Here I am, new to the group and with the famous “which stove is best question”! I have spent hours on line reading and looking for information. Much of that time was on this site where there is clearly a lot of helpful info., so here I go.
I currently have a Gatling wood stove that came with the house. It uses LOTS of wood. It is clearly an inefficient stove. My original plan was to run it until it died. These tax incentives have changed all that. I want to replace it with a stove that is efficient, as we do use it a lot, to supplement our heat.
I have had two masonry fireplaces in previous houses and a wood insert for a time, so I am not new to wood heat. I also have a chimney sweep friend, who isn't local. He like me agrees my wood stove is in a lousy location. That said, it has to stay where it is, which I will try to describe in the hope it helps you give me advice.
For some reason the folks who built this log house put in a brick chimney complete with flue tiles. It even has an ash cleanout door outside. Maybe they planned a fireplace but what I have now is a two year old 6" flexible flue liner in the flue that connects to the wood stove I mentioned. What really stinks is it is in the stove is in the corner of a small den that is off the living room/kitchen. I don't think I could have chosen a worse place for it to get heat to the living room and kitchen. That said, it is what I have to work with.
In the past we have put a fan on the den floor to bring air from the overheated small den to the living room and open kitchen. All rooms also have ceiling fans. I attached a picture that was taken with me standing in the living room. My goal was to show you the angle from stove to doorway but it is more pronounced than the picture indicates.
So, what do I want?
1. An energy efficient stove that is under $1500 and meets the stimulus requirements.
2. To find a stove with a blower if that makes sense for this application. It seems to make sense to me that moving the hot air from the small den into the larger kitchen/living room space is good on all accounts but what is your opinion?
3. Stove should be of a style appropriate to a log home.
4. I'd like something with a long burn time but I guess that comes with energy efficiency.
5. 6" flue pipe outlet has to come out the back vice side of the stove due to hearth configuration.
6. I am not concerned much about having glass. The ones I've seen always seem to be filthy which defeats the purpose. It isn’t a deal breaker either way.
So there it is. I have asked you to answer an almost impossible questions. Seriously, I'd appreciate any and all input on this. Hopefully this book of a post provided some worthwhile details.
I currently have a Gatling wood stove that came with the house. It uses LOTS of wood. It is clearly an inefficient stove. My original plan was to run it until it died. These tax incentives have changed all that. I want to replace it with a stove that is efficient, as we do use it a lot, to supplement our heat.
I have had two masonry fireplaces in previous houses and a wood insert for a time, so I am not new to wood heat. I also have a chimney sweep friend, who isn't local. He like me agrees my wood stove is in a lousy location. That said, it has to stay where it is, which I will try to describe in the hope it helps you give me advice.
For some reason the folks who built this log house put in a brick chimney complete with flue tiles. It even has an ash cleanout door outside. Maybe they planned a fireplace but what I have now is a two year old 6" flexible flue liner in the flue that connects to the wood stove I mentioned. What really stinks is it is in the stove is in the corner of a small den that is off the living room/kitchen. I don't think I could have chosen a worse place for it to get heat to the living room and kitchen. That said, it is what I have to work with.
In the past we have put a fan on the den floor to bring air from the overheated small den to the living room and open kitchen. All rooms also have ceiling fans. I attached a picture that was taken with me standing in the living room. My goal was to show you the angle from stove to doorway but it is more pronounced than the picture indicates.
So, what do I want?
1. An energy efficient stove that is under $1500 and meets the stimulus requirements.
2. To find a stove with a blower if that makes sense for this application. It seems to make sense to me that moving the hot air from the small den into the larger kitchen/living room space is good on all accounts but what is your opinion?
3. Stove should be of a style appropriate to a log home.
4. I'd like something with a long burn time but I guess that comes with energy efficiency.
5. 6" flue pipe outlet has to come out the back vice side of the stove due to hearth configuration.
6. I am not concerned much about having glass. The ones I've seen always seem to be filthy which defeats the purpose. It isn’t a deal breaker either way.
So there it is. I have asked you to answer an almost impossible questions. Seriously, I'd appreciate any and all input on this. Hopefully this book of a post provided some worthwhile details.