Hi Forum,
We are new homeowners as of yesterday and would like to replace an old blackbox woodstove in our new home.
Main floor is open concept with kitchen and living room: 725 ft2
A tight staircase leads upstairs.
Upstairs is two small bedrooms and a bathroom: about 325 ft2
Our home office will be in one of the upstairs small bedrooms: we may open it up to be more loft-like, but the heat still has to flow up an enclosed stairwell.
Location: right on the Great Divide in the Great White North: Lake Louise. Winter lasts from Oct to April and temperatures can range from 15 to -5 F (-10 to -20C) for much of the winter, with occasional forays even colder.
The house: we are in the middle of a row of townhouses. Built 1994ish. Good insulation as far as we know.
The room: one exterior wall has a fairly large south window and twin balcony doors with glass. Near this window, the ceiling is vaulted for about 1/4 of the total bottom floor. See pictures.
The fuel: paper birch and pine or spruce from British Columbia. We are well aware of the many comments about dry wood for newer stoves and will be monitoring this carefully.
The chimney: interior for about 8 feet, then exterior in a chase for about 20 feet.
Lifestyle: we work at home on many days of the winter and would like a warm upstairs office. We don't like to get up early just to start a fire, so will be starting the fire when we do get up. Likely want to work about 1 hour later. The stove is meant to be used as secondary heat, but we would like it to get up and running within a reasonable time. We are willing to use propane forced air first thing in the morning to be comfortable, but would like the wood stove to heat the house for the most part during the day and evening and into some part of the night. We don't expect to burn overnight.
We have narrowed it down to Jotul (F3, Castine or Oslo) and Alderlea (T4 or T5).
We have understood that the Jotul's are pure cast iron and the Alderleas are cast iron jacketed steel stoves. I think we've understood that the Alderleas are more convective and the Jotuls more radiant.
Our installer and sales guy thinks radiant is better.
First issue: size, of course.
- It seems likely that the Castine is the right size, but... it sounds more finicky than the other two Jotuls. We are concerned with this being first time wood heaters. That is why the other two Jotuls are still on the list.
- If Alderlea, T4 or T5? We find this hard to judge and our installer isn't sure either.
Second issue: placement in the room.
- the current hearth is going and we'll be building a new one on the floor.
- ideally, for viewing and heating and room arrangement, we'd like it in the corner (right as you look at the stove in the picture). But this will necessitate a long pipe with two 90 degree bends (this is what our installer has recommended, over a 45 degree plunge towards the stove).
- we are worried that these bends in the pipe would create drafting and creosote problems - especially with the finicky Castine. Thoughts?
- the other, less preferred option, is to have the stove directly below the chimney. There will still be a bit of a bend in the pipe to bring it away from the wall, but it will be no problem.
- the downside of this placement is that in Alberta, we must have an outdoor air feed. There is an existing one that can come up from the basement, but... as far as we can tell... it would have to come up beside the hearth and feed over to the stove, which sounds very ugly. Punching a hole in the hearth would not be OK, but we still have to see if we can get it up the wall to come out of the wall behind the stove more seamlessly. Anybody know something about this?
- by the way, if you are knowledgeable... we've learned that the current installation is not to code. There will be a heat shield put in place behind the thimble and pipe dropping down into the room... don't worry.
Third issue: which kind of stove will fit our lifestyle and needs best - Jotul or Alderlea?
- I'm afraid the Alderleas will take too long to heat up in the morning. Should I be?
- Minor, but fun: we love the idea of being able to dry out our mitts on the shelves of the Alderlea... wet mitts are a big thing here. Does this actually work OK, or are the shelves too hot?
- We like Pacific Energy and their reputation.
We welcome all comments and thoughts. Thanks in advance for your time.
We are new homeowners as of yesterday and would like to replace an old blackbox woodstove in our new home.
Main floor is open concept with kitchen and living room: 725 ft2
A tight staircase leads upstairs.
Upstairs is two small bedrooms and a bathroom: about 325 ft2
Our home office will be in one of the upstairs small bedrooms: we may open it up to be more loft-like, but the heat still has to flow up an enclosed stairwell.
Location: right on the Great Divide in the Great White North: Lake Louise. Winter lasts from Oct to April and temperatures can range from 15 to -5 F (-10 to -20C) for much of the winter, with occasional forays even colder.
The house: we are in the middle of a row of townhouses. Built 1994ish. Good insulation as far as we know.
The room: one exterior wall has a fairly large south window and twin balcony doors with glass. Near this window, the ceiling is vaulted for about 1/4 of the total bottom floor. See pictures.
The fuel: paper birch and pine or spruce from British Columbia. We are well aware of the many comments about dry wood for newer stoves and will be monitoring this carefully.
The chimney: interior for about 8 feet, then exterior in a chase for about 20 feet.
Lifestyle: we work at home on many days of the winter and would like a warm upstairs office. We don't like to get up early just to start a fire, so will be starting the fire when we do get up. Likely want to work about 1 hour later. The stove is meant to be used as secondary heat, but we would like it to get up and running within a reasonable time. We are willing to use propane forced air first thing in the morning to be comfortable, but would like the wood stove to heat the house for the most part during the day and evening and into some part of the night. We don't expect to burn overnight.
We have narrowed it down to Jotul (F3, Castine or Oslo) and Alderlea (T4 or T5).
We have understood that the Jotul's are pure cast iron and the Alderleas are cast iron jacketed steel stoves. I think we've understood that the Alderleas are more convective and the Jotuls more radiant.
Our installer and sales guy thinks radiant is better.
First issue: size, of course.
- It seems likely that the Castine is the right size, but... it sounds more finicky than the other two Jotuls. We are concerned with this being first time wood heaters. That is why the other two Jotuls are still on the list.
- If Alderlea, T4 or T5? We find this hard to judge and our installer isn't sure either.
Second issue: placement in the room.
- the current hearth is going and we'll be building a new one on the floor.
- ideally, for viewing and heating and room arrangement, we'd like it in the corner (right as you look at the stove in the picture). But this will necessitate a long pipe with two 90 degree bends (this is what our installer has recommended, over a 45 degree plunge towards the stove).
- we are worried that these bends in the pipe would create drafting and creosote problems - especially with the finicky Castine. Thoughts?
- the other, less preferred option, is to have the stove directly below the chimney. There will still be a bit of a bend in the pipe to bring it away from the wall, but it will be no problem.
- the downside of this placement is that in Alberta, we must have an outdoor air feed. There is an existing one that can come up from the basement, but... as far as we can tell... it would have to come up beside the hearth and feed over to the stove, which sounds very ugly. Punching a hole in the hearth would not be OK, but we still have to see if we can get it up the wall to come out of the wall behind the stove more seamlessly. Anybody know something about this?
- by the way, if you are knowledgeable... we've learned that the current installation is not to code. There will be a heat shield put in place behind the thimble and pipe dropping down into the room... don't worry.
Third issue: which kind of stove will fit our lifestyle and needs best - Jotul or Alderlea?
- I'm afraid the Alderleas will take too long to heat up in the morning. Should I be?
- Minor, but fun: we love the idea of being able to dry out our mitts on the shelves of the Alderlea... wet mitts are a big thing here. Does this actually work OK, or are the shelves too hot?
- We like Pacific Energy and their reputation.
We welcome all comments and thoughts. Thanks in advance for your time.
