Heritage or Homestead for my 1350 sq. ft home ?

[Ithaca]

I am trying to decide which soapstone stove to buy for my Central NY home. I would like the stove to heat the whole house.

The house is an old 1870's style home that has new insulated windows and is not drafty. Roof insulation is average but wall insulation is a big ? Ceilings are lower than average at just over 7 ft.

The home has a stone masonry fireplace with exterior stone chimney. I will be putting the stove on the hearth and using the existing chimney after upgrading with a liner.

The Homestead model fits the hearth perfectly but I am not sure if it will keep the house warm during the cold NY winters. The homestead is rated at 1800 sq. ft, but I'd hate to learn come Jan. that it isn't enough stove for my home. The Heritage model will require me to extend the hearth but the extra btu's may be worth it.

I have searched hearth.com for ratings/input and have narrowed the field down to these 2. I am leaning toward the Homestead but going 'bigger' may be better.

Thanks for any and all input.

 

[Todd]

There is not much difference between the two as far as firebox size, I think it's about .3 sq ft difference? I would go with the Heritage, the side loading is much nicer than the front door.

 

[Highbeam]

We use the side door for 90% of our burning which was 7 cords this year. Front door is just too messy to open and loading is more challenging. I would not for a moment want to shrink the firebox by even 0.3 CF as I use every bit of the 2.3 in my heritage for 24/7 burning. I heat 1700 SF built in 1963 in the moderate puget sound with low/average insulation.

I have concluded that real burning as a primary heater, 24/7, no fooling around, needs a bigger firebox even if that means you need to part load the stove on occasion. Why on earth would a smaller firebox be better?

Unless the hearth mods are prohibitive, I would definitely go for the larger heritage.

 

[Ithaca]

Todd - that side door is definitely a plus.

Highbeam - 7 cords in Seattle? I lived in Woodenville and loved the moderate temps. Is buckley a higher elevation? As to why I'm considering not getting the largest firebox... I read here that you don't want to go 'too big' for your home. I also would like to take up as little space as possible. I have never heated a home with a stove of any kind so this is all new to me.

I forgot to mention in my original post that I am planning on using an outside air vent... if that makes any difference.

 

[Todd]

How many sq ft are you trying to heat? With an old house and poor insulation I would lean toward the bigger unit. Most manufactures sq ft ratings are bogus in my opinion. You could probably figure subtracting 25% from that number unless you have optimum insulation and a centrally located stove.

Duh, the answer to my question is in your title. :red: Long weekend.

 

[Highbeam]

Todd - that side door is definitely a plus.

Highbeam - 7 cords in Seattle? I lived in Woodenville and loved the moderate temps. Is buckley a higher elevation? As to why I'm considering not getting the largest firebox... I read here that you don't want to go 'too big' for your home. I also would like to take up as little space as possible. I have never heated a home with a stove of any kind so this is all new to me.

I forgot to mention in my original post that I am planning on using an outside air vent... if that makes any difference.

To be fair, the 7 cords was a mix of cottonwood, alder, red cedar, and some fir. None of which are very high on the btu charts and the wife works from home so the fire really does run 24/7. We both love the soapstone for the steady output even as the fire gets bigger and smaller. Buckley is only 700 feet above sea level but the weather is weird. It was 46 outside air temp this morning (June 23!) at 7AM and 62 in the house. I could have lit a fire and gotten the house up into the 70s on just one load but we will allow the air to heat up. Not much solar gain in the house so unless it is over 70 degrees ambient, the house will be in the 60s.

Don't be afraid to go too big. Many folks come to this site complaining of too small a stove. Several folks have upsized from a heritage or Homestead to a mansfield. I have never read of someone wishing they had a smaller stove, especially a smaller soapstone stove.

As far as taking up as little space as possible, the heritage with heat shield can be 7 inches away from the back wall. That is hard to beat with any stove. You will need to deal with two doors each having the larger 16-18" clearance requirement.

I used the outside air plumbing setup for my stove and it works very well. The nipple for the intake pipe heads horizontally out the back which makes it easy to hook up.