Help! drafty old farmhouse

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axlerosewood

New Member
Aug 27, 2008
15
Southern Ontario
I rent a old unisulated farmhouse 1800s/f built in 1867, probably closer to 3000s/f with the heat loss.. bad windows etc. Looking for a recomendation on a inexpensive wood stove that heats like crazy and burns long. We will burn 24/7 and have access to free wood. I would love to put a soapstone in but just renting and not sure for how long. any suggestions would be great. Currently have a Drolet Gemini...lucky to get a 4hr burn... should of found this site 2 yrs ago..

Thanks
 
If you get a beautiful soapstone, when you are tired of renting all you need to do is find a house that fits your stove decor and take it with you. Seems pretty simple.
 
Englander NCL30 Most bang for your buck, and take it with you when you move.
 
Well free wood is good...get yourself the biggest most inexpensive EPA stove you can afford. Also I bet a couple boxes of caulking would serve you well too.
 
axlerosewood said:
I rent a old unisulated farmhouse 1800s/f built in 1867, probably closer to 3000s/f with the heat loss.. bad windows etc. Looking for a recomendation on a inexpensive wood stove that heats like crazy and burns long. We will burn 24/7 and have access to free wood. I would love to put a soapstone in but just renting and not sure for how long. any suggestions would be great. Currently have a Drolet Gemini...lucky to get a 4hr burn... should of found this site 2 yrs ago..

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm in a somewhat similar situation. Not a drafty old farmhouse, but mine is bigger, and isn't terribly well insulated. Two answers, without knowing more about the layout of the home:

1) Caulk, caulk, and more caulk. It's cheap, doesn't take a degree in "handyman" to apply, and works. Also, plastic and duct tape for the windows.
2) Englander 30-NC. Buy it from a local Doitbest hardware (www.doitbest.com) and if you PM me I'll give the coupon code another member gave me. Word is though that the code is only good through the end of the month. Factor all of that in, and you're looking at $1002 for the stove. Heats to 2200SF, and most folks on here that know anything about them will tell you that its a heating beast. Looks halfway decent, and is cheap.

Good luck.
 
Boy, I must type really slow. I open this thing up with no responses, and end up with five before mine... You guys are quick! :lol:
 
1) Caulk, caulk, and more caulk. It’s cheap, doesn’t take a degree in “handyman” to apply, and works. Also, plastic and duct tape for the windows.
2) Englander 30-NC. Buy it from a local Doitbest hardware (http://www.doitbest.com) and if you PM me I’ll give the coupon code another member gave me. Word is though that the code is only good through the end of the month. Factor all of that in, and you’re looking at $1002 for the stove. Heats to 2200SF, and most folks on here that know anything about them will tell you that its a heating beast. Looks halfway decent, and is cheap.

Good luck.

2 cases of caulk and counting. it's the windows that really hurt. tried the fim and bubble wrap works good. its just really windy here.
Not sure if that store is in ontario Canada i'll check the home depot.
Thanks for the supper fast posts!
 
Don't know if that store is in Canada or not either. If not, Home Depot has the stove here for $1299 USD, and that price is shipped. I would imagine that the Canadian pricing would be similar, but you should probably check.
 
I concur with the suggestions above, though I'm not a fan of the Magic Heat reclaimer. You might also consider plastic storm windows (easy to make), and perhaps closing off parts of the house to reduce the heated sq ftg. in the winter. In olden times, when there was only manual labor for getting wood, the family would often reduce it's living space in the winter.

As for stoves, the Englander 30-NC is a good choice. You might also look at the Napoleon 1900 and the Drolet HT-2000. But these are top exit flue connection stoves. The will work if there is a chimney with a thimble several feet off the floor. Otherwise you may need to stick with a rear-exit stove which would be castiron or soapstone. Regardless, you will likely need to pay for a liner for the chimney to make this a safe installation.
 
Napolean, Englander, Drolet, Lopi Republic are all best bang for your buck type steel stoves. Look for the largest fire box. Your going to need a 3cu ft or bigger box. You say your renting? Is this new stove ok with the owners? If so, maybe they are willing to fork out half cost for an upgrade?
 
[ You say your renting? Is this new stove ok with the owners? If so, maybe they are willing to fork out half cost for an upgrade?[/quote]
Actually they are more like rural slumb loards! They wanted me to go half with them on a new oil furnace.... after they raised my rent. I would sooner upgrade my stove and take it with me. Chimney and all. I'll cram a old basket ball in the hole in the wall when i leave. We survived one winter with our little drolet wood stove which i put in to offset the oil bill....then the furnace cracked and was toast. They figure because i purchased the stove installed it myself that they don't need to provide any more heat. They provide nothing but....anyway

Thanks
 
You might check local renters protection. In Seattle, they must provide adequate heat. It's in their best interest. What if pipes freeze or mold starts developing due to lack of heat?
 
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