I have been searching around these forums for a long time, trying to sort out what is the best way to heat our home. I stared out wanting a pellet stove, but that won't work because we'd have to extend our raised hearth (18-19 inches) which would add $2000 on to already a $4000 investment to put it in the fireplace and there's really nowhere else to put it. So then I looked into woodstoves, same problem. So now I am trying to find out what would be the best wood stove insert to heat our home to reduce the whole endeavor to a price around $4000 for stove, installation, liner, etc.
We live in a 2200 sq foot open floor plan with cathedral ceilings, and the chimney is on an outside wall in the living room with the kitchen on the other end and an open loft upstairs hall with some rooms we don't need to heat all the time. The house was built in the 80's and is pretty well insulated.
Right now we keep our thermostat on 60-62 to save $$ on the oil bill and the warmest room of the house is our bedroom upstairs. We do have ceiling fans but haven't used them because we want to keep our electricity bill down too.
What I am hoping is that by using wood as our main heating system, I'll be able to be warm especially in the downstairs.
I have narrowed down the competition to 3 stoves based on reviews, box size, and BTU. Quietness of the fan is also somewhat important since my fiance is very sensitive to noise. I looked at the new Jotel C550 today but with it's flush design I'm not convinced it can provide the heat of these others. I also ruled out the Napoleon and the Clydesdale.
So the contenders are: Pacific Energy Summit, which I know has a faithful following here, Avalon Olympic, and Lopi Freedom Bay. I really don't care as much about looks as I do about function, and the goal is to not use the oil next year to heat our home.
I am going on assumptions that a larger box in which to put the wood and more of the stove actually sticking out of the fireplace is going to provide more heat. I am a bit concerned about the fact these are all steel stoves and wonder about caste iron vs. steel in these decisions.
Any advice or experience would be great. Thanks so much.
We live in a 2200 sq foot open floor plan with cathedral ceilings, and the chimney is on an outside wall in the living room with the kitchen on the other end and an open loft upstairs hall with some rooms we don't need to heat all the time. The house was built in the 80's and is pretty well insulated.
Right now we keep our thermostat on 60-62 to save $$ on the oil bill and the warmest room of the house is our bedroom upstairs. We do have ceiling fans but haven't used them because we want to keep our electricity bill down too.
What I am hoping is that by using wood as our main heating system, I'll be able to be warm especially in the downstairs.
I have narrowed down the competition to 3 stoves based on reviews, box size, and BTU. Quietness of the fan is also somewhat important since my fiance is very sensitive to noise. I looked at the new Jotel C550 today but with it's flush design I'm not convinced it can provide the heat of these others. I also ruled out the Napoleon and the Clydesdale.
So the contenders are: Pacific Energy Summit, which I know has a faithful following here, Avalon Olympic, and Lopi Freedom Bay. I really don't care as much about looks as I do about function, and the goal is to not use the oil next year to heat our home.
I am going on assumptions that a larger box in which to put the wood and more of the stove actually sticking out of the fireplace is going to provide more heat. I am a bit concerned about the fact these are all steel stoves and wonder about caste iron vs. steel in these decisions.
Any advice or experience would be great. Thanks so much.
