; if you have a supply for this year great, if not, get the driest you can get and look for pallets and the like.
Good luck,
 
Warm climate and small square footage = small non-cat (2.0 cu.ft. Or less), or medium cat (2.0 - 2.5 cu. ft.) stove. No recommendation on specific stoves, but Englander is a good brand. Also check out Blaze King, as they can burn longer and slower than any other, ideal for your circumstances (but expensive).
 
We have a free standing Napoleon 1400, the next size up from the one you are considering. We have a passive solar home, with a very open design, lots of thermal mass, and good insulation. On cold, cloudy days, we fire up the wood stove and have no trouble keeping the 2,000 sf main level toasty. Considering the age of your 1100 sf house and its probable 80s insulation and tightness levels, I suspect the 1100 might be borderline. If you can tighten it up a bit, by plugging air leaks, etc., it could be sufficient.
 
Don't forget to look at Woodstocks line of stoves. Cat- Soapstone stoves allow for a slow burn and nice radiant heat as well. They give you 6 months to try their stoves, which at the end of 6 months if the stove is not working out for you, you can send it back for a full refund, along with the shipping cost paid by Woodstock as well. They'll give you your money back or let you change out your stove for another model of stove as well. A safe way to find out of you have bought a stove that meets your needs. I have their Fireview and am very happy with it. Load it, let the stove come up to temp, then set it, and forget it! It's a very well designed stove and easy to run. Good luck with what you buy! Welcome to the forums!;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Backwoods Savage
Well i liked my Jotul but i love my Fireview.It works for my 1300 sq ft 2 story.I;m sure most of you have stoves you like.The only thing different from set it and forget it is i have to give the new wood some time to burn before i kick the cat in so as not to damage it but my secondary burning Jotul needed perfectly dry wood for it to burn cleanly.It was a great stove but not for my setup or style of burning.I always liked my dog but i love my cat.;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Backwoods Savage
For the most part in Missouri we have a few days in the winter that will drop in the single digits. Now last year on the other hand I think it got down in teens a few times but that was it. A pretty mild winter to be honest.

I love to hear that for the most part everyone that has posted seems to have a similar wood stove that will heat similar square footage.

I also have some interest in high efficiency zero clearance fire places even though they are high on the price side. Talked to a dealer today and he suggested a:

Heatilator Constitution EPA phase II
2.7 cubic foot fire box that can easily handle 24" logs
Heat output with peak BTU's of 56,000 BTU/Hour Output.
Burns 10 hours on low setting
Two 160cfm fans and rheostat?? included for maximum air flow.
Listed to UL safety standards so no need for Class A pipe.

Stated it should easily handle heating up 1100 sq ft. home. Back rooms will still be colder which is okay with me because I like it a little colder when I go to bed. Also said life expectancy is 25 years on this stove. Offered the stove to me for $4400.

Never had much knowledge of a ZC High efficiency fire place heating an entire home. If someone does heat there home with them I would love some feedback.

thanks guys.
 
How are you going to run the fan on that Heatilator when the power goes out, or is that not a concern?
 
It is a concern that I have thought about. With the size of my house and where the rooms are located at I could easily shut those doors and pull a mattress or air bed into the living room where the heatilator fireplace would be and sleep there until the power comes back on. If it works in theory like a wood stove then my thinking is surely it could heat up the room we are staying in until the power comes back on.
 
Food for thought: It is difficult to do 24/7 continuous burns on less than 2 cuft of stove. At 3 cuft you risk roasting your chestnuts in 1100 sqft. Exception: low and slow operation of mid sized cat stoves.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Backwoods Savage
Thank you for the information. I was figuring at worst I could open windows to get in some cold air if the fireplace or wood stove get the house really warm. My main question is with the Heatilator wood burning fire places that are not all stainless steel, how long is the life expectancy of these fireplaces? I would absolutley hate to purchase a high efficiency fire place that is not stainless steel and have it burn out on me in a few years and just have 5k down the drain.
 
Just my $.02, which is actually worth way less as I'm really new to the wood burning world. I just installed the Napoleon 1900P in our house, which is a tad over 2400sqft on two levels. I have been WAY more than impressed with it. It puts out a ton of heat with the blower and has no problem heating both the main level where the stove is and upstairs. It doesn't seem to roast you out of the room it's in when it's cruising on a full load, which still seems wierd to me.

I know there isn't a huge amount of info on the Napoleons on here, which seemed a little wierd to me, as this is THE source for all things wood burning. It did give me comfort though that there were practically no complaints about them. The reasons I went with it were the cost, efficiency (the EPA rating so I can burn on Red days), and the simplicity. I also like the very plain looks of it. It is just a black metal stove. It seems to me like a more classic look, which both my wife and I liked. We really didn't fancy the intricate designed ones. We wanted a simple look, which the Napoleon fit perfectly. It was available locally, and I appreciated that as any customer service issues with it can be addressed face to face. That also is important to me.

Having zero experience with other stoves, I can't compare but I can be confident you won't be disappointed with a Napoleon stove.
 
Trog - that is a nice write up and don't doubt a word, but if you consider what you are doing with that stove and then close off more than half of your house, what would be your opinion of controlling the heat? Remember, the OP is heating 1100 sqft, not 2400.
 
I am brand new to the forums, and am looking to buy a free standing wood stove. Currently I have a prefab ZC fireplace, and am looking to pull it out stud it, drywall it and replace it with a free standing wood stove in the corner of my living room. I live in Mid Missouri where the winters are not as harsh as they are in the northern states. Ranch style house was built in the 80's, and is 1100sq ft. It is not the most efficient home but is by far probably not the worst either. The stove location will be on one corner of the house and the bedrooms are located on the other side off the hallway. Location of stove will be out of the way so my son cannot run into it and burn himself.

What I am trying to determine is what size stove would be best suited for heating my entire home 24/7?. Thoughts on would this stove be enough to heat my entire home to a decent temp mid to low 70's?

I am looking at:
Napoleon 1100 pedestal
BTU Heat Output Range 11,700-42,200
Heating sq ft. 600-1600
Burn Time-7 Hrs High Burn

Thanks
Any response is appreciated.


Welcome to the forum warrior327.

No problem being new to a forum. We all were there when we first started! I've heard good things about the Napoloean stoves and you probably can't go wrong with them. That $4400 price tag sounds a bit high on the Heatilator.

I'll second the suggestion to give the Woodstock lineup a good look. We finally bought one in 2007 and have been smiling ever since. The biggest points is for us it meant we cut our wood needs in half! That saves a lot of work and dollars. It also keeps our house so much warmer. We used to struggle through winter and had to close off part of the house and when it got really cold we spent almost all of our house time directly in front of the stove and still had cold floors. Not so with the Fireview! I will also state that even though this is direct sales only, there is no worries with this company as they are second to none on customer service and satisfaction. Their product is top notch all the way.

On the heating of those bedrooms, I would not worry about it in the least. A neat little trick is to place a small desktop fan on the floor in the hallway. Use the lowest speed and aim it towards the stove room. You will be amazed at how this moves the warm air to the rear of the house. Also, if the power does go out, with a free standing stove and a radiant stove like the Fireview, you will be amazed at how this still keeps your house warm even without a fan. If you care to look at their stoves, look here: www.woodstove.com and you can call 800-866-4300 and talk to a real person! No high pressure sales pitch either.

Good luck.
 
Jags,
Thanks for the reply. I wasn't trying to sell him on a 1900, just on the Napoleon stoves in general. I'm really happy with it, but I also have no basis for comparison. The 1900 would be way too much for 1100sqft. As for closing off part of the house, that does work pretty awesome. I like having my bedroom cooler (cold, just ask my wife!! I'll leave the window half open on nights in the 30s) so having the bedrooms closed off really concentrates the heat. I do tend to leave my kids rooms open with their ceiling fans on low (reversed) and it really seems to help circulate the warm air.

I'll second Backwoods Savage's comment about blowing the cool air toward the stove. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't try it myself.
 
I'll 2nd moving the cold air instead of the warm.
 
If replacing the F400 I would seriously be looking at the BK Sirocco for my similar size house. The ability to burn efficiently and clean on low fire is a real plus.
 
I looked at the Napoleon 1100 listed buy a internet retailer and I think you are in the right ball park. It has a 1.7 CF firebox and is a convective stove which I think is paramount in your installation. I have a 2.2 CF firebox stove installed in one corner of my home (1600 SF) and it pushes the air, without blowers (though I did use them the first year) to the other end of the house. The heat shielded sides on the stove should prevent it from roasting you out of the room your in. It looks like the door glass is adequate in size though it is hard to tell on the internet if the door hinges and hardware are robust. I don't think the firebox is square so you will more than likely be stuck loading either NS or EW. The Lopi stoves like I have (at least the smaller ones) are convective and have a square firebox which I think is better.

I suspect the heatelator unit would "easily" heat your house and easily make a sale for someone. It sounds like a bad idea to me.

If it were me, in the Midwest,t I would look at a midsize Blaze King. If you can get one with heat shields on the side, you can have a long and slow steady heat (with black glass). Whatever you get get quality if you are going to stay in your home because you will have it for a long time.
 
Thank you for the input you guys have given me. I have not been on here in a few weeks, as I have been busy like most people are in december. Hope everyone had a good christmas, and new years.

Anyways my wife and I have come to an agreement to get a wood stove and pull out our old ZC fireplace and open up the hole to the top of the ceiling and set a Napoleon 1400PL or 1100 PL in it's place. 1400 comes with a 2.25 cubic foot firebox I believe. And both these models allow me to have 10 inch clearances on the sides. The only problem I have with the exisiting hole from the ZC is on either side of the stove I would have 9 7/8" instead of 10 inches which I could either turn the studs the other way to give me a little more room or move one wall an inch over which seems to be alot of work for that little movement, also sheetrocking the exisiting hole in the ceiling from the old chimney which is quite a bit bigger. I might end up doing this project in the spring due to the draft that I will get from the hole in the ceiling with these cold winter days.

With that being said would I lose alot of efficiency having a wood stove set in an alcove? Or would it be just a matter of moving the heat from the stove with a box fan through the rest of the house? Also probably for the next winter I would be burning seasoned Locust wood. I have about two cord right now. Had to cut down some trees that were hangning over the house a few years ago.

thanks for the replies
 
Anyways my wife and I have come to an agreement to get a wood stove and pull out our old ZC fireplace and open up the hole to the top of the ceiling and set a Napoleon 1400PL or 1100 PL in it's place.

We have the 1400PL and have no trouble heating our well insulated 2,000 sf ranch with a walkout basement underneath it. So far, we have never even come close to having to burn all day to keep the house up to temperature, but 25F above is about the coldest temperature we have had to deal with so far. I don't anticipate that we will have any trouble handling much colder temperatures when and if we see them.

I assume that you are already aware the the sides and back of the Napoleon have convective shields, which do not get as hot at the top or front of the stove.

I agree that you will need to blow air toward the stove if it's in an alcove. Ours sits on a raised hearth that juts out from the great room end wall. We don't use any blower, but we do run one or two ceiling fans.
 
Glad to hear that the 1400PL heats up your home real well. I think I will probably end up going witht that model. The other problem I run into is:

The ZC fireplace sits recessed and on an exterior wall into the garage. The wall for the ZC fireplace is built all the way around the fireplace. Studded to the top of the ceiling and everything. With my house being a ranch style home with a beam running down the center of the house and connecting to this exterior wall that I speak of, would I be able to tear out the studs above the ZC fireplace, to make a so called "alcove" for my new wood stove without compromising the integrity of the structure??

I am going to have a carpenter come by and check it out and let me know what my options are, but I was just curious if anyone has any suggestions.
 
Warrior, I happened to be looking through my Napoleon manual toaday, which covers the 1100 and 1400 models, and I noticed what seems to be an alcove restriction. It looks like 1100s and only 1100s can be installed in an alcove. It also looked like increased clearances are required over non-alcove installations. There do seem to be exemptions under certain circumstances.

Napoleon manuals are not very well done, in my opinion, so maybe I am missing something. I urge you to take a careful look at your proposed installation and double check Napoleon's clearance requirements. It would be worthwhile to bounce this stuff off of a knowledgeable dealer and or the factory. You could also talk to the building inspector's office, assuming wood stove installations done in your area comes under their purview.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.