Need ideas about type of Woodstove to install

[vt'er]

Okay guys-

Here's the deal. I am a builder in Vermont. Built a nice too-small home ten years ago and insulated it extremely well knowing it is far cheaper to insulate more now than heat later. Installed a mid size Hearthstone woodstove centrally located to heat about 2500 sq ft of home. Its been perfect, burn about 1 cord of wood a year that I harvest off our own acreage. Couldn't ask for better.

The reason I say too small is that as many of you already know, soon after moving in the kids appeared, out of nowhere! Just kidding. Anyway, two years ago when the economy was really bad and interest rates low my wife and I took out a construction loan and added on to the too small house. Just about doubled the square footage of the house and put in a nice well insulated ICF full basement, something the original house doesn't have (aka, the man cave).

Finally getting to the wood stove part. When I built the basement I figured on putting a woodstove down there and installing some creative duct/heat chases to distribute the heat. Last year a friend GAVE me an older model round Culvert Queen woodstove. Worked well, but too finicky a stove, needed constant attention. Those old top loading, top draft models are sometimes dangerous and this one proved to be. I never felt completely safe loading it, burning it and leaving for the day, whereas I implicitly trust our old Hearthstone. Hence after this winter I gave it to a needy friend to use to heat their shop- perfect stove for that.

I need some ideas on woodstoves. I'm not looking for something new. Searching Craigslist has led to many good stoves. I want something reliable, tried and true, rugged and maybe something I could fit a blower on to distribute the heat to the upstairs. I want something I can load up early in the morning, fire for a bit and then have no fears about shutting it down to burn down as the day goes on. It doesn't have to be that big as the new addition is insulated as well as the original house, I don't mind having to light a smaller fire more often from a smaller stove to get the heat I need. The only other thing to consider is I would also like a stove that I can eventually put a hot water coil into, which pretty much rules out a stove like we have in the main house. Okay, enough info here now, I will shaddup!

 

[Michael Golden]

Welcome! You will get all the info you need from more knowledgeable member than me real soon.

 

[vt'er]

Thanks!

 

[webby3650]

A stove that has a water coil in is gonna be hard to find, (thanks to the EPA). It would be a nice feature, but if the stove isn't cranking all of the time, I don't think it would be much of an advantage. Hearthstone has a new stove that just came out. It the Castleton, and the price is right, coming in at 2K. Since you had good luck with the other Hearthstone, it might be a good match. I'll be putting one in this fall!

 

[begreen]

Code requires no return duct closer than 10 ft to the stove. It is not legal or ok to duct directly off the stove unless it is specifically designed as a furnace which sounds like it would work here. Take a look at Caddy units. A mini-Caddy might be sufficient. http://www.psg-distribution.com/products.aspx?CategoId=16

Attaching a hot water coil to the stove is possible, but with a serious safety caveat. Steam in pipes can be seriously explosive. You'll also want to be careful to not rob too much heat from the stove or it may perform poorly. John Gulland did a professional job on his PE stove. Here's a link to how he did it: http://www.gulland.ca/homenergy/stove.htm

 

[vt'er]

Okay- so one of the benefits of living in Vermont is that codes are sort of......self regulated?....here. It's pretty lax. I cannot tell you how many home/self/built stove contraptions I have seen or witnessed over the years. This does not mean I myself subscribe to these principles, but I do believe with the right people, tools, and know how a lot of great things can be done safely. In the area I live in I know of three professional licensed plumbers willing to retrofit wodstoves with hot water coils, tying into dual tap solar tanks for storage,etc. Now, they might not tell you they will do this...but if you know the right folks, it helps.

I like the mini-Caddy option webby3650 referred me to. The ducting I spoke of was really a large vent cut in the floor above the stove, about 8 feet above, with a metal chute above it that tapers to a 6" duct with an in-line fan to distribute. There is a cool air return located at the far end of the space, it actually sets up a really nice convective current when working.

For safety sake say I nix the hot water coil, what does one recommend? Older model Fisher? Baby Bear? Plenty of stoves out there that fit these parameters...just want some opinions. Thanks!

 

[begreen]

I recommend going with a modern stove. For the price an Englander 30NC is hard to beat. Drolet makes some good stoves too.

 

[webby3650]

Okay- so one of the benefits of living in Vermont is that codes are sort of......self regulated?....

I understand what your saying, but these codes are International Residential codes, and they are in place for good reason. Even if no inspector comes by to make sure it was done correctly, it's still a good idea to follow them.

So are you wanting an old smoke dragon stove? I thought you were looking for a clean, modern stove.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum vt'er.

You are from Vermont; you need to go close to the state line and look at the Woodstock stove, mainly the Progress. But I am not a fan of putting a wood stove into the basement. Too many do this only to be disappointed at trying to move the heat upstairs. The basement has to be well insulated too otherwise the walls and floor can eat up most of the heat the stove puts out. Then there is the problem of getting the fuel to the stove and the ashes out. Then comes the trotting up and down stairs. It's easy when you are young but it gets old fast. Good luck.

 

[wazzu]

So, you said you just about doubled the 2500 sq ft? That means +/- 5000 sq ft You need a blaze king, king model or something else with a LARGE firebox.

 

[begreen]

If I read correctly, he already has a stove in the original section of the house and it is super insulated.