Advice needed.....moving from pellet to wood stove!

[RWJonesy]

My first post! Greetings from Upstate Central NY. I bought a home 6 years ago that came equipped with a pellet stove. I burn 5 tons of pellets through a typical winter and while I enjoy the convenience and cleanliness of a pellet stove I would like to buy a woodstove that could also be used to cook on if and when I lose power. I currently heat about 2500 square feet quite easily with my pellet stove due to the entire house being insulated very well. Even my finished basement is insulated on every wall with 1 1/4" pink foam board. I was talking with my Amish neighbour who recommended using triple wall steel piping over the brick chimney simply for cost as I plan to drill the existing hole in the wall to accommodate the larger piping used for the wood stove. I could use some advice about the things I need to consider regarding how to install the stove properly. I am told by the previous owner that I could use the block of the basement foundation as a firewall by cutting away the foam board. I wonder if anybody could give me any suggestions on a reliable quality medium sized wood stove that I could boil a pot of water and even heat a frying pan on? Also, any other things I need to consider in the "switching out" process. Thank you for your time.

 

[begreen]

Welcome. Take some time to plan this one out well. In your area I would go for a large stove. A good value would be the Englander 30NC or the Drolet HT2000. There are articles here on what will be needed for clearances in addition to the manufacturer's requirements for the stove. If you are going through block wall then yes, what you need to do is remove the foam insulation board. It could be replaced with a mineral board like Fiberfrax, Roxul or Micore to retain some insulation. (Concrete walls suck out heat). Go with a good double-wall class A chimney pipe instead of triple-wall and your wall opening will be 8" instead of 10".
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/passing_a_chimney

 

[RWJonesy]

Thank you Begreen for your thoughtful reply. I looked into that Englander NC30. It gets good reviews as "best bang for the buck" model. Had a fella offer me his 1972 Fisher for $400. It looks like a beast! Thing is, I don't want an old stove that leaks too much smoke in an airtight home I have. Is that Fisher a deal? What to look for in a quality stove ?

 

[Highbeam]

Yes, avoid triple wall. Look for double wall class A.

Then you don't say but it is bad news to have uncovered XPS insulation in the basement at all and especially near a stove. It is supposed to be covered with something like sheetrock.

 

[begreen]

Thank you Begreen for your thoughtful reply. I looked into that Englander NC30. It gets good reviews as "best bang for the buck" model. Had a fella offer me his 1972 Fisher for $400. It looks like a beast! Thing is, I don't want an old stove that leaks too much smoke in an airtight home I have. Is that Fisher a deal? What to look for in a quality stove ?

Pass on the Fisher. There has been some major progress in stove design between when that was built and now. An EPA stove will burn cleaner and more efficiently which means less wood burned to get more heat. Here's a link to some good background articles:
http://woodheat.org/wood-appliances.html
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/read-before-posting-or-answering-which-new-stove-to-buy.115094/

To have the best success you are going to need a goodly stash of fully seasoned wood. It is getting late and most wood sellers' version of "seasoned wood" is not fully seasoned. At this date you might want to look for a few cords of kiln dried wood or some quality compressed fuel bricks or logs.

 

[Grisu]

To have the best success you are going to need a goodly stash of fully seasoned wood. It is getting late and most wood sellers' version of "seasoned wood" is not fully seasoned. At this date you might want to look for a few cords of kiln dried wood or some quality compressed fuel bricks or logs.

That, or keep your pellet stove for another winter while you get your wood split and stacked ASAP. You will get then about 1.5 years of drying time. That should be good for most wood species except really dense hardwoods like oak, hickory etc. I would calculate about 4 cords of hardwood to replace the 5 tons of pellets per winter. Maybe put up 5 to be on the safe side.

 

[RWJonesy]

Thank you Gentlemen for your replies. I appreciate the words of wisdom. I think I know of a fella who has seasoned firewood because he is always cutting wood well in advance. I really want to move to firewood stove.

 

[Grisu]

Thank you Gentlemen for your replies. I appreciate the words of wisdom. I think I know of a fella who has seasoned firewood because he is always cutting wood well in advance. I really want to move to firewood stove.

If he did also split and stack the wood several years ago you will be good to go. However, just cutting it and leaving it lying around in rounds will do little for drying.

What kind of existing chimney do you have? If it as masonry, dropping an insulated liner down there will be cheaper than building a new double-wall class A chimney. How is your current hearth constructed? Make sure you have the required clearances and thermal protection for the stove you are considering. The Englander 30NC needs a hearth with a r-value of 1.5 for example.

Do you have an overall budget in mind?