Searching for stoves as main heating system

[DLArchitect]

Hi All,
I have a house in Brookhaven (on Long Island), NY which got hit by Sandy (it got flooded with 24" of water on the first floor) and now I am rebuilding it and ideally would like to heat the entire house with a wood stove. It is a 2-storied house, appr. 900sqft per floor.
I am now looking for a wood burning, freestanding stove, which could heat the entire house.
Could you suggest some stoves which are reliable, affordable and able to do that?
In terms of look: I like the contemporary stoves, e.g.: Morso 6148, 7648 or Rais Pina, x-Basic, Gabo.
I'd appreciate your help.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Define "affordable." Contemporary stoves are limited. Most are not capable of heating 1,800 sq ft. And, most contemporary stove are more expensive. You will need a stove that has at least a 2.5 cu ft firebox. Preferably 3 cu ft for 1,800 sq ft in your area. Since you are rebuilding, I am assuming you will not be skimping on the insulation?

What is you budget for the stove + installation.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Both of the Morso stoves are far too small for your needs.

 

[BrowningBAR]

RAIS X-Basic seems to be a decent size.

 

[begreen]

Tell us more about the home. What's the floorplan like, is it open or lots of rooms? Where will the stove be located, central or at one end? If you can post a sketch, that should do.

I agreed that you will need a larger stove. How large depends on how tight and how well insulated the house is. But I would guess at a minimum you will need a 2 cu ft stove or larger if the place is not all that winterproof. If the house is getting first rate sealing and insulation in the repair, then you might get away with a medium sized stove. So far I'm siding with BBar's recommendation.

 

[mfglickman]

By modern , would you accept one of the simpler black stoves on a pedestal ( instead of legs)? I see those as more modern and it would open your choices up a lot ( prolly be more budget conscious too).

 

[raybonz]

Pacific Energy Fusion might fit the bill for capacity and the look you desire..

(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/pacificenergy/fusion.php)

Ray

 

[Machria]

Hey DL! I started reading this and said, man that sounds familiar.

Guys, I had the pleasure of seeing this house today, it's right down the block from me. It is almost an ideal setup for whole house heating. The chimney/stove is almost centrally located on the first floor, with the staircase to the 2nd floor directly in front of it (about 10' away). A main living area will be on the 2nd floor above the stove, so a grate in the floor will heat that room, plus the natural heat that will likely go right up the stairs.

DL, here is a unit I looked at by Enerzone you may be interested in. It is a 2.3 cu firebox, has a modern "Morso" look, but is much cheaper in the $2k range. It won't get the very long burn times that I get, but it does 6 or 8 hours on a load apparently.
(broken link removed to http://enerzone-intl.com/product.aspx?CategoId=1&Id=580)

Or of course, you can always get the beast I got, the Woodstock Progress Hybrid which is awesome. It's not ultra modern, but it's not ancient looking either. But she can heat my house, AND your house, and probably 1/2 of Brookhaven!

Good luck...

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Iv been saying "ill bet those folks who went through sandy wish they had a wood stove" I use my 3 CU ft Harman as a weekend and backup heating unit and it is ideal even if you have NO POWER. I just used it for 10 days straight after XMAS when my main central heat broke down. THe house was warmer than when the central heat was working. ALso I can COOK on it and IN it. It lights up the room its in as well as heats the house, i installed it partly as a alternative to a generator.

 

[Machria]

Iv been saying "ill bet those folks who went through sandy wish they had a wood stove" I use my 3 CU ft Harman as a weekend and backup heating unit and it is ideal even if you have NO POWER. I just used it for 10 days straight after XMAS when my main central heat broke down. THe house was warmer than when the central heat was working. ALso I can COOK on it and IN it. It lights up the room its in as well as heats the house, i installed it partly as a alternative to a generator.

That's exactly why I am now enjoying my wood stove. After sandy we had no power for 2 weeks, and it looked like it was going to be months,... we got lucky with a power truck figuring out our street was a quick fix. But 2 weeks in the 30's and 40's was a enough for me. I always wanted a wood stove, Sandy was the catalyst to get it done. The stove shops on LI were crowded for a few weeks. Bet they did pretty good.

 

[simple.serf]

I've had reasonable luck with my Enerzone 2.9. It heats our whole 2500 sq. ft. house with the exception of the two back bedrooms with the blower kit. Without the kit, It heats about half of that space. It's well built and has held up well to some occasional slip ups. The most important thing to remember with any of the above stoves is you NEED DRY WOOD! If you are buying wood, you need to get it in the spring and make sure you are splitting and stacking it now. The difference is like night and day on our stove.

Don't forget, you will need to have someone around to feed the stove regularly. Ours needs to be filled every 8 hrs when it's over 20, 6 hrs in the teens, and 2-4 hrs when it's lower than that.

 

[Redlegs]

I hit the EnerZone link above, mostly b/c I had not heard of them... those stoves dont look bad at all. The big one has a 3.4 cf firebox, and I always think it's better to buy all the stove you can up front, rather than wish had more later.

And second on getting ahead on dry wood. A MUST!

 

[rijim]

The largest I have seen if a more modern look is the Blaze King Chinook 30; This would probably be pressed to keep up on the coldest days, but, you would have the benefit of lower run temps and clean burns when it is in the upper 30s and 40s. If the hous is tight and well insulated it may work out ok.
Also check the PE Fusion, again may be a little pressed when mercury hits the single digits.

 

[Redlegs]

Google ads are appearently tracking my thoughts now b/c when I got into the office and hit the morning news page, I was offered this ad ..
http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Wood-...emporary-Wood-Stoves/Osburn-Matrix-Wood-Stove
It an Osburn stove in the 3.1 cf range, which is the same as my Osburn 2400 insert, which I have posted previously about and believe to be a great value for the money. This new Matrix stove has a modern looking base and is surrounded in soapstone, which I hear people rave about its wanming qaulities.
Wierd how Google ads hit me with that today...

 

[greenbrierwv]

you may have answered this already, but if you are building from ground up id invest much of your money in insulation first. than you could get a lesser stove and heat that amount of space. i have a friend that built an ultra insulated PassivHaus (german style) that heats up pretty quick just by running the oven. its pretty amazing. look at woodstock fire view or progress hybrid. people seem to love the blaze kings and jotuls. i have a progress hybrid and it heats my modestly insulated 2200sq ft closed floor plan house pretty well actually. You can build smaller fires in it for less heat too ive found. and it truly sips firewood, especially if you have quality hardwoods.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

FOr the "Sandy " people heating without the need for electricity is very important. Sure you can do a good job with your electric oven and some space heaters IF you have POWER. Only a wood stove will heat without power. Not a pellet stove or a furnace with electric fans.

 

[Machria]

The Blaze King Chinook 30 may be a good fit DL, check that one out. Blaze king is known for the longest burn times in the industry. However, on those l-o-n-g burns, you will not have a flame or nice fire display for ambiance. It is more of a smoldering fire I was telling you about. But for heat, that would be great for that house. The Chinook isn't ultra modern, but it does have a modern look to it.

(broken image removed)


All of the below are made by SBI (Stove Builders International) up in Canada. I looked at the Enerzone because there is a dealer right next to my office. They do look well built, very thick steel is used (and advertised). But I did not like the burn times, they seem to be more designed to blast heat fast, and burn alot of wood.
- Osburn
- Drolet
- PSG
- Enerzone
- Valcourt
- Century Heating


.

 

[raybonz]

FOr the "Sandy " people heating without the need for electricity is very important. Sure you can do a good job with your electric oven and some space heaters IF you have POWER. Only a wood stove will do that. Not a pellet stove or a furnace with electric fans.

Sandy was a freak once in a hundred year storm.. Up here we get Nor' easters often and hurricanes on occasion plus it can get pretty darn cold.. When oil hit $4.02 a gallon and I was unemployed in Jan. I vowed to heat with wood from that point on and I have kept my word and plan to continue doing so.. For me wood heating is a lifestyle and I am proud of this fact

Ray

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Those once in a hundred years storms seems to be happening as regular as those once in a hundred year floods of late,about once or twice every ten years.

 

[DLArchitect]

Hi All, thanks for all your comments, they're very helpful.
What do you think about the Morso3610 to heat the entire house and be installed on the ground floor?

 

[DLArchitect]

and do you guys maybe know who is selling the BlazeKing on Long Island? It's very hard to find on their website....

 

[DLArchitect]

my update:i'm new to this, but am interested in going as far away from oil/electric heat as possible. my cape cod 2 storey house (2 floors x 900sf=1800sf total with 7'/8' ceiling heights and open stair connecting the 2 floors) was severely damaged during hurricane sandy. it's on the bay and took on 2' of water inon the ground floor so i'm taking the opportunity to reevaluate my heating and lifestyle. back up heat will be electric baseboard because it's the least expensive installation and i hope to never use it.

i prefer modern or authentic reproduction with a view of the flames. any advice would be greatly appreciated. so far my research has taken me to the following options, but i'm open to suggestions comments....

1. morso 2B, one on each floor (i like the look as it was originally designed about the time my house was built) $900ea
2. bosca limit 450 on ground floor plus an ecosmart fire bowl for looks on the second floor (i like the loof of the bosca, clean and modern, but relatively quiet design) $1029 @ home depot
3. pacific energy fusion on ground floor plus an ecosmart fire bowl for looks on the second floor(looks acceptable but can get it for $2000 in stainless steel)
4 englander 17vl, one on each floor (looks fine, least costly $450ea @ home depot)

so i know what i like visually, but don't have any experience as to the day to day practicalities nor their efficiencies etc.in order of preference: looks, performance, cost effectiveness over time.

 

[DLArchitect]

and a pic/floor plan

 

[DLArchitect]

post-sandy pic of current renovation. i still need to raise the house min 2'6" and the chimney flue as well. i'll most likely locate the main stove and reuse the hearth....

 

[raybonz]

and a pic/floor plan

Seems one stove on the main floor with at least a 2.0 cu. ft. firebox would be adequate but you could go up to 3.0 cu. ft. if desired. Look for a stove that will go overnight. I go 10-12 hrs. with the T-5 which is a 2.0 cu. ft. stove and the Fusion should do the same. I can't speak for the other stoves but there are many good stoves to choose from. I suggest you get your wood supply now, cut, split and stacked off the ground and in the wind.. Get ash, cherry and maple and you might be able to get by for next year but you need to do this ASAP..

Good Luck!
Ray