What firebox size?

[ohiojoe13]

I'm looking to get my first stove but have a few questions. NE Ohio. The big one is what size fire box. My house is a 1500 sf ranch build in 1995 seems well insulated. The room the stove will be in has vaulted ceilings. The stove room, kitchen, and dinning room are kinda open with the bedrooms at the other end of the house. I'm ok with the bedrooms being around 65 degrees. I would prefer a non cat stove. I would like to heat primarily with wood with overnight burns. The one dealer near me that I looked at sells buck, napoleon, and quardrafire stoves. I have read 100s of reviews and can't narrow it down to what stove I want or need. I'm open to any brand that's well built. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Grisu]

Is the goal to heat 24/7 and never have to run the furnace or would you be ok with occasionally turning on the central heat when temps get really low? What is your budget? Any design preferences? How tall could the chimney be in that proposed spot? I am asking because Napoeleon stoves like good draft and usually benefit from a taller flue. When you know how much fuel (gas/oil/other?) you usually consume during the coldest month that will help in determining the appropriate stove size.

How is the wood supply?

 

[ohiojoe13]

Is the goal to heat 24/7 and never have to run the furnace or would you be ok with occasionally turning on the central heat when temps get really low? What is your budget? Any design preferences? How tall could the chimney be in that proposed spot? I am asking because Napoeleon stoves like good draft and usually benefit from a taller flue. When you know how much fuel (gas/oil/other?) you usually consume during the coldest month that will help in determining the appropriate stove size.

How is the wood supply?

I'm ok if the furnace has to run some but would like to limit it. I have used about 350 gallons of propane so far. I'm attaching a photo of what I would like it to look like. I have a budget of about $4500 including everything. Wood supply should be at 3 cords by the end of February.

 

[begreen]

If it will fit, go for at least a 2.5 cu ft stove. The Buck 74 or the Quad 4300 are in this size range. There is also the Quad Explorer II if you like a cast-iron look.

 

[Grisu]

When you say 350 gl of propane so far I assume you mean this winter. Let's assume that would be 2 months or 60 days. 1 gl propane = 90,000 BTU. If your furnace is 80% efficient that is 72,000 BTU/gl effective heat. Multiply that by 350 and divide by 60 days you'll get 420,000 BTU per day in heating load. That's maybe 3 cu ft of hardwood burned in a stove; really not that much. You should be ok with a medium-sized stove ~2 cu ft of firebox size. Quadrafire 3100 or Explorer 2 and 4300 for a bit more spare capacity. Buck 85 and Napoleon 1400 would be the appropriate size from the other manufacturers. Other stoves in that size range are:
Pacific Energy Super/T5/Spectrum
Jotul F500, F45
Lopi 1750
Enviro 1700 (with 2.5 cu ft firebox should do ok even in an arctic cold spell)
Regency F2400
Osburn 2000 or Matrix
Hearthstone Phoenix
For a budget choice: Englander Madison
Those are all solid units from reputable manufacturers. Try the forum search for real world experiences.

$4500 should be ok if you plan on building the hearth yourself.

 

[Oldman47]

I have a Napoleon 1100 waiting for me to finish the hearth so that I can place it where I want it. With the typical discounts from retail it cost several hundred dollars less than the list price and was delivered right to my door for about $1500. My chimney cost me under $1000 and the hearth area costs whatever you are willing to pay for fancy brick or more basic ceramic tile like I am using for a few hundred. Review the installation details before you buy. Some stoves only need a spark guard type hearth to protect against glowing embers while others require significant insulation from all combustibles. The picture you showed has a stove quite close to an outside wall so make sure the stove you choose has small clearance requirements to combustibles and plan up front to use double wall stove pipe. Bricking the surrounding area just means you need more room because any studs on the back of those bricks are considered unprotected by the brick. I know that's weird but it is the way it is. To get credit for shielding you need to have an air space behind the brick at least an inch wide with an opening top and bottom for air to flow in the space. Look carefully at the options for those stoves. Some can have an outside air kit attached and some are just not made for that. You will at least want the option if you have a tight house. Grisu seems to have a handle on size, which I do not, so he has given you that perspective. I am totally new to wood stoves but have done enough research to know about how to buy one, at least for me.

 

[Wood Duck]

Why do you prefer a non-cat stove? I have never used a cat stove, but if I were choosing a new stove as a primary heat source, burn time (time between loading and reloading) would be a very important factor. The ability to use the wood stove in mild weather would also be an important feature. Cat stoves are good at both long, clean burns and low, clean burns (which are really the same thing), so I'd consider a cat stove if I were you. Tons of people on this forum have cat stoves and like them very well.

 

[begreen]

I think you will find that the majority of folks here have non-cat stoves and that reflects sales in the US and world too. Our non-cat stove gets fed 3 times a day, works for us and is not a burden.

For someone looking at new stoves and wanting an objective perspective, this article may prove helpful.
http://www.woodheat.org/buy-right-stove.html

 

[ADK_XJ]

I can say from personal experience it's more likely that you'll say "I wish I'd gotten a little bit larger stove" than "man, I really regret this extra space in my firebox."

I have a similarly sized home albeit in Upstate NY (the real upstate, not just north of NYC - think closer to Canada) and with fair-to-poor insulation at best. My firebox is 2.3 cb ft and struggles to produce enough heat to maintain an inside temp of 68+ in half the house when it dips below 20 outside (like tonight).

There are lots of factors there and I know I need to do a block-off plate and some serious insulation but, still, food for thought. I really wish I'd gone a little bit bigger when purchasing everything. I had a similar budget as you and could probably have got close to a 3 cb ft without breaking the bank.

 

[jeff_t]

I have one of each, and would highly recommended either one.

The 2 cu ft PE stoves are pretty impressive, capable of some really long burns. Ours is in a 1350ish sq ft home in northern Michigan. Actually, I just got some insulation in the attic and opened up another 250+ sq ft. The stove handles the majority of the heating, with the furnace coming on around 5 am on sub zero nights, and a space heater or two in the bedrooms. About eight hours on a load in cold weather, and as much as 16 hours when I didn't need a lot of heat. Well built stove, easy to control, and drafts just fine with 13' of pipe. The stainless baffle is easy to remove, and makes sweeping a breeze.

Part of the success is probably due the fact that it is mostly surrounded by woods and very protected from wind. How exposed is your house?

I spent two nights a week in Alliance last spring and summer for work. If you had taco bell, kfc, or pizza hut, I had my hands on it.

 

[BradleyW]

For me it would depend on how cold it could be for me to still expect my stove to heat the house. If you are thinking you want the stove to heat the house when the outside temps get into the teens, then 2.5 cubic feet is probably ok. Any colder than that and I would guess you'd be wishing for a larger firebox.
But remember, I'm just a guy on the internet.

 

[ohiojoe13]

Anyone have a napoleon s9. While at a birthday party this weekend I was talking to my sisters inlaws. They have heated with wood for many years. This fall they got a s9 and said they were extremely happy with it. I like the s9 the only real complaints I have heard is the lip when you open the door is very shallow.

 

[prezes13]

If I was you and I wanted a nice freestanding stove to heat the house most of the time I would look at ashford 30 from Blaze King. I know you said no cat, but this stove should be able to give you 12 hours of meaningfull heat when you need it or long burns when it gets warmer. I have a 2.2 cf insert from lopi and heating 1200 sf of 1994 2x6 constraction house. On a really cold days and nights I have to reload every 4-6 hours so over night burns are hard to achieve when it's really cold.

 

[aansorge]

A nice option... http://mansfield.craigslist.org/hsh/4910155290.html

 

[aansorge]

What they look like new...http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/store/wood-products/wood-stoves/mansfield

 

[branchburner]

I heat about the same sq ft very easily with a 2.2 cu ft stove... could do it with a smaller firebox, but would prefer a larger one, for longer burns.

If and when I get a different stove, it will not only be larger, it will be a cat, so I can dial it down and use less wood (and get longer burns)when desired. Buck makes cats if you are at all open to considering one.

 

[stovelark]

For simplicity, ease of operation, good performance you cannot go wrong with the steel stoves, Pacific Energy, Enviro, Quadrafire, Osburn, Napoleon, Regency, all will give good performance. I'd go with bigger fireboxes too, longer burn times, longer wood. If you want a pretty cast iron stove, Jotul F500 Oslo, Jotul F600 Firelight, Pacific Energy T5/T6, Enviro Boston 1700. A pretty catalytic stove, gotta be the BlazeKing Ashford 30, she's a beaut. For the cast stoves, bring many bags of money. Good luck.