Usual Newbie Questions.........and hello first post

[River19]

My wife and I are building a log cabin in Vermont this winter (long story) and we will have hot water base boards to keep things heated while we are away during the weeks, a wood stove will provide the bulk of the heat when we are there on the weekends. The 24'x32' house will be 1100 sq ft and have cathedral ceilings with a loft. We are looking at some used stoves around the size of the Vermont Castings Acclaim/Encore line.

I have been intrigued by the Jotul F3s and 100s as well based on some local availability of some used stoves.

I have gotten some mixed answers from dealers on what sized stove to buy for this application. My expereince with wood stoves in small homes is limited to a hunting camp that we rent each year that has an old Vigilant that overcooks the place in a matter of 3 hours. Should I shy away from larger stoves like the Vigilant etc.?

Understanding opinons are like .....well you know, do you folks think I am looking at the right sized stove for our application? I would appreicate some recommendations as we are trying to hit the $800-1300 price point for the stove without pipe. This will be a through the roof install with vertical exhaust.

Thoughts?

Thanks for the help and I think I will like this forum.

Steve

 

[paulie]

Welcome, I would say if you are looking to heat 1100sq ft, go with something rated at 1500 or so, you can always build a smal fire in a larger unit. I have a 1329 sq ft open 21 ft ceilings w/open loft. I have a Hearthstone Homestead, rated at 1800 sq ft and it works GREAT !

 

[begreen]

Yes, stay away from the largest stoves. It would be overkill. The original VC Resolute I would be great if you can find one in nice shape. The Jotul 3 or F3CB or 100 would also work as would a Jotul 602. Even a Jotul 8 would work if you moderate the fire size.

 

[InTheRockies]

Welcome! You'll be amazed at how much more efficient the new EPA stoves are. I would agree that you should be fine looking at stoves rated for 1500 sf. My house is about the same size as your's; I bought a stove rated for 1500 sf to replace the old smoke dragon and have been very happy. I had been worried about the step-down in size of the firebox--the old smoke dragon's firebox was almost 4 cf, the new stove's is 2 cf. However, the new stove is very efficient and it's doing a great job of heating my house. We aren't in the dead of winter yet, but we're dropping down to 20 F or below at night. There are a lot of good steel stoves within your price range rated to heat your house. You might look at Drolets and Englanders. Good luck and have fun shopping for your new stove. (Post some pics once you've got it installed. We all love pictures of members' stoves.)

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Here's the tradeoff I see- a smaller stove will not overwhelm the place, but will have shorter burn times. A larger stove will bake you out if you sleep in the loft. If you don't mind the shorter burn times, then a smaller stove may be the ticket. A mid sized CAT stove might get you longer burn times at moderate heat, but I don't know enough to recommend one in your range.

 

[fossil]

Modest-sized stove. Ceiling fan a must in the cathedral stove room. Wouldn't hurt to have a couple more up in the lofted area of the house, depending on how it's configured. It's gonna get toasty up there. Rick

 

[eernest4]

1800 sq ft or 2200 sq ft englander or summersheat secondary burn wood stoves.From my experience, I think you are better off with the larger stove because you can always put less wood in if it gets too hot but with a smaller stove, you can't put more wood in as you are limited by an undersized firebox.

I could only recommend the smaller stove if the place is very well insulated, otherwise go with the bigger stove & just use less wood if it is too hot.

lowes summersheat is usually at least $100 cheaper than home depot's englander, with them both being the same stove with parts interchangability.

the secondary burn epa stove will save you 2/3 of the wood that an old fashioned stove eats & still give you the same heat.

I went from 12+ cords a year down to 4 or 5 cords a year when i converted my 1970 smoke dragon to secondary burn + cut the smoke out the chimney in half or less.

secondary burn burns the smoke from the wood inside the stove as heat producing fuel so you save a lot of wood & still get the same heat.

I been down that road so i know what i speak of.

 

[River19]

Thanks for the responses, I appreciate the advice. It sounds like I should look at some of the Jotuls available more closely and I have seen some older Resolutes for sale, but they seem beaten on and are in rough cosmetic shape.

I will take a look at the Englander/Summersheat stoves, are they reputable? The 1800 sq ft Summers Heat is only $800.

I do get a little confused with the stove pipe selection. I would prefer to avoid stainless due to cost (anyone who has ever built a log cabin can probably attest to things getting pricey quickly). We are running it vertical up through the cathedral ceiling close to the rof peak. The "chimney" and roof support package from woodstove.com looks decent, but again I am new at this. Can I go with Double walled black pipe?

I am also trying to figure out my clearances as my wife wants me to build the raised hearth pad.......probably framed from 2x6" and covered with nice finish wood, top would be 5/8" ply with slate tile, am I barking up the right tree on this?

As usual, so many questions.........

Thanks a ton.

Steve

 

[begreen]

The Englander 13NC is a respectable stove and could work for you. You'll need to use stainless double wall, class A pipe for the exterior portion of the flue, but double-wall black pipe is fine for the interior work and required for the long connecting run to the cathedral ceiling. If you pre-make the hearth before having the stove, you may have to overkill it in dimensions and insulation, not knowing what stove is going on it. I'd wait until you know what stove is going in. That way you can precisely locate the flue, size and locate the hearth correctly and build it to the proper specifications.