How well did you size your stove

Heating something like 1600-1800 sqft log home that could have better windows and be less drafty with a 2.3 cuft firebox insert (hampton). Works for me, except that the baseboard doesn't come on in the coldest weather, and freezing pipes are a possibility in sub-zero weather, so I keep it throttled back a bit.

My only complaint is that I'd like longer burn times.

Ultimate plan is a gasifier with storage. Seems to be popular opinion to slightly undersize a wood boiler so that it doesn't idle, but storage takes care of that a bit. I'll go smallish, with my smallish house and 2 people drawing DHW- the insert will probably be used a fair bit anyway just because we like it.

Doing this survey in late fall as it is for some folks, and feels like early winter for others, may get some interesting responses. Possibly could ask again in mid-winter.

Now let's sit back and read all of the honest answers! Thanks.

Too large. Heated zone 600 sf. 4800 cf. I don't know the quoted firebox size but the usable size is about 1.75 cf. Mild climate; never drops below freezing.

Lopi Liberty (3.1 cubic feet) does a nice job with our ~2600 square feet. Upstairs is partially lofted, so gets toasty. I'm haveing 5 ceiling fans installed, and I also had a dedicated inline variable speed fan & ducting installed to take cool air at floor level in the most remote bedroom corners and send it out a register in the hearth just behind the stove. Haven't yet had the opportunity to try that out. My other little stove in the shop is way more capable than it needs to be, but I like it. Rick

Still too early to tell as I've not yet had the need to let her rip, but I don't spend much time worring about weather or not we are going to be cold this winter. I'm not sure anyone makes a new stove that would be too large for my drafty old log home! With 129,000 btu's/hour capacity I feel like I have a comfortable reserve for those real cold spells. That number is more than double the max btu output of my old Duchwest xtra large (55,000 btu/hr). I remember running that stove hot when the daytime highs are 0 or lower and I needed more heat! We will see.

Heating close to 2500sf split level house built in the 70's that is moderately insulated. Using a PE Pacific insert that does ok. The Summit did not fit by 1/2 inch. Should have taken the time to make it fit. Would not have been to differcult. At the time LP was not to expensive.

I did a lot of research (mostly here) before I bought the Avalon Olympic (about 3.1 sq ft). I believe I sized it for the house just right, a long ranch about 3000 sq ft., open floor plan, 3 br's at the end of the hall. I looked at some other stoves and inserts friends have before selecting. One guy admitted he installed a PE insert that just doesn't cut it (must be the model below the Summit). He didn't want to break away at the limestone facade around the opening of the fireplace in order to fit the Summit inside the firebox. He advised me to get the largest I can fit so I did. It heats the whole house quite well. When it's 22* outside it's 73* inside so we're happy.
BTW, they fellow w/ the PE wants to remove his insert , bust out some the of the stone and get the larger model, so he'll probably sell the existing one.

The Hearthstone Homestead heats just about right (2.0 cubic ft box). Clearances, etc. fit best for my set up. If I could have gotten a slightly bigger firebox I might have increased burntime from 6-7 hours to 8-9 hours, which would be better.

1400 sq ft single level home in North GA, so our Winters are not that cold. Could have probably gotten away with a small stove, however, after reading this site most recommendations were to error on the side of too big. Went with a Century stove with a 2.9 cu. ft box which will take a 20" log. The stove is working just about perfect, so I installed a room-to-room fan above the door at the end of the hallway that leads to the master bedroom. This setup heats the entire house, so I'll have to say I made the right choice.

The old smoke dragon that I replaced had a massive firebox--almost 4 cf. I had been worried about buying a stove rated for the square footage in my small house (1200 sf) since the fireboxes were so much smaller, but I also didn't want to buy a stove that was so large that it would drive me out of the great room because of too much heat. Fortunately, the new stove, which has a 2cf firebox is doing a decent job of keeping the house warm. Granted daytime temps aren't super cold yet, but our night time temps have been dipping down to 20 F (-6 C) for a while now and it's keeping a decent overnight temp, even once everything is down to coals. All-in-all, I'm impressed. The EPA stove is really much more efficient in heating quickly and dispersing heat. (The heat shield on the old stove wasn't thought out at all and didn't direct heat into the room, just straight up into the masonry/stone alcove. The new stove actually delivers heat into the room and with the blower it's even better.)

Ours is larger than what we had before (from previous owners)and it is just right for when it gets really cold and can be controlled with the size of splits one burns in it. Many would have said it was possibly to big but I would rather have to much stove than not enough.

The Kodiak insert 2.5 cu.ft is just right for our bi-level home. Even though it is too much for the room it is in. I needed as big a firebox as would fit to get the longer burn times. Our stairways are 4 1/2 wide so the heat does rise from the bottom floor. With the frosty evenings this past week the oil boiler has not come on once and the thermostat is set for 15C overnite.

I`m calling it just right because even a smaller unit would be a lot of heat for the rec-room that is only about 340 sq.ft and ceiling height of only 7 1/2 ft. But I still got hot coals in the morning and that is with nothing but softwood to burn. So I`m happy with the "bear"..

I probably could have gone bigger. The oakwood does the whole house, but it runs pretty close to maxed out most of the time. If I didn't have such a well insulated house, it would be too small. I've been casually looking at the F600, but I think it would be too much.

f400 is right on the money.any larger i would need to remove the windows

With my upgrades on the liner insulation, attic insulation, block off plate, replacing windows, I think I will be set!

Going on my 3rd season with this stove heating 1800sq ft from an insulated basement install. When I get a cold East wind on my exposed concrete block the upstairs can dip below 70 which isn't all that bad and I can occasionally burn the fireplace to bring the temp back up, but 95% of the time the stove is sized just right to maintain house temps in the mid 70's. Burn times are incredible for this size stove and once my house is in the comfort zone, I just fill her up 2 or 3 times per day.

Works for me, except that the baseboard doesn’t come on in the coldest weather, and freezing pipes are a possibility in sub-zero weather, so I keep it throttled back a bit.

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You can put Glycol in the boiler water and you wont have to worry about the heating system water pipes. Domestic water could still be a concern if you have colder areas of the house (with water pipes) that the stove heat doesnt reach. I put in Glycol and dont have to run the boiler at all now. Just a thought

3.1 lopi liberty is great. I've found over the years that it's the plaster over the two foot thick stone walls that sucks. Currently struggling in this mild weather to keep 1200 of 2000sq.ft. at 65.

ScottF said:

Works for me, except that the baseboard doesn’t come on in the coldest weather, and freezing pipes are a possibility in sub-zero weather, so I keep it throttled back a bit.

Click to expand...

You can put Glycol in the boiler water and you wont have to worry about the heating system water pipes. Domestic water could still be a concern if you have colder areas of the house (with water pipes) that the stove heat doesnt reach. I put in Glycol and dont have to run the boiler at all now. Just a thought

Click to expand...

X2. We did the same. I was concerned about the baseboard pipes freezing up also. The furnance might kick on about 10 times a year for actual heat and not hot water.

I chose "just right" although it was the dealer who did the choosing.
I am one of the lucky ones who is truly able to heat the main floor with an insert in the basement.

I have no magic technique- it just works.
No auxillary fans, no vents, no air handler- just a stairway with a ceiling fan in the room at the top and an unfinished basement ceiling w/joists exposed.
I believe it is the combination of a non airtight walk out basement that is three quarters underground and a very well insulated main floor with exceptionally efficient windows and doors.

Very, very happy.

I'd say just right. It keeps the house nice and toasty on days like today (~45F), and on days when its below freezing it makes the upstairs of our cape nice and toasty, and some of the downstairs warm. It does require a little baseboard heat to supplement on cold days, but that's probably good anyways to prevent freezing pipes. I probably could have gotten a bigger stove into the space, which would have been nice for true overnight burns and for the aforementioned cool spots in the house, but overall I'm not complaining because it looks good and kicks out the heat.

It's still a little early to tell, but so far, I'm very happy with my Napleon. My family room is toasty (ok, sometimes a bit too warm, but don't tell my wife I said that!) and the rest of the house is comfortable. The bedrooms (second floor) are actually a bit warm for my preference, but I'm not going to complain because I'm not burning oil.

Like someone said, ask again in late January, and the answers might be a bit different.

In any case, I'm having a ball with the stove, and find that I can't wait to get home in the evening to fire the little darling up.

:coolsmile: