building addition, want wood stove, need advice (epilepsy, aging mom issues)

[newatthis]

Hi all,

I installed 2 wood stoves a year and a half ago, and learned a lot from this group. Now I would like some ideas/advice for a new project. We want to build an addition for my aging mother; I also have a daughter with uncontrolled epilepsy, so have some particular safety concerns regarding the wood stove.

Regarding the aging mom, was thinking about ease/simplicity, therefore considering pellet stove. Although the electricity required and having to buy a manufactured product (the pellets) does go against the grain of this prepper. I'd be open to a cat stove for evenness of heat, for Mom's 2 degree comfort range.

Regarding our daughter's seizures, our solution so far with our existing stoves has been to use the old fireplace screens, which has worked pretty well keeping her away from the stove with falls. But I don't know if there are any more intrinsically safe options that I could design up front.

We are open to freestanding vs insert, since this is still in the design phase. Would be nice to have a cooktop surface, again from a prepper standpoint. The addition will be about 3 rooms total, the stove could conceivably heat the entire place. Thinking about having a basement for storage, if we did that, could put the stove down there, and pipe in the heat to the living area, which would maybe solve a lot of the issues.

Thanks for any advice! I love this group.

 

[blades]

Basement installs are always subject to problems related to draft reversals ( cord wood units) pellet units forced exhaust- no problem. Basement needs to be insulated otherwise too much heat loss through walls. Piping hot air now you are talking about a wood/ pellet furnace. Different set of codes for installation of solid fueled appliances such as furnace with duct work. The old hole in the floor with a grate over it won't pass muster anymore with the code or insurance police. Insurance and mortgage co. will not accept wood heat or pellet stoves as primary heating systems, possibly with exception of a few combined wood/oil-gas-electric systems. Basement -for ease of operation should be a walkout style - trucking splits through and down the stairs in the house is a pia. ( got t-shirt) Not always that much fun for 40# bags of pellets either. Pellet stove have a high maintenance in comparison to wood stove- got to do a mini overhaul about once a week course got to empty ashes on stove but that varies with the stove/insert in question-- cat stove or the new hybrids will give longest no attention required similar to pellet. Depending on location pellet pricing can be more or equal to conventional heating modes at present.

 

[begreen]

A cat stove with a child protective gate may be a good working solution. Install the stove to the side of a large open area that is not a traffic zone. Elderly people can fall too, so a stove that is out of the way and with long burn times may be the best solution.

Sorry to hear about your daughter's condition. Are all meds failing to arrest seizures?

 

[newatthis]

"pellet units forced exhaust- no problem. "

Blades, thank you for your comments. So, do all pellet stoves have forced exhaust, or are you referring to only a basement install? I thought the electricity requirement was only for the auger.

I don't even know what hybrid means- got to research.

 

[begreen]

Almost all pellet stoves have a combustion fan and a convection fan in addition to the powered auger.

Hybrid = a combination of technologies. In stoves this is typically a cat stove with secondary tubes.

 

[Sprinter]

Mom's 2 degree comfort range.

I would think that any stove, cat or non-cat would be difficult to control room temp that close all day. A pellet stove may be a better approach for that particular problem. I believe they are t-stat controlled and can be equipped with a remote t-stat, making it act more like a furnace.

The pellet and cat folks will have more to say about that issue. Pellet stoves can be run from a battery/inverter setup for power outages, or a generator.

 

[begreen]

Pellet stoves are great for ease of operation and thermostatic control. And most burn pretty cleanly. That is their strength. The downside is the noise of two fans running, maintenance, dust (from pellet loading), and a poorer fire view. Their economy depends on the pellet supply and demand. We in the NW fare better in that regard. A lot of east coast pellets are getting shipped to Europe which can keep local pricing higher.

 

[Sprinter]

Although the electricity required and having to buy a manufactured product (the pellets) does go against the grain of this prepper.

Personally I'd also hate to be dependent on manufactured pellets and the vagaries of the market and availability issues. IMO the only reason to go pellet for you would be if the room temperature control is a paramount issue.

 

[quotejso]

Sounds like grandma needs a blaze king, who would load it? Daughter needs Cannabidiol (CBD) look them up.

 

[xman23]

Mom's going to run this now and into the future? Wood can be a chore for us relatively young guys.