Does size matter?

Hello to everyone, new to forum and to wood burning stoves. I recently purchased a quadrafire pellet stove for my basement and now having buyers remorse. Bought to heat the entire house and placed in the basement, now finding that this isn't working out so well. I've decided to purchase a wood burning stove upstairs in my living room. I'm looking at the Englander wood burning stove. One of the models is rated to heat 1800 sq feet and the other one is rated to heat a 2200 sq foot area. Would it make sense to opt for the 2200 sq ft model and build smaller fires and bigger ones for when it really got cold or would the 1800 sq foot model be adequate? My house is maybe 1100 sq ft. The specs for the 1800 sq foot model says the depth of the stove is just over 12 inches..doesn't seem like a lot of room to me.
Thanks in advance for any information!

Sprinter said:

Welcome. Can you tell us a little more about the house and your climate? If the house is reasonably well insulated and the climate is not too severe, then you won't need a very large stove, especially if you intend to keep using the pellet stove in the basement.

It sounds like the Englander models you are referring to are the 13-NC and the 30-NC. The 30 is probably way too large for your house, but the 13-NC with a 1.8 cf firebox would be more appropriate. One thing about the 13-NC to consider is that it requires a hearth with an R factor of 2.0, but otherwise is well respected. I don't know where the "12 inch depth" figure comes from, but it's a respectable size firebox.

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Good morning and thanks for the response! I was reading the specifications on the 13-NC. The dimensions for the fire box are Height 12.875 in Width 20.5 in Depth 12.375 In. In my mind Im picturing a box a bit over 12 inches high, a bit over 12 inches deep and 20 inches long. I can't speak to whether or not that is adequate room as I lack experience with wood stoves. What I have running through my mind is a constant stream of loading wood into a tiny space to keep the fire going. As for the hearths R Factor, initially was planning on buying some hearth stones and pouring mortar and making my own hearth pad. However I priced premade hearth pads and the cost is a little cheaper without the mess, so on the fence between building and buying a hearth pad at this time. Also, I can't seem to find any information regarding airflow control on the 13-NC. Was curious if there were airflow controls or is it just a load and burn trouble free type of thing? As for my house, it is insulated but has old drafty windows throughout the entirety of the house. Hoping to get those replaced next year. I live in St. Louis MO, temps in the winter can vary drastically on a day to day basis but single digits to mid/low teens is common.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

I'm researching Wood burning stoves and came across this youtube video regarding the Englander 13-NC model. Any input regarding single wall stoves VS double wall stoves would be greatly appreciated!!


Thanks in Advance!

begreen said:

A single-wall steel stove will be more directly radiant off the sides and back than a double-wall or cast iron or soapstone wrapped steel stove. You will note that the single-wall stoves will have higher clearances for this reason. Most come with back shield options and some come with side shield options as well.

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Thanks for the response! I posted a youtube video link. The couple was complaining that the bulk of the heat was kept inside the stove and that the stove itself didn't put out much heat because of the double wall design. If you have any advice or comments regarding that would be greatly appreciated. I'm researching wood burning stoves catalytic vs non catalytic, the pros and cons of each. Just want to make sure that I don't end up investing in a stove and end up with buyers remorse. Any advice you could impart would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance!

begreen said:

We have a convective stove and love it. The house is very evenly warmed. But different strokes for different folks. If you have a large room and the stove can get the clearances it needs then you may like a radiant stove. We had a couple here that had a small place drafty in WY and bought a 30NC. It drove them out of the house. Then they bought an Alderlea T6 with the same sized firebox and complained it didn't put out enough heat. We also had an old fellow here that bought the very popular PE Summit stove and complained it didn't heat like his old stove. Of course not, if he wanted a radiant stove he should have bought one in the first place. Word is he finally bought one after complaining for 5 years. Beware of random opinions, everyone has them, just like other parts of the anatomy.

Here is a stove buying guide:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/choosing_a_wood_stove

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I guess I'm confused in regards with convection Vs radiant. I just googled those and read about the differences. However I can't seem to grasp how a wood burning stove that has a sweltering hot fire inside not be both radiant and convective at the same time.
If I had a radiant stove and and a convective stove what would be the noticeable difference? Would a radiant stove make the whole room warm where a convection stove would only be perceivable by looking at a thermostat?