Newcomer needing stove advice

Tootsie said:

We have a 2000 sq ft L shaped house. There are bedrooms above the garage and dining room and a well insulated attic above the rest of the house (living room, kitchen, offce). We would like to put the stove in the dining room because it already has tile, is centrally located in the house and in close proximity to the firewood. Centrally located is good . . . especially if you spend much time in this room. You can heat a home with a woodstove, but generally the nicest and warmest place to be in a home heated with wood is in the room with the woodstove. As a result I encourage folks to put the stove where they plan to spend the bulk of their waking hours -- for me this is in my living room which is next to my den. Putting the stove in the room where you spend the most time will mean you are warmer . . . plus you get the side benefits of being able to enjoy the view, sound and smells. We do have central air/heat and plan to use the fan to help distribute the warmth from the wood stove. This idea gets mentioned frequently . . . and while a few members report some success doing so . . . many more say the idea doesn't work so well. For many folks simply using a small fan on the floor pointed towards the woodstove will work better by establishing an air current -- cold air is pushed towards the stove, it's heated, hot air rises and moves out to fill the area vacated by the colder air. We'd like to use the stove as our primary heat source. Winters here do get below freezing and the wind chill gets below zero. This is entirely possible . . . the two keys here are effectively moving the heat around the house and making sure you have more than enough well-seasoned wood . . . well that and getting the correct sized stove for your home, placing it in the most effective space and running the stove correctly.

Here are the brands we are considering: Napoleon 1400/1450, Lopi/Avalon 1750, Lopi Libery (although this one seems like a bit much, maybe not?) and Pacific Engery T5 Alderlea. Price certainly is a concern, but we also don't want something that requires a bunch of maintenace or is a piece of crap. The chimney guy I've talked to said in his 30 years of selling wood stoves, he's never sold a Napoleon and he thinks they are a very cheap stove. Is that true? He won't even take the time to compare the different stoves for me before we see them in person. I have seen all but the Pacific Energy stove in person, although my husband has not. I am hoping all of you can help us getting a better understanding of what we should buy. I don't have first hand experience with any of the brands you mention . . . but many, many members have used the makes you mention and honestly none of them would scare me away from considering them . . . the most important thing I would think is to figure out your spacing needs, find a stove that fits the spacing requirements . . . and then go one size larger. You can always build a small fire in a big firebox . . . it's much harder to build a larger fire in a small firebox when it's filled to capacity.
Thanks!!

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Geppetto83 said:

Hi Tootsie,

It is great to see that you’re considering having a wood stove in your house. If you want to use your stove as a primary heat source (keep in mind that wood stoves are “support heating units”, not meant to be the main heat source), you definitely want a woodstove that can give you more than you need. It’s like a car, it’s not because the speed limit is 60 that you want to have a car that goes up to 60 only, you need to give yourself some gap.

Are Napoleon, Pacific and Lopi the only brands you’re considering? For big stoves, there are several other brands you can take a look at. Keep in mind that after all, you will have this unit in your house for several years to come and using for long months year after year, make sure you take a good look around. I will recommend you to take a look at the Enerzone Solution 3.4 and Osburn 2400 wood stoves. Two of the biggest EPA high efficiency fireboxes in the market. Let me know if you wish to have more info on them. Another brand I will suggest you to take a look at is Drolet, with their HT2000 unit.
Keep in mind, all manufacturers offer great products nowadays. Napoleon, Pacific and Lopi are among the greatest brands on the industry too. All depending your budget and wood burning habits and importance to “looks”, you can be well served by any of them.

These are just suggestions! Regards,

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Tootsie said:

Thank you for the suggestions. The chimney guy we've been in contact with only wants to sell us a Lopi Liberty. He's not giving us information on anything else which is why I've turned to this forum.

Also, thanks for the car analogy. Neither my husband nor I have ever lived in a house with a wood stove so this is new for us. If there are any other recommendations I'd love to hear them.

Is there a brand I should avoid? What do I want to look for in a stove? Looks are not too important.

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