Contemplating stove upgrade. Need opinion

OST.
I'm in the same boat

You might first try to seal up air leaks. That will help the house retain heat after the fire has burned down. Upgrading insulation might be tougher, but adding some to the attic would be relatively easy, and can pay off big. How much do you have up there now? Other than that, about the best thing to do would be to get a small cat stove for a long, low burn. I think the 30 would cook you out unless it was pretty cold out. They say the PEs burn pretty long, but I don't know if that translates into being able to run the stove lower...

Personally I find you can make a small fire in a bigger stove but it doesn't work the other way around

A 30 will certainly give you longer burn times but don't forget that longer burn times = much more heat. Loading a 30 to the top could cook you out of the room depending on the house setup....

It seems like maybe, if your budget allows for it, a CAT stove would work well. A more constant heat output for longer times....

Andrew

True, the 13 is an awesome stove, but best burn time is 6 hours or so with primo firewood..

I'm in the same boat with the 13, looking for a bigger stove with longer burn time. Trying to find info on the Englander Madison.

Also going to get the oil burner up & running for back up. It's time.

I just purchased a drolet Classic and love it. It has a 2.4 cu foot firebox that I can get great burn times out of . Plus the price of the stove is much lower then some of its competitors

Rebelduckman said:

There's not much in the attic either woody. I'm planning to blow some up there before winter and seal up around some doors and windows better. I did change windows out a couple years ago to double pane and that helped a good bit.

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When we put attic insulation in here, the difference was huge! Your most cost-effective solution is going to be to tighten up your envelope and keep the heat inside. That will be equivalent to having a longer burn time. It will pay off in the summer, too. These are great for sealing up around doors. They screw into the wooden jamb and the door closes against the vinyl bulb (don't press it too tight against the door when installing, or you won't be able to shut the door. They are adjustable, though.)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/MD-Build...Weatherstrip-Kit-69938/205545482?N=5yc1vZc3dy

What do you recommend on the cat line? I'm not very knowledgable on those stoves at all.

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I've only had the old Dutchwest, the two Woodstocks, and the big Buck 91. I think it would be hard to beat the Keystone for your size house, if you went the cat route. Great little stove. You can see the cat glowing from the couch, has a great ash handling system, the glass stays fairly clean....and you could double your burn time. But I would do the weather sealing first and see what that yields. Seems like in your climate, that might be enough.