Bargain stove for a leaky Wisconsin farm house?

[bobc608]

Hi everyone,

I am posting today to get the information I need to make a decision about buying a woodstove before winter is over. I have learned quite a bit online but I am finding all the opinions on stove models overwhelming.

I am currently burning wood in an old half-moon shaped stove, see attached pic. It's huge, it's old and I imagine it's eating up all my wood that I spend so much time and effort cutting. The house is a leaky 100 year old farm house, the first floor is 900 sq.ft and the floor plan is not open, there are doorways from the 234 sq.ft den (where the stove is and where we spend a vast majority of the time) to the kitchen, bedroom and parlor. Heat from the stove makes it's way into the bedroom and parlor on its own but we use a small doorway fan to get more heat into the kitchen. There's a large laundry room/bathroom off the kitchen. There are also a number of large, though modern windows in all the rooms.

The upstairs gets whatever heat makes its way through the ceiling and up the stairway. We have back up LP but we use wood as much as we can in the winter to save money. I never load the stove to capacity, it would be like loading a traditional fireplace to capacity. There's usually never more than a few medium sizes logs in it at a time. The den can be made toasty (with a cold layer of air at floor level), the other downstairs rooms are cooler and the upstairs is chilly on a cold day. Oh, we have a ceiling fan in the den getting the hot air off the ceiling.

Given the layout and draftiness of the house I'm not sure what size stove I should be considering, but I've been hoping to getaway with something like Jotul 602 CB, and just read some about the Englander VL17 and the Morso 2B. I am thinking that almost any EPA certified stove will be a huge improvement over what we have now. The only nights we have coals in the morning is if I put in chunks of wood late at night and I normally check the fire every hour or so when I'm home. It's like a needy pet. Money is a big issue, the less I have to spend the better, the look of the stove means nothing to me.

Thanks,

Bob

 

[DougA]

I don't own any of the stoves you are looking at but I can give you some general advice.

Buy bigger and you'll be more happy. Super cold nights will be when you'll regret buying big.
Heat does not travel well. This forum is full of threads of trying to move heat to smaller rooms and it's never as successful as you'd like. You have already found that out and a more efficient wood stove is not going to help. A much larger stove will help but the room the stove is in will likely get pretty warm.
Proper insulation is probably a better investment than anything else.

BTW, that is one weird stove you have - love it.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I am finding all the opinions on stove models overwhelming.

Might as well throw this on the pile: there seems to be no causative relationship between money spent and overall satisfaction with a stove. In fact there is often a reverse correlation.

Also, don't assume you will burn less wood, especially during your first year or two as you re-learn how to properly operate your new stove. This is my 6th winter with my PE Spectrum Classic and while my house is much warmer my annual wood consumption has remained steady.

I think you'll want more stove in that leaky old WI farm house than the ones you listed.

 

[mark cline]

Definitly more insulation , caulking , weatherstripping , any way to cut down on the warm air leaving the house. The less warm air that leaves the house , the less heat you need to make. What concerns me is the cold air at the floor, more insulation under the floor will help. Moving air around the house , can be a challenge , you might try moving the cool air in, towards the stove room , which will in turn push the warm air out to the cooler rooms. Be creative and see what works the best.

 

[kennyp2339]

Englander NC-30, don't be fooled by the size, you can make smaller fires in it when the temps are mild, when drop through the bottom of the bulb you will have an efficient heating machine that is the best dollar for dollar imo

 

[branchburner]

Welcome! Best bang for buck (by forum consensus) seems to be Englander. The NC13 is probably too small, and NC 30 might be too big for your needs, but I would opt to go on the bigger side (at least 2 cu ft) to get longer burns and higher output when it's really cold.

For over 2x the money (a bit over $2k, rather than under $1k) I myself would opt for a larger (3 cu ft) cat stove like the Woodstock Ideal Steel, or one from BK or Buck. A cat stove offers a bit more control, giving longer burns at lower heat output (WITHOUT the filthy smoke older stoves produce on a low burn -- the cat burns that smoke).

Not sure what size flue your pipe feeds into (a clay tile?) but you will probably want 6" or 8" ss liner all the way up, depending on the stove, for proper draft.

As for moving heat, many of us find blowing cool air into the stove room works better than trying to push warm air OUT of the stove room. (A small fan near the stove, blowing cool floor air onto/behind the stove, can also help serve to move heat off the stove/masonry and into a convection loop.)

BTW, your current stove belongs in the Weird Stove Hall of Fame!

 

[MishMouse]

If looking for a good heater at a bargain price I would look at Englander.

When looking for a stove, the sqft it says it heats is under ideal conditions and a well insulated space.
So get a stove that heats a much bigger space than you have.

Aka: If your house is around 1.8K get one that heats over 2K. (NC30)
Better to heat on a low to med burn then having to have it on high.

I originally bought a stove that heats up to 1K, for my 2K (1K basement, 1K first floor) house.
My thoughts were to use it to heat the basement to lower the heat need for the upstairs.
Needless to say I had to keep it constantly above 600 just to keep the basement in the 50's.

 

[begreen]

Might as well throw this on the pile: there seems to be no causative relationship between money spent and overall satisfaction with a stove. In fact there is often a reverse correlation.

I don't think that is true. There are an awful lot of satisfied BK owners here and that is one of the more expensive freestanding stoves. Your PE Spectrum is a premium priced stove relative to Drolets, Centuries and Englanders, yet you are very satisfied. There are differences that some are very happy to pay more for. In a 20 yr life of the stove a thousand dollar difference breaks down to less than a buck a week.

 

[begreen]

I would look at the Pacific Energy True North TN19 if it is sold in your area. We can get it through our local hardware store. This is a 2 cu ft stove that will be around $800. It has reasonable clearances, a square firebox and is a simple strong heater. The hearth requirements are ember protetction only. For about twice that price you can get a PE Super 27 which will have longer burn times and a superior baffle, but the TN19 will get the job done well.

 

[Simonkenton]

I love the looks of your stove. A few months ago someobdy posted a thread on here, he had a stove like that and was asking what it was.
When you are done with it, I will buy it from you, wonder what it would cost to ship to North Carolina.

 

[blades]

Well Ken ya beat me to the 30, but ya got to have DRY fuel to make it work ( which really isn't any different any of the newer stoves, but the 30 is a bit picky on this ) Feed it fuel at 15% moisture content it will bast you out- 20 % is so so.
Its getting close to the time when Home depo will inventory clearance their stoves at selected stores, sold under the Timber Ridge name I think. Englander NC30 = Summers Heat = Timber Ridge same unit depends on the retailer for the name.

I also remember that stove you have , I can't put a name to either.

 

[RickBlaine]

And remember to call Home Depot and mention that you have a 20% off coupon for any item at Harbor freight, and a 10% off coupon for anything from Lowe's. When you call HD, they will usually give you 15% off the stove. This is of course if you are buying the Englander.....

Some local HD's will offer free shipping to their specific store. In Chicago, they don't ship the stove to a local store for free Not many wood stoves here.

You are in Wisconsin- so plenty of Menards. Find a shelf item, the local manager may knock $200 bucks off- they usually do that around February 20 - March 1.

 

[kennyp2339]

I don't think that is true. There are an awful lot of satisfied BK owners here and that is one of the more expensive freestanding stoves. Your PE Spectrum is a premium priced stove relative to Drolets, Centuries and Englanders, yet you are very satisfied. There are differences that some are very happy to pay more for. In a 20 yr life of the stove a thousand dollar difference breaks down to less than a buck a week.

I totally agree with Begreen... I will always recommend a Englander model (as long as they keep a very reliable product) to anyone that is on a budget, on the fence with wood burning in general, or wants something with ease of use (so anyone can learn) I would like to say I am very impressed with my BK, but I truly think that if I bought the Englander as my first stove, I would honestly still be burning it right now. See when I first started burning wood I really didn't know what I was doing and I went and bought a cheap epa stove thinking "Oh its epa and UL approved, so all stoves are created equal" very much NOT the case, avoid the us stoves that are made in china (you can find them in tractor supply) stay with something that is beefier and made here at home in the USA, what ever stove you end up with, check here first, there are tons of members here with valuable information.

 

[Huntindog1]

Your in Wisconsin so check out Menards.

http://www.menards.com/main/p-2431485-c-6884.htm

Ship to stores for free and you pick up from store.

 

[newyorker]

Go to Menard's and buy a drolet tundra equal heat throughout house controlled by a thermostats wood stoves he rooms furnaces heat houses

 

[Woody Stover]

Definitly more insulation , caulking , weatherstripping , any way to cut down on the warm air leaving the house. The less warm air that leaves the house , the less heat you need to make. What concerns me is the cold air at the floor

Yep, cold air flowing across the floor means huge air leaks. If your doors are leaky, get some of these, they work great. Don't press the bulb too firmly against the door, though, or it will be hard to close. http://www.homedepot.com/p/MD-Build...Weatherstrip-Kit-69938/205545482?N=5yc1vZc3dy