I am looking to purchase a wood stove for my central michigan area cottage. It is a single 800 sq ft room with a loft that gets used on a handful of weekends each winter. The stove would be the only source of heat. Any suggestions on make/model would be appreciated.
new to wood stoves, looking for the right one
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phatfarmerbob
New Member
how bout a jotul castine? my buddy has one in his cabin in the catskills of ny ,,,, it sure is nice . just gota feed her once at night aroud 3 ish ... prolly find one on craigslist.
bogydave
Minister of Fire
Welcome
For that part time use, & space. Lowes has some Summers , USA made
Here's one rated for 1000 sq ft
http://www.lowes.com/pd_213081-76845-50-SFP12_4294856721_4294937087_?productId=3024466&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1¤tURL;=/pl_Wood+Stoves+_4294856721_4294937087_?Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1
For that part time use, & space. Lowes has some Summers , USA made
Here's one rated for 1000 sq ft
http://www.lowes.com/pd_213081-76845-50-SFP12_4294856721_4294937087_?productId=3024466&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1¤tURL;=/pl_Wood+Stoves+_4294856721_4294937087_?Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Welcome to the forum lions fan.
Whatever you decide on, I would highly recommend you stay with a steel stove for those conditions. For your sq footage it should not need too big of a stove, yet you will want to go a little over sized with it in order to heat it up faster.
Whatever you decide on, I would highly recommend you stay with a steel stove for those conditions. For your sq footage it should not need too big of a stove, yet you will want to go a little over sized with it in order to heat it up faster.
DanCorcoran
Minister of Fire
Steel heats up faster and cools off faster and costs less. I have a 20x30 cabin with a loft and I bought a relatively expensive cast iron with brown enamel finish. I wanted something that I would enjoy looking at and that would add to the resale value of the cabin whenever sold. I also got the rear heat shield and blower, which helps the stove to radiate heat faster when you're trying to warm a cold room. After the cabin is warm, I turn off the blower.
I think most folks would go for steel, primarily due to cost. If your cabin is cold when you arrive, it's going to take it a good while to warm up, regardless of steel or cast iron, just due to the thermal mass that needs to be brought up to a comfortable room temperature.
I think most folks would go for steel, primarily due to cost. If your cabin is cold when you arrive, it's going to take it a good while to warm up, regardless of steel or cast iron, just due to the thermal mass that needs to be brought up to a comfortable room temperature.
DanCorcoran
Minister of Fire
Check out this graph, which will give you an idea of the heat vs. time issue.
http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/assets/images/photos/HeatLifeGraph-WEB.jpg
Note: even though mine is a Hearthstone brand stove, it is cast iron and not soapstone. Hearthstone makes both.
http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/assets/images/photos/HeatLifeGraph-WEB.jpg
Note: even though mine is a Hearthstone brand stove, it is cast iron and not soapstone. Hearthstone makes both.
I don't know which would be best but do know what works for us. Our cottage is about 1000 sq. ft. 3 bedroom with a loft, okay insulation and a large expanse of floor to ceiling glass in the front facing south. We have a Jotul Oslo and it heats up the whole place thoughly in about 18 hours from sub zero temperatures. We have baseboard heating but never turn it on, we are way too cheap or should I say frugal. If its 40 below we just don't go in the winter but 20 to 30 below no problem, outside of our kids thinking we are completly out of our minds. Should also mention our wood source is poplar, pine and cut offs. Oak would sure be nice
!
!If free standing will be the type of stove I will always go for a steel unit they throw heat very quickly. As for as brand I prefer Lennox hearth products "Country" wood stoves I have owned 3 in 3 different homes. I also have sold 2 more for the store I purchased mine at... These are not the only stove but I like them for simplicity and durability.
RNLA said:
Thanks, It sounds like there are all kinds of choices. I am surprised that I have not heard anyone mention ANY brands to stay away from?
Welcome! Our Michigan numbers continue to grow! Not sure I'd advertise I'm a Lions fan though, I try to keep that one under wraps! :lol:
BG hit the nail on the head I think, a 2 cubic ft stove should do the trick.
I may be selling my stove soon so if you're interested drop me a pm.
BG hit the nail on the head I think, a 2 cubic ft stove should do the trick.
I may be selling my stove soon so if you're interested drop me a pm.
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
DanCorcoran
Minister of Fire
"I am surprised that I have not heard anyone mention ANY brands to stay away from?"
If you read enough Hearth postings, you'll see very little positive said about the Scandia knockoffs of Jotul stoves (and others) and the Vogelzang steel stoves, which are still being sold.
If you read enough Hearth postings, you'll see very little positive said about the Scandia knockoffs of Jotul stoves (and others) and the Vogelzang steel stoves, which are still being sold.
leeave96
Minister of Fire
Take the sq footage shown by mfg's with a grain of salt, including their BTU output. If your cabin is drafty and uninsulated, you want to go larger.
If I a walking into a cabin that is cold with no heat, I want a steel stove. They can throw off the heat fast - but once the fire is over, there is no mass to continue putting heat in the room after the fire dies down.
One of the Englander stoves might be a good choice.
Good luck,
Bill
If I a walking into a cabin that is cold with no heat, I want a steel stove. They can throw off the heat fast - but once the fire is over, there is no mass to continue putting heat in the room after the fire dies down.
One of the Englander stoves might be a good choice.
Good luck,
Bill
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
DanCorcoran said:
I've made comments before about when people see these "facts" and figures and sometimes graphs printed and they take them to be accurate. Just because they are printed, even by some reputable source, that does not make them right. This graph only supports my feelings!
Just take notice of what they show for heat output from a soapstone stove! That is truly laughable and certainly no where near the truth! If my soapstone stove would give out that little heat, there is no way I'd have one! We can spike the stove temperature up to 700 and hold in the 600's for quite some time.....but not according to that graph.
So, when they make such a foolish mistake about one thing.....how many other things are they wrong about?
Sorry about the rant. I almost posted this before but held off. Must be in the wrong frame of mind today so please bear with me. It will get better. lol
I doubt that they would see the same results that you get with the Fireview in a Hearthstone. Nor what a BK stove owner would experience or even an Alderlea owner. But that doesn't mean the graphs are inaccurate. It's just that the test parameters are not defined. Statistics and tests just reflect the numbers you go after. I can see this being a valid test, but not necessarily a valid conclusion. What's missing here are the make an models of the stoves tested, the size and type of fuel charge, flue system on stoves, air regulation, etc. The numbers could be very accurate, but was this a thin skinned radiant steel stove? What about a hybrid cast/steel stove? The cast iron graph looks about what I would get from the Castine burning hardwood, but was a Tribute used for the soapstone, or a larger, more massive soapstone stove used? Without qualifying data the graphs are just sales eye candy.
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
I fully agree BeGreen and if no parameters are listed one must assume it is for all stoves. One can also make a case for different results depending upon which wood is burned. But the real problem is that most folks take these things as the solid truth and if you state something different then they think you are wrong! For example, if someone who is not knowledgeable in this sort of thing saw a post by me or Todd that stated we got our stoves up to 700 degrees....then who would they believe?
DanCorcoran
Minister of Fire
I took away two things from the chart:
- since the chart is in a Hearthstone website and sales brochure, I assumed it applied to the soapstone and cast iron stoves that Hearthstone sells;
- since no stove names were mentioned, the intent was to show that: steel stoves heat up more quickly, to higher surface temps, and cool off more quickly; that soapstone stoves take longer to heat, generally have lower max surface temps than steel stoves, and retain heat longer; and that cast iron stoves are somewhere in between.
I assumed that the specific surface temperature numbers and the heating/cooling times would depend on the particular make and model of stove, the wood being burned, and the available draft.
I guess I'm just a little more skeptical about the pinpoint, scientific accuracy of sales brochures, so I wasn't at all upset. Based on this chart and lots of other research, I bought a cast iron stove and I'm very happy with it. I never expected that any stove would match these curves, mine or anyone elses.
- since the chart is in a Hearthstone website and sales brochure, I assumed it applied to the soapstone and cast iron stoves that Hearthstone sells;
- since no stove names were mentioned, the intent was to show that: steel stoves heat up more quickly, to higher surface temps, and cool off more quickly; that soapstone stoves take longer to heat, generally have lower max surface temps than steel stoves, and retain heat longer; and that cast iron stoves are somewhere in between.
I assumed that the specific surface temperature numbers and the heating/cooling times would depend on the particular make and model of stove, the wood being burned, and the available draft.
I guess I'm just a little more skeptical about the pinpoint, scientific accuracy of sales brochures, so I wasn't at all upset. Based on this chart and lots of other research, I bought a cast iron stove and I'm very happy with it. I never expected that any stove would match these curves, mine or anyone elses.
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