I'm thinking of buying a wood stove and have some questions

rdust · Feb 9, 2009

I'm new here and just wanted to say I love the site!

I have a bunch of questions. :D

I live in south east Michigan and have propane heat.(only other choice is oil) This is my second season in this home and it makes me sick to pay this much for propane.

Quick run down on the house...(with pictures)

The house is a 2000 sq' two story home, I have attached a rough sketch of the lower level, the upper level covers every part of the lower level except over the living room. The house has a natural fireplace in the living room and a chimney for a wood stove in the family room. The house had a wood stove at some point, when we bought the house we put a foam plug in the hole that the wood stove used and it had newspapers from 1984 in it plugging the hole, the house was built in 1980 so I figure the wood stove was used for 4 years or so. The chimney is tall but isn't all outdoors since it shares a wall with the living room and then runs though the attic before exiting the roof. The draft on the chimney in the family room appears to be good, I pulled the foam plug to take pictures of it and I could feel the hot air leaving the house.

I have looked at some stoves and I'm leaning towards a Lopi Republic 1750 or Endeavor(like the bypass on the Endeavor). Any other stoves I should look at?

The floor plan isn't really open,(besides for family room to kitchen) how do you think the heat will travel through the house? I have a fear of overheating the kitchen/family room.

The house has an attic fan, could that be used to pull the heat upstairs? Also, since the house has forced air heat do you think running the blower will help to move the heat around?

How much wood do you full time users burn on average a year?(Please specify cord or face cord)

Any other comment/suggestions for this newbie would be great!

Rick

webby3650 · Feb 9, 2009

Hi, rdust and welcome to the site! It won't take you very long on this site to decide what stoves are top dog and what stoves have problems. I think even if the heat doesn't travel as well as you would like it will still cut your propane consumption in half at least. I think the attic fan or whole house fan will only blow all your warm air outside of the living space. The circulating fan as well as ceiling fans do very well at moving the air. Keep in mind that right now you are worried about overheating, after you get the stove you will only worry about the furnace kicking on ! :coolsmile:

Hiram Maxim · Feb 9, 2009

Welcome!

I live in your neck of the woods!

I burned about 4 full cords last year and will probably burn closer to 5 this year.

1 full cord being white pine during the months of October and November.

If your furnace has an outside air hook up like mine it won't do you any good to run the blower.

I have a friend that has a house plan very similar to yours. He has approximately 1800+ sq ft and as long as he uses the blower on the stove it circulates the heat throughout the house without a problem.
The stove is rated to heat 400 sq ft larger than his house

His Average temps are 72° to 75° on the main floor with 66° to 68° on the second floor.

I would certainly get a stove that is rated well above the square footage of your home especially with your floor plan and the harsh winters we have been having here in Michigan.

A close friend that has been heating his house for 40 years exclusively with wood has stated he has burned more wood this year than any in the past.

Hope this helps a little. I'm sure others will chime in and give you some great info.

Cheers, Hiram

rijim · Feb 9, 2009

You might want to stay away from the attic fan; it could cause draft issues with the stove and possible smoke backup.
There are many good stoves out there, see the rating section here then find a reputable local dealer.

Good luck,

Jim

countrybois · Feb 9, 2009

I second what Jim says, and I have first hand experience with it...... your attic fan(if it's a whole house fan) will cause your chimney to reverse and fill your house with lots and lots of 'moke.

rdust · Feb 9, 2009

Hiram Maxim said:
Welcome!

I live in your neck of the woods!

I burned about 4 full cords last year and will probably burn closer to 5 this year.

1 full cord being white pine during the months of October and November.

If your furnace has an outside air hook up like mine it won't do you any good to run the blower.

I have a friend that has a house plan very similar to yours. He has approximately 1800+ sq ft and as long as he uses the blower on the stove it circulates the heat throughout the house without a problem.
The stove is rated to heat 400 sq ft larger than his house

His Average temps are 72° to 75° on the main floor with 66° to 68° on the second floor.

I would certainly get a stove that is rated well above the square footage of your home especially with your floor plan and the harsh winters we have been having here in Michigan.

A close friend that has been heating his house for 40 years exclusively with wood has stated he has burned more wood this year than any in the past.

Hope this helps a little. I'm sure others will chime in and give you some great info.

Cheers, Hiram

Thanks for the info, this is what I'm looking for! I figured the attic fan would pull the smoke into the house so that's out. I have a celling fan in every room except the dinning room so that should help to keep the air moving. All my furnace air is picked up inside so running the blower might help some, I'm pretty sure I have three air pick ups in the lower level and four in the upper level. I should be able to get wood pretty cheap, even if I have to pay full price for 4/5 full cords of wood it won't touch my 5 week propane bill from Dec.-Jan.

Corey · Feb 9, 2009

If you're looking and burning for the '09-'10 you should already have (or be buying or cutting) wood NOW! Don't make the mistake that so many do...getting the stove on a spring clearance, then start shopping for 'seasoned' wood next fall. All you'll get is a pile of sizzling wet wood and poor stove performance.

As far as the heating...hot air will go upstairs naturally, I doubt you'll need to pull heat up there - as others have mentioned, you DEFINITELY don't want to use an attic fan. In fact, it's probably best to tape over the switch or throw the breaker for it. If it accidentally comes on, it would turn your stove into a blast furnace - except all the smoke would be pouring back into the house

Backwoods Savage · Feb 9, 2009

Welcome to the forum rdust. Hiram has some good words. Also, he and I compared how much fuel we used last winter and are doing so again this year.

Although we are further north, this definitely has not been the coldest winter in my memory. Maybe I'm too darned old?! But it does appear we will use more wood this year than last (2.85 cord last year). It surely made a difference with this soapstone stove from Woodstock! I'd estimate with our old stove that we'd have to burn around 7 cord in a winter like this.

Jags · Feb 9, 2009

Backwoods Savage said:
Maybe I'm too darned old?

^^^Thats what I'm thinking! :lol:

It may not be the coldest in memory, but it ranks right up towards the top.

PapaDave · Feb 9, 2009

Hey Dennis,

Sorry to hijack a little, but I'm up in the Atlanta area. Just wondering what size your house is. I have about 1200 sq. ft. ranch with stove at one end in a room off the living room (we call it the stove room, pretty ingenious, eh?). We've been reading about all the different stoves folks have and would like to upgrade. since we have an old step top Ashley that is probably going to go thru 5 cords this year.
I thought since we both live in the northern MI area, the info might give me a better idea which way to jump.
Thanks for any info,

Dave

Backwoods Savage · Feb 9, 2009

Dave, I'll send you a PM.

Wet1 · Feb 9, 2009

Backwoods Savage said:
Dave, I'll send you a PM.

Come on Denis, you're not going to use this as an opportunity to plug WS?!?!?

PapaDave · Feb 9, 2009

That's ok Wet1, he can plug away. I end up making up my own mind (as messed up as it is). I was actually thinking of the Englander 30, but really worry, considering owners reports here, that it'll bake us out. The Ashley CAN do that, if I'm not careful, and sometimes even when I am. Had it up to 800 last nite with only 4 medium splits and the air cut almost completely off. Only primary control on this thing.

Wet1 · Feb 9, 2009

LOL, I'm just given Dennis a hard time.

In all seriousness, it does sound like the Woodstock might be a good fit for you.

Backwoods Savage · Feb 9, 2009

Wet1 said:
Backwoods Savage said:

Dave, I'll send you a PM.

Click to expand...

Come on Denis, you're not going to use this as an opportunity to plug WS?!?!?

Naw. It's just that sometimes when I get to typing the information it looks like a book when I get done. Don't want to bore everybody... lol

Hey, that is one thing Dave, on the roasting. You can believe it when they say that the soapstone is a "soft heat." I didn't believe it until we got the thing. There is a difference in the feel of the heat.

Now I'm going off line. My fingers need the rest. lol

PapaDave · Feb 9, 2009

Well Dennis,
I have to say, that as long as I've been reading on this site, I've yet to come upon more than a couple of boring threads (def. not in the ash can!).
Isn't the quest for more info and the camaraderie of fellow woodburners and cutters and splitters and stackers the reason we're here?
Maybe some are just here for the laughs (me too), but I've learned more here from you guys and gals than I could have on my own. Made the learning curve much less acute.
Gotta love this place! :coolsmile:
Dave

rdust · Feb 9, 2009

PapaDave said:
Hey Dennis,

Sorry to hijack a little

Not a problem for me, hijack away!

rdust · Feb 9, 2009

cozy heat said:
If you're looking and burning for the '09-'10 you should already have (or be buying or cutting) wood NOW! Don't make the mistake that so many do...getting the stove on a spring clearance, then start shopping for 'seasoned' wood next fall. All you'll get is a pile of sizzling wet wood and poor stove performance.

As far as the heating...hot air will go upstairs naturally, I doubt you'll need to pull heat up there - as others have mentioned, you DEFINITELY don't want to use an attic fan. In fact, it's probably best to tape over the switch or throw the breaker for it. If it accidentally comes on, it would turn your stove into a blast furnace - except all the smoke would be pouring back into the house

I have a couple cords of red oak already split and stacked for my fireplace, I have a couple large ash tree's to knock down as soon as the snow goes away a little more. With the weather we're getting right now it shouldn't be much longer.

No worries on the attic fan getting turned on, I cover it in the winter so I take the knob off.

PapaDave · Feb 9, 2009

Sorry rdust, meant to type your name, but was thinking of asking the question to Dennis. Sometimers is gettin' to me!

Backwoods Savage · Feb 9, 2009

Just thought I'd let the rest know that you have received a couple chapters in the book Dave. lol

I think Dave enjoyed the read anyway. Hope he was sitting by the fire while reading too.

I'm thinking of buying a wood stove and have some questions

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