questions from a newbie

[pattydog]

We are very new to a wood stove.. in fact so new that we didnt get one yet.

Today I had the guy come and see where it should go.. we have a porch with half of it being single pane windows.

We are still confused on size. The size of the room is 300 sf. We would like to see a fire, although we dont really like it too hot. Our question is if we have a medium stove F2400 Regency, will we have to burn it really hot to clean the creasole (sp?) on a second burn?? Or are we better off with a smaller stove. We are not using it to really heat the house, but more for just coming out of the cold on chilly days.

I really dont know what Im talking about, although Im trying to get it all... we just dont want to make a mistake in our purchase.

HELP lol.

 

[begreen]

Welcome. If you just want a small area heater, this may be too big a stove unless the porch area is open to the rest of the house. To just heat the porch area the F1100 would be fine. But if there is an opportunity to scavenge some of this heat to warm up the house, that can be a nice benefit. How open is the porch area to the rest of the house?

 

[pattydog]

Its a typical ranch style home.. porch in the back to one side of the house. There is a door that goes into the kitchen, so we can leave that open to heat that area... but how hot will it be in the porch? Will it be too warm? Do we have to have a huge fire for it to burn efficiently? I want to keep the window clean so does that need a rolling fire to do that? Or a high burn to keep it clean?

Welcome. If you just want a small area heater, this may be too big a stove unless the porch area is open to the rest of the house. To just heat the porch area the F1100 would be fine. But if there is an opportunity to scavenge some of this heat to warm up the house, that can be a nice benefit. How open is the porch area to the rest of the house?

 

[corey21]

Welcome.

I do not have any suggestions on what stove to have install. But i would like to suggest you start trying to get ahead on your wood supply.EPA wood stoves need SEASONED wood to operate correctly. By this i mean wood that has been cut split and stacked for at least a year except for red oak that may take more like 2 years to season.

 

[fossil]

If all you're looking to heat is 300 ft², then the total cost & effort involved with the proper installation of a wood burning appliance may be overkill. That space could be made perfectly comfortable for a heck of a lot less $$$ by using small electrically powered heating units. Then your money could be spent on other stuff. If, however, you're hell bent on a woodstove, and you have money to burn (so to speak), then we can certaiinly help you through the process. Welcome to the forums...take a deep breath, and don't be in a hurry. You're in a really good place here. There's much to learn. Rick

 

[pattydog]

Thanks, I was thinking of that, but dont they sell seasoned wood? I thought I saw that somewhere, although who knows if it really is. My husband will take care of that issue lol.

Welcome.

I do not have any suggestions on what stove to have install. But i would like to suggest you start trying to get ahead on your wood supply.EPA wood stoves need SEASONED wood to operate correctly. By this i mean wood that has been cut split and stacked for at least a year except for red oak that may take more like 2 years to season.

 

[begreen]

Its a typical ranch style home.. porch in the back to one side of the house. There is a door that goes into the kitchen, so we can leave that open to heat that area... but how hot will it be in the porch? Will it be too warm? Do we have to have a huge fire for it to burn efficiently? I want to keep the window clean so does that need a rolling fire to do that? Or a high burn to keep it clean?

Cooling down the porch is pretty easy with a fan in the kitchen blowing cool air down at floor level into the porch room. Hot air will return into the kitchen area up high through the doorway.

 

[pattydog]

Its always been sort of a dream to have a fireplace or wood stove... this house doesnt have one... we just move in about a year ago.

If all you're looking to heat is 300 ft², then the total cost & effort involved with the proper installation of a wood burning appliance may be overkill. That space could be made perfectly comfortable for a heck of a lot less $$$ by using small electrically powered heating units. Then your money could be spent on other stuff. If, however, you're hell bent on a woodstove, and you have money to burn (so to speak), then we can certaiinly help you through the process. Welcome to the forums...take a deep breath, and don't be in a hurry. You're in a really good place here. There's much to learn. Rick

 

[Huntindog1]

If I read you correct it will go on a enclosed front porch with single payne windows and an area of 300 sq feet thats not insulated well.

You might get away with a bigger stove with the uninsulated porch area. Single payne windows wont keep the cold out very well either.

On the wood everyone says they sell season wood but very few actually do.
Make sure the wood is 20% moisture content or less.

Good dry wood will help keep the stove widow clean.

 

[corey21]

Thanks, I was thinking of that, but dont they sell seasoned wood? I thought I saw that somewhere, although who knows if it really is. My husband will take care of that issue lol.

No chances are it will not be seasoned if you purchase wood from someone that claims is seasoned it is not.

Edit. Some wood takes more like six or eight months to be seasoned.

 

[rideau]

Have you figured out where in the room you are putting the stove and chimney? And what size hearth you have room for?

A moderate sized cat stove would allow you to have low, slow burns and keep the window clean for viewing. Don't know how much you want to spend but you could look on line at the smaller Woodstock stoves. They are well built, attractive, easy to burn in cat mode (low, slow fire that last a long time) and their viewing windows stay clean. Depending on your price range and your preferences, there are lots of companies that make good cat stoves (stoves with catalytic converters).

 

[weatherguy]

No chances are it will not be seasoned if you purchase wood from someone that claims is seasoned it is not.

Edit. Some wood takes more like six or eight months to be seasoned.

I wouldnt say no chance, there are some wood sellers out there that do sell truly seasoned wood, the trick is to find one and make sure the wood delivered has been properly seasoned.

 

[eclecticcottage]

Where in the country are you located? How much (about) are you looking to spend? What kind of clearances do you have (where you're looking to put the stove, how much space will you have for a hearth pad-assuming it's not a concrete floor-how far off the wall can it be before it's in the way, etc)?