900sq ft w/wood stove = how much wood?

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you should make the investment for sure! my thermostat kicked on this morning (it was set to 65) and it drove me nuts! maybe i should have not left the windows open from when the stove was cranking last night! while you can adjust your stove to burn at a lower temp, you can't adjust a smaller stove to go bigger! That is also assuming you are burning optimally every time.... i think you will be ok with a bigger stove.
 
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Thanks Dobish. From what I'm researching, it's the Englander Madison and has gotten awesome reviews. I think I'm set on this model. I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't burn through too much wood. Looks like the secondary burn helps make the wood last. I'm in Maryland. Do you think 2 cords will be enough? It's only 1024 feet so I'm hoping I won't need to load it to the gills with wood since it's half what the stove is rated for.

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I wouldn't worry about roasting yourself out; Those brick/plaster walls are going to suck heat out like there's no tomorrow. _g
 
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Sorry for reviving an old thread. I'm looking at buying a wood stove to supplement / replace my gas furnace. I live in an end unit 1024 foot 2 story brick townhouse ( unfinished basement ) and am looking at the England 2000 wood stove ( 50-SHSSW01 ). Theres zero insulation on the exterior walls as they are plaster on brick. This wood stove is rated at 50,000 btu and up to 2,000 Sq foot heating. Being that the house I'm heating is half that in size, I'm trying to figure out if 1) Is this model overkill? And 2) roughly how many cords of wood will I need. I will leave my trane xr80 35,000 btu furnace installed just in case but want to try setting it to 50 so it doesn't kick on all winter hopefully. I will likely have to remove the thermostat and place it elsewhere since it's on the wall where the wood stove is going lol.

Looking at all the parts for the wood stove and wall chimney piping, I figure I should come out around $1500 with self installation ( looks easy enough ). At 250 / cord in MD at a minimum of 2 cords, that's another $500. Heating kills me every year and I'm thinking this will pay itself off in 1-2 yrs. Should I make this investment?



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If you are going to start cutting your own wood yes. If not then no spend it on insulation and fuel. Fuel is cheaper then wood right now.
 
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If you are going to start cutting your own wood yes. If not then no spend it on insulation and fuel. Fuel is cheaper then wood right now.
That can depend on the locality. If the alternative is propane, that price can vary a lot. Locally it is still over $3/gal. while 75 miles north it's about $1.30.
 
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I will be cutting my own wood but for the first winter I'll likely have to buy it. I have a friend with 6-7 cords who will likely sell me a chunk of his for 100 ish. He said he gets wood offered from his tree cutting friend faster than he can store it. Next winter I'll have a full supply as he will let me pick up the wood with him to split. He will also let me stack the fresh wood and swap out with his seasoned piles at his house because he always has 2-3 years worth of wood saved :) once his reserve is full I'll start saving up a couple years worth at my place too.

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Well I just got my Madison. Boy does it look pretty. I can't wait to get the chimney in through the brick wall and fire her up.

Does the clearance on the sides look enough? I'm about 2 feet from the love seat. I'm good according to the manual.

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that is going to be an awfully warm spot to sit in !!!
It's actually a free floating chase sitting next to the sectional. I'll likely put it in another room if it gets way too hot. Do the sides get very hot or is it just from the high btu output? This is my first wood stove. Only ever had a fireplace in my childhood so there's going to be a lot of learning going on lol.

How close would you put something like an artificial tree to it? Is 1ft far enough away? 2 feet? Gotta get this all worked out before Christmas

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I'm also trying to figure out clearances on the walls. This house is an end unit townhouse and the wood stove is going through the exterior brick wall in the center of the house. I think it's 2 course brick and a 1 inch plaster on the brick. Zero insulation which is why I've been spending an enormous amount of money on heating previously. With the new Madison in place I think I won't have heat issues anymore since the house is only 1024 Sq foot ( 500 ish on each level ) not counting the basement ....and the Madison is rated for up to 2000sq ft.

I'm going to take a guess and say the outside wall is considered non combustible and I can get as close as 7.5 inches to the back wall. The side wall in the photo has wood so I'll keep the recommended 21.5 inches from it. Does that sound right? Thanks again !

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yes if the interior walls are combustible (most are) you'll need to meet or exceed the recommended 21.5 inch distance, that would include distance to fake trees as well, if it were me i'd keep the fake / real tree far away from it. i could be wrong but i think if the exterior wall is completely noncombusible then you can get closer than the 7.5 inch distance since that is clearance to combustibles.
 
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I didn't see anybody answer your question on how much wood you'll likely burn. I'd purchase 4 cords. I think you'll burn 3, but the learning curve will have you burning more, and as mentioned earlier, those bricks are going to suck heat. Anything left... Wood ready for next year!
 
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I didn't see anybody answer your question on how much wood you'll likely burn. I'd purchase 4 cords. I think you'll burn 3, but the learning curve will have you burning more, and as mentioned earlier, those bricks are going to suck heat. Anything left... Wood ready for next year!
Thank you. My coworker thinks I'll be closer to 2-3 cords and has been burning wood for 30 plus years. I'm going to see how much I can fit in my yard on your suggestion ( 4 cords ) without it looking bad. Keeping in mind I'm in a 2 level townhouse and the stove is literally centered. I may also add floor vents to pass through the heat upstairs. My home furnace is only rated at 35k btu and this is rated at 50. I don't think I'll need to burn full blast to keep it warm lol. Probably half loads are more than enough.

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yes if the interior walls are combustible (most are) you'll need to meet or exceed the recommended 21.5 inch distance, that would include distance to fake trees as well, if it were me i'd keep the fake / real tree far away from it. i could be wrong but i think if the exterior wall is completely noncombusible then you can get closer than the 7.5 inch distance since that is clearance to combustibles.
Plaster is non combustible. No wood at all. It's a 2 course brick wall with 1 inch of plaster on top. No drywall. From what I'm reading my whole wall is rated 1.3 r rating....lol. In my region r11 is the standard for insulation. I'm killing myself trying to heat this place in the winter lol.

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The stove doesn't put out a level 50. Think of a wave, this is what heat output looks like. It starts out low, spikes, and then drops off again. The bricks will level out temperature swings.
 
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It's actually a free floating chase sitting next to the sectional. I'll likely put it in another room if it gets way too hot. Do the sides get very hot or is it just from the high btu output? This is my first wood stove. Only ever had a fireplace in my childhood so there's going to be a lot of learning going on lol.

How close would you put something like an artificial tree to it? Is 1ft far enough away? 2 feet? Gotta get this all worked out before Christmas

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I suspect that anyone sitting in that spot would be roasting ... or feel as though they are slowly baking.

I personally would not be comfortable with a Christmas tree ... artificial even ... being so close to the stove. My concern would be if anything occur to tip the tree over on to the hot stove.
 
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Output, according to EPA:
View attachment 187412
Interesting. They advertise as 50k btu. Everyone with this model I've read about loves theirs ( once learning the Aas damper that is ). I will probably put the tree elsewhere. I do have a cat that likes to climb trees.....last thing I need is him knocking the tree over. Didn't think about that thanks. If the chase isn't a fire hazard I may just leave it there. If it gets too hot to sit there someone can move lol.

I measured 22 inch from the side wall and 21 inches to the couch on the other side. It should be safe.

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So just to be clear. You mention 21.5"s as the required sidewall clearance(although you mentioned it as recommended, if it is the certified clearance off the label it is not recommended it is required). So if your chase is only 21"s that's not going to cut it. The certified clearances are the minimum required. Myself I would not be comfortable with upholstery right at or a 1/2 inside min. Clearances. The minimumums are just that, the very minimum. A little extra clearance never hurt anything.
 
Interesting. They advertise as 50k btu. Everyone with this model I've read about loves theirs
Manufacturer claims should be taken with a grain of salt, with max sq.ft. heating numbers applying to homes with good insulation or in mild climates. But so should EPA numbers since their tests are run under very specific parameters. On the stoves I've run, the EPA numbers seem to correspond to what I see, as far as relative heat output between the different stoves. That said, I don't think you have to worry about being "over-stoved" with the Madison. It should do a good job at your place, and I bet you will love it too. :)
 
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We moved into a 120 yr old 1100 sq ft house with no insulation and electric heat last year and did well with a Jotul F400. We ran through about 3 cord and a ton of bio-brick to assist burning through the less "seasoned' wood in Central Mass. I have the same issue of trying to build a three year storage plan or having a happy wife, so with the success of burning bio-bricks last year we purchased three tons with the hope of allowing the wood on site to get at least two years of drying time. Was wondering if you had a garage or storage area where you could hide a ton to supplement your wood storage.
 
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Unfortunately not. My plan was to line the 40 foot long exterior wall with 4x8 wood racks. They hold between 1/2 and 3/4 cord each from what I've read. I'm thinking 3-4 racks should be enough for a year. Then I'll work on neatly lining them down the fence line. I think sorbet 5-6 would fit there.

First thing is to finish hooking it up lol

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Yes, I caught that. Was thinking it might be a good idea to move it to the other side of the wall in the adjacent room unless the plan is to not use the central heat at all.
 
Unfortunately not. My plan was to line the 40 foot long exterior wall with 4x8 wood racks. They hold between 1/2 and 3/4 cord each from what I've read. I'm thinking 3-4 racks should be enough for a year. Then I'll work on neatly lining them down the fence line. I think sorbet 5-6 would fit there.

First thing is to finish hooking it up lol

View attachment 187561
View attachment 187562

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you should probably fix your gutter too.... last thing you want is the gutter leaking right into your chimney.
 
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