2nd stove upstairs......any ideas anyone?

[Newburnerwisconsin]

I currently have a hearthstone heritage in my basement. We are considering a second stove for upstairs. We really like the hearthstone, so perhaps we could move the hearthstone upstairs and buy a another stove as the main heater for the basement or leave the hearthstone in the basement and buy a smaller stove for upstairs. Either way the hearthstone stays. House is 2200 square ft. I am thinking blaze king or jotul. Possible pacific energy. Does anyone have any ideas for me? Thanks

 

[begreen]

All good brands. Is the basement insulated and finished? Is it a place where you want a nice looking stove or would a simple black box suffice?

 

[Newburnerwisconsin]

All good brands. Is the basement insulated and finished? Is it a place where you want a nice looking stove or would a simple black box suffice?

The stove has to look nice as it will be in the upstairs living room. We want something that heats up fast so that's why I am thinking cast iron. Upstairs level is 1100 square ft. I am thinking jotul f3cb or f400. Do you know anything about these two stoves? Thanks

 

[begreen]

Yes, we've owned both. They had the blue-black enamel finish.
The F3CB is a nice little area heater. It doesn't have a large firebox capacity so expect average 3-4 hrs between reloads. It's a willing little stove though and will cruise at 650F putting out decent heat during that time. The air controls are a little coarse as compared to its bigger siblings, but overall the fit and finish is good.
The F400 is a beauty, especially in enamel. It has a large fireview and will burn 5-8 hrs between reloads. The air control is smooth and easy. The one issue that needs to be watched is draft when rear-venting. The firebox is shallow and wide which can allow for smoke spillage when the door is opened if the draft is weak. You'll want to have adequate chimney height for this stove.

 

[Handsonautotech]

The stove has to look nice as it will be in the upstairs living room. We want something that heats up fast so that's why I am thinking cast iron. Upstairs level is 1100 square ft. I am thinking jotul f3cb or f400. Do you know anything about these two stoves? Thanks

If you like the heritage have you considered another soapstone stove? Heartstone makes a pheonix that is soapstone with a cast iron door. This gives you the fast heat of cast iron with the detention qualities of the soap stone.

Woodstock is another manufacturer of soapstone stoves. They have catalytic stoves. If your feeling confident about your stove running ability woodstock boasts 10 hour plus burn times.

 

[Woody Stover]

Is the basement insulated and finished? Is it a place where you want a nice looking stove or would a simple black box suffice?

Yes, these are questions I would be asking before deciding what approach to heating I would take. Is the basement finished? This will affect weather you can heat the upstairs to some extent from the basement, or weather 1/3 of your heat will be headed outside through un-insulated block walls. Also, is the basement stove close to the stairs so that heat can move upstairs freely? Do you spend a lot of time in the basement, or more time upstairs? What about the upstairs stove location? Is it central to an open floor plan, where heat can move freely to other rooms?

 

[Handsonautotech]

Yes, these are questions I would be asking before deciding what approach to heating I would take. Is the basement finished? This will affect weather you can heat the upstairs to some extent from the basement, or weather 1/3 of your heat will be headed outside through un-insulated block walls. Also, is the basement stove close to the stairs so that heat can move upstairs freely? Do you spend a lot of time in the basement, or more time upstairs? What about the upstairs stove location? Is it central to an open floor plan, where heat can move freely to other rooms?

He stated in the OP that the stove is already in the basement. He is adding another stove up stairs. He is looking for stove ideas for upstairs. He also stated he would be willing to move the heritage upstairs and buy another stove to act as the main in the basement. With this information I think we can assume the heritage is heating the basement area fine and he wants to get something to heat the upper floor.

 

[begreen]

What I was getting at is - would a simple, steel stove suffice in the basement if the Heritage is moved upstairs or would you prefer something fancier? The OP answered the question.

 

[Woody Stover]

He also stated he would be willing to move the heritage upstairs and buy another stove to act as the main in the basement.With this information I think we can assume the heritage is heating the basement area fine and he wants to get something to heat the upper floor.

Or we can assume the he will move the Heritage upstairs and get another stove for the basement.
The fact that he is calling the downstairs stove the "main heater" leads me to believe that he may be doing as many other folks with a stove on each level do; That is, run the downstairs stove most of the time, which heats the upstairs pretty well in average conditions, and only fire the upstairs stove when it gets cold and nasty outside, or they just want a fire for ambiance. If the house is fairly tight, this can work well, and you can have a blower on the downstairs stove without the noise upstairs. That's why I'm trying to gauge how well heat may be getting upstairs, and where they spend most of their time. We really don't know at this point what exactly he is trying to do...

 

[Handsonautotech]

Or we can assume the he will move the Heritage upstairs and get another stove for the basement.
The fact that he is calling the downstairs stove the "main heater" leads me to believe that he may be doing as many other folks with a stove on each level do; That is, run the downstairs stove most of the time, which heats the upstairs pretty well in average conditions, and only fire the upstairs stove when it gets cold and nasty outside, or they just want a fire for ambiance. If the house is fairly tight, this can work well, and you can have a blower on the downstairs stove without the noise upstairs. That's why I'm trying to gauge how well heat may be getting upstairs, and where they spend most of their time. We really don't know at this point what exactly he is trying to do...

My point was that what ever his insulation condition is in the basement, a heritage seems to be getting the job done, since he said he may just leave it there and put the new unit upstairs. I guess I can not argue that the info you asked for would certainly still be good to have.

 

[Newburnerwisconsin]

Or we can assume the he will move the Heritage upstairs and get another stove for the basement.
The fact that he is calling the downstairs stove the "main heater" leads me to believe that he may be doing as many other folks with a stove on each level do; That is, run the downstairs stove most of the time, which heats the upstairs pretty well in average conditions, and only fire the upstairs stove when it gets cold and nasty outside, or they just want a fire for ambiance. If the house is fairly tight, this can work well, and you can have a blower on the downstairs stove without the noise upstairs. That's why I'm trying to gauge how well heat may be getting upstairs, and where they spend most of their time. We really don't know at this point what exactly he is trying to do...

I am looking for a stove to help the hearthstone when it gets really cold....single digits.....to help heat the upstars.

 

[Handsonautotech]

I am looking for a stove to help the hearthstone when it gets really cold....single digits.....to help heat the upstars.

Ive been reading through the blaze king thread and I am impressed. I think my second stove will be a woodstock though as I just love how the hearthstone doesnt cook you outnof the room.

 

[Newburnerwisconsin]

Ive been reading through the blaze king thread and I am impressed. I think my second stove will be a woodstock though as I just love how the hearthstone doesnt cook you outnof the room.

I am thinking the same thing. A woodstock keystone or fireview. We will get the longer burn times and the soapstone benefits. You are right about the Heritage. It's a great stove in my opinion. Woodstock seems to have better customer service. When I have called them, I was treated very well.

 

[Woody Stover]

I am thinking the same thing. A woodstock keystone or fireview.

The Fireview has a little more output and a little bigger box but I kept the Keystone because I like the bigger window and the grated ash-handling system. The Woodstocks are conservatively rated as far as area heated. Both are easy to operate and service, and are built to high quality standards. They are radiant stoves, which work well for us since our 1000 sq.ft. is just a main open area, then a bedroom. Insulation and air-sealing here aren't the greatest but it's not as cold here as it is in WI, so that may be a wash. The burn times with useful heat are pretty long but you don't get the big flame show, particularly when going for a long, low cat burn, which is really how they like to run.

 

[Handsonautotech]

I am thinking the same thing. A woodstock keystone or fireview. We will get the longer burn times and the soapstone benefits. You are right about the Heritage. It's a great stove in my opinion. Woodstock seems to have better customer service. When I have called them, I was treated very well.

I hear woodstock is great to work with. They were friendly when I called them. I will probably get one for our basement after I finish it.