Moving south - looking for words of wisdom

Does the new house even have a good place for a stove that big, or would it be awkward kind of sticking it in the corner of a room? I think your idea of getting a pellet stove is a good one. I think I would leave the Jotul in NH. It very well might be a good selling point for the next buyers of your house, given the winter we just had.

I vote for taking the Jotol iffff, you have a decent source of wood and have or can afford a good chimney and, as been mentioned , you have a nice spot for it. I love my Jotols quiet, watching the flames flicker while reading or when just vegging out after a tough day. Try that ambiance with a pellet stove.

Welcome in advance to the Old Dominion, aka The Mother of Presidents, aka The Capital of the Confederacy, aka The Commonwealth of Virginia. As you know from your time on the MD eastern shore, the key weather words you have been paying attention to, Snowfall amount and Windchill, will be replaced with Nor'easter and Hurricane. I suspect that 500 will still come in pretty handy, but maybe just full-time from December-February versus September-April where you are at now.

There's plenty of cold here to chase away with a wood fire. If you need proof, visit NWS for a count of Heating Degree Days (HDD). The season is shorter, but still....
As to moving the stove....what would you be leaving for the next owner? An empty chimney pipe? Doesn't seem like an attractive visual feature.
Just my opinion...

Sounds like a lot of stove for 1200 square feet to me, too.

For all you know, the potential buyer won't want a wood stove and you'll be taking it out.
For all you know, the potential buyer won't want anything but what is there existing.
I'd rather buy a new stove in Va.. the 400 is nice, too.


The only thing you can't replace or find a exact substitue for is people.
(just don't tell your kids that. I like them believing they can be replaced.)

Sounds like you are already spoiled and you'll miss what you are use to. Those Aldera stoves are very nice, as would be a new Jotul. But, then again, you are use to the one you have. Just take it and home will be there when you install it.
Bottom line, you will have longer shoulder seasons and a shorter 24/7 season. Kind of like one of those mild winters we get up here once every 15 years or so...

Keep the Jotul. You spent a lot of money on it and obviously like it a lot. Nobody says you have to stuff it full of wood all the time. You can maintain a smaller fire than the maximum the stove is capable of. I have a Jotul 3 and love it. However I put in a coal stove for convenience and 24/7 ease of keeping it going without stoking every few hours. The Jotul is going in the garage for heat. I just couldn't part with it. Best wishes for life in your new home. :coolsmile:

Just a feeling I got from reading your threads...sounds like you want to take it with you. Go with your gut feeling. If it is to take it - do it or you will have to deal with feelings of regret along with adjusting to a new home, new job, new friends etc..... Old 'friends' are a comfort in stressful times.

KarynAnne said:

We can't wait to get back to where we're from! Thanks everyone.
KA

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I think you'll be happy to be on the VA side. There's been a lot of discord in MD lately. As if the powers that be would like to cede the shore over to DE or VA. (Don't know how long you've been gone.)
I recently looked at a property plat for a friend on the bay side in Northhampton County. (Setbacks, critical area, well, etc. etc.. ) After a while I was looking at Mapquest to see how far it would be from home/family! Quite tempting, especially at the price.
Best of luck to you.

I think you'd be happier taking the Jotul with you, for all of the reasons stated above: you like it; you're familiar with it; you can get over night burns, you'll have a supply of wood; if you can scrounge wood or buy unseasoned wood it will keep your fuel cost down (which isn't the case with pellets); and you can always crack a window if it gets too warm.

Having said that there are a couple of reasons for leaving it: you don't have to deal with the aggravation of moving it; and in a tough seller's market it is a really nice selling point, especially since you can document a reduced fuel cost. You could replace it with something else but I'm guessing the Jotul is more attractive than some of your other options. Whatever you might save in carrying costs could easily pay for a new Jotul, or something comparable.

If your wood supply has dwindled you might even want to consider lining up some wood to sweeten the deal if you start haggling with a prospective buyer.

~Cath

Looking at this from a buyer's point of view, I would greatly consider a two year old stove, installed in the proper manner, as a great point for considering buying the home. Not everyone is a wood burner and will appreciate it though. I suspect though, that in your soon to be former part of the country, the majority of people are wood burners and would appreciate the unit, especially the fact that they are going to be buying a home heating system that is very new and not have to worry about it.

From the seller's point of view, especially yours, if you own 1/3 of the house, the big question is do your brother and sister have any capital invested in the unit and install? If you paid for the stove without any money from the other two, why should you leave the stove (and your money) for them to capitalize on? Your labor is important for sure, but your money means a lot in today's screwed up market.

Just my opinion, take the stove with you unless you have a written agreement in place that your investment will be paid back accordingly at sale time. I don't know what your siblings are like, and it is none of my business either, but trust me, when it comes to families and money, the "Triple F" rule applies: "Family is the First to F*** you." I have seen it too many times and experienced it myself too. Maybe I am too bitter, but that is the way that I feel.

I am not trying to stir up a hornet's nest but that is just the way I feel. Some thing to think about.

A wood stove is still valid and useful - even in "the south". VA/MD isn't really deep south, but winds off the Atlantic could be brisk and cold.

I vote for taking it with you. I have a VC Resolute, nearly 25 years old now. If I move, it's going with me. Oh, it'll be heavy, a task to set up, but in the end, you'll have a warm home.

Make sure and get you one of those bumper stickers that says "Welcome to the Eastern Shore! Now go home."

KarynAnne said:

I like the idea of being able to use it regardless of electricity availability.


KA

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is there a pellet stove that doesn't need electricity ? consider this - you said the house was a vacation home so the level of insulation may be minimal . you will be close to the coast so there will be constant wind chill . you like the stove - take it , install it . if it is too much stove - sell it and get a smaller one . looking at garden hardiness maps most of MD and VA are in the same zone - so the weather will be similar .

I got the answer!!

take it with you ... drop it off at my house on the way down

being that close to the water ud be srprised how cold it ca be all the way to june if ocen is cold and wind is off ocean, i deal with this well into may/june.