Choosing a stove

[Michael Cardillo]

I just sold my Dutchwest stove. I am in the market for a new stove. I have considered Englander and Drolet. I have a 1500 sq ft colonial built in 1890. good insulation but some walls are terrible. Finished/insulated basement under room where woodstove is located. Stove is 15 ft from main staircase leading to bedrooms.

I am trying to heat all 1500 sq ft. Is the Englander NCH from Home Depot a good stove? Says it heats up to2400 sq ft. Is it too big for my home?

My budget is about $900/$1000

What other suggestions can you give to me?

Thanks for any help you can give to me.

Mike

 

[begreen]

The 30NCH would probably work out ok. Build smaller fires in milder weather and if necessary let them go out.

Which Dutchwest model would it be replacing?

 

[Grisu]

What kind of hearth do you have? The 30NC needs a r-value of 1.5 for thermal protection. You could also look into the Englander Madison. It is a new stove that is probably still a special order item. Here is an extensive thread about it: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/madison-in-my-burn-trailer.128150/ It has the advantage that it only needs ember protection in a hearth.

Another stove that would have a good size is the Heatilator Eco-choice WS22 but it will be a bit more than you are anticipating.

 

[Michael Cardillo]

What kind of hearth do you have? The 30NC needs a r-value of 1.5 for thermal protection. You could also look into the Englander Madison. It is a new stove that is probably still a special order item. Here is an extensive thread about it: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/madison-in-my-burn-trailer.128150/ It has the advantage that it only needs ember protection in a hearth.

Another stove that would have a good size is the Heatilator Eco-choice WS22 but it will be a bit more than you are anticipating.

Thanks for getting back to me. My hearth is 1/4" James Hardie backer board screwed into my subfloor and 1/2" slate stone tiles mortared on. Do you believe this will be ok for the Englander, if I decide to go that route? Also, the back wall has 1/2" durarock with 2" veneer stone 4' x 4' with 1" gap for air space between the durarock and plaster wall as well as 2" gap between hearth and bottom of the veneer stone.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Michael Cardillo]

The 30NCH would probably work out ok. Build smaller fires in milder weather and if necessary let them go out.

Which Dutchwest model would it be replacing?

I am replacing the Dutchwest 2477 Non-Catalytic Stove. It was rated to heat "up to" 1500 sq. ft with an output of "up to" 35000 btu's.

Should I be sizing up my stove to cover more sq. ft. than my house is?

Someone told me that my home sq. ft. should be 75-80% of the stove's upper heating ability. So...I have a 1500 sq. ft. home which means that I should get a stove that can heat up to 2000 sq. ft.
Is this true?

 

[begreen]

Sq ftg.sizing information for stoves is often next to useless. There are too many variables in climate zone, house insulation, high ceilings, stove location, etc. for it to be meaningful. A better guide is the firebox capacity. a 2.5-3.0 stove should work well for you. The 30NCH is a 3+ cu ft stove with ample capacity for your area. It is a little big, but should work fine. You could also look at the Englander Madison stove which is 2.45 cu ft and has easier installation requirements.

Your hearth would probably work for the Madison without modification. The 30NC would require a new hearth floor. It has a stiffer R=1.5 insulation requirement than the Madison.
(broken link removed to http://www.amfmenergy.com/50masmheup18.html)

 

[Osagebndr]

The drolet myriad would also be a good choice . I believe it has a 3 cu ft fire box . Not sure if there is a hearth insulation requirement for it tho

 

[Michael Cardillo]

I chose the England Stove Works Summers Heat 50-SHSSW01. It is the same stove as the Madison, according to a sales rep at England Stove Works. I got the stove for $710 after some finagling prices on lowes.com. This is with tax. Not a bad price for this stove. I saw the stove in person at my local lowes store and I am impress. I really like the large window and how tight the door closes on the stove. I will be back soon to write more of my opinion on the stove once I start using it. I get to pick it up tomorrow afternoon.

Question: Do I have to install a flue or stove pipe damper in order to use this stove? Is it recommended or no?

 

[Grisu]

Question: Do I have to install a flue or stove pipe damper in order to use this stove? Is it recommended or no?

It may only be required if you have an unusually tall flue with strong draft. If you can post your setup we can certainly make a recommendation.

Even if your draft is more standard, you can still put a flue damper in as a safety device in case you have a runaway stove and you want to slow down the burn to avoid an overfire. In that case, you will rarely if ever use it. Think of it like a seat-belt in your car.

 

[Michael Cardillo]

I have 3 feet of single wall stove pipe with a 90 degree angle going through a wall thimble outside and then up another 18 feet outside with triple wall pipe.

 

[Grisu]

I have 3 feet of single wall stove pipe with a 90 degree angle going through a wall thimble outside and then up another 18 feet outside with triple wall pipe.

21 ft total with two 90 degree bends in there, it is unlikely that you will have too much draft. You could still put one in as a safety device but be aware that with proper burning practices you may never use it.

 

[Michael Cardillo]

I installed my Englander Madison today and noticed that because of the blower, the horizontal singl wall chimney pipe is significantly longer than the pipe in my old Dutchwest" the new horizontal pipe after the 90 degree is 13" long followed by a 1' length of triple wall pipe going though the wall. Is this normal? Do you think it poses an issue?

Also, should the horizontal pipe be pitched so it slightly rises away from the 90 degree and out through the wall or should it be perfectly level?

 

[edyit]

pitched at about .25 inches per foot of horizontal run.

 

[begreen]

pitched at about .25 inches per foot of horizontal run.

+1. As long as the chimney outside is tall enough this should draft adequately unless there are local geographic factors working against it.