Concrete slab floors and stove choice among other things

[oldironsmith]

We live in the southern half of Michigan's lower peninsula. We are planning to install a freestanding wood stove in a fireplace. The house is L shaped and the stove will be at the end wall of one leg of the L. The room the stove will be in (1st room) is 357 sq. ft. single story with a concrete slab floor, the entire end wall is masonry. Continuing toward the corner of the L the next room (2nd room) is two steps up through a 6 1/2 wide opening and is 195 sq. ft. The last room (3rd room) at the corner of the L is 155 sq.ft. and is entered through a standard door. At this point there is a hallway to the other leg of the L which we don't plan on heating with the stove.
The 2nd and 3rd rooms are above an insulated basement and also have a 2nd floor above them. The total square footage of the downstairs rooms 1, 2 & 3 is 707. The 2nd story (4th room) is accessed by a fairly open staircase from the 2nd room and is basically one large room with a small bathroom in one corner and walk-in closet in the other corner, totaling 425 sq. ft. Total square footage up and down is 1132. Total house square footage is 1850 (7 1/2 foot ceilings) but again we aren't looking to heat the other leg of the L with the stove. These measurements are interior: There seems to be difference of opinion on exterior house measurements (building envelope) and interior room space (living space) measurements.
My questions are:
1.Will the concrete slab floor and masonry end wall in the 1st room (with the stove) absorb a lot of stove heat ? (this room tends to be cool because its two steps lower than the rest of the 1st floor and its the slab floor)

We currently have baseboard hot water radiant heat which does not migrate upstairs much (the upstairs is its own zone if we want that area warmer).
2.Can we expect the same lack of heat migration upstairs from the radiant wood stove ?

We have been looking at Jotuls and the dealer recommended the f3cb (up to 1300 sq.ft.) He says too large a stove will cook us out of the room its in and we will end up burning it too low creating a lot of creosote. My gut leans toward the larger Castine (up to 1600 sq.ft.) Other stoves under consideration are the small Lopi republic 1250 and the Larger (Castine sized) Harman Oakleaf (a front and top loader that although listed as a non-cat, seems like maybe a modified cat with lower temps and longer burn times).

Any thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[begreen]

I would put a much larger stove in, especially if the masonry wall has no thermal break with outdoors and is not insulated. The wall alone could suck up a lot of heat.

It sounds like there is a reasonable opportunity for some of the heat to go upstairs too. With a properly placed fan, you may actually be able to get some to the rest of the house. For these reasons, I would go up to at least the Castine, but would seriously consider the Oslo if the intent is to burn 24/7. In Lopi, I would be looking at the Republic 1750 or Endeavor. The stove doesn't need to be run at full capacity when it's in the 30's and 40's. But when it is 20 or below, I expect it will be running with full loads and the comfort level will be fine. A fan, at floor level, blowing cold air into the room, towards the stove will help moderate temps and will improve heat circulation.