So I am dreaming this evening and I need your help

[lowroadacres]

It is getting late in summer and we have a cool evening, okay not really cool enough to start a fire but cool enough to be dreaming about firing up the stove.

With that in mind I am doing some measuring and figuring as I aim for the day when I can upgrade our simple little stove in the basement.

Given the dimensions of the area of our current install I would like to find stove models that are 26 inches wide or less, depth can be as deep as it needs to be as we can trim back more of the laminate flooring to allow for more clearance.

If we can stay under 25 inches wide it would be very good.

We are heating 1370 square feet in the basement and 1370 square feet on the main level. So for simplicity's sake let's call it 2800 total.

Our eventual hope is to install an insert in the fireplace upstairs but I know that for the same dollars a person can get way more stove than insert.

Fire away hearth.com forum members with your suggestions. If I am dreaming then price is no object.... Once I get the suggestions then reality might have to set it

 

[Todd]

Rip out the upstairs fireplace, build a nice hearth and get a good medium sized stove. For the basement I'd install another mid sized stove. You could get 2 Woodstocks and join the club. ;-)

 

[begreen]

PE's mid-sized stoves are 24" wide. Good heaters with a 2 cu ft firebox. Their 3 cu ft stoves are 25.5" wide. Both models have good close clearance requirements. Napoleon 1400 and 1900 stoves come in at 25.5" wide and also have tight clearances.

 

[John the Painter]

Since it's a dream make some structural changes to accomadate a bigger stove. lol Seriosly good to see a fellow Drolet user.

 

[soupy1957]

The part of the dream that I'll address is the cool nights lately. I'm in New England (CT) and the nights lately have been low 60's. I've seen various species of birds beginning to "flock" and some tree tops starting to turn color. I'm itching to start a fire on the cool mornings (even though the temps during the day are 80's and 90's still. It is obvious that "Autumn" is going to come in quickly now, (I'd say within 3 weeks or so) and you're getting close (sounds like you may be in the same region) as I am, to burning. You obviously then, don't have a heck of a lot of time to get rolling on your dream. I also have a downstairs and and upstairs to consider. In fact, there are 3 floors to heat here, and OUR wood stove lives on the middle floor.

If you are sitting on some ready cash, and can get a pro scheduled (getting busy now), I'd get a stand alone stove installed (more efficient than your fireplace inserts) on the upper level, and just plan on burning wood in both locations, (assuming your basement stove is usable).

By the way, a 26" stove (firebox size?) is more than sufficient for 1370 sq ft dwelling footprint.

-Soupy1957

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I've been welcoming the change in nights too. This morning I wondered if I should fire off the NC 30 for a bit... just to run her through the paces. But it would still be pumping out major heat a 2pm and that would suck with the heat. I could do a partial load, but what fun is that?

Matt

 

[lowroadacres]

These are some good thoughts so far....

I will put one limiter on the dreaming right now and that is the idea of structural changes.

Our home is a Cedar log home made of machined Cedar logs, built in 1981 and we had it moved to our property four years ago this coming October.

The heating appliance installation areas are pretty much set in stone with the fact that the outside chimney is 6 feet wide, 2 feet deep with two active flues in the chimney. We would actually have to do foundation work to change things up much more than they are and that would be out of bounds as it would involved building inspectors and engineers. I kind of like engineers... building inspectors.... let's leave that alone.

The existing stove installation downstairs is fully functional although much smaller than I would like. It is a non-epa Jasper Drolet into double wall pipe into insulated SS liner in a tile line flue. If anyone wants further perspective on how long it took us to get the stove downstairs together just search some of my earlier posts. My emotional scars are starting to heal from dealing with one individual who is deeply entrenched in the insurance industry .

The upstairs appliance is a fireplace that would be a nice fit for a medium sized insert which I know would be better served by a hearth stove or freestanding install if we were talking only a heating perspective.

We were minutes from closing a deal last year on a Napoleon 1101 insert when my beautiful bride realized how small the fireview was on it

In doing my own digging and dreaming I am thinking that the Drolet Legend and Baltic would also be good fits in the downstairs installation.

We are a little ways away from upgrading either space in the house, and by a little ways away I mean either years or a windfall of cash out of the blue.

For the immediate future we are going to have to continue to live with short burn times and running the stove on the best wood we can harvest ourselves to maximize our heat cost savings.

The weather forecast for the next few days has the temps remaining under 20 c /70 f so the fireplace may get a little fire or two yet.

It is all I can do right now to not cover our firewood stacks with all of the rain we are having. I am going to try to resist until we are in risk of snow getting into them.

Keep the suggestions for my dreaming coming.