Wood stove recommendation

[sba59]

Looking at buying a wood stove for a supplemental heat source. House is fairly new and very well insulated. We have an open floor plan with about 900 sq. ft. The Dealers in the area carry Jotul, Lopi and Quadrafire. We are looking at the free standing stoves.

What would be a good stove for this size area?

Thanks

 

[ControlFreak]

Look for any stove that's non-cat, non-downflow, and rated for 1500 sq ft. IMHO. Everybody has their favorites, so everybody will give you a different answer.

 

[adrpga498]

Going on my 9th year with a Jotul Castine. Dropped my fuel oil consumption from 900 gallons a winter to 125. My house is older and bigger then yours so you'll do even better on heating. Oh yes, I almost forgot, never had a problem with the stove. Dry wood is the secret for any stove by the way. Good luck.

 

[Todd]

Take a look at these.

www.woodstove.com

 

[dispatcher101]

Due to the size of your place, you will likely be in pretty close proximity to the stove. I think that you might enjoy the mellower heat of a cast iron or soapstone stove. While the steel stoves are more affordable they can roast you out of a room pretty quickly. Jotul's have small clearances to combustable surfaces, as well as the PE Alderlea series which are a hybrid with a steel fire box and an outer cast iron shell. Good luck

 

[begreen]

For 900 sq ft, look at ~2 cu ft stoves. Jotul, Lopi and Quadrafire are all good brands. In a small place, pay attention to the clearance and hearth requirements for the stove to be sure it's a good fit.

 

[thinkxingu]

sba, we looked at the Yosemite and really, really liked it. The only reason we didn't go for it was the small firebox--something to consider if you'll want to burn for decent lengths of time.

Good luck,

S

 

[DBoon]

When I hear "Northern Minnesota", I think you must have 9000+ degree days.

In Central NY, we are at about 7500-8000 degree days. My Lopi Answer does well for about 2/3 of the house but struggles under ~10 degrees. I chose it since it is a solid, well-built stove and with a blower it works well in my fireplace opening. I didn't have to make hearth modifications at all. So I would recommend the Lopi Stoves.

But I would also be looking at the Woodstock Fireview if I had a different situation, especially in your climate, open floor plan, and size of home. It might be just about perfect for you.

Are you burning hardwoods or softwoods?

 

[sba59]

Thanks for all the advice, researched all suggestions. I really like the looks of the Alderlea T5, and also found a near by dealer.

BeGreen...you mentioned to look at the 2 cu. ft. firebox. Being that's a larger stove, would that be too much for the space I'm heating, or can it be damped down for what I need. We can get many days in a row of -20 temps, and a bigger stove would be nice.

Thanks again

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Some stoves can be damped down with no problems but it seems that most report the stoves want full loads. Don't rule out the cat stoves, especially the Woodstock stoves. You will not find any local dealers for them as they sell direct only. They also have the greatest guarantee on the market and they stand behind it 100%. Look at Todd's post for the link to their website.

Good luck to you.


EDIT: The problem with the stoves less than 2 cu. ft. is short burn times. That does not bode well for overnight burns.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for all the advice, researched all suggestions. I really like the looks of the Alderlea T5, and also found a near by dealer.

BeGreen...you mentioned to look at the 2 cu. ft. firebox. Being that's a larger stove, would that be too much for the space I'm heating, or can it be damped down for what I need. We can get many days in a row of -20 temps, and a bigger stove would be nice.

Thanks again

The cold, northern locale was why I suggested getting a 2 cu ft stove. There are several nice models that will burn happily with a half-load of wood on milder days. Some stoves are jacketed for less direct radiated heat, but better convective heat. This is the style stove we got. The T5 is an excellent convective heater. It has nice long burn times.

I don't think this will be too big for you. The local stove guy blanched when I said I wanted to look at the biggest Alderlea. He said it would drive us out of house and home. Needless to say, we went with a different and better informed dealer and got the T6. It's worked out just fine. The stove gives off a soft heat and has a lot of mass which gently continues to release heat even after the fire has died. For your spot, a 2 cu ft Pacific Energy or Lopi stove is where I would start looking. But if there are other dealers or stoves that you like better, no problem. There are lots of good choices in this size range.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Thanks for all the advice, researched all suggestions. I really like the looks of the Alderlea T5, and also found a near by dealer.

BeGreen...you mentioned to look at the 2 cu. ft. firebox. Being that's a larger stove, would that be too much for the space I'm heating, or can it be damped down for what I need. We can get many days in a row of -20 temps, and a bigger stove would be nice.

Thanks again

The cold, northern locale was why I suggested getting a 2 cu ft stove. There are several nice models that will burn happily with a half-load of wood on milder days. Some stoves are jacketed for less direct radiated heat, but better convective heat. This is the style stove we got. The T5 is an excellent convective heater. It has nice long burn times.

I don't think this will be too big for you. The local stove guy blanched when I said I wanted to look at the biggest Alderlea. He said it would drive us out of house and home. Needless to say, we went with a different and better informed dealer and got the T6. It's worked out just fine. The stove gives off a soft heat and has a lot of mass which gently continues to release heat even after the fire has died. For your spot, a 2 cu ft Pacific Energy or Lopi stove is where I would start looking. But if there are other dealers or stoves that you like better, no problem. There are lots of good choices in this size range.

And to expand on the 2 cu ft recommendation, if you go small than a 2 cubic foot firebox reloads become far more frequent and overnight burns are challenging, if not impossible in a lot of cases.