Looking for advice

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Thanks for the advise. So I'm at 1400 sq ft, open vaulted sealing living room (26x15), with stairs and open loft adjacent, chinked log frame (6x8 logs) what size should I be looking at or what would be undersized for this in Eastern TN?
I would stick with a 2 - 2.5 cu ft firebox stove. Log cabins aren't known to be the most efficient homes in terms of insulation. Your average temps are milder than in the northeast, but you still get the occasional frigid dip. A Woodstock Fireview, a Pacific Energy T5 or Super 27 would work well while also giving you long burn times. A Blaze King Princess or Chinook 30 would also work. But, really, ANY 2 - 2.5 cu ft firebox stove will meet your needs.

A cat stove will give you more heat output control. But a non-cat stove would work just fine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ashful and ScotO
Thanks for the advise. So I'm at 1400 sq ft, open vaulted sealing living room (26x15), with stairs and open loft adjacent, chinked log frame (6x8 logs) what size should I be looking at or what would be undersized for this in Eastern TN?
I'd probably be getting at least a 2.5 to 3 cu.ft. firebox stove for that space if it were mine. Maybe even bigger. The way I see it, you can always crack a window or two if it gets too hot in there, but when it gets cold and you want more heat, you ain't gonna be able to squeeze more heat out of a tiny stove.....Just my opinion on that subject.

Some other's will chime in soon...
 
Sounds like I am on the wrong track. What stove(s) should I be looking at for the size I have described? One dealer said I should go larger and choke down rather than smaller and burn hotter to get the longer burn times and save on wood. Seems right, but I've read a lot on here say their stoves run better hot?
Thank you for the responses so far.
I have 3 different brands of EPA stoves. All my stoves seem to burn the cleanest when run HOT .THe hotter the better. One exception ix my harman which burns clean at any air setting once up to temp. But all my air tube stoves burn cleaner when run hotter.
 
I'd probably be getting at least a 2.5 to 3 cu.ft. firebox stove for that space if it were mine. Maybe even bigger. The way I see it, you can always crack a window or two if it gets too hot in there, but when it gets cold and you want more heat, you ain't gonna be able to squeeze more heat out of a tiny stove.....Just my opinion on that subject.
Some other's will chime in soon...
There is such a thing as too big scotty.(in wood stoves anyway):) Too big a stove might blast him out even at the lowest air setting. My harman certainly would. Englander 30 could be dialed down a bit further.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ScotO
There is such a thing as too big scotty.(in wood stoves anyway):) Too big a stove might blast him out even at the lowest air setting. My harman certainly would. Englander 30 could be dialed down a bit further.
As Uncle Si would say on Duck Dynasty, "Hey, you know what I say? Hey, go big or go home, Jack....".:p


I hear ya. I do know one thing, I'd rather have a stove too big than a stove too small. I've used the windows on many occasions (especially in the shoulder seasons) to help balance out the temp in here.....

but like I said earlier, too small of a woodstove can be a bad thing in more ways than one.....it can make you lose faith in stoves as good heaters. Just my honest opinion, I'd rather have too much than too little.
 
I've read others here give advice to look more to a steel or cast iron stove for a weekend home, as the soapstone may take much longer to get up to temperature, since they won't be burning 24/7.
 
As Uncle Si would say on Duck Dynasty, "Hey, you know what I say? Hey, go big or go home, Jack....".:p


I hear ya. I do know one thing, I'd rather have a stove too big than a stove too small. I've used the windows on many occasions (especially in the shoulder seasons) to help balance out the temp in here.....

but like I said earlier, too small of a woodstove can be a bad thing in more ways than one.....it can make you lose faith in stoves as good heaters. Just my honest opinion, I'd rather have too much than too little.
THe englander 30 is 3 CU Ft. And 500LBs Nothing small about that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ScotO
I'd pick a 3 cubic foot that quickly gives off heat with a steel design and can be dialed back once warm. Many of us on here try not to let the fire go out many times. You sound like it's a situation where you aren't heating as many days and will be starting from a cold room. That said, I don't know how cold it is down in TN.
 
I am not an expert by any means, but I'd recommend your taking a look at the Woodstock stoves. Other than taking a little while to warm up, I can't imagine anything a stove could do differently that would make me prefer it over my Keystone. Woodstock customer service will take care of you, too--I ordered mine, and a day or so later one of their reps called because she noted that I did not choose a stove pipe color and wanted me to know that I could get the pipe and heat shield painted the same color as my stove for free. And once the stove is warm and the cat is engaged, I don't have to do anything to it for hours. Plus, it's very nice looking.

A few things to consider, though--getting a professional install might be problematic if local vendors don't want to install what they don't want to sell. I can't say for certain, though, because I installed mine on my own. And, if you are considering renting the cabin out when you're not there, I'd get a stove with less of a learning curve. You can figure it out easily in a few minutes (two levers and a thermometer, basically), but the morons from the lowlands might not fare as well.

I'm pricing stoves for our upstairs, and I was surprised to see that the Blaze King Chinooks (sweet stoves, I think) are hundreds of dollars more than most (if not all?) of the Woodstock stoves at one of our local dealers.
 
;? Umm... guys... this thread's been dead 6 months. ;lol
 
It happens. No biggie. I'll just close this one.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.