Size of stove to buy

I have no experience with either stove. As far as size, a stove with a firebox in the low 2 cubic foot range will get you through the night pretty easy. A cat stove will give you the best low burn output which may be nice for the small footprint you're trying to heat.

I wouldn't even think about those ratings. Wisconson winters are brutal and who's to say under what conditions that stove will heat 2,000sqft. I'd rather under fire a big stove than over fire a small one.

Mel, welcome to the forums


Check here .... and feel free to ask alot of questions after wards


http://www.overstockstoves.com/

You can build a smaller fire in a bigger stove... but you can't always buld a bigger fire in a smaller stove.

That was my line of thinking when I got the 30 instead of the 13.

-SF

Welcome to the forum. I went bigger and am very happy I did. You can control the amount of heat you get out of a stove by the amount of wood you put in it. I have a stove that is larger than I need and I only fill it 3/4 usually or less sometimes. And on the super cold days I have the extra firepower if need be.

US Stove 2000 is a 2cuft firebox an should give you and overnight burn. My Dad just installed one. No reports yet. His first EPA stove, so the learning curve will be pretty steep.

My Uncle has the 2000. Had it installed a little over a month ago. Pretty nice stove. Shallow box, so it will mainly be loaded East/West. With the blower turned on, it can really crank the heat. With it turned off its more of a calm heat. So you can decide how much heat you want. His house is about 1,200 sq and with 2 of his 3 bedrooms closed off, prob only heating about 800 sq. Does a pretty good job at his house.

If the air control is above the fire on the other stove, it may not be an EPA stove (I didnt look it up) Would have to look at the specs.

What is your wood situation like? How much do you have? And how long has it been split and seasoning? Modern EPA stoves really demand dry wood.

Edit: It is an EPA stove. The air adjustment (Primary) is above the door because thats where the air is brought in the stove. Primary air on most stoves comes in just above the glass and also acts as an airwash to keep the viewing glass clean. Secondary air is brought in via burn tubes in the top of the stove (no user input on this) These tubes provide extra air to aid in the burning process (burns the smoke and other gases, when at the proper burning temperature)

I live in Michigan. My home was built in 1997. The old non EPA stove I had was much to big, the windows were open most days when the stove was running. Two years ago I got the US Stove 1100B for our 1100+ square foot house. It is an efficient little stove, as we have gone through less wood than usual. We heat exclusively with wood. The problem is, it is a REALLY little stove. It will not hold a fire overnight under any conditions, and on days when it is 15°F or less, it cannot keep up in my home. We are wearing sweatshirts and running space heaters on those days and nights. I am replacing it this year after only 2 years of operation. Like I said, its a great stove, I love watching the secondaries, I like the big glass front. I like the price. But it is a really small firebox, and ultimately that is king. Plus it is only 9 inches deep which means you can only burn E/W. If I were you I would go with the larger stove. Here I am two years later, doing the same.

There is another approach to try as well. How much gas/oil/propane have you been using? How many btu's is that? As a fellow Wisconsinite, in a similarly insulated two story home, I can say that you are likely going to need a stove in the 40 to 50,000 btu range when it is really cold. The heat will not stay downstairs unless you can close off the upstairs.

Just like "slyferret" said, but put another way..........

If the stove is BIGGER than you need, you can always build a smaller fire..........

If the stove is too small, you can't get enough wood in there to satisfy and you'll be tending it more often.

For me..........BIGGER is better!

How BIG is BIG enough? Well, can you take 16" logs and comfortably lay them in the firebox "north to south" (front to back)?
If you can't, it ain't BIG enough, in MY book!! (Obviously you would want those 16" logs to fit "east to west" too).

-Soupy1957

soupy1957 said:

Just like "slyferret" said, but put another way..........

If the stove is BIGGER than you need, you can always build a smaller fire..........

If the stove is too small, you can't get enough wood in there to satisfy and you'll be tending it more often.

For me..........BIGGER is better!

How BIG is BIG enough? Well, can you take 16" logs and comfortably lay them in the firebox "north to south" (front to back)?
If you can't, it ain't BIG enough, in MY book!! (Obviously you would want those 16" logs to fit "east to west" too).

-Soupy1957

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