New member, looking for advice on a wood stove

[Centamos]

Hello everyone,

I have been doing some research to buying my first wood stove as a primary heat source in the basement. These are the dimensions, Basement is 1600 sqft fully open but in an L shape for the whole house design. First floor is the same sqft so by 50% calculations this would total around 2400 sqft of space to heat. The flue is close to the center of the house under the living room at the cross section of the L shape. Insulation isn't great as the whole place is under renovations still, so maybe a 30% extra sqft to add to counter this for a final 3000-3400 sqft. Above the first floor is just an attic with insulation of course. Climate is Eastern Ontario.

Wood chords are sometimes ordered already split or some I will cut from the land myself.

Some of the options I have been looking at are as follows:
Jotul F55 v2 or F500 oslo ( neighbor's recommendation based on his 18 year old Jotul which looks like an older F500)
Osburn 3500 ( has the sqft but is steel in design)
Heritage Manchester ( catalyser could be an issue for the different wood burnt)
BK Ashford 30 or Princess 32 ( not sure of the advantages on these over others)
Summit LE (trying to find better reviews on this one and especially burn times)

Any other wood stove suggestions are welcome. I am trying to find something that is as best as possible a load and forget for 12 hours wood stove, from my understanding non catalytic is easier on maintenance if fuel isn't perfect. I do not care for looks as this one will be running 24/7 in the basement for the whole winter to counter the electricity bill. I do have another flue on the first floor living room also that will be for looks down the road.

Thank you all in advance for the advice!

 

[KDubU]

Questions on the instal. Are you going to vent the heat up to the main living area somehow? Do you have ducts or floor vents to do so?

From the list of stoves you provided, they are good however have read issues with F500. My preference in order be if you don’t care about catalytic vs non-catalytic:

BK Ashford - performance and appearance
Jotul F55 - ease of use, non-cat, good performance and appearance
Summit LE - good performance from what I have read
Manchester Heritage - had one previously and worked very well and I like soapstone
BK Princess - performance

I really like the Ashford and it has long burns but went with the Jotul F55 for ease of use for my wife plus I got a good deal on the price. You could consider Woodstock based on Lebanon, NH so not that far a drive for you if you wish to pickup. Great service and stoves.

 

[Centamos]

Yes, I am planning on opening up the stairs that are right beside the stove so it can reach about half the house from there, and then add some floor vents in some of the rooms further away, if natural convection doesn't do it then probably a few ducts to help the heat get further in the basement. For ease of use for my mother I am looking at non-cat, but at the same time i wish to not have to load it 4 times a day in the winter like my neighbor does.

 

[Tech Guru]

Not for nothing, but 12 hour burn times might be tough for non Cat stoves. It would take a massive firebox in that case, and a near perfect blend of wood species and seasoning. The Summit might be your best chance, but even I find that gets an 8-10 hour run on friendly systems with good wood. You might get it up to that length of time, but I wouldn't bank on it. But an 8 hour burn time is usually best for a 24/7 system anyway. Load in the morning, at the end of a work day, and again before bed...

 

[Centamos]

Noted, I am leaning towards the Jotul afterall, however I can't understand why the f500 v3 Oslo is about 6100$ CAD, smaller sqft heating and smaller firebox of 2.41 cu.ft but better efficiency (78% HHV) versus the F55 v2 (68% HHV) but 4800$ CAD with a 2.76 cu.ft.

 

[begreen]

Noted, I am leaning towards the Jotul afterall, however I can't understand why the f500 v3 Oslo is about 6100$ CAD, smaller sqft heating and smaller firebox of 2.41 cu.ft but better efficiency (78% HHV) versus the F55 v2 (68% HHV) but 4800$ CAD with a 2.76 cu.ft.

The F500 is a pure cast stove, made in Norway and assembled in the US. It is a more complicated stove including a catalytic convertor. The F55 is a steel stove at heart with cast iron jacketing with a more conventional secondary burn system.

 

[Centamos]

I see, thank you, as much as I would love longer burn times, I think the uncertainty of wood supply I may have will just waste a catalytic. So I guess best I can look at is the biggest firebox in a cast iron.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

So just some thoughts. if your looking to heat almost 3k sqft your looking to the larger firebox size, like 3cuft. your going to be running it .. most likely a little on the harder side.. your basement will be pretty hot, most likely to the point where it uncomfortable for you, if you want to be heating the main floor. To make things easier and more comfortable your going to need to make a convection loop.. having the warm air travel up the basement stairs, but you will need a cold air return somewhere on the far side of the house.. this means cutting a hole in the floor on the main floor. allowing the cold air upstairs to drop dow to the basement to allow to be reheated.. the hole in the floor will probably need to be something like 2x3 ft.. or 2 1x1.5 ft openings..

 

[bigealta]

You need dry seasoned wood in all of the newer stoves. You will be very disappointed trying to burn poorly seasoned wood in any of these. Also the heat output will be severly diminished. Good wood is like a sharp knife. Dull knifes don't cut it. Good luck.

 

[Centamos]

So just some thoughts. if your looking to heat almost 3k sqft your looking to the larger firebox size, like 3cuft. your going to be running it .. most likely a little on the harder side.. your basement will be pretty hot, most likely to the point where it uncomfortable for you, if you want to be heating the main floor. To make things easier and more comfortable your going to need to make a convection loop.. having the warm air travel up the basement stairs, but you will need a cold air return somewhere on the far side of the house.. this means cutting a hole in the floor on the main floor. allowing the cold air upstairs to drop dow to the basement to allow to be reheated.. the hole in the floor will probably need to be something like 2x3 ft.. or 2 1x1.5 ft openings..

That is exactly the idea, a small problem is the amount of doors and rooms upstairs but they are usually always open aside from bedrooms. In terms of wood, the split logs we order, I am not sure if they are seasoned or of the current year and is a variety of different wood types. The wood I manage to cut on my property has seasoned for a while now, maybe 3-4 cords would already be at least 2 years dry. I am also hoping that a new stove won't go through 10 cords. We have a smaller Vagabond old school wood stove with solely primary burn we have used last winter as a space heater upstairs on and off (wood would last like 2-4 hours only, most of the heat went out the flue) and I think we used about 7-8 cords total for the winter, obviously it only took care of about half the house and the furthest bedrooms were unaffected.

 

[Todd]

That’s a lot of sq ft for a wood stove installed in a basement. I think I would look into something like this or even a wood furnace.

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[rijim]

Looks like you are in VA.; correct? Depending on elevation, winters will last about about about 5 months with temps from 20-40 degrees; a steady low to medium heat output is what you are after. A CAT or hybrid may suit you best and running 24/7 will help keep all warm without blasting you out of the basement. If you can get a BK Ashford or Princess I would go for it. The key will be a steady controllable heat, the opportunity to push it a little harder at the colder end and back down on the warmer end of the season.

 

[Centamos]

I am a bit more north than that, Eastern Ontario, in between Ottawa and Montreal. This summer especially its been humid but winters are usually -20 celsius with the occasionnal -30 to -35 celsius for a few days or a week. Unfortunately I have to look at something that is not dependant on electricity whatso ever to function as we tend to have power loss for 5-6 hours fairly frequently, that it be for high winds or heavy snow or freezing rain. I have thought about pellet stoves or gas but the fact is I have a big forest of free fire wood. If I would pick something dependant on electricty I would also need to invest into a backup generator or solar panels and the whole infrastructure that comes with it. I even checked for a wood boiler, but that would also require installing all the hydroponics that would heat the house,( although wood boiler would be nice for a distant future heated garage). So I figure, simple wood stove and modify the house to create a convection heat circulation as best we can.

 

[bholler]

I see, thank you, as much as I would love longer burn times, I think the uncertainty of wood supply I may have will just waste a catalytic. So I guess best I can look at is the biggest firebox in a cast iron.

Why cast iron?

 

[Centamos]

Why cast iron?

For the heat retaining ability to be extended if ever were gone for the whole day until late night and electricity has to kick in, hopefully it will kick in later than with steel.

 

[bholler]

For the heat retaining ability to be extended if ever were gone for the whole day until late night and electricity has to kick in, hopefully it will kick in later than with steel.

Yeah it's not going to make much of any difference in that respect. It might hold heat an extra 5 or 10 mins. If looks don't matter just get a big steel stove or a furnace. Absolutely no reason to go with cast

 

[KDubU]

I am a bit more north than that, Eastern Ontario, in between Ottawa and Montreal. This summer especially its been humid but winters are usually -20 celsius with the occasionnal -30 to -35 celsius for a few days or a week. Unfortunately I have to look at something that is not dependant on electricity whatso ever to function as we tend to have power loss for 5-6 hours fairly frequently, that it be for high winds or heavy snow or freezing rain. I have thought about pellet stoves or gas but the fact is I have a big forest of free fire wood. If I would pick something dependant on electricty I would also need to invest into a backup generator or solar panels and the whole infrastructure that comes with it. I even checked for a wood boiler, but that would also require installing all the hydroponics that would heat the house,( although wood boiler would be nice for a distant future heated garage). So I figure, simple wood stove and modify the house to create a convection heat circulation as best we can.

Good lord, small world. I used to live just outside Alexandria. First lived on Loch Garry then moved to Kenyon Concession 1 and then to Caber Road. Built all three houses with the first being built for me but the other two built myself (one even out of straw bales!). All three were heated with wood stoves as the primary with various backups. Had a Vermont Castings in the first, a Jotul in the second and the third on Caber Rd had a custom built masonry heater (loved it!). You have good wood out your way with shag bark hickory, elm, ash and maple.

 

[Centamos]

That is awesome, thank you, I am still new in the area, well more specifically Concession 10.I had a look at masonary heater but price and already having existing flues makes it a bit overkill. As you mentioned everyone seems to love Jotul around here. I just can't decide which one. Summit seems to be a contender too though. It is tempting to go for a cat wood stove, and the longer burn times but i am afraid not everyone might be as careful with it in the household.

 

[bholler]

That is awesome, thank you, I am still new in the area, well more specifically Concession 10 south of Glen Robertson. I had a look at masonary heater but price and already having existing flues makes it a bit overkill. As you mentioned everyone seems to love Jotul around here. I just can't decide which one. Summit seems to be a contender too though. It is tempting to go for a cat wood stove, and the longer burn times but i am afraid not everyone might be as careful with it in the household.

I would not recommend the f500 v3. It has some real issues

 

[joop]

12hrs of actual usable heat in a basement trying to heat that much house is going to be hard

 

[joop]

i have a big stove ,still had to get up at night to refill to make it till morning.load at 10 wait shut it down wake up at 4 fill her up.

 

[bholler]

i have a big stove ,still had to get up at night to refill to make it till morning.load at 10 wait shut it down wake up at 4 fill her up.

That is insanely short burn times out of a stove that large

 

[Poindexter]

So what is going on in the basement that you need to put the woodstove down there?

Conventional wisdom, with which I agree, is to put the stove, any stove, in the room where you spend the most time, and on the floor level where you (and your family) spend the most time.

If you got a home theater and a billiard room and a home gym down there, and your family spends time down there, sure; put the woodstove down there too.

But if you and your family spend most of your time on the floor level above the basement, your wood stove should be upstairs there with you.

 

[joop]

i think i have too much draft. 32' chimney. might add key this year,see if it helps with burn times.

 

[joop]

used to have place in glengarry.