What is the best woodstove for a somewhat drafty home. Home is 2000sq, center chimney colonial. I have been looking at a Hearthstone but not sure if a cast stove (jotul) would be better for my drafty home. I've never had a woodstove before, so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Need recommendation
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2000 sq. ft. and drafty. You may want to consider a large steel stove . A lot of folks on hear like the blaze king(if you can stand the looks). If not steel you sound like you would need at least an f-500 or even f-600 Jotul depending on your lay out if you wanted something a bit more attractive. Give a bit more information and others will chime in with good advice.(well advice anyway).
Joe
Joe
Welcome to the forum roady99.
I hate to say, but there is no best answer other than a big stove!
Well, there is one more answer. If you don't get your wood on hand fast, long before you get the stove, no stove will give you good results and you will feel like you have wasted your dollars. The biggest problem almost every wood burner has is that they install a great stove......and then start looking for the fuel. That may work with oil or gas but that just will not work with wood heat. Wood needs lots of time before it is ready to burn.....and do not believe the wood sellers! 99.9% of the time they will say their wood is seasoned and ready to burn; it is not.
You should already have next year's wood cut, split and stacked out in the wind. It needs this much time and more to be ready to burn. If you plan on burning oak I'll give a good example: around here we do not plan on burning oak until it has been cut, split, and stacked for 3 years! All wood is not the same. Some you can cut today and burn next winter and other types of wood need to be sitting there drying much longer.
Remember, the fuel is the biggest key to having a good wood burning experience.
I hate to say, but there is no best answer other than a big stove!
Well, there is one more answer. If you don't get your wood on hand fast, long before you get the stove, no stove will give you good results and you will feel like you have wasted your dollars. The biggest problem almost every wood burner has is that they install a great stove......and then start looking for the fuel. That may work with oil or gas but that just will not work with wood heat. Wood needs lots of time before it is ready to burn.....and do not believe the wood sellers! 99.9% of the time they will say their wood is seasoned and ready to burn; it is not.
You should already have next year's wood cut, split and stacked out in the wind. It needs this much time and more to be ready to burn. If you plan on burning oak I'll give a good example: around here we do not plan on burning oak until it has been cut, split, and stacked for 3 years! All wood is not the same. Some you can cut today and burn next winter and other types of wood need to be sitting there drying much longer.
Remember, the fuel is the biggest key to having a good wood burning experience.
The larger the better I guess. The large Blaze King "King" would probably work OK, as would the larger Jotul or Pacific Energy stoves. I would stay away from soapstone because it's probably a bit too gentle. An Englander 30NC is basic, but a good stove capable of throwing a ton of heat.
roady99 said:
First place to start is to get this stuff.
Are you looking for a fireplace insert or a freestanding stove? How open is the floor plan?
If you like the Hearthstone, I would go for the Mansfield. It's up to the task. In cast iron, take a look at the Jotul F600 or Quadrafire Isle Royale. If clearances are an issue or the room is not large, then a Pacific Energy Alderlea might work with a fan to circulate the heat.
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The Mansfield may not be up to the task in a 2K sf drafty house. The Mansfield likes to cruise with a nice steady heat. I would suggest a radiant stove though, instead of convection. In my experience, in a drafty home, a stove that makes hot air...well you can lose hot air. A radiant stove heats objects, so even if there is a draft, you'll feel warmer. If you want to go Hearthstone, Id bite the bullet and go with the Equinox, the big boy. Its more for the stove and the upgrade to an 8" chimney, but you'll make gobs of heat and the heat will feel like it lasts forever. Its the radiant heat your looking for. And of course, like BG mentioned, the best stove you can buy right now is the one that plugs the holes in your home.
As BeGreen said, fix the draft problem first, then you can buy a smaller stove, use less wood and still be warmer. Be safe.
Ed
Ed
Even with a good stove, sit in the wrong place and you'll feel that draft on your back. Ask me how I know that.
Adios Pantalones said:
OK, I'll bite
How do you know that?
+1 on the spray foam sealer
+1 on get some wood stored up now (or last year is better) well before the stove shows up, so it is dry
i am in the same boat. 2100, rather drafty (im working on that daily)
Advice, Get he largest one you can fit. its better to worry about being cooked out of a room then to not have enough heat. build a smaller fire.
the ratings on stoves are quite hard to decipher, you have EPA BTU ratings, Sales literature BTU ratings, square footage ratings. and none of that math adds up. Try and find something with a sizeable firebox. in your case 2.5cu.ft. and above.
Steel stove heat quick and loss it quick, cast iron may take a bit to get there, holds the heat for awhile, Soapstone is a slower type heat, those stones stay warm for a looong time.
take if from someone who bought cheap and small and is now looking for a bigger one....Pacific energy summit is a good one to look at (free standing or insert) (not sure you said you application) Im looking at the osburn 2400 rather hard.
love the looks of jotul and vermont castings.
Advice, Get he largest one you can fit. its better to worry about being cooked out of a room then to not have enough heat. build a smaller fire.
the ratings on stoves are quite hard to decipher, you have EPA BTU ratings, Sales literature BTU ratings, square footage ratings. and none of that math adds up. Try and find something with a sizeable firebox. in your case 2.5cu.ft. and above.
Steel stove heat quick and loss it quick, cast iron may take a bit to get there, holds the heat for awhile, Soapstone is a slower type heat, those stones stay warm for a looong time.
take if from someone who bought cheap and small and is now looking for a bigger one....Pacific energy summit is a good one to look at (free standing or insert) (not sure you said you application) Im looking at the osburn 2400 rather hard.
love the looks of jotul and vermont castings.
Our house is was build in 1917, aprox 1300sqf, and has no insulation and is drafty. We went with the larger stove (50BTU's, 2k sqf). During the first cold snap, it felt like the stove couldn't keep up; it may have been in the upper 20's! The house felt cold and drafty. We were fueling the cold :-( We put up plastic on all the windows and voila! The stove has been great and keeping up. However, I am now more then ever determined to do more insulating. I am going to investigate on having insulation blown into the walls. We have plaster interior walls , and stucco exterior. I am more then 100% convinced that insulation and wood is the core to better burning. Thanks to this forum for educating me because I am a witness and a believer; INSULATION and SEASONED wood.
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