I am having trouble deciding on what size wood stove to install in my new home. I grew up with Vermont Castings wood stoves and actually installed an old Vigilant in my detatched garage last winter. Seeing as how I am partial to VC stoves, I am trying to decide between the Defiant 2 in 1 and Defiant Encore 2 in 1 stoves. I will tell you though, I have my heart set on the Defiant largely due to appearance but also because of the long burn time from its large firebox.
I plan on placing the stove on the first floor, against the wall that separates the garage from the home. That places it almost perfectly centered in the layout. The first floor is about 700 sq ft of open space, and the upstairs is about 1300 sq ft. I plan on cutting vents in every room to allow heat to enter the 2nd floor, and a central return duct with a fan to circulate the heat through the house.
My fear is that the Defiant may be too large of a stove for my application. However, I work long hours and I am gone 11 hours each day so I could really benefit from the "14 hour" claimed burn time of the Defiant. Im sure those claims are a bit optimistic, but I would think that if they are claiming 14, then I should be able to get 11 out of it.
I would greatly appreciate any input. My main reason for doing this is to reduce my need for heating oil to as close to zero as possible. Wood is much easier to come by!
I plan on placing the stove on the first floor, against the wall that separates the garage from the home. That places it almost perfectly centered in the layout. The first floor is about 700 sq ft of open space, and the upstairs is about 1300 sq ft. I plan on cutting vents in every room to allow heat to enter the 2nd floor, and a central return duct with a fan to circulate the heat through the house.
My fear is that the Defiant may be too large of a stove for my application. However, I work long hours and I am gone 11 hours each day so I could really benefit from the "14 hour" claimed burn time of the Defiant. Im sure those claims are a bit optimistic, but I would think that if they are claiming 14, then I should be able to get 11 out of it.
I would greatly appreciate any input. My main reason for doing this is to reduce my need for heating oil to as close to zero as possible. Wood is much easier to come by!