Advice Please!

[Hopper8r]

Hi guys, long time reader, first time poster.

I recently purchased a camp in northern ontario and need to replace the wood stove.
The camp is 600 square feet,
R12 insulated walls,
R20 insulated ceilings,
New windows in bedrooms (3) and older windows in main living area.

The camp will be used on weekends all winter and possibly a few longer stays.

The current hearth location in pretty much smack in the middle of kitchen/living room (one large 30' x 10' room).

Floors are uninsultated right now, but I plan on sprayfoaming the whole underside of the camp this fall.

I've looked at the following stoves, but can't pull the trigger:

Drolet Blackcomb, Baltic, Classic
True North 19
Enviro Kodiak 1200
Englander Madison (can't find it anywhere in canada yet)

Any advice or opinions?

 

[begreen]

You're looking in the right neighborhood. 2 cu ft will be overkill, but helpful in bringing up the temperature quicker. Plan on leaving windows open. Of these the TN19 and Kodiak 1200 are my preference.

 

[Hopper8r]

You're looking in the right neighborhood. 2 cu ft will be overkill, but helpful in bringing up the temperature quicker. Plan on leaving windows open. Of these the TN19 and Kodiak 1200 are my preference.

Thanks for the input, I kinda want something a bit overkill like you said for the quick warmup (it can be -20 C for weeks at a time in January-February); I really like the N/S loading firebox of the TN19.

 

[begreen]

Me too.

 

[Woody Stover]

Welcome, Hopper8r...Did you pull the trigger yet??

 

[HotCoals]

I would consider a smaller to med. cat stove also..2-3 cu.ft. range. Longer burns and ability to burn cleaner at lower temps.

 

[Hopper8r]

I would consider a smaller to med. cat stove also..2-3 cu.ft. range. Longer burns and ability to burn cleaner at lower temps.

I have no experience with Cat stoves, how quickly do they heat up? Life span of the catalyst? And most importantly....$$$??

 

[Woody Stover]

I have no experience with Cat stoves, how quickly do they heat up? Life span of the catalyst? And most importantly....$$$??

Probably not as fast to heat as a non-cat, should be 5+ years on the cat easily, usually more expensive to buy the stove. I like 'em for 24/7 heating because you can dial the output down lower, but I'd be inclined to go non-cat in your situation.

 

[Hopper8r]

Thanks for the input guys, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna pull the pin on a TN19. I've looked at both it and the enviro Kodiak stove at a local reputable dealer. It's in the right price range of ~$1000. I can't really justify spending more on something that only gets used 20-30% of the time. If I was heating my home on the other hand I would definitely look long and hard at a catalytic stove. 6-8hrs of burn time is enough for 'overnights' at the cabin and days spent away ice fishing.

 

[jeff_t]

Is there electricity? If so, you should consider a blower to help warm the place up faster.

 

[Hopper8r]

Yes, I have electricity as well as a generator for backup. I've been told by other campers on the lake that my hyrdo bill will be $500/year regardless of whether I use that much or not so I plan on running a couple oil filled electric radiator heaters on low when I'm away during the winter to keep the inside temps above -5 C. Apparently that was part of the initial agreement with HydroOne when the electrical services were installed (it's all submarine cables running up the lake...very $$$$$$).

 

[Hopper8r]

I also failed to mention that I have ceiling fans installed in all the bedrooms and the main living area as well to move the heated air around. It's unbelievable the difference they make in heat up when it's -35 out. My best friend has a camp another 7 miles further up the lake and only a generator, that place takes hours to heat up with his old fisher...which he just got rid of thankfully.

 

[Hopper8r]

I guess nobody has any opinion on Drolet stoves (SBI) and what about the Englander Madison? I really like the looks of the Madison.

 

[Woody Stover]

I guess nobody has any opinion on Drolet stoves (SBI) and what about the Englander Madison? I really like the looks of the Madison.

Several folks are running the Drolets, and from what I've read here, it sounds like a quality value line of stoves. Madison is new, so time will tell. No reason to doubt that it will be anything less than their other well-liked stoves...

 

[begreen]

Drolet makes good affordable stoves. Unfortunately their medium sized stoves have wide and shallow fireboxes.

No one has gone a season with the Madison. There is a small design quirk that I don't know how will work out. For some reason there is a raised firebrick step at the front of the firebox that is like 1" higher than the rest of the firebox floor. I'm sure there is a reason for this, and I'm not sure how it will work out in daily loading. Perhaps Mike can shed some light on the reason. It may not be a big deal at all. As a heater I would expect it should do the job for the cabin without a problem.

 

[Hopper8r]

Thanks for the input guys, I'm gonna go do some window shopping tonight, narrowed it down to non-cat stove 2-2.5 cu ft firebox....just gotta find something that I like now.

 

[Woody Stover]

.just gotta find something that I like now.

No matter what you get, you'll like the heat!

 

[Hopper8r]

No matter what you get, you'll like the heat!

I grew up with wood heat and love it!

I've already got 4 cords of birch stashed at camp (seasoned 3-4 years....saaaaweet!). I'm building my new woodshed this weekend to store an additional 5-6 cords I'm gonna start cutting this fall.

 

[Hopper8r]

Well, it's official. I purchased a TN19, pick it up next Thursday and take it up to its new home next weekend. Can't wait to break it in and fire it up this fall!

Thank You everyone for the input and advise.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Congrats and enjoy.......

 

[begreen]

Cool beans. Take some pics once it is in its new home.

 

[thedriver]

I guess nobody has any opinion on Drolet stoves (SBI) and what about the Englander Madison? I really like the looks of the Madison.

We got a Drolet Blackcomb last year and we heat our 1000 sf home and 700sf basement from the basement. we are very pleased with the stove and it's ability to heat all our needs. we did it with all silver maple seasoned for 7 months. we have no complaints at all. the only thing we changed for this year is we got a key damper to get more control and longer burn times..

 

[Hopper8r]

Here's a pic of the install:

 

[Hopper8r]

First small fire to cook the paint: