Stove suitable for use in an arctic home

[arcticwarmth]

Good morning. Sorry for posting to another topic earlier.

I am not attempting to pull anyone's chain - I am a young soon-to-be homeowner who will be moving into an existing home in Iqaluit, Nunavut. I already live here (grew up here), and don't plan to do any polar bear research. In the near future, however, I would like to build a cabin out on the land up here with a wood stove and do some experiments with solar panels and wind energy (possibly see if we can get some betteries set up for bikes to use kinetic energy...)

But for the meantime, I am looking for a good wood stove that can provide sufficient heat year round in our 1500 square foot, single floor bungalow.

I mentioned in my earlier post that, based on my limited internet research, I was looking at the Alderlea T6 stove. Someone pm'd me with some othe rsuggested stoves, so I will check into those.

Our heating fuel is brought up by sealift each season, so you can imagine we pay more for fuel (although fuel is subsidized up here).

Our plan is to salvage sealift crates and other "waste" materials up here to fuel the stove. Someone (I think they felt my post was inauthentic and were being sarcastic) said something about dealing with all the dry cracks in the stove. What does this mean? Will using crates as one of the primary fuels cause stove damage?

So ya, basically, I am looking for advice from you guys n gals on hearth.com on what a suitable stove (and fuel source) would meet the needs in this arctic climate.

Our first sealift ship is due to arrive here between June 29 and July 5. I am aiming to have a stove selected and purchased in time tog et it up a later ship in the season (to be at the dock in Montreal no later than August 1).

Once again, if there any questions or suggestions y'all have, it would be much appreciated.

Bonjour to you all - enjoy your Friday and have a wonderful weekend.

With thanks,

Qajaaq

 

[webbie]

I think in general you are on the right track with a steel stove - they tend to be able to take more abuse than some cast or soapstone models. Running dry scrap wood will certainly be OK, but you are likely to get shorted duration burns. I think the Alderlea is steel interior with cast decorative outside, which is OK too.

If I may ask, why do people (like you) choose to live up there? Does it have a certain beauty?
How do you get your internet? I assume it has to be satellite link, since your IP is Edmonton.


BTW, I'm going to try that exercise bike thing (with generator) also. This one here is the most reasonable I have found so far:
http://www.econvergence.net/electro.htm

For folks who want to locate this place:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iqaluit

"Iqaluit has a typically arctic climate, with very cold winters and short summers that are too cool to permit the growth of trees."

 

[begreen]

Are you are already a seasoned woodburner or will this be your first experience? Crates and scrap wood will likely burn quickly, so you'll need to be careful in how you burn. As a sole source of fuel, you could easily overfire a stove. Also, many crates are green wood. They won't burn well and will reduce the heat of the fire as well as create a great deal of creosote. Is there anyone up there that will regularly clean the flue? It will need it frequently. If not, buy a complete set of tools for that too. You'll also need a stout interior flue, who will be installing this and do you know ahead of time what parts you'll need? Depending on the roof slope you may also need bracing against snow load and wind, polar bears, etc.

The Alderlea T6 is a good stove. Normally it would be overkill in a 1500 sq ft home, but perhaps not in the far north? But as a thought, instead of trying to have a stove for the maximum coldest temperature, what is the average winter temp? (Nevermind, I just looked it up. Feb. average winter low -24F, ave. high -9F. Makes Willhound's home seem tropical.) Other big stoves to consider would be the Quadrafire 4300 or 5700, or the Englander NC30L. Also look at and price a Napoleon 1900. It may be a better deal, especially in the Montreal area. As noted earlier, a big stove like these will go through a prodigious amount of wood very quickly in that climate. This would be at least 6-10 cords (128 cu ft/cord) per season. Are you sure you will have that kind of supply? How do you intend to use it? All day and night, or as an evening house warmer?

PS: So when one builds a cabin up there, every stick, nail etc. is imported, right? Do you purchase a pre-built unit that is reassembled on-site or does it get built from the ground up? Whatever you build, super-insulate the home. It will be your best investment.

 

[Highbeam]

Honestly, I would say forget it. Wood heat is not a good deal in a situation where there are no trees. A freestanding oil stove to burn that subsidized heating oil would be the ticket. If you insist on burning wood for environmental type reasons then I would buy a pellet stove but that would require dependable electricity and also the ability to repair or replace parts that may not be available in your area. Every woodstove that I have looked at requires that you burn cordwood and not lumber scraps.

Why do you want to burn a stove? Is it to save money, comfort, reliability (emergency backup), or environmental concerns?

In your unique climate I would be very concerned with having a backup source of heat that does not depend on electricity or some little 2$ widget that might break and leave you cold which may leave you dead.

So what do people do in a climate like that? Fish?

 

[myzamboni]

I think in general you are on the right track with a steel stove - they tend to be able to take more abuse than some cast or soapstone models. Running dry scrap wood will certainly be OK, but you are likely to get shorted duration burns. I think the Alderlea is steel interior with cast decorative outside, which is OK too.

If I may ask, why do people (like you) choose to live up there? Does it have a certain beauty?
How do you get your internet? I assume it has to be satellite link, since your IP is Edmonton.


BTW, I'm going to try that exercise bike thing (with generator) also. This one here is the most reasonable I have found so far:
http://www.econvergence.net/electro.htm

For folks who want to locate this place:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iqaluit

"Iqaluit has a typically arctic climate, with very cold winters and short summers that are too cool to permit the growth of trees."

Wow: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=63.73...&spn=36.945454,176.132813&z=3&iwloc=addr&om=1

 

[Gunner]

I don't know if I'd bother. Without a reliable source of wood, it is going to be a royal PITA.

I would not want to rely on 100% pallet wood. I'd guess that you'd burn 6-10 (heavy 4'x4' ) pallets per day. With an almost year round heating season you'd need at the very min 2000pallets/yr thats a heck of a lot O'pallets.

Now if you have a secure line on a supply, the space to store as well as the time and patience needed to process all those pallets then go for it.

 

[arcticwarmth]

I'm not a seasoned woodburner - this will be my first home and my first wood stove. Ya, we're looking for a stove that will reduce our reliance on the oil furnace (will remain in use, but will be more as a back up when we need to supplement heat fromt he stove). The wood that comes up here generally ends up in a landfill site, including pallets and scraps from construction yards. So, we are looking to save some moeny by using the oil furnace less, and looking to have less of a negative impact on the environment by burning wood which would normally end up in our overgrown landfill site, as opposed to continuing to use oil as the main fuel.

I have a friend that has a pellet stove, but he has to pay for and ship all his pellets on the annual sealift. The stove also becomes close to useless when electricity goes out.

I like the idea of saving these materials from the dump and putting them to good use. I don't mind spending some time scavenging for wood (I like to "shop" at our dump for free usable parts anyhow) and cutting to suitable sizes. Sure beats being at the mercy of our local power plant and fuel providers.

I don't know of any shops or individuals up here who provide chimney cleaning services, but haven't looked into that yet. I was also thinking of seeing if there are courses availalbe to learn how to (and become certified) to do this. I think there will be a market for these types of services here in the near future.

There are a few plumbing and heating companies I know of who have installed stoves before. I suppose, before I order all the things to go with the stove, I will go through the house with one of the installation companies to determine all the accessories I will need? I'll be sure to get bracing to be protected from possible polar bear attacks (we did have winds in excess of 100km/h this spring)

I was born and, for the most part, raised here in the north. I choose to remain here mostly because of our beautiful land. It is sooo gorgeous up here. Being able to get to "the middle of nowhere" in a matter of minutes and being able to hunt for much of the food that ends up on our dinner table.

When I build my cabin up here, outside of the community, I will be using mostly scavenged materials from the dump and construction yards. I will purchase vapour barrier and insulation and things like that either locally, or by ordering from the south. As much as possible, though, I plan to use materials which are considered junk/garbage by others (pretty amazing the quality materials one can find at the local dump). And, ya, I agree with super insulating any new building that goes up.

In a climate like this, one grows to appreciate the fragile nature we live in. Many of us here fish and hunt and camp on a regular basis, given our access to unspoilt nature. It is easy to see the major effects changing climate and weather patterns has up here in the arctic, even so soon. I'm trying to do a small part by using to the fullest the materials and resources that are sent here from the south.

My wife and I have recently got a qulliq, which we will use as ambience and a source of light. A qulliq is a traditional inuit tool used traditionally as a source of heat and light. Basically, a qulliq is a bowl fashioned from soapstone or other locally available materials. In the resevoir, typically seal oil (harvested in a sustainable manner and for food delivery to grateful elders) is placed, with parts from local plants lined along the upper portion, acting as a wick. As you can imagine, Inuit are not using the qulliq as the primary source of fuel these days, but I would like to, as much as possible, use sources of energy which have the least negative impact on our land and air and water.

Thanks so much for the link electrobike.

And thanks to everyone for your comments and questions. I am finding this very useful and welcome any further comments or questions, stove related or otherwise.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

I hav eyet to look into all the other stoves recommended by those of you on this forum, but will check back again soon.

Ciao

 

[Gooserider]

For retrofit into an existing structure, and burning scrap wood, I'd say a large firebox, steel stove is your best bet, although I think you'll find that it is necessary to only run small loads with frequent refills if you want to avoid over-firing. I'd also look for a non-cat stove, with the most "bullet proof" construction I could get, as your fuel will be hard on the stove to say the least....

If / when you do the new home, I'd consider a masonry heater, probably built from local materials as much as you can, it would seem an ideal solution since you can't really over fire an MH, so wood quality would be far less of an issue. An MH would also seem to be a good choice on the grounds of being economical on fuel, and working well with a super insulated structure.

Gooserider

 

[restorer]

I might be wrong, but there is no way a stove can heat a home under the environmental conditions. That said, would a small/medium stove intended to be burned at a high level not be the better stove? Say a Jotul or Morso that maxes the output for the fuel available and can burn hot for hours. It can not fully heat, but it can significantly impact the liquid fuel usage. Infact, you can add more than one and do extra zone heating.


I want to apologize for the unintended stress to you on your post. Thanks for not giving up on us as jerks and trying to repost. You got caight in a list inside-joke, thankfully it didn't get out of hand. Truthfully, I know I am really stunned that someone from your world would ask us for advise. All you folks below the 40th paralell should stay silent.

I personally would welcome you, and ask that you help us understand how to deal with cold, that's extreme cold. We'll try to help you keep warm as best we can.

 

[Rockey]

I had to bring this back TTT. I found it too interesting and wondered if you decided on a stove and if it is working out for you

 

[Burn-1]

I'm probably coming to this post way too late to help but having spent a bit of time in nothern Quebec I know there is a lot of peat in those northern latitudes. If you could drain, cut and dry some you would have an indigenous fuel supply that might work for you. But, there are few places to get peat stoves outside of Ireland and the UK and also while it might be marginally sustainable for a few people, it's still maybe not the greenest option.