Decisions, decisions

[momo7]

Hi everybody newcomer here and I could use some help, please.
We used to live in a raised bungalow (approx. 2700 sq ft) heated completely by a wood stove in the basement. Loved it! Have gotten used to warm floors - barefeet all year long. I live in Ontario so most people are impressed by that. We're bulding a new home - 2100 sq ft, two storey, unfinished but of course fully insulated, as I said we do live in Ontario, basement. We're also going to be off grid. I would really like a cook stove (don't know the brand yet, that decision can wait for another day). Do you guys think we need a regular wood stove as well? If so, where would we put it? I really don't like to be cold and I'm kind of partial to warm floors. We'll have propane something as back up but we don't plan on really using it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tfdchief]

Lot of choices here http://www.woodstoves.net/cookstoves.htm

 

[BrowningBAR]

Hi everybody newcomer here and I could use some help, please.
We used to live in a raised bungalow (approx. 2700 sq ft) heated completely by a wood stove in the basement. Loved it! Have gotten used to warm floors - barefeet all year long. I live in Ontario so most people are impressed by that. We're bulding a new home - 2100 sq ft, two storey, unfinished but of course fully insulated, as I said we do live in Ontario, basement. We're also going to be off grid. I would really like a cook stove (don't know the brand yet, that decision can wait for another day). Do you guys think we need a regular wood stove as well? If so, where would we put it? I really don't like to be cold and I'm kind of partial to warm floors. We'll have propane something as back up but we don't plan on really using it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Question on cook stoves; doesn't it make the kitchen hotter than hell during the summer?

 

[momo7]

Tfdchief - thanks for the link, I hadn't seen all of those cookstoves.

Browningbar - sorry, didn't explain completely - will have a toaster oven to use in the summer when we hopefully will have lots of power and project for next year is outdoor bread oven.

 

[tfdchief]

Tfdchief - thanks for the link, I hadn't seen all of those cookstoves.

Browningbar - sorry, didn't explain completely - will have a toaster oven to use in the summer when we hopefully will have lots of power and project for next year is outdoor bread oven.

Do you guys think we need a regular wood stove as well?

I forgot to answer your other question. With that size house and 2 levels, I would think you would need another stove. I have one in my living room and one in my kitchen, one level, House/rooms layout is the big thing.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hi everybody newcomer here and I could use some help, please.
We used to live in a raised bungalow (approx. 2700 sq ft) heated completely by a wood stove in the basement. Loved it! Have gotten used to warm floors - barefeet all year long. I live in Ontario so most people are impressed by that. We're bulding a new home - 2100 sq ft, two storey, unfinished but of course fully insulated, as I said we do live in Ontario, basement. We're also going to be off grid. I would really like a cook stove (don't know the brand yet, that decision can wait for another day). Do you guys think we need a regular wood stove as well? If so, where would we put it? I really don't like to be cold and I'm kind of partial to warm floors. We'll have propane something as back up but we don't plan on really using it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the forum momo7.

If you do get a cook stove it is doubtful you can heat the whole house with that but a regular stove and a cook stove will compliment each other. Remember that a cook stove and heating stove are run a bit different. In addition, 2100 sq ft is not a small space to heat so you need a rather large heating stove. Good luck on your projects.

 

[begreen]

I'm going to be in rare disagreement with Dennis on this one for a couple reasons. First is that this house will be excellently sealed and insulated, correct? If you do a good job of glazing, then its heating requirements can be reasonable. If the house is designed, oriented and optimized for solar gain, then it should be pretty easy to heat. Second is that there are new generations of wood cook stoves that have much larger fireboxes than those of yore. For example the Pioneer Princess is almost 3 cu ft! I would look at Esse, Heartland, Pioneer, Bakers and Aga cookstoves.

That said, if this were my place and it was in a shaded location with poor sun exposure, I would also have a smaller stove to carry the load in milder weather and to provide reserves for the extra cold deep winter days. Something like a Keystone or an Alderlea T5.

 

[Jags]

There are a couple, but not many cook stoves that will have the longevity needed to heat 24/7. Because of the new construction and codes required in your area you will be ahead of the game, but I think you will find a second stove to be very useful. Maybe consider a cat stove for the low and slow burn or even a soap stone to help even out the burn cycle temp swings.

 

[begreen]

Yes, it is a matter of the house and lifestyle. Though a good stove will act just like soapstone. With a 2.5+ cu ft firebox and a 650-700# hunk of iron, you don't get big temperature swings. And after the fire dies down a heavy cookstove will retain heat for hours.

 

[Jags]

Yes, it is a matter of the house and lifestyle. Though a good stove will act just like soapstone. With a 2.5+ cu ft firebox and a 650-700# hunk of iron, you don't get big temperature swings. And after the fire dies down a heavy cookstove will retain heat for hours.

Very true - some are quite massive and make a very good heat sink.