Looking at a new home that has no stove. It is set up for a stove but the previous owner took the stove. The home was built in 1988, has a full unfinished basement and the house is 1200 square feet. The stove is in the front of the house in an open living room and kitchen with cathedral ceilings, and bedrooms to the back of the house. I am looking for a stove with a long burn time that will heat this home. what do you recomend?
Stove Recomendations - 1200 square foot home
- Thread starter bwbski
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Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Welcome to the forum bwbski.
You will be bombarded with recommendations as there are many stoves suited 1200 sq ft.
The Woodstock Fireview or Keystone would be great stoves for your needs.
But no matter what stove you choose, you need to be looking right now for wood. Most new wood burners look at buying wood the same as gas or oil but that is wrong. You need to find wood to burn before you even put the stove in. That is because wood needs time to dry properly and if it is burned before it is dry, you can have some big problems. We have also found that almost all wood sellers will say the wood is ready to but and 99% of them are wrong! So please try to find some dry wood to burn.
EDIT: Woodstock has some great discounts on their stoves right now too. Woodstock
You will be bombarded with recommendations as there are many stoves suited 1200 sq ft.
The Woodstock Fireview or Keystone would be great stoves for your needs.
But no matter what stove you choose, you need to be looking right now for wood. Most new wood burners look at buying wood the same as gas or oil but that is wrong. You need to find wood to burn before you even put the stove in. That is because wood needs time to dry properly and if it is burned before it is dry, you can have some big problems. We have also found that almost all wood sellers will say the wood is ready to but and 99% of them are wrong! So please try to find some dry wood to burn.
EDIT: Woodstock has some great discounts on their stoves right now too. Woodstock
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
bwbski said:
What is your budget for the stove? Is there a liner already in place? Is the home drafty?
Wood is not a problem. I have looked at the woodstock fireview, and the sale is nice right now. I want to be able to burn through the night.
Under 2000 is the budget. Home is newer constuction. Should be pretty tight. I am not in the house so I do not quite know if it is drafty. What does it being drafty have to do with stove selection?
If the house has excellent insulation, then a 2.5-3.0 cu ft stove should work well. There are lots to choose from. Tell us more about your budget and preferences. Also, allow about $1500 for the flue system.
+1 on the dry wood. Modern stoves, especially cats, burn dry wood, not the semi-seasoned stuff that gets delivered most of the time.
+1 on the dry wood. Modern stoves, especially cats, burn dry wood, not the semi-seasoned stuff that gets delivered most of the time.
THe home is all set up for the stove, previous owners removed it. I do not know what they had in there before.
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
bwbski said:
The draftier the house, the bigger the stove. The stove will be fighting the heat loss. So, if the stove is really drafty you may need to oversize the stove by quite a bit.
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
bwbski said:
You would hope that would be the case, but most home owners half ass things. Also, a lot of wood burners do things the old fashioned way, which is usually the wrong way. Especially if they had an old Pre-EPA stove.
certified106
Minister of Fire
bwbski said:
Not necessarily since many stoves require different r value hearths and different clearance to combustibles as well as different sized flues. If you provide some of those details people on here will be able to help you with your decision easier and more accurately. Welcome to the forums
bwbski said:
Have a certified chimney sweep or at least a competent stove shop come out and determine what is there. We may be able to help with good pictures, but they will need to look inside and check it's condition.
PS: Was the previous installation a freestanding stove or a fireplace insert stove?
Previous install was a freestanding stove. The home has a brick chimeny. The hearth is stone, with stone backing and a hole in the wall for the stove to be hooked up into.
If it is in good condition and sized correctly, you may be able to just hook into it. But first you really need to know the condition of this flue. If the tiles are too large or cracked it may need a stainless liner. Not that big a deal, it can even be a DIY project if you are up to it. Otherwise, it shouldn't cost more than about $1K to have it installed correctly, possibly a lot less depending on the chimney and its height.
What's the budget for the stove and what style do you like?
What's the budget for the stove and what style do you like?
A stove is an awesome tool to have in the house, but please bear in mind you are embarking on installing a device in your house that will sit out in the open and radiate surface temps of up to650- 800 degrees on a regular basis. Internal temps double that - and you can easily gain access to the internal parts.
Bargain stoves that will heat your house (not your basement) start around $500 for just the stove. Most won't go above $2000 for a free-standing stove to heat 1200 square feet. Installations for just the stove might be $400. If it requires other things, like installation of a liner
A liner is a sealed connection that perfectly fits your stoves exhaust and runs from your stove out through your chimney and safely above the house and ensures safe exhausting of the stove and helps ensure the stove has good draft. Draft is the suction of air from inside your house out your chimney or liner - poor draft means the stove doesn't automatically push air out the chimney and it works to accomplish that. Fires struggle without good draft because air doesn't get sucked through them as easily. A liner helps to accomplish a good draft. Liners are also built to contain and survive chimney fires without endangering your house. So you can see there's benefits to them.
We can all put forth tons of recommendations for you, but at the end of the day the next step for you is probably to learn a bit more and find a local stove store you like. They will almost certainly offer to come out and inspect your current setup for free to make recommendations. As an alternative to that, you can take a bunch of pictures of your setup (interior shot of the hearth and any associated bits, exterior shot of the chimney from the ground) and we can give comments.
Welcome
Bargain stoves that will heat your house (not your basement) start around $500 for just the stove. Most won't go above $2000 for a free-standing stove to heat 1200 square feet. Installations for just the stove might be $400. If it requires other things, like installation of a liner
A liner is a sealed connection that perfectly fits your stoves exhaust and runs from your stove out through your chimney and safely above the house and ensures safe exhausting of the stove and helps ensure the stove has good draft. Draft is the suction of air from inside your house out your chimney or liner - poor draft means the stove doesn't automatically push air out the chimney and it works to accomplish that. Fires struggle without good draft because air doesn't get sucked through them as easily. A liner helps to accomplish a good draft. Liners are also built to contain and survive chimney fires without endangering your house. So you can see there's benefits to them.
We can all put forth tons of recommendations for you, but at the end of the day the next step for you is probably to learn a bit more and find a local stove store you like. They will almost certainly offer to come out and inspect your current setup for free to make recommendations. As an alternative to that, you can take a bunch of pictures of your setup (interior shot of the hearth and any associated bits, exterior shot of the chimney from the ground) and we can give comments.
Welcome
Ok, I will check out the chimeny next time I visit the house. Now back on the stove recomendations. What does everyone think would be a good stove for this house. How about the hearthstone brand? I like the woodstock fireview. How does the hearthstone compare to this. What about vermont castings? I want an overnighter, so a long burn time is key.
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
bwbski said:
Right now the Woodstock prices can not be beat for the most part. You need to figure out how drafty the home is. If it is a tightly sealed home then a Keystone would work for you. If it is at all drafty then the Fireview is the way to go. Most likely the Fireview is more appropriate.
Both stove will offer overnight burns. (10-12 hour burns, less if the stove is used hard.)
If you go with a Hearthstone I would not go smaller than the Heritage due to the burn time limitations on the smaller stoves.
In regards to Vermont Castings, an Encore will provide plenty of heat and will give you about an 8 hour burn time which should work well for an overnight burn.
If cost is an issue the Englander 13 would probably meet your needs as well.
If you want long burn times, either go with a catalytic stove like the Woodstock Fireview, or get a non-catalytic stove with at least a 2.0 cubic foot fire box.
To beat a dead horse, make sure you have the chimney inspected for any damaged tiles and/or excessive creosote deposits. You'll also want to make sure that if the flue is not lined with a stainless steel liner sized appropriately for most modern stoves (6" or 8", mostly). Often, the flue tiles are some enourmous size that will cause sluggish draft on a stove with a 6" exahaust, for example. Remember: the chimney system is the engine that drives the stove. You can put the world's best stove into a poor chimney and you'd swear it was junk.
To beat a dead horse, make sure you have the chimney inspected for any damaged tiles and/or excessive creosote deposits. You'll also want to make sure that if the flue is not lined with a stainless steel liner sized appropriately for most modern stoves (6" or 8", mostly). Often, the flue tiles are some enourmous size that will cause sluggish draft on a stove with a 6" exahaust, for example. Remember: the chimney system is the engine that drives the stove. You can put the world's best stove into a poor chimney and you'd swear it was junk.
BrowningBAR
Minister of Fire
kingquad said:
And if you buy one, do it online through home depot as they will deliver it to your door with no shipping fee. Saves time, money, and wear on your back.
But, if your house is drafty, you might need something larger than the 13.
You can expect about 6-ish hours for burn times.
Both great stoves.
Woodstock will have better customer service.
Woodstock will have better prices.
Woodstock will give you a more controllable burn.
Woodstock prices are insanely low right now. Short time offer.
Get a Woodstock. Never hear bad reviews about them.
Woodstock will have better customer service.
Woodstock will have better prices.
Woodstock will give you a more controllable burn.
Woodstock prices are insanely low right now. Short time offer.
Get a Woodstock. Never hear bad reviews about them.
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