considering wood stove, please help

With the right sized stove, i think you would be fine. Therenare more than a few members here with cathedral spaces. I would be cautious about the stovepipe run where it crosses that open stairwell, though.

Looks good to me, looks like it could be your only source of heat by the look of your lay out. Don't be afraid, just go out and do it, the worst that can happen is that you will save money, become addicted to burning wood, wood piles, chainsaws and other firewood related stuff.

Welcome to the forums !

A floor plan would help

Although my first impression is that you've got the potential for a good loop going on.

You will want to put in a ceiling fan in that room to help keep the air circulating to even out the temperature. Just run it on low, and you will be in good shape.

That room would be a great place to install the stove. If you can position the stove so that the pipe goes straight up and out through the roof within a few feet of the peak, you should get a good draft, and the system will probably work very well. If you place it on one of the walls where the pipe goes up and out through the low edge of the roof, you will have a harder time getting the chimney to draw well.

-SF

Well, regarding the stoves, I just installed a Jotul F600 and am very happy with it. The Oslo also has great reviews here.

Good luck.

pacific energy summit. No catylist, simple controls,welded heavy box,stainless secondary fire box, no skinny tubes, no sheet metal inside to warp and melt, and heats to 3000 sg.feet. This is what I will replace my current stove with. Go to the stove dealers with a flashlite and really look inside the stoves.

Is there a loft upstairs open to below? Is there any other set of stairs or opening to provide a convection loop?
The heat is going to rise in the ceiling. I have a cathedral ceiling here but also a big open loft with step up the opposite side from the room the stove is in. Perfect loop, I can stand at the bottom of the stairs and feel the heat.
I also have a ceiling fan in the stove room which really helps the loop.
The upstairs will most likely see a good amount of the heat, but it all depends on the layout and if there is good circulation.

Stove will go great. I'm a bit south of you, in western South Carolina. Get a big ceiling fan. Go for quality. We have a ranch house with early 1970's insulation and the stove we have, even with a small fire, will get the room up to about 80. With your ceiling, you'l be able to run the stove at a normal pace and still have a comfortable room.

+1 on the ceiling fan comments..

Ray

I have high ceilings in my dining room where the stove is and the best solution is to set a ceiling fan to blow up so the air pushes down the side walls. Its backward I know but it really works!! We also did that at our church growing up and heated the hole church very well.

Good Luck
Pete

I should add that cold air goes down the walls naturally which is why reversing the fan works so well. You end up moving air in a natural way which heats much better especially in big areas.
Pete

ironworker said:

... the worst that can happen is that you will save money, become addicted to burning wood, wood piles, chainsaws and other firewood related stuff.

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LOL! Yup, that.

Welcome to the forum.

sjgiv said:

Thanks for all of your comments. There is no loft- the door to the second floor at the top of the stairs in the photo is the only communication from the first to the second floor.

There are no children in the house. Do you think the pipe running up near the stairs is unsafe?

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When I saw the pic, it was the first thing that I kind of focused on. You've got a great room for doing this. If you maintain the stove's recommended clearance to combustibles, the stove will stick anywhere from 18 to 36 inches away from the stairwall, depending on mfg and model. If the stove exits on the top, then that will put the stovepipe just a little farther away. I don't think it's necessarily "unsafe", just a consideration that you want to factor in, that's all.

I have 12' ceilings throught my house...I bought an Oslo in October and couldn't be happier with it The room the stove is in had a ceiling fan that didn't work anymore. I bought a new fan and when I was on the ladder installing it, I was sweating pretty bad. There was a ton of heat trapped up at ceiling level. The minute I turned the fan on, the heat was dispersed and you could feel it being pushed down the hall. So with your high ceilings you want to consider putting a good fan to push the heated air around. I love my Oslo by the way!

I would spring for double wall stove pipe. My installer recommended it for the safety of our kids in case they touch it. It seems as if it may be a good idea with the stairwell and all.

I don't see many comments on the stoves. I keep hearing to steer clear of VC but am not certain if that still applies, some financial troubles or something? Don't know about the Morso but it seems if I read nothing but great things about the Oslo. I am heating a 1600 SF house reasonably insulated in the Asheville area with a stove that has a 2.2 CF firebox. Our temps are considerably colder than yours (though we don't get as much ice as you fortunately). It looks like the VC and Morso are rated for ~ 2400 SF and the Oslo for 2000 SF. I suspect your house would be plenty "warm."

Wallace said:

I have 12' ceilings throught my house...I bought an Oslo in October and couldn't be happier with it The room the stove is in had a ceiling fan that didn't work anymore. I bought a new fan and when I was on the ladder installing it, I was sweating pretty bad. There was a ton of heat trapped up at ceiling level. The minute I turned the fan on, the heat was dispersed and you could feel it being pushed down the hall. So with your high ceilings you want to consider putting a good fan to push the heated air around. I love my Oslo by the way!

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Sorry for the redundancy of recommending a ceiling fan...I only read the original post and not the replies

I am new here too. I had many concerns about how much heat a stove would generate. I have high ceilings 18 foot in a dining room on the opposite of the house from the stove (about 45 feet from the stove). I also have cathedral ceilings upstairs in the bed rooms. The house is close to 3000 square feet. The first floor isnt all that well insulated, it was originally built as a summer cottage. The parts that were added on ( about 2000 sq ft) are insulated better. I had spent just over 4000 on heating oil last winter.

After reading lots of stuff here, I ordered a VC Defiant. It was installed on Wednesday. Thursday night it was just below freeings here and the wind was blowing. I can report that even with the stove all the way down, the house stayed in the mid 70s, the room with the stove was almost 80 and the second floor was 78.

The stove puts out an enormous amount of heat. I am sure even if it gets down to 0 or below, that the stove will keep the entire house relatively warm. Even the dining room, on the other side of the house with the high ceilings stays a comfortable 72 or so.

I'm willing to bet that I will save 3000 this year on oil, and use about 600 worth of wood to do it. I've already started collecting free wood, and in a few years I won't have any wood cost.

Last year, the house was always COLD even with spending 4 grand on oil. Now it's very warm and it looks great. I only wish I had done this years ago. Happy burning.

Ed

EddieB said:

I am new here too. I had many concerns about how much heat a stove would generate. I have high ceilings 18 foot in a dining room on the opposite of the house from the stove (about 45 feet from the stove). I also have cathedral ceilings upstairs in the bed rooms. The house is close to 3000 square feet. The first floor isnt all that well insulated, it was originally built as a summer cottage. The parts that were added on ( about 2000 sq ft) are insulated better. I had spent just over 4000 on heating oil last winter.

After reading lots of stuff here, I ordered a VC Defiant. It was installed on Wednesday. Thursday night it was just below freeings here and the wind was blowing. I can report that even with the stove all the way down, the house stayed in the mid 70s, the room with the stove was almost 80 and the second floor was 78.

The stove puts out an enormous amount of heat. I am sure even if it gets down to 0 or below, that the stove will keep the entire house relatively warm. Even the dining room, on the other side of the house with the high ceilings stays a comfortable 72 or so.

I'm willing to bet that I will save 3000 this year on oil, and use about 600 worth of wood to do it. I've already started collecting free wood, and in a few years I won't have any wood cost.

Last year, the house was always COLD even with spending 4 grand on oil. Now it's very warm and it looks great. I only wish I had done this years ago. Happy burning.

Ed

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That's a good success story Ed and a huge summer cottage! Welcome to the forum! Now without pics it didn't happen...

Ray

sjgiv said:

Hi All. I am trying to make a decision about buying a wood stove and need some help. Thanks in advance for reading. I live in NC and am not looking for the stove to be my only heat source but I would like it to provide some heat. We don’t get much below the mid 20s here. I also like the idea of having a heat source that doesn’t require electricity as we have had some power outages (ice storms). I just like a wood fire too.

The stove would go on the first floor in the main room (where I spend most of my time) that is 20 X 30 with a 20-foot cathedral ceiling. The stove would have a pipe straight up to the ceiling / roof. There are two other rooms on this floor, each about 11 X 15. The second floor has three rooms, about 11 X 15 each- each with a door that can be closed. However the hallway of the second floor (measuring 4 X 9) is open to the main floor. The stove would go in place of the white cabinet in the picture. It backs up to the stairway and at the stop of the stairway there is the doorway to the hall of the second floor. This doorway has no door and I prefer not to have one.

Question: Can a wood stove generate decent heat with a ceiling this high or will I have to be standing next to it to feel it? I’ve met with two dealers / installers. They think a stove can heat the downstairs. The VC Defient, Morso 3610 and Jotul Oslo have been recommended. What do you think?

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Welcome to the forum sjgiv.

For sure a wood stove would be ideal in your home. With the temperatures you have you should have no problem heating that space. square footage is no problem but beware of claims that a stove will heat so much sq. ft. because you also have lots of cubic feet to heat. Still, it can be done rather easily. I would not be concerned with the pipe running up where you want it and would suggest double walled pipe lest you lose too much heat in that space. You do need some heat in the chimney for proper draft. There are many stoves that would work for you so get one you like. Have you looked at any of Woodstock stoves? They sell direct only but no worries with this company as they are one of the very best and also have the best guarantee on the market and customer service that is second to none.

I will also state that the Jotul stoves have an excellent reputation and would definitely look at those. As for installation, you do not have to have the seller install the stove as most carpenters will be able to do the job.

One thing I have to ask is, have you considered the fuel you will burn? That, to me, should be the first consideration rather than the stove. The reason is that you can not buy wood fuel like you can oil or gas. Wood needs time to dry and almost every wood seller does not have the time nor space to allow the wood to dry. They split the wood and then deliver it. Wood won't dry until it has been split! Most wood needs a year after being split before burning so please keep this in mind and find your fuel source asap.

Good luck.

Our stove sits in a large room, open to the kitchen, with a 23' cathedral with loft overhead. No problem heating it. But that's going to depend on the size of your stove also.
I have a DW pipe and still wouldn't want to touch it when the stove is doing its thing. It will burn you.

i had a contemporary that had a great room with cathedral cealings, that had a fireplace. i had a 2nd floor open hallway overlooking the greatroom with two bedrooms and a bath off of that. i had a kitchen at the end of the greatroom, under the walkway and a bedroom up toward the stove off the greatroom. I had electric baseboard heat....$$$$. I quickly installed a BUCK fireplace insert with fan and a liner. It was a perfect setup for it and worked great. oh yeah, forgot to mention i installed a cealing fan at the opposite end of the great room where the stairs came down and it circulated the air great. hated to leave that house but situations change. I'd go for it, don't think you'll be disappointed.

btw, nice house. love cathedral cealings

cass

Looks like a big enough stove would do very nicely. Nice looking room.

Hi SJ,
Here in Raleigh also, I'm installing a Lopi insert. I have the same reasons as you, just need some additional heat for the cold days here as my heat pump just doesn't cut it when it really cools off. Curious what dealers you have talked to and what kind of followup you've gotten. The prices seem high and customer service low with the couple I have talked to. I ended up deciding to do the install myself with the help of a HVAC contractor friend.

Good luck to you, I have some high ceilings also but I expect my stove to heat my space real well. I have about 1800 sf on a two level townhouse.