1920 house size 1000sqf

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vixster

Member
Nov 20, 2010
148
Rockland Co , ny
Greetings Everyone,
This is my first time positing here. I've spent some time searching and reading. But I haven't really found my scenario.
So here it goes.
I have an older home, that doesn't really seem to have any insulation. The interior walls and ceilings are plaster on wood lathe and the exterior is stucco. The house is aprox. 1000 sqf. The living room is connected to the dinning room by a arch style wall because they are supporting walls. The living room is aprox 30x10 and the dining room is the 15x10, with the kitchen nearby. Then there is a floor above with 3 rooms and a finish attic.
The two stoves I am considering is Hearthstone Craftsbury and the Hearthstone Shelburne. The Craftsbury is rated for 1300sf; and the Shelburne is rate up to 1800sqf Both stoves require the same size hearth. So the question, should I go for the larger stove in this smaller house and not burn a hot fire while using the living room? Then at night I can fill it up and run it for the night...
Also, does the enamel finish have more of an maintenance issue after it's been used over the years?
I look forward to your thoughts, and thanks for listening.
 
I think were I you, I'd go with the larger stove for these reasons:

1. You don't have to load the stove to the gills to get a hot fire for shoulder seasons, but when you need the extra capacity, you've got it.

2. The extra capacity in the firebox will help with the overnight burns - but remember there is a difference between burn times that in the end leave you with coals to re-start the fire in the morning vs useful heat burn times.

3. If you have a drafty house, as do I, and no plans on insulating anytime soon, than again the larger stove would be my choice.

I wouldn't be concerned with the enamel finish - go for it, they look great!

Good luck,
Bill
 
Thanks Bill,
How does the flat black wear? Does the enamel scratch up as one fill the box with wood?
Now I am getting excited....
V
 
My house is 1250 square feet in Central NY (colder than the Hudson Valley). I can heat my house with a 1.6 cubic foot firebox down to ~20 degrees F, but I have insulated my old house very well (R-16 walls, R-19 floors, R-40 attic with great attic hatch sealing and insulating) and my windows are in good shape and covered with storm windows.

Why not consider insulation first? Getting your walls blown in is not that expensive (I paid $2000 for this) and I insulated the basement ceiling and attic floor myself for ~$1200. Your house will feel more comfortable no matter what stove you use since there will be fewer drafts and fewer cold walls/ceilings/floors. Plus, the heat in the house will be more even.

Also, you should consider what you want to use the stove for - 24/7 burning, or to reduce your oil/gas consumption by 50-75%. The 24/7 burners always recommend getting a larger stove. Know how you plan to burn and you will get the right stove.

But if you are not going to insulate, you need to upsize...
 
I agree with DBoon. Attics are usually very easy to insulate. Also, once that plaster heats up it's going to sit and radiate heat back in a beautiful way. The new houses are tighter, but drywall just doesn't absorb and give back heat like a few tons of plaster.

Matt
 
Thank you.
In the metro NYC area I think spraying insulation is much more. And I don't think it can be done with the walls that exists. The attic roof is insulated because I had the roof replaced down to the wood and re shingled. The drafts by our feet are so horrible. I am not sure if the drafts come up from the unfinished basement or where the house joins the foundations walls. I think I will go with the larger stove because I will want to burn for most of the winter, possible 24/7 and I will be fighting the drafts of this house. I don't want another Winter of feeling chilled all the time. I'm going to with the Hearthstone Shelburne.
I find everyones input invaluable. Thank you!
Vix
 
vixster said:
Thank you.
In the metro NYC area I think spraying insulation is much more. And I don't think it can be done with the walls that exists. The attic roof is insulated because I had the roof replaced down to the wood and re shingled. The drafts by our feet are so horrible. I am not sure if the drafts come up from the unfinished basement or where the house joins the foundations walls. I think I will go with the larger stove because I will want to burn for most of the winter, possible 24/7 and I will be fighting the drafts of this house. I don't want another Winter of feeling chilled all the time. I'm going to with the Hearthstone Shelburne.
I find everyones input invaluable. Thank you!
Vix


Make sure you get the blower! It is a convection stove, the blower is important on this stove.
 
I don't understand why I would need the blower? What would the blower do exactly?
 
vixster said:
Thanks Bill,
How does the flat black wear? Does the enamel scratch up as one fill the box with wood?
Now I am getting excited....
V

I think the thing about flat black (not an enamel finish) is that you can re-paint it.

I've never owned an enamel finished wood stove, but was around some old warm morning coal/wood stoves with the enamel finish (may have been porcelin) and maybe a chip here and there, but very easy on the eyes - especially with the colors stove mfg's have today.

Good luck,
Bill
 
All most forgot - don't limit your stove selection to the ones you have listed. Spend plenty of time searching this forum and reading about a variety of stoves/brands. There are some GREAT stoves out there - much better than the old smoke dragons I grew-up with.

I changed my mind at least 4 times before I settled on my Woodstock Keystone and one of the driving factors for me was the soapstone's ability to produce constant heat vs. what I would call hot flashes of heat that the steel and cast iron stoves of my past put out because I have a small house too. Another reason was for the cat. In the shoulder seasons, I wanted to be able to turn down the stove and still get a clean burn - so far so good. But on the other hand, I think I would have liked the Woodstock Fireview to get some extra wood capacity for overnight/longer burns.

Bill
 
vixster said:
I don't understand why I would need the blower? What would the blower do exactly?


It will help distribute the heat quicker and better. And since this is your (seemingly) first stove purchase, it will also help you meet your expectations for how the stove will feel when in use.
 
Bill:
Problem is that I want a turnkey solution. Woodstock does not go through resellers, so I would have to find someone to put pipe outside building up to the top, And work with sofit. And find someone to build the hearth. The store I am going through also sells hearth pads. I know it sounds all cheesy, but I want easy. (haha)
Browning:
I actually have purchased stove about 18+ years ago, and I love it. It's a heartstone soapstone. It's massive, I don't recall the model name. It has the side door. I believe the logs can be larger then 24", I don't recall exactly. The stove nicely heats a 4000sf house. I love burning with it, I really learned to control it.. I feel a lot out of touch with the way the technology has changed, double burning and CAT. I believe it does not have a CAT. And we never put a blower on it. We have a ceiling fan. Perhaps in this small house the blower may be advisable. Also, is it not true that todays stoves do NOT heat up the pipe (12/24" up from stove) like the old ones because of the double burning? if so what's the point of a thermonitor?

Thanks!!
 
vixster said:
I actually have purchased stove about 18+ years ago, and I love it. It's a heartstone soapstone. It's massive, I don't recall the model name. It has the side door. I believe the logs can be larger then 24", I don't recall exactly. The stove nicely heats a 4000sf house. I love burning with it, I really learned to control it.. I feel a lot out of touch with the way the technology has changed, double burning and CAT. I believe it does not have a CAT. And we never put a blower on it. We have a ceiling fan. Perhaps in this small house the blower may be advisable. Also, is it not true that todays stoves do NOT heat up the pipe (12/24" up from stove) like the old ones because of the double burning? if so what's the point of a thermonitor?

Thanks!!


-None of Hearthstone's models are cat stoves.

-Thermometers make sure you are not over burning the stove and gives you a better understanding of how you are burning. Not sure of your connection between losing heat up the pipe and the need for a thermometer.
 
I was told that because the the "double burn" process that the pipes don't get as hot. Does that sound wrong? incorrect?
 
vixster said:
I was told that because the the "double burn" process that the pipes don't get as hot. Does that sound wrong? incorrect?


That doesn't seem accurate.
 
vixster said:
We have a ceiling fan. Perhaps in this small house the blower may be advisable.

If you decide against the blower, there are still ways to help move heat, in addition to a ceiling fan. One is to have a fan on the floor that blows cooler air from another room into the room with the stove. If your stove is going into a fireplace hearth, another floor fan can be pointed towards the back of the stove and/or back of the hearth to achieve some of the results a blower can provide. The fans can be used as needed - you may find need only in very cold weather.
 
Humm, curious.. Would you know if most stoves use the double burn process? Or just Hearthstone?
Thanks
V
 
BrowningBAR said:
vixster said:
I was told that because the the "double burn" process that the pipes don't get as hot. Does that sound wrong? incorrect?


That doesn't seem accurate.

No, it doesn't seem accurate. Modern stoves are not airtight, so they can actually burn a bit hotter and cleaner. Cat stoves do the secondary burn at lower temps, so the pipes on those stoves might be cooler than burn-tube stoves like Hearthstone.
 
vixster said:
Humm, curious.. Would you know if most stoves use the double burn process? Or just Hearthstone?
Thanks
V

Non-cats use burn tubes. Cat stoves have catalysts. Both are forms of secondary burns [double burn].
 
branchburner said:
BrowningBAR said:
vixster said:
I was told that because the the "double burn" process that the pipes don't get as hot. Does that sound wrong? incorrect?


That doesn't seem accurate.

No, it doesn't seem accurate. Modern stoves are not airtight, so they can actually burn a bit hotter and cleaner. Cat stoves do the secondary burn at lower temps, so the pipes on those stoves might be cooler than burn-tube stoves like Hearthstone.


But the pipes still get hot/warm. I just took a temp reading with my IR gun and the cat stove and Pre-EPA stove had temps that were close. Both were running at about 500°F stove top with exterior pipe temps in the 180-230°F range.
 
vixster said:
Humm, curious.. Would you know if most stoves use the double burn process? Or just Hearthstone?
Thanks
V

All newer EPA stoves re-burn smoke, but in several different ways:
1) cat stoves lower the burn point of smoke
2) burn tube stoves inject preheated air into the firebox to ignite smoke
3) downdraft stoves force smoke into a specially designed re-burn chamber
 
BrowningBAR said:
I just took a temp reading with my IR gun and the cat stove and Pre-EPA stove had temps that were close. Both were running at about 500°F stove top with exterior pipe temps in the 180-230°F range.

Two out of three ain't bad - what about the Hearthstone? Does its pipe run the hottest, in general?
 
branchburner said:
BrowningBAR said:
I just took a temp reading with my IR gun and the cat stove and Pre-EPA stove had temps that were close. Both were running at about 500°F stove top with exterior pipe temps in the 180-230°F range.

Two out of three ain't bad - what about the Hearthstone? Does its pipe run the hottest, in general?


The hearthstone doesn't get hooked up until December 13th. Looking forward to it. I have my doubts the Hearthstone pipe will run noticeably hotter than the Pre-EPA stove.
 
vixster said:
I was told that because the the "double burn" process that the pipes don't get as hot. Does that sound wrong? incorrect?

I believe it depends upon the stove.

For example, Blaze King is another manufacturer of cat stoves (King and Princess), and their flues can be quite cool under low burn--around 200F.

If you have the inclination, take the time to read the threads, informational articles, and stove reviews. They are very informative and will help you to buy a stove that's a better match for you, and to burn it better.

Wood burning is an ancient practice, but mastering it is a surprisingly complex, subtle, and rewarding art and science. Good luck!
 
I have the porcelain-coated Shelburne with the blower and love it. I use the blower to get heat from the stove out into the room faster than it would do otherwise. Once the place is warm, I turn the blower down or off. I also get heat radiating from the black single-wall flue which extends 10' straight up from the stove to ceiling. Because of the 18' 12/12 pitch ceiling, I also want to get a ceiling fan. This'll keep temperatures more even (top to bottom). As it is, when it's warm down below, it's roasting in the loft.

Let us know when you get the Shelburne installed (and include photos).
 
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