What do you think?

Hi all--

I've been lurking for a while, reading posts about everyone's stoves and soaking up all the info on this site. Coming from a newbie, it seems everyone loves their own stove.

We are looking to purchase a wood stove for our home as a "maybe primary" means of heating the house (we have a high-efficiency furnace that uses LP right now and supplement with electric oil space heaters when working/sitting for far too long). Our house is 1700 sq ft (we are going to renovate an unconditioned space to add an additional 400 sq ft. to the total as part of the stove purchase process). We were originally thinking "small and supplemental" (e.g., Jotul 602 CB), but once we got into researching a bit more, we thing that wood may end up taking care of our heating needs (and the Jotul 602 CB needs an inordinately high ceiling for clearances!).

So, now we are looking to heat up to 2100 sqft and are trying to balance burn time with other features (e.g., size; style--would like something traditional). We have recently fallen in love with the efficiency and longer burn times of the Blaze King Princess...and the price is not too bad either. However, we've looked across the board at options and wonder if you all might have some suggestions (or things to think about) that might help us settle on a good model.

Oh yes, we live in SE Michigan...highs/lows in deep winter average around 25/10 degrees.

Thanks for any thoughts you might have!

eyefish2 said:

My two cents..........If you are serious about using wood for your primary heat source, you will most likely want a longer burn cat type stove. I would look for a stove that can easily go 12 hours between reloads. I think you would need a cat stove for this.

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We are definitely interested in getting a cat stove. It seems that it is a better way to go for us (especially with the longer burn times).

I can imagine that you were freezing your little toes off up in the UP this past week. It was -10 down here (actual temp)!

Thanks for your thoughts. We feel a lot like we are buying something like a horse and buggy; we've seen a lot of them, but heaven knows what will be the ultimate "best choice" for us.

fox9988 said:

Welcome to the forum. I would definitely choose a stove large enough to handle the entire heating load. Once you choose a brand, that puts you in a cost bracket. If you choose a large brand X, vs a small brand X, there isn't that much difference in price. Just as well spend a few hundred more $ and get a stove that can handle the whole job, and it will have longer burn times because it has a larger fire box. Small stoves are made for small places, or as an ornament. If you don't mind the looks of the Blaze King, the burn times are unbeatable. BK doesn't exaggerate their burn times unlike some manufacturers, but don't expect to get max advertised burn times at max BTU output. Tell us more about the house: year build, ceiling heights, insulation, windows, etc. It could easily take twice the BTU to heat one 2100 sqft house vs another sitting right beside it. Good luck and congrats on the new house.

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Thanks! We have actually lived here for some years, but are in the process of renovating a good chunk of the exterior of the house (plus the extra space upstairs where the chimney with run through).

We started off wanting something very small to just heat the back side of our house (about 400 sq ft) where we spend most of our time. However, we just didn't like any of the choices for the smaller stoves (for various reasons...burn time was one of them, clearances another). After that, we just sort of eased over into wanting a larger stove with more capacity to heat the house. We love the idea of being as self-sufficient as possible, so having a larger wood stove would ultimately make the most sense for us.

As for the house--it's a older house, built in 1832. It's a timber frame that was renovated on the interior back in the 1990s by the previous owner (gutted and replaced) and we are left to renovate still more on the inside and the entire exterior. It's a federal style 2-story on the front side of the house (no heat in our room, the furthest corner of the house; our daughter's room has one vent from the furnace), with 400 sq ft for each floor. The second section of the house is a 1 1/2 story section (4' knee wall on the second floor; this is the section to get renovated; it has its own separate staircase) and has about 400 sq ft for each floor. The final/back section of the house is where we spend most of our time (and right next to where the stove will be situated), which is the kitchen, bathroom, and mud/laundry/back entry room (that 400 sq ft above that I mentioned first). We went back and insulated the house from the exterior (removed the batts the person before us put in and replaced with the highest R value we could do per area; some walls are 4", some are 6", and some are 8" in depth), insulated around the sill, added sheathing, and are now putting cedar siding back on. We are also tuck pointing and mortaring any issues we find in the foundation as we go as well. Windows are all new (Anderson 400s) save a couple that will get replaced with the center section renovation. The worst thing about this house is that there is no insulation in the floor below the back section (over a crawl space); the duct work is running through the cut out in the foundation wall, so we have to devise how we get in there to spray foam under the floor and tighten up this section. The front and center sections of the house are over a "Michigan basement" (granite rock/boulder foundation with shorter walls; it was dug out by the previous owner to get it to 6' height, with a poured concrete floor). There is no insulation between the basement and the first floor (a blessing for keeping the pipes warm down there, but an energy sucker).

The stove will be placed in the back end of the center section, which opens to the back section of the house on the bottom floor. It is a six-foot wide area with a 91" (7', 7") ceiling. The stove pipe will run straight up through the floor, through the upstairs of the center section (right next to the staircase, inside the room), and out of the roof.

Okay, hopefully enough details to get a decent image of what we're dealing with. Thanks for your thoughts!

Chrism said:

Quadrafire Isle Royale bigger fire box 3.0 cub ft stove is an animal and great looking stove nicer looking than the princess imho.

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I haven't seen this brand before, so I will definitely check it out. I took a peek at them and they *are* nicer looking than the Princess.

claybe said:

I had an EPA stove In the last house and only got 6 hour burns overnight in the cold. Just installed the princess insert and easily have gotten 12 hour burns in very cold weather. It is so nice not to load reload reload reload,etc. I am a huge fan and have only had it two months. I have no reservations recommending this stove!

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This is definitely what we are trying to avoid. We are home quite a bit during the day (both work from home), but it would be nice to not need to reload constantly.