Jotul stove size for my family room

[hpeairs]

Dear experts,

I'm new here and have been poking around some. I wonder if anyone would care to offer an opinion.

I would like to put a wood stove in my family room. Here are the specs on the room:

Location: over an unheated garage at the end of the house, one door leads to the kitchen and another to the dining room, three sides are outside walls.
Size: 23x18 (~300 sq ft.)
Ceiling: vaulted, 12 ft average height, no ceiling fans
Windows: gable end is mostly glass (double pane), plus a couple of skylights and three small windows on the south side.
Insulation: new construction, well insulated

My house is in central Massachusetts. I will be burning mixed hardwoods (maple, oak, locust) that I cut from my own lot. I'm not sure if I'll be able to commit to 24/7 burning but I plan to give it a try and see how it goes. I will try to blow some of the warmth into the dining room and maybe beyond, but the main goal is to heat the family room space, which is on a separate FHW zone. I don't mind if it gets pretty warm in there. The stove will go in a corner and be vented straight up through the roof.

I researched stoves online and decided I want a Jotul. I went to a local dealer. They were very helpful and seemed knowledgeable. However, I was surprised when the salesman pointed me at the F100 or the F 3 CB. I had kind of pictured myself buying a Castine. He said the Castine might be too big for the space and I wouldn't be burning efficiently. This is a pretty big store and I don't think this was a case of pushing what they had in stock, but you never know.

So, what say you?

Thanks!
Herv

 

[Wet1]

Well, if all you're trying to heat is that one room, the F100 or the F 3 CB would be sound choices.

With that said, if you plan on burning 24/7, you better plan on sitting next to that stove all winter long because you'll need to reload it every few hours. If you plan of moving some of this heat to the rest of the house, or would like to sleep more than 2 or 3 hours at a time, I'd suggest going with a larger stove. Without knowing more about the rest of the house, my initial recommendation would probably be to go with the F400 or the F500 if you want to heat more than just that one room and want to burn 24/7.

 

[begreen]

Welcome Herv. I'm curious about how large an area will actually be heated. Are the kitchen and dining rooms on the same floor level as the family room? How large are the openings between these rooms and the family room? Assuming we can help with heat distribution, how large an area in total will be heated? Also, is the family room floor very well insulated and sealed from the garage beneath it? ( a sketch of the floorplan would help here.)

As far as the stove installation, will it have a straight-up flue or will it head outside and up the side of the building? The later will affect draft and may be why the F400 was discouraged. It likes to vent straight up to a 15-20 flue ideally.

 

[hpeairs]

There are your basic doorways into the kitchen and dining, with doors that can be closed. The floor is insulated. The pipe will go straight up from the stove through the roof with no bends, and above the roof will need to clear the peak by 2' so I'm guessing top of the stove to the top of the flue will be about 16'. I was thinking about a doorway fan in the dining room door to pull air out, and maybe even a second in the door to the hall so that heat could move upstairs. However, I'm concerned about fan noise and the draft created.

I attached a rough .gif of the floor plan.

Thanks.

 

[hpeairs]

Oops, forgot to add: The kitchen and dining room are on the same level. The square footage of the FR is a little over 300 (but with 12' average ceiling), and the dining/kitchen probably adds about 200 sf with 9' ceilings. If heat got beyond there, it would head up a stairwell with lots of rooms off it.

 

[Wet1]

If that's the case, go with the F400 or F500. This will allow you to more easily burn 24/7 and heat a lot more of the house. I would not go with the F100 or F3CB unless you only want to heat that one room and don't mind feeding the stove all day/night. I'd probably go with the F500 and shoot to heat a good portion of the house with it. I'd probably also consider opening up a doorway or two to help with the heat distribution.

 

[begreen]

If the rooms are on the same level it looks like you will be able heat a significantly greater area than just the family room. I agree that a larger stove is in order and either the F400 or F500 would be my choice. I would also consider the Pacific Energy Alderlea T5. It burns over a wide temperature range and has good overnight burn times.

As far as heat distribution, I think you can make a nice difference with a ceiling fan (blowing upward in the winter). This will break up heat stratification at the ceiling peak. And I would add a single box, or table fan on the floor in the DR to create a circulation pattern. Blow the cooler air towards the stove and it will be replaced with warmer air drawn through the kitchen. It seems odd, but this does work. We have several users getting good results this way. In our house this is how I now heat my office using a standard 12" table fan on thr floor. I have it on low and never hear it running over the computer.


If you are worried about the size of the fan, we have had reports of this model working well for people. Put it on low speed and the noise will not be as big an issue. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/26587/.

Another plan would be to get a stove with a blower (F500 or T5) and locate the stove so that it's blower output is directed towards the kitchen opening.

 

[hpeairs]

BeGreen, I can certainly set up the fans as you suggest. And based on the responses I've received, I think I'll go with the Castine. Thanks to all.

Herv

 

[Dix]

Would moving the stove closer to the kitchen help, in this scenario?

Just a thought.