Catalytic stove or non-catalytic, which is right for me?

[JStash]

Hi,

I've read through a lot of the forums on this site, lots of great information. Although I still feel like I need to ask the question.

Here's some info of my situation.


I currently have a PE Super 27 (2009ish) in my basement on an outer wall. I moved this stove from my old house, and realize its likely too small. My house is 2900sqft including my finished basement. The woodstove is at one end of the house, just below the stairs. My upstairs is mostly open concept, but the far end of the house remains cooler, as expected. I have a number of ceiling fans that move the warm air around decently, but the living room at the far end of the house is still tricky to heat. This is not my main reason for posting here, but worth mentioning I guess.

I'm in Canada, -20C (-4F) is not uncommon, with colder temps for short periods (currently -38C(-36F)), avg temps are -15C to -5C for the winter though. I normally burn wood from October to March, but struggle keeping a fire going on my Super 27 as there's not much left in the morning/after work. I also have a natural gas furnace for when the stove won't keep up (today) or I'm away. I burn mostly Fir and some Larch.

I have a 1970's house, which has been renovated, spray foamed throughout and mostly well insulated, besides the slab in the basement.

My 6" Stove pipe comes out of my stove 4ft, does a 90 through the wall 4ft, then 90 up the outside of my house 10ft and above the roof 5ft.
About 23ft of stove pipe total, with two 90's. this is newer double wall? pipe.

In the spring I'll be building a detached shop, and moving the PE Super27 to the shop (I've already checked with insurance). I'm trying to decide what to replace this stove with in my house. I was initially sold on the Blaze Kings with their long burn times, but after going through a number of forums on here am not sure that's the best stove for my space.

I was reading about the "low and slow" blaze kings being better for shoulder seasons, and in areas much warmer than where I live. Although the idea of having a much longer burn time is super attractive to me. As for stoves, I was looking at the BK Princess and Sirocco for cat stoves, or the PE Summit. I do have access to other brands, aswell. Space is not really a concern, but the existing stove pipe is 6".

I should also mention, We're considering another woodstove in the future upstairs, maybe a smaller one, as the living room is quite far from the down stairs stove.

Let me know what you think, brand suggestions, types that could work best for me.

Thanks!

 

[begreen]

The right stove depends on many factors. If you are considering adding a smaller stove in the LR, then maybe keep the Super where it is and get a basic stove for the shop? Or is there a possibility of having a larger stove upstairs and moving the heat from the LR to the rest of the house on milder weatherdays? Would a wood furnace be more practical in the basement so that hot air could be ducted to the LR?

 

[JStash]

The right stove depends on many factors. If you are considering adding a smaller stove in the LR, then maybe keep the Super where it is and get a basic stove for the shop? Or is there a possibility of having a larger stove upstairs and moving the heat from the LR to the rest of the house on milder weatherdays? Would a wood furnace be more practical in the basement so that hot air could be ducted to the LR?

Thanks for the reply. What would you consider a basic stove? I always assumed my PE Super was pretty basic. I think moving air from the living room to rest of the upstairs wouldn't be that hard. But I don't think it would move to the basement very well, especially since the slab makes it very cold down there without the stove going.

As for a furnace, I've not considered this. I like how my natural gas furnace is basically there when I need it. If I decide to leave or don't want to mess around with tending to the stove, my furnace keeps the house from freezing.

Would the wood furnace be ducted into the same ducting my furnace uses?

I should also mention, I have a natural gas fireplace in my living room, which can take the edge off. We just don't use it much.

 

[begreen]

The Super is KISS design, but fairly sophisticated and with all stainless firebox components, a regulated secondary feed, and it's quite durable. It has one of the longest burn times for a non-cat stove. A simple shop stove might be a less expensive and more basic Drolet or Englander stove. Are you in the shop all day long, several times a week, or more like an occasional weekend? The reason I ask is that it takes a lot of heat to warm up a stone cold shop even if it is well insulated.

Whether the wood furnace could be tied into the existing ductwork depends on the gas system ducting and how close the wood furnace would be to the gas furnace trunk ducts. Some wood furnaces are quite sophisticated, others quite simple and not much different from running a wood stove.

 

[JStash]

Good to know, didn't realize the PE Super was considered a higher end stove. Further to that, If I were to get the PE Summit (3cuft vs 2cuft), is it reasonable to assume I'd get even longer burn times, as mentioned I have a hard time restarting from coals in the morning/after work.

When running a cat stove higher (low-med?), lets say the BK Sirocco, of course its not on "low" but would the burn time be comparable to a Summit running low-med aswell? or do the BKs burn longer even not on low?

I'll have a look at wood furnaces. It would be installed 1 room over from where the furnace is, its not inconceivable that I could some how tie it in with the furnace ducting. Any recommendations of brands for wood furnaces?

 

[begreen]

The Summit will put out more heat per hour, but the burn time will be about the same. If the goal is less heat for a longer period of time then the BK Sirocco or Princess can do the job but the burn time will drop notably when the stove is pushed for heat. @bholler is heating with the Princess from the basement. See his posts on this.

We have a separate forum for boilers and furnaces. I know of the brands, but for day to day experience, that would be a better place to ask. The best on the market is the Vapor-Fire 100 made by Kuuma.
(broken link removed)

Furnace forum

The Boiler Room - Wood Boilers and Furnaces

This Forum is for the topic of Central Heating - specifically with wood, coal, pellets, corn and other solid fuels. We can also discuss multi-fuel systems, which burn oil and gas along with solid fuels. If you are looking to heat your entire house evenly from one location outside the living...

www.hearth.com

 

[JStash]

The Summit will put out more heat per hour, but the burn time will be about the same. If the goal is less heat for a longer period of time then the BK Sirocco or Princess can do the job but the burn time will drop notably when the stove is pushed for heat. @bholler is heating with the Princess from the basement. See his posts on this.

We have a separate forum for boilers and furnaces. I know of the brands, but for day to day experience, that would be a better place to ask. The best on the market is the Vapor-Fire 100 made by Kuuma.
(broken link removed)

Furnace forum

The Boiler Room - Wood Boilers and Furnaces

This Forum is for the topic of Central Heating - specifically with wood, coal, pellets, corn and other solid fuels. We can also discuss multi-fuel systems, which burn oil and gas along with solid fuels. If you are looking to heat your entire house evenly from one location outside the living...

www.hearth.com

Thanks for your info. I'd just like to comfortably make it to the morning with a good bed of coals so I'm not messing around starting a new fire every morning. I got quotes on a Sirocco and a Summit, they'd be within a couple hundred of each other. I'll have a look for those posts on the princess.

Do you think my stove chimney setup would support a BK? It seems to draft decently, but not as good as my old setup which was something like a 25-30ft straight pipe inside.

Those wood furnaces look cool, but I don't think that cost will be in the budget once you factor the furnace and ducting. I'll think a bit on it.

 

[begreen]

It's hard to say without measuring the draft strength. It may be fine. Of the two, the Summit will be less fussy about draft.

The Vapor-100 is the cream of the crop. The Drolet Tundra II is a good furnace at a lower price.

Wood furnaces | Tundra II Furnace

The Tundra II is perfect for heating up to 2,500 ft² - 21'' logs - 4 speed blower and adjustable plenum included - Made in Canada. Can.

www.drolet.ca