~1200 Sq. Ft. Stove Recommendations

[wjohn]

Hi all. I'm new to the forum but not new to stoves. I grew up with a Baron (couldn't ever find much about them, so they must not have been around too long) wood stove as the family's sole source of heat. My parents added on to their house later on and put in a smaller stove in that far corner. I can't recall the make as it was another one that doesn't seem to exist before, but it was very much along the lines of a Century S244 or any of the similar designs.

I am off on my own now and itching to get rid of the useless decorative FMI fireplace insert that is in my house. I'm lucky to keep the house at 60 with a roaring fire on a 20 degree day (and no other heat source turned on). I have been planning to install a stove and I now have time to do it. My house is pretty small at under 800 square feet. I may (highly unlikely) add on in a decade or so and make it closer to 1200 square feet. We get below zero here but not typically for more than a few days. This stove would most likely get used on weekends with little use during the week. I have resistance heating which works pretty well for my small place but I'd like to cut down my electricity bill and be able to properly heat the house if I lost power for a few days. I just plain enjoy burning wood, too. Overnight burning with the small firebox isn't a huge deal to me. Have it going well when you go to bed, and rebuild the fire in the morning when you wake up and I'm fine with that. And, to be honest, sometimes we get a 70 degree day in January, so it's not like I would even use it 100% of the winter if that were my plan. Anyway, enough with the background info.

Currently I am looking at the Vogelzang VG-1120L (Menards). I couldn't find many (any?) reviews of it. For the price it looks like about what you'd expect when I looked at it in-store. I think it would work for what I want it to do, unless someone has had a bad experience with it. I've also discovered that Pleasant Hearth has a 1200 square foot model that is over 75% efficient and thus qualifies for the current tax credit. I can't seem to find them available anywhere online so I may not even be able to track one down. Anyhow, my point is that for the ~$500 for the Vogelzang, I have some room to play with a slightly more expensive stove that meets the 75% efficiency requirement since you get a chunk of that back in the tax credit.

Should I be looking at any other stoves? The Vogelzang with all new chimney is going to be right around $1000, so let's say for the purposes of this discussion any stove that is over $1000 by itself is out of my range (that would be reduced to a cost of $740 once the 26% tax credit is received - again, no credit on the Vogelzang).

 

[begreen]

Looks like it's an inexpensive Chinese, fixed burn-rate stove. It's new and I don't think we have any reviews or reports on it so far. Based on the criteria expressed, it may do the job fine. Just be sure to follow the clearance and hearth requirements. This is a highly radiant stove with large clearance requirements.

Of greater concern is the flue system. That has to be done right. What are the plans for this?

 

[wjohn]

I should have provided a link, sorry: https://www.usstove.com/product/vogelzang-1200-sq-ft-wood-stove-2020-epa-certified/ Menards has carried them for maybe 2 years now? They are definitely not top of the line.

It does have adjustable air control at the bottom. I expect this may take some getting used to since I have only used stoves with dampers on the front door or on the front top of the firebox.

For the flue, I am completely ripping out what I have. It is the typical cheap old 90s air-cooled FMI chimney system. Wrong diameter (8" vs. 6" needed for a newer small stove), inadequate clearance to the walls, tons of heat loss, etc. I will have to patch up the holes from that and put the new chimney a truss bay over in order to get the required minimum clearances. I will be able to have a straight run all the way up to the cap, though.

 

[begreen]

I just downloaded the manual and you are right, it does have an air control.

Is the fireplace interior or in a chased enclosure on an exterior wall? Will this end up being an alcove installation? Sounds like a lot of work. This has me wondering if the stove could be put in less expensively in another location.

 

[SpaceBus]

I like my Morso 2b in our small house.

 

[EbS-P]

The Vogelzang with all new chimney is going to be right around $1000, so let's say for the purposes of this discussion any stove that is over $1000 by itself is out of my range

That is going to be quite a restrictive budget. Are you open to a pellet/corn stove? (Easier and cheaper to vent and locate). I grew up in Hays and the pellet stove mixed 50/50 with farm corn did really quite well.

Evan

 

[wjohn]

I just downloaded the manual and you are right, it does have an air control.

Is the fireplace interior or in a chased enclosure on an exterior wall? Will this end up being an alcove installation? Sounds like a lot of work. This has me wondering if the stove could be put in less expensively in another location.

The fireplace is interior, located at a corner of two exterior walls of the house. Inside, they more or less cut the corner with a framed sheetrock enclosure up to the ceiling to put the fireplace into, if that makes sense. Then it's just chimney pipe through the attic (no enclosure) and through the roof. I also have an outside air intake present in this location that I am planning on reusing. I know there are differing opinions on those but since I already have it I might as well do some trials.

I am removing the framed interior bits that mount the fireplace and planning on doing a corner installation of the stove. I am a huge proponent of straight runs of flue for lack of creosote buildup and easier cleaning purposes. I'm not absolutely set in stone on this but I haven't thought of anything that would be cheaper or less effort, so I'm all ears for ideas. Maybe a better question for me to ask is if you had one corner of your house available to put a stove in, how would you do it?

 

[wjohn]

I like my Morso 2b in our small house.

That is a nice looking little stove. I can't find any dealers anywhere close to me, unfortunately. This is probably not prime wood stove country, ha.

 

[moresnow]

If you are planning on ripping the entire existing framed structure out, the door is wide open for ideas. My av pic is a corner install with cultured stone behind it on both walls. The hearth is incomplete in the pic.

 

[wjohn]

That is going to be quite a restrictive budget. Are you open to a pellet/corn stove? (Easier and cheaper to vent and locate). I grew up in Hays and the pellet stove mixed 50/50 with farm corn did really quite well.

Evan

I'm closer to the OK border than you were, so we don't usually get quite as cold as Hays does, but otherwise the climate is similar. I mostly just don't care for the idea of buying pellets or corn - I have a fair amount of wood available on my property, but no free corn or pellets at this time. I don't expect this project to pay back for years no matter what, but it would be nice to cut my electricity bill by 10-20% in the winter months. You are very right that a pellet/corn stove would simplify things, though.

 

[EbS-P]

That is a nice looking little stove. I can't find any dealers anywhere close to me, unfortunately. This is probably not prime wood stove country, ha.

I would drive to Tulsa and back for a Morso. But I can’t imagine stove and pipe being under 1k even with tax credit.

 

[begreen]

The fireplace is interior, located at a corner of two exterior walls of the house. Inside, they more or less cut the corner with a framed sheetrock enclosure up to the ceiling to put the fireplace into, if that makes sense. Then it's just chimney pipe through the attic (no enclosure) and through the roof. I also have an outside air intake present in this location that I am planning on reusing. I know there are differing opinions on those but since I already have it I might as well do some trials.

I am removing the framed interior bits that mount the fireplace and planning on doing a corner installation of the stove. I am a huge proponent of straight runs of flue for lack of creosote buildup and easier cleaning purposes. I'm not absolutely set in stone on this but I haven't thought of anything that would be cheaper or less effort, so I'm all ears for ideas. Maybe a better question for me to ask is if you had one corner of your house available to put a stove in, how would you do it?

Got the picture. Straight up and out is definitely the best. We have a corner install and this is how our stove is installed. It sounds like you will be restoring the room ceiling and then putting in a ceiling support box and chimney pipe. Is that correct? The stove will need 14" corner clearance according to the manual.

 

[JimBear]

Hi all. I'm new to the forum but not new to stoves. I grew up with a Baron (couldn't ever find much about them, so they must not have been around too long) wood stove as the family's sole source of heat. My parents added on to their house later on and put in a smaller stove in that far corner. I can't recall the make as it was another one that doesn't seem to exist before, but it was very much along the lines of a Century S244 or any of the similar designs.

I am off on my own now and itching to get rid of the useless decorative FMI fireplace insert that is in my house. I'm lucky to keep the house at 60 with a roaring fire on a 20 degree day (and no other heat source turned on). I have been planning to install a stove and I now have time to do it. My house is pretty small at under 800 square feet. I may (highly unlikely) add on in a decade or so and make it closer to 1200 square feet. We get below zero here but not typically for more than a few days. This stove would most likely get used on weekends with little use during the week. I have resistance heating which works pretty well for my small place but I'd like to cut down my electricity bill and be able to properly heat the house if I lost power for a few days. I just plain enjoy burning wood, too. Overnight burning with the small firebox isn't a huge deal to me. Have it going well when you go to bed, and rebuild the fire in the morning when you wake up and I'm fine with that. And, to be honest, sometimes we get a 70 degree day in January, so it's not like I would even use it 100% of the winter if that were my plan. Anyway, enough with the background info.

Currently I am looking at the Vogelzang VG-1120L (Menards). I couldn't find many (any?) reviews of it. For the price it looks like about what you'd expect when I looked at it in-store. I think it would work for what I want it to do, unless someone has had a bad experience with it. I've also discovered that Pleasant Hearth has a 1200 square foot model that is over 75% efficient and thus qualifies for the current tax credit. I can't seem to find them available anywhere online so I may not even be able to track one down. Anyhow, my point is that for the ~$500 for the Vogelzang, I have some room to play with a slightly more expensive stove that meets the 75% efficiency requirement since you get a chunk of that back in the tax credit.

Should I be looking at any other stoves? The Vogelzang with all new chimney is going to be right around $1000, so let's say for the purposes of this discussion any stove that is over $1000 by itself is out of my range (that would be reduced to a cost of $740 once the 26% tax credit is received - again, no credit on the Vogelzang).

I bought a Century FW3000 from Menards in Wichita and it heats our 1200sq ft house just fine. We have 8’ ceilings, I would think a FW 3000 or FW2700 would work well in your neck of the woods.

I have had no problems with it & Century technical has been helpful & any parts I have needed have been no problem to get.

I bought my stove pipe & hearth pad from Menards also.

 

[wjohn]

If you are planning on ripping the entire existing framed structure out, the door is wide open for ideas. My av pic is a corner install with cultured stone behind it on both walls. The hearth is incomplete in the pic.

I really like your setup. The layout is what I have in mind. The stone (or similar) on the walls is something I would like to do someday, but realistically, I know that will drop to the bottom of the priority list.

 

[wjohn]

I bought a Century FW3000 from Menards in Wichita and it heats our 1200sq ft house just fine. We have 8’ ceilings, I would think a FW 3000 or FW2700 would work well in your neck of the woods.

I have had no problems with it & Century technical has been helpful & any parts I have needed have been no problem to get.

I bought my stove pipe & hearth pad from Menards also.

View attachment 280518

I can't find that Menards carries any Century products anymore. It seems to be all Vogelzang, Pleasant Hearth, and Ashley. I also have 8' ceilings. I do check around for used stoves but most of the ones I see here are either labeled "antique" despite being maybe 10 years old and are priced at higher than new, or are in terrible condition. Thank you for the vote for Century, in case I do find one.

I should go check out the one fireplace store in Wichita next time I'm there. I fully expect it will be geared more towards the fancy fireplace inserts but I should at least say I checked.

 

[wjohn]

I would drive to Tulsa and back for a Morso. But I can’t imagine stove and pipe being under 1k even with tax credit.

Right, I can't find any pricing online but I don't think they can be cheap. Tulsa is a good 3.5+ hour drive, which is not out of the question.

 

[wjohn]

Got the picture. Straight up and out is definitely the best. We have a corner install and this is how our stove is installed. It sounds like you will be restoring the room ceiling and then putting in a ceiling support box and chimney pipe. Is that correct? The stove will need 14" corner clearance according to the manual.

Correct. I will have to patch the sheetrock and then make a new hole a foot or so away in the next truss bay. 14" corner clearance and 22" wall to flue. I am going to do a little looking around at slightly larger stoves in the chance that by giving myself a couple inches more of clearance with this setup, I could (if needed) drop in a slightly larger stove in the future with no/minimal modifications to the chimney.

I left this part of my remodel for last - I replaced windows and some sheetrock in the rest of the house, removed the ancient central air system, installed house wrap, sealed penetrations into the attic, added insulation baffles, etc. and left the fireplace alone in hopes that I was losing too much heat/pulling in too much cold air from the rest of the house. It does look nice, to be fair. However I have pretty well proven that this fireplace needs to go after all of the other work didn't make any noticeable improvement when trying to use the stove for heat. It did make a significant improvement when using the resistance heating though.

 

[Poindexter]

My grandparents lived in Abilene, KS, the main thing I remember is the wind. It just never stopped. Whatever stove you pick (I am not familiar with any of them) bring your A game to air sealing. Windows, doors, dryer vent, bathroom ventilation fan, seal that thing UP.

Get some blue chalk and mark up the airleaks you feel this winter do you can get after them next summer. You might look at a stove that can accomodate an Outside Air Kit or OAK as well so you aren't feeding the stove heated, conditioned, interior air. My next stove will definitely be on its own air circuit.

 

[moresnow]

I really like your setup. The layout is what I have in mind. The stone (or similar) on the walls is something I would like to do someday, but realistically, I know that will drop to the bottom of the priority list.

We did the stone years after the initial install. Not a big deal.
Guessing you have priced out the required components for the pipe etc. from Menards? Handy place to buy it.
Take a look at Drolet stoves also if you have not yet. They are well respected and reasonably priced.

 

[JimBear]

We did the stone years after the initial install. Not a big deal.
Guessing you have priced out the required components for the pipe etc. from Menards? Handy place to buy it.
Take a look at Drolet stoves also if you have not yet. They are well respected and reasonably priced.

I believe Drolet & Century are both made by SBI.

 

[wjohn]

My grandparents lived in Abilene, KS, the main thing I remember is the wind. It just never stopped. Whatever stove you pick (I am not familiar with any of them) bring your A game to air sealing. Windows, doors, dryer vent, bathroom ventilation fan, seal that thing UP.

Get some blue chalk and mark up the airleaks you feel this winter do you can get after them next summer. You might look at a stove that can accomodate an Outside Air Kit or OAK as well so you aren't feeding the stove heated, conditioned, interior air. My next stove will definitely be on its own air circuit.

We do have crazy wind here. It is rarely still. After the remodel the house is in pretty good shape as far as that goes. The first winter here with the old central HVAC unit was brutal - poor performance and leaks everywhere. The packrats are also terrible here and chew through everything, even the subfloor of the house before I got everything fixed up. I have an OAK already in place since the current insert has one. I should be able to adapt it to the new stove with minimal effort.

 

[wjohn]

We did the stone years after the initial install. Not a big deal.
Guessing you have priced out the required components for the pipe etc. from Menards? Handy place to buy it.
Take a look at Drolet stoves also if you have not yet. They are well respected and reasonably priced.

That's where I came up with the ~$1000 for everything figure. That was assuming the Vogelzang stove + Selkirk chimney setup from Menards. More or less the chimney will be $500 regardless of what stove I go with since it doesn't change much. Everything I'm looking at takes 6" pipe.

I did some more research today based on everyone's great suggestions here. The Drolet Blackcomb II, Century FW2800, and Morso 2B Standard are pretty similar as far as clearance requirements relative to the flue location, and the corner clearance. Unfortunately none have retailers anywhere remotely close (like I can't even drive to any of them and back within a day) other than Morso in Tulsa. The 2B Standard looks to be about $1400 and does qualify for the credit but that is still well north of $1000. Looks like a place in Wichita has Buck and Jotul. Buck prices are out of the question. The smallest Jotul (F 602 V2) looks like it's $1100 or so, but is not efficient enough to be eligible for the credit. It's too bad I can't seem to get Century or Drolet around here.

So far the Vogelzang is still the top contender. I know it's cheap and I'm sure the product reflects that, but without access to the Drolet or the Century, I'm not seeing many other options at the lower end of the spectrum.

 

[EbS-P]

Vogelzang is still the top contender. I know it's cheap and I'm sure the product reflects that,

I think you’ve done your research and keep coming back to it. Any reports on how well they stand by their warranty? At any rate think about adding an air control in the OAK. Those cold windy nights when the wind gusts over 60 could make any stove easy to overfire, one time might be all it takes to warp it. Hope it ends up working well for you as it appears to me the the 1k install is probably a pretty common budget and have a UL listed appliance that works good enough sure is better than a someone putting a camp stove inside.

 

[wjohn]

I think you’ve done your research and keep coming back to it. Any reports on how well they stand by their warranty? At any rate think about adding an air control in the OAK. Those cold windy nights when the wind gusts over 60 could make any stove easy to overfire, one time might be all it takes to warp it. Hope it ends up working well for you as it appears to me the the 1k install is probably a pretty common budget and have a UL listed appliance that works good enough sure is better than a someone putting a camp stove inside.

Good point on the OAK. I hadn't thought about putting a control on that side of things. My OAK intake is on the east side of the house and is sheltered by some other buildings, so it's probably not as bad as if it were just sticking out on the north or the south. Those are the prevailing winds here.

I can't find a lot on Vogelzang but it's US Stove. There are good and bad reviews out there.

On the research front, I've found that the 1200 and 2200 Pleasant Hearth models meet the credit efficiency requirement, per their certificate: (broken link removed)

I can't find the 1200 in the EPA database, however. I also can't find the 1200 for sale anywhere. Maybe it's still in the works. Menards carries the 2200 for $850, and it qualifies for the credit, so that's pretty appealing: https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...tove-2-200-sq-ft/ph2200ws/p-1560752891023.htm

However I'm thinking that is way too big of a stove for my little <800 square foot place. Thoughts?

Hopefully this thread can at least end up being a reference for folks in a similar situation looking as these sizes of stoves.

 

[begreen]

It would be overkill if the house is tight and well-insulated. It could be made to work by burning only partial loads and letting them burn out or just adding a couple of logs at a time every few hours. Adding the 400 sq ft would help it be a better fit, but that would depend on the addition's connection to the existing house and its insulation, sealing, and glazing.