Can't install wood stove so thinking about gas

[nanama72]

We are moving to a new house that doesn't have a chimney usable for a fireplace so were going to put a chimney through a wall to have a wood stove but the overhangs are too large.

The wood stove guy from our local shop said we should go with gas instead since we will have natural gas at the house.
The house has radiators on natural gas, and is supposedly well insulated, so not sure that a gas stove would save us any money on natural gas or help out the environment but it would be nice to have heat in a power outage.

The home is 3 floors with a finished attic, originally from early 1900's. The first floor is about 700 square feet and the corner we want to do the install is rather far from the stairs, so we're thinking of heating enough to prevent pipes freezing and keep us warm in the room the stove is in.

First question is how large a stove in terms of BTU do we need. We prefer a physically small stove because the room we're putting it in is not that large and we have concerns about the stove taking up physical space. Of course a gas stove will take up less space than a wood stove.

Second is which stove would be best. We have local dealers who have jotul, vermont casting, majestic, avalon and hearthstone gas stoves. Not sure which is the most reliable and trouble free when it comes to gas stoves, and we also need to be able to use it with no electricity.

Thanks for any experience or advice.

 

[blades]

It is entirely possible to construct an external flue that dose not pass thru the roof or overhangs. More costly ,yes, but doable. Same with an inside chase/flue system. An external flue passing thru an overhang is no different than the same flue passing thru the ceiling and then the roof. The flue system would like cost as much or more than the stove. Anything that uses combustion to create heat will require some type of venting. Even the units that say no venting required still need
some sort of air exchange( ventilation) in order to keep Co levels in check- read the fine print.
If you are worried about power outages then a back up generator running on NG would be a much better choice wallet wise in your circumstances.

 

[nanama72]

Thanks, we are trying to vent through the wall with the gas stove. We do want a generator also. We're thinking about the Jotul Allagash. That seems to have the most positive reviews on hearth.com.

 

[Grisu]

Do you know how much gas the previous owner consumed in a winter month like January or February? That will help in getting the size of the stove right. One therm/ccf of natural gas has 100,000 BTU. An example: If they used 150 ccf per month, that's 5 ccf or 500,000 BTU per day. That's ~20,000 BTU per hour if the stove is supposed to take over all your heating needs (and assuming similar efficiencies between furnace and stove).

 

[nanama72]

Unless it seems a gas stove could save us on gas use over the radiators, then agree that a back up generator makes the most sense for us right now.

 

[Grisu]

Unless it seems a gas stove could save us on gas use over the radiators, then agree that a back up generator makes the most sense for us right now.

Unlikely. If the main concern was having heat in case of a power outage, then getting a backup generator is the way to go.

 

[DAKSY]

A gas stove CAN save you money over the use of your boiler in what the wood & pellet burners call the "Shoulder Season." If you can heat one small room to take the chill off & feel comfortable until you crawl under the covers, then a small gas stove will work. Once "The Hawk" (winter) hits, you'll need to have more rooms heated & be FORCED to use the boiler. If the room you want to install it in is a sitting room or other family type gathering area, then go for it. The Allagash IS a quality unit & it'll pay for itself in the late fall & spring months by using a whole lot less fuel than your central heating system.