Firebox size and dimentions of stove - advise needed

[tontanaka]

Hello,

I am trying to pick a wood burning stove, and I came very close to choosing Oakwood from Harman, since I liked the top load and capacity seemed right for our house.
Then, I noticed that Isle Royale from Quadra fire is only a little taller, not much bigger as far as I can tell from owners manual, on outside dimensions.
We originally thought it was too big for our house, since it has firebox of 3.0 cf (compared to that of Oakwood, which is 2.3 cf), but since I like the front door of isle Royale a bit better, we are re-considering this one.

Do you know any downside of having a stove too powerful for a house? Is it possible to control the fire so that even the stove has capacity to heat up to 2,400 sf house, can be used to heat 1,700sf house confortably?

I really wanted to use the grill at the top of Oakwood, but I am assuming that we can still cook on the top of Isle Royale.....

If anyone has any opinions on this, could you please let me know?
Thank you very much!

 

[bluefrier]

Well, all stove manufacturer heating capacity number is "overstated". Some experts even recommend that you
only use "half" of the stated number if you are in a colder climate. If the stove is rated for 2400 sq ft and you are
heating 1700 sq ft I would say that's perfect. If you don't want alot of heat just use less wood to build your fire.

 

[Jags]

I heat a 110 yr old 1750 sqft farm house with it. Two things to note: it would be front door'ssss (it has two) and the Isle Royle is equipped with a griddle top (it also seconds as the door for the top loading feature).

It is a very controllable stove, and a very capable heater. I have been running one for several years now with nary a complaint.

Buy a set of stove/welding gloves for this stove because if you don't open the doors wide enough (front doors), it will bite your forearm (just trust me on this).

 

[tontanaka]

Thank you very much for your information!
I really appreciate all your help!

I think I will go for Isle Royale.