Beginner Needs Help

[Silversnaffle]

We recently purchased a house (Colorado). We had planned eventually to add a woodstove in the great room, but given the amount of propane we’re going through to keep the house comfortable, we’ve decided to get a woodstove as soon as possible. . The house is fairly new so it’s well insulated with good triple pane windows. The issue is the big open great room. It’s about 1,000 square feet with cathedral ceilings and a lot of glass. And it’s windy. We know we want a catalytic stove, and the size of the room will require a fairly big unit. The tricky part is that the only logical place is to do a corner install, but there is only about 36” inches from the corner to a window frame in each direction. We are hoping to find a stove that has lesser clearances so the stove doesn’t jut out too far into the room. We’ve never had a woodstove before so we’re total beginners. There are about a half dozen dealers within driving distance so we started our search there. That’s when we got really confused. While every sales person was helpful and recommended models from the manufacturers they carry, they were also quick to point why we didn’t want any of the stove brands sold by their competitors. Kind of a circular firing squad.

So, could anyone an offer stove recommendations? We are hoping to be in this house for a long time so we want a really good quality stove. It doesn’t have to heat the entire house, there is baseboard heat but we’d like to use less propane to keep the great room comfortable, something with a longish burn time for overnight, that could fit in the corner with becoming an obstacle in the room. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

We recently purchased a house (Colorado). We had planned eventually to add a woodstove in the great room, but given the amount of propane we’re going through to keep the house comfortable, we’ve decided to get a woodstove as soon as possible. . The house is fairly new so it’s well insulated with good triple pane windows. The issue is the big open great room. It’s about 1,000 square feet with cathedral ceilings and a lot of glass. And it’s windy. We know we want a catalytic stove, and the size of the room will require a fairly big unit. The tricky part is that the only logical place is to do a corner install, but there is only about 36” inches from the corner to a window frame in each direction. We are hoping to find a stove that has lesser clearances so the stove doesn’t jut out too far into the room. We’ve never had a woodstove before so we’re total beginners. There are about a half dozen dealers within driving distance so we started our search there. That’s when we got really confused. While every sales person was helpful and recommended models from the manufacturers they carry, they were also quick to point why we didn’t want any of the stove brands sold by their competitors. Kind of a circular firing squad.

So, could anyone an offer stove recommendations? We are hoping to be in this house for a long time so we want a really good quality stove. It doesn’t have to heat the entire house, there is baseboard heat but we’d like to use less propane to keep the great room comfortable, something with a longish burn time for overnight, that could fit in the corner with becoming an obstacle in the room. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

The only wrong stoves are the ones that don't do the job that you want.

 

[Megunticook]

We recently purchased a house (Colorado). We had planned eventually to add a woodstove in the great room, but given the amount of propane we’re going through to keep the house comfortable, we’ve decided to get a woodstove as soon as possible. . The house is fairly new so it’s well insulated with good triple pane windows. The issue is the big open great room. It’s about 1,000 square feet with cathedral ceilings and a lot of glass. And it’s windy. We know we want a catalytic stove, and the size of the room will require a fairly big unit. The tricky part is that the only logical place is to do a corner install, but there is only about 36” inches from the corner to a window frame in each direction. We are hoping to find a stove that has lesser clearances so the stove doesn’t jut out too far into the room. We’ve never had a woodstove before so we’re total beginners. There are about a half dozen dealers within driving distance so we started our search there. That’s when we got really confused. While every sales person was helpful and recommended models from the manufacturers they carry, they were also quick to point why we didn’t want any of the stove brands sold by their competitors. Kind of a circular firing squad.

So, could anyone an offer stove recommendations? We are hoping to be in this house for a long time so we want a really good quality stove. It doesn’t have to heat the entire house, there is baseboard heat but we’d like to use less propane to keep the great room comfortable, something with a longish burn time for overnight, that could fit in the corner with becoming an obstacle in the room. Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Can you show us a layout of the home? Having a little trouble picturing it.

You along the Front Range or high country? What's your elevation?

You're probably going to get a wide range of recommendations on stove makes. Best approach is probably to get your size/type figured out then compare different makes.

 

[all night moe]

King of cat stoves seem to be the Blaze King stoves, hands down. For a soapstone with cat try looking at Woodstock brand.
If you want a stove that can also heat quickly and maintain those BTUs, check out Pacific Energy. Those are tube stoves...not cats.

What ever you decide, work on your inventory of well seasoned dry wood for good stove performance.

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

Can you show us a layout of the home? Having a little trouble picturing it.

You along the Front Range or high country? What's your elevation?

You're probably going to get a wide range of recommendations on stove makes. Best approach is probably to get your size/type figured out then compare different makes.

Yes, other factors is steel or cast, black or in an enameled color (cast stoves) Traditional or modern looking. What about the hearth?

First thing I did was show my wife a bunch of pics of stoves and then colors vs black etc. Once we got that narrowed down I figured out the size based upon what I was trying to heat and then loading doors. Some only load from the side. Some top load etc. Side loading increases the amount of clearance to the side of the stove that opens. Many stoves can be tucked in closer than others so you do have options. The other things to consider is who will be doing the install. If it's the local company you buy the stove from that's not a bad thing. If you're experienced and can do your own install, then that's another thing to consider.

For me, the most important thing was getting my wife on board.

 

[all night moe]

Yes, other factors is steel or cast, black or in an enameled color (cast stoves) Traditional or modern looking. What about the hearth?

First thing I did was show my wife a bunch of pics of stoves and then colors vs black etc. Once we got that narrowed down I figured out the size based upon what I was trying to heat and then loading doors. Some only load from the side. Some top load etc. Side loading increases the amount of clearance to the side of the stove that opens. Many stoves can be tucked in closer than others so you do have options. The other things to consider is who will be doing the install. If it's the local company you buy the stove from that's not a bad thing. If you're experienced and can do your own install, then that's another thing to consider.

For me, the most important thing was getting my wife on board.

Great post.

 

[Silversnaffle]

Thanks everyone.
I”ll try to make a little drawing and post it. Good advice on the side loading, anything that increases the clearance requirement is probably out. Style wise, I think something pretty traditional or at least not wildly modern looking is good. Would love cast enamel but if a nice steel model has workable clearances, that would be okay too. To answer about location, western slope at about 7,000 feet.
As far as install, we will definitely have a professional. The dealers we visited either do complete installation or have recommended contractors they work with. And I’m the wife, so I’m already on board, 😊.

 

[CatfishHunter]

I'm the farthest thing from a stove expert, but I do have an early 90s stove that I use all winter at my cabin as the main heat source. We have an A-frame, so similar to your cathedral ceilings, the heat is going to rise. So number one, if you don't have a ceiling fan (or two) you should consider installing some. The heat will rise but the fans can help distribute the air.

Number two, while you are in discovery mode about which stove to buy, you should be sourcing your firewood. It needs time to season.

 

[Silversnaffle]

We have the fans already, came with the house but good to know to use them to push the warm air down! There’s a lovely local guy that everyone highly recommends and he’s told us he’s got plenty of seasoned wood and we can buy now from him even if it takes a while to get stove installed.

 

[Silversnaffle]

Not to scale drawing, but generally in the ball park. The darker marks on the perimeter are windows.

 

[stoveliker]

"seasoned wood" is wood with spices. Nice, but that may not do it.

You want dry wood. Get a $20 moisture meter (I have a mmd4e, but any similar type is as good). Before he unloads the wood, get two bigger splits, split them in half, stick the pins on the inside surfaces you just exposed. Pins deep in (as deep as you can), parallel to the grain.
Preferably this is done at room temp, but that won't be possible. I hope it's not freezing (frozen moisture gives a low conductivity which makes the meter believe the wood is very dry when it may be sopping wet/icy on the inside).

Many folks sell "seasoned wood" that has been in a pile for 2-3 months, not drying much.
Best is to get wood and get a shed, put the wood in the shed for next year (if it's pine/fir/spruce), for the year after (maple, cherry etc.), or the year after that (oak).
AND spend some money on a pallet (or two) of sawdust bricks (without any additions, wax or other stuff, just compressed sawdust). As @EbS-P says: consider it part of the cost to buy and install a stove. Starting with wet wood will suck, make you frustrated, disappointed in the stove (when it's the wood), and make your wife ask you to relinquish your man-card...

 

[all night moe]

There’s a lovely local guy that everyone highly recommends and he’s told us he’s got plenty of seasoned wood

Use caution regardless of reputation.
Older stoves are more forgiving with a higher moisture content. Newer stoves....not so much. Especially cat stoves.
Many sellers have claims of well seasoned wood. Few do, especially late in the season or beginning of the burning season.
Hopefully this guy isn't one of them.

 

[John Lehet]

If you’re in the front range (maybe other places in CO) you’ve probably got less to stress about than most of us regarding sourcing dry wood. I’ve got family out there. Besides it being such a dry environment, between beetle kill and trees being cut for fire prevention, there’s been a lot of wood being cut down, and a lot of it dry by now.

Plenty of stove brands to recommend, but as a sort of anti-recommendation, research hard before you think about a Vermont Castings. Some people are doing OK with them, but there are various problems — fragile and difficult to replace cats, expensive and difficult repairs, designs that may be functionally tricky to work with. I say this because they are so good looking, if one didn’t know better they would be a first choice. I would choose one as a first choice if I wasn’t going on experience and reputation.

Blaze King is top of the pile in terms of recommendation around here I think, and they will do well with the softwood you will have to burn. Woodstock also is highly regarded, but most of those are side loaders. The Ideal Steel and a few others from them are front loading, but Woodstock isn’t currently shipping those.

Jotuls are also good looking. There is some possibility that quality is slipping on recent stoves from Jotul. I have an old bulletproof Jotul no longer made, but I am upgrading to a Woodstock stove. Two possible drawbacks to Jotuls are that they tend to not hold fires as long as some other stoves (my stove, yes indeed, this), and also they can be harder to control with a strong draft and cold weather. (My little Jotul is pretty great and amazing, and good looking, but it won’t hold a fire for long and it is indeed a bit tricky on my chimney when temps go below 10F. 25 degrees, and it’s a great little stove.

 

[bigealta]

Pics of the space will greatly help. Drawings are ok but with pics guys/girls here can see potential problems/solutions.

 

[fao1989]

Not to scale drawing, but generally in the ball park. The darker marks on the perimeter are windows.

If the layout permits it, why not go with positioning it more centrally located? Away from the windows and I would think you'd get more even heat distribution from the middle.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

What’s your budget? A tall chimney is going to take up a lot of the budget.

 

[begreen]

You should be fine with a BK Alderlea 30.2. The cast iron jacket really softens the side radiated heat. Our Alderlea T6 (non cat, cast iron jacket) is in a corner with the window trim starting at 36". It's not a problem at all. These stoves are more convective than radiant.

 

[MRD1985]

Yes, other factors is steel or cast, black or in an enameled color (cast stoves) Traditional or modern looking. What about the hearth?

First thing I did was show my wife a bunch of pics of stoves and then colors vs black etc. Once we got that narrowed down I figured out the size based upon what I was trying to heat and then loading doors. Some only load from the side. Some top load etc. Side loading increases the amount of clearance to the side of the stove that opens. Many stoves can be tucked in closer than others so you do have options. The other things to consider is who will be doing the install. If it's the local company you buy the stove from that's not a bad thing. If you're experienced and can do your own install, then that's another thing to consider.

For me, the most important thing was getting my wife on board.

emphasis on the last part! That was my biggest struggle. You weren’t here a couple of years ago to hear my story LOL

 

[GG Woody]

You should be fine with a BK Alderlea 30.2. The cast iron jacket really softens the side radiated heat. Our Alderlea T6 (non cat, cast iron jacket) is in a corner with the window trim starting at 36". It's not a problem at all. These stoves are more convective than radiant.

... Pacific Energy Alderlea...
BK's on the mind?