Need advise: New home, new stove, colorful Colorado

Newbie to forum looking for stove advice for a new home in Colorado. Really glad I found this place, so thank you in advance for your comments.

The home I'm building will be 2100ft; 1400 sq ft on the main level and 700 sq ft in the basement. Per Boulder County CO energy smart regulations and building code, the home will be very well insulated. The basement is a walkout but the design is not practical for delivering wood there, so I've decided to put a stove on the main level. The foundation walls were built with insulated foam concrete (IFC) forms, the basement slab has 2" foam under it. The ceiling in the stove room will be vaulted with ceiling fans. I will be installing a forced air furnace, but would like to heat the home primarily with the woodstove, including the basement. The building/energy code requires I install an HRV or an EVR system to circulate fresh air

Heating with wood is not new to me, I worked in the tree industry for years and have used wood as my primary heat source in other homes. However, this will be the first home I've lived in that is well insulated. In the past i've been a 24/7 kind of burner. Load it up in the morning, go to work and come back to coals.

The property is located in an area that was burned over in the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire. I have nearly 5 acres of standing dead Ponderosa pine that is seasoned and ready to burn.

I have two general questions:

1) Do you think I'm on the right track selecting a Jotul 500 or Hearthstone Shelburne? Are there other recommendations for stoves considering my desire for a long burn time, the size of the home and the fact that I'll be burning mostly pine? My budget for the stove piping is around $3500.

And

2) Is there any practical and economical way to transfer heat to the basement with the wood-burning stove on the main level? Is there value in installing a bathroom fan or similar to device to transfer heat? I've read other threads on this topic but I'm wondering if there are any suggestions given the home will be well insulated and the floor plan - see attached

It's probably also important to mention that I'm on a pretty tight budget. I'm going all in to build my dream home here, so planning within reason is important. That said, if it's possible to plan/build now with future upgrades in mind that's what I'd like to do. Many thanks!

-Andrew

Grisu said:

Looks like you are doing it right with insulating and airsealing it as much as possible. You mention some good stoves but for your special case I would recommend a catalytic stove for example from BlazeKing or Woodstock. A cat stove allows better heat regulation and burns cleanly even on a low air setting. You will also get much longer burn times than with a secondary burn stove.

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Great suggestion about looking into a cat stove. I'm not opposed, but haven't seriously looked into one because the local showrooms i've been to don't carry any. I'll check out the Blazeking and Woodstock lines.

BCC_Burner said:

Congrats on the new place! I too would point you toward a catalytic stove for a steadier, lower heat for more time. I have a secondary burn stove because I could not afford a cat stove last summer and I needed something for heat, but you can bet that my next stove will be catalytic. You can get great burn times out of them even with the fast burning softwoods we have around here, plus there are a lot of winter days in Boulder where daytime temps are in 40-50, but it might be 15 at night. In those sort of conditions it is really nice to have a stove you can load once a day and burn low and slow.

I would however, point you toward a ~3 cubic foot stove. You likely won't need all that firepower except during the worst cold snaps, but the long burn times, ease of loading and generally nicer fire view make a large stove a no brainer. If my 1500 square foot home could accommodate an 8 inch flue, you bet I would be saving up to put a BKK in it. I am a true believer that bigger is better with wood stoves, particularly with catalytic stoves where you have very good control over heat output.

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Think i'm seeing a trend here, catalytic stove, catalytic stove.

BCC Burner - You must live close because your description of temps is spot on. Long, low and slow is my ideal burn. Good to know a bigger firebox ~3 is recommended.

BCC_Burner said:

Have you gotten your official "Boulder resident and better than you" bumper sticker yet?

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HA!! No, not yet, but i have encountered some of that "better than you" attitude. The "Peoples Republic of Boulder" is an interesting place, that's for sure.

begreen said:

Get the heat loss calcs. All homes are not created equal.

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begreen said:

Super insulated homes are unique animals. They can get by on remarkably little heat. Has a heat loss analysis been done on the house? What will be the primary heating system and what is its BTU output? I would be very cautious on getting too large a stove, especially if it is on the main floor. It will only be heating 1400 sq ft unless installed in the basement. I suspect a cat stove will be best for this house, something that can run low and slow. A Woodstock Keystone or BK Sirocco 20 may be a good fit, but that is a guess without the actual demand figures from your HVAC design.

Do you know what the insulation value is of the basement walls?

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Great questions. Having to much stove is a fear of mine. Here is the HERS rating for the home, with BTU outputs and insulation value. No afraid to admit i have limited knowledge about what it all means.

begreen said:

That is super info. It shows the home is quite tight, but they have sized the furnace for large peak loads (99K BTU). Based on this report the stove size will depend on the area heated. Normally hot air will not go down. But there is a possibility with this home that the HVAC system running on fan-only mode with the wood stove burning, may be able to warm up the basement somewhat. Probably not up to 68F in a bad cold snap, but better than no heat at all.

It's your call. You can have a moderately sized wood stove that will handle maybe 90% of the heating load if burning 24/7. It would be supplemented by the propane furnace when very cold. Or you can get a larger stove that will handle all of the load, but may be more convenient to run the furnace during milder temps in the 50F range. In the Woodstock stoves I would look at the Keystone and Fireview or the BK Sirocco or Ashland 20. These stoves may need a little supplemental assistance on the very cold days but will handle a large share of the heating load. For a larger stove I would stick with Blaze King. The choice in the Blaze King line it will depend on your aesthetics. The BK Princess, Sirocco or Ashland 30 look like they would work ok, though in milder weather you may find it easier to run the furnace when all you need is a little chill chaser to warm the place up.

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Begreen,

Very helpful information, thank you. I will check with my HVAC guy about the possibility of designing a system that can run the fan independently of the furnace. I'll also look into the various stoves mentioned in this thread, lots of good choices.

Many thanks to everyone for the quick responses and great information! I'm sure I'll have a few more questions in the near future. I'll make sure to post some pictures of my progress. Happy burning!