Will it really heat the whole house?

[nicelady]

Hello. We are thinking about investing in either a wood or pellet stove. I have browsed this site and read some of the articles. I've learned a lot! I have also spoken with colleagues and friends who have either pellet or wood stoves. Alas, I still can't get an answer to my big question! Will one of these stoves heat our entire 1300 square foot two-level house? My dream is to be warm for the 8 months of the year that I am usually cold. (I'm from California.) I know it would be frowned upon for me to keep the house at 70, but how about 68 for a few hours every evening? I would appreciate any advice about links on this site that provide information on what would need to be done to a two-story house to maintain a comfortable temperature when we are home. Thanks.

 

[RedRanger]

Post some pics so we can see your layout. and yes, you have come to the right place.

 

[BrotherBart]

We have heated a two story 2,500 sq. ft. center hall colonial in Northern Virginia for going on 24 years with a wood stove. Not exactly MA winters but it gets there some days. Below 70 upstairs around this house in winter is considered a sin.

 

[webbie]

You mention a "few hours"......

All stoves take a while to heat up well from a cold start - but some stoves are MUCH better than others at this. Pellet stoves can heat up fairly quickly also.

The basic answer to your questions is yes...you will be able to be warm. But choosing the right stove and fuel are important and might depend on exactly how you plan to use it. There is a big difference between 24/7 burning and a few hours in the evening. So along with a idea of house layout, it would be nice to know exactly how you plan on using the stove.

 

[RedRanger]

We have heated a two story 2,500 sq. ft. center hall colonial in Northern Virginia for going on 24 years with a wood stove. Not exactly MA winters but it gets there some days. Below 70 upstairs around this house in winter is considered a sin.

Hmmm, just as we all suspected--Bart is a sinner.. Didn`t we know that all along? :coolsmile:

 

[11 Bravo]

You will get lots of good advice from fellow New Englanders living near you. The biggest challenge for my wife and I with our woodstove is moving the heat around the house. Gotta do a little experimenting and be willing to adapt and be realistic........But the fact remains that we save at least $2000 in propane a year burning wood. My fellow convert had an insert put in his fireplace in his log home last September and the $2500 he spent will pay for itself halfway through this next winter.

 

[fossil]

A lot depends on the configuration of the house, as others have said. We have a 2500 sq. ft. two-level home, with the second level partially lofted (open to the vaulted ceiling living/dining/kitchen space below). We heat with a wood stove in one end of that lower "great room". The upstairs of the house gets downright toasty (we need a ceiling fan in the big room where the stove is...coming soon to a room near us!). The challenge for us is to get heat to the first floor rooms down the hall from the big room where the stove is (like our bedroom). The optional blower on our stove is very effective at promoting good mixing and circulation, but there's more we can do. We're now launching into a pretty major remodel, and we spoke with a very knowledgable HVAC tech the other day, who completely understands what we're after, and will suggest some design elements in our new system that will optimize the heat distribution from our woodstove. In any case, we passed a rather long and cold burning season (our first here in Oregon) without resorting to turning on the backup (electric forced air) more than a very few times. You can do this, keep asking questions and learning all you can about it. Think beyond the stove...insulation, air distribution, weatherstripping, etc., etc. Rick

 

[colsmith]

We have a two story house, almost 2000 sq. ft. The layout just happens to work well (the stairway to the upstairs is not far from the wood stove) to heat both levels. We have one room way in the back of the main floor that is always colder in winter, because the warm air has to turn more corners and go sideways further to get there. We just blew 12 to 18 inches of insulation into the attic of that room today, maybe it will help. It is the only room on the main floor without the upper level on top of it, so no heat over it either. We keep plants and bins of documents and so on it that room, so it doesn't really matter that it is chillier there. We need to use the furnace as a supplement when it is below 15 degrees for a long time, but otherwise we heat the house only with wood. We wouldn't freeze without the furnace, but it wouldn't be nice and warm all over, either. Upstairs the heat is controlled by opening or closing doors to rooms. We love our stove, and the hauling and splitting of firewood keeps us healthy.

 

[woodconvert]

I know it would be frowned upon for me to keep the house at 70, but how about 68 for a few hours every evening?

Who would frown and why only 70???. I've got a 2,500sq ft two story with open cathedral ceilings and if it's not 77 down stairs i've got someone barking in my ear!.

 

[PS3696]

I Just bought a Harman Oakwood with hopes of heating a 2,100sq ft raised ranch with just wood. Now if I could only figure out how much wood I will need per season?

 

[webbie]

I say you will burn 4 cords to do a good job....close enough.

 

[colebrookman]

Welcome to information overload, but at least you can make an educated decision. I heat a two story 1200 sq.ft. home in a hilltown on the edge of the Berks. just with wood, small propane direct vent in case we go away in the winter. No problem except wood is work, it's a different way of life. You are more in tuned with the weather, bring in more wood if the temps are going down, more kindling if it gets warmer and you leave the fire go out. And on and on; and if the fire goes out wood is not instant heat, takes time to get the house warm. And it can be messy, with ash, bits of wood and my wife's curse, dust. Do you have an easy supply of wood, does your health permit the work involved etc. If you don't mind a change in lifestyle, wish to save$$, woodburning for many of us is the way to go. But you had best educate yourself before jumping in and this is the number one best forum to do that. Good luck.
Ed

 

[stanleyjohn]

I have a small 1500 sqft colonial and recently installed a med size wood and it heats both floors very well.Main foor gets upto upper 70s and 2nd foor low to mid 70s.My wife said it worked too well! she had to open a window in the 2nd floor bedroom while she was watching tv.The temp outside at the few times i used it was upper 30s low 40s.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I have a 1600 sq ft, 2 floor log home and the insert heats the whole thing as long as I keep it loaded... despite the wind blowing straight through the spaces in the windows I need to replace- LOL. When that's tackled- I'm confident that it will be too warm for me, and just right for my DW.

 

[Vic99]

You absolutely can heat the whole house. If your stove or insert does not have a blower, you may want to consider a ceiling fan or a floor fan to push the air around. Don't expect the whole house to be the same temperature. It might be 75 F in the stove room, but 70 in the kitchen and 68 upstairs for example. Depends on your configuration. Open floor plans are obviously best.

My first year involved getting my insulation up to par. Some of my walls simply had the wood/plaster and nothing more. I added cellulose where I could. I tightened the attic insulation and then did the basement ceiling. All of this helped enormously.

If you decide to get a cord wood stove over a pellet stove for next season, start getting wood NOW so it can start to season. Some wood advertised as seasoned, may not be to your liking.

Good luck.

 

[mayhem]

Nicelady, I live in Peru, whihc is typically about the coldest, windiest town in western MA (largely because its the highest). I can heat my entire house with my wood stove...the more remote reooms will certainly be cooler than the living room, but they're very livvable. My house is about 1750 square feet, but the entire front half of the house is a wide open 2 story room with the west wall being almost entirely glass (see avatar pic for a portrait). My wife is chronically cold and has been miserable with the oil burner keeping the house at about 68-69 in the winters...this year burnign the woodstove the front room stayed in the upper 70's most of the time and went from being the coldest room in the house to the warmest.

On top of that I cut my oil consumption literally in half, and I'm pretty sure I've got enough capacity left in the stove and flexibility in moving the air around the ouse to get it down another 20% or so at least.

So yes, you can absolutely heat your entire house with a wood or pellet stove...as mentioned above, the key is to make sure its the right wood or pellet stove for your needs.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Despite being... well who he is... Clownfish makes some good points. If going with wood- you will need to "manage it", and that's really the work in owning a woodstove. You'll find that some crazies here (myself included) actually like or are even passionate about cutting/splitting/stacking etc- but if you're not up for that sort of investment in time and effort (plus saws, space, etc)- then you are left with buying wood (still need to stack/store/plan ahead to have it dry) or wood pellets/alternatives.

I don't want to scare you off- just want you to get the most out of it safely! Wood pellets are dry when you get them, cleaner, and store in a smaller space than wood, at generally more cost (I think). They also burn much cleaner/easier in a good pellet stove, with less worry of moisture and creosote.

There's lots of good info on this site- do your homework, and you'll save some serious money. On top of fuel savings- we are much warmer and more comfortable in the winter when we burn wood! Who knows- you may find that you enjoy cutting/splitting wood. Remember the saying that it warms twice- it's great exercise!

 

[skinnykid]

I am wondering the same thing about our stove in a 1500 sq foot house. I would like it to heat the house but not have it crazy hot in the living room where the stove is located. I guess I will have to figure it out when it gets cold again.

 

[Vic99]

I'm also flirting with obsessed. I try to split a minumum of 3 times/week. If that is not what you're into, you can certainly buy wood. I was in western MA a couple of times late fall and I believe 1 cord of hardwood was running around 175-200 cut-split-delivered. It's 250-275 in Eastern MA.

A lot of people go with pellet stoves because they are just so much easier to deal with. Although, like a FF burner, you may not be albe to run it if the electricity dies.

Expect to make mistakes in your first month/first year of buring with wood.

My biggest (although Mr. Pantialones will probably disagree . . . maybe vehemently) was misestimating how much wood I'd need the first year. I guessed 4 cords, which was a correct. But, 2.5 of those cords were 85 yr old pine wall lathe from my on house which burns wicked hot and wicked fast. Realizing that I was going to run out, I only used the pine as a fire starter (still have over a cord left) and started grabbing all the pallets that I could. They got me through Feb, March, and April. Although somewhat labor intensive until you get a cutting system down, pallets are great because many are dry and ready to burn. Cord wood takes 6 months (willow) to 2 years (white oak) to season well. Most species are good to go in a year if split and stacked properly. Other factors come into it too.

 

[tradergordo]

Keep in mind that if you are going to heat with wood next year, you should be getting all of your wood pretty much immediately. You want it split and stacked off the ground, in full sun, for the whole summer. This is how you get good results and big heat come winter.

 

[stanleyjohn]

Dont let the dealers try to sell you a small stove!For your square footage i would get a med size.Better to get bigger than smaller.They told my dad that a small one would be good enough but i convinced him to get the next size up!(med),It was about a $500 increase.

 

[mayhem]

^^ Agreed, but only to a certain point. If you get too big a stove you'll find your house too hot and you'll tend to run the stove at lower temperatures, which kills the efficiency and fills your chimney with creosote. You want to get a stove thats the right size for your specific house so that you can run it at reasonably high temperatures much of the time. My house has a gigantic air volume in the room where the stove is, so the one I got is on the larger size for my square footage...I might have gone a step lower in size if my front room had a second story over the whole room or if I had less glass on the front. Your home's unique layout, airflow and square footage will largely dictate the general size stove you want to look for.

If you visit several dealers and go through the sale process you'll hopefully be able to find them all trending towards the same general size stove. Don't trust tehm blindly, but pay attention to their advice too...there are plenty of smart, honest dealers out there.

I also find it really odd that any dealer would want to undersell anyone...the bigger stoves are big ticket items and typically more profitable...if they're trying to sell you a smaller stove it might be for a good reason...of course that reason might be that they're overstocked with small stoves, but you never know.