comparing btu vs square ft of home space

[ctswf]

hi, I will be purchasing my first stove/fireplace insert for my 1800 sq ft split level and I see there is much research to be done on my part...

As far as sizes go, I notice one product might list 75k BTUs heating 1800sq ft where another lists 2400sq ft but the same 75k BTUs.

Should I just take their word for it and go by the units estimated sq ft and not so much on the btus?

for full time heat of 1800sq ft is it generally best to get something rated say, 2400sq ft so I dont have to go full blaze all the time?

thanks
-nick

 

[prezes13]

Welcome to the forums. Those number most of the time means nothing. The real number is the size of the fire box. In your case it would be at least 2cft. The bigger the more fire power.

 

[begreen]

Look at 2.5 to 3.0 cu ft stoves if this is a very open floor plan.

 

[fossil]

Those numbers are real...but they are based on testing done under very strictly controlled conditions with carefully prepared fuel, and there are assumptions built into the final values. Thus the variation you see between appliances. They're not completely useless, but you have to take a lot of other things into account. How is your 1800 ft² arranged, where will the stove be located, do you have vaulted ceilings, what fuel will you be using, yadda yadda yadda. When push comes to shove, it's probably always better to buy and install something that claims it'll do more than you think you need it to do. Go bigger. Rick

 

[ctswf]

thanks everyone

its an open floorplan on the first floor. Fireplace is on firstfloor with 3 bedrooms directly above, so it should do pretty well I hope.

I was leaning toward the osburn 2400 which lists 1000 to 2700 sq ft, rather than osburn matrix 2000 @ 750 to 2100sq ft. There wouldnt be much reason to regret that right?

im also going to look in to the princess, seems to have a great reputation and longer burn times is a huge selling point for me.

I do not have any wood yet so I dont know what ill be burning, maybe bio bricks this year if I cant get any cured wood, im just sick of paying a ton for oil every year and being cold anyway. its time to burn something, anything!

thanks again, nick

 

[begreen]

If you can afford the Princess or the BK Sirocco 30 go for it. Otherwise the Osburn 2400 is a good stove.

 

[Charles1981]

I have a 2000sq foot rancher and a 2.3cuft fire box stove.

I recommend you go bigger. 3.0 cuft or greater.

I don't have a split level though. There are threads where people have discussed the difficulty in heating split levels sometimes.

My stove is adequate... gets 8-10hour burn times, but now I wish I had a much bigger stove....

 

[ctswf]

good info, the princess does not have a pricetag on the website like the osburn does...how much difference in price can I estimate?

I see, the osburn 2400 @ 3.2 cu ft can burn a little hotter than the princess @ 2.85 cu ft ...im learning now.

 

[Grisu]

Do you have a masonry fireplace and are looking for an insert or do you want to install a free-standing stove? Would you want a stove to be rear-vented using the chimney of the fireplace? A picture of your current setup may help.

 

[ctswf]

yes I want to put an insert in a masonry fireplace and vent through the chimney. After choosing the right unit I will most likely dive into the research of installing it myself.

I dont have a picture at the moment but its about 24ft of chimney, opening is 35w x 27h x 21d

full brick wall with brick hearth. clearance on the mantal looks fine but wife wants it replaced anyway so its a non issue

 

[ctswf]

I was not prepared for all the good info here, ill surely be back with questions but for now here is a pic of what ive got...i finally just downloaded tap talk

 

[Grisu]

Thanks for the clarification. Your fireplace opening sounds big enough for most inserts unless the sidewalls taper in or similar. Check the dimensions of the inserts you are interested in. Here is a partial list of inserts with a 2.5 to 3 cu ft firebox:
Pacific Energy Neo 2.5 and Summit
Lopi Freedom and Large Flush Hybrid insert (the latter also available from Avalon and FireplaceXtraordinaire with slightly different look)
Quadrafire 5100i
Regency i3100
Osburn 2400 (Matrix and 2000 have a 2.4 cu ft firebox, could also be sufficient)
BlazeKing Princess (catalytic for longer burn times and more controllable heat output)
Enviro 1700 series

 

[ctswf]

awesome thanks a ton!

one last general question... do most all of these units get hard wired for the blower, if so do you need a special heat shielded wire or anything?

I talked to a fireplace dealer who mentioned putting a box in the fireplace, not sure how its normally done or if he meant an outlet or a junction box or what. knowing nothing about it I would have assumed anything in the fireplace is too hot

 

[begreen]

Usually they are soft wired via a plug.

 

[ctswf]

thank you

 

[Grisu]

Mine comes out at the side of the surround and is plugged into the nearest outlet. You may need an extension cord though.

 

[begreen]

Depending on the home and setup, sometimes they can be wired though an ash dump to an outlet in the basement.

 

[Poindexter]

One point already alluded to but not explicated in this thread is the question "How thick is your insulation and how airtight is your home?"

If you can find homes similar to yours and in the same climate with you already burning wood I would ask them about the stoves and inserts they are already running...

 

[ctswf]

2x4 walls so the home should be r13 or r15 from the mid 1970s. it is not airtight at all, however im about to replace all my windows, so that should change soon I hope.

why is that part of the decision, because a poorly insulated drafty house might be on the side of larger stove vs smaller?

 

[Z33]

2x4 walls so the home should be r13 or r15 from the mid 1970s. it is not airtight at all, however im about to replace all my windows, so that should change soon I hope.

why is that part of the decision, because a poorly insulated drafty house might be on the side of larger stove vs smaller?[/quote]

Correct. The more BTU's per hour you house looses through air leakage and poor insulation the more BTU's the stove will have to put out per hour to maintain a given temperature.

 

[ctswf]

ah thanks to u both.
yes its always been a bit drafty and cold here, I suspect after new windows it will still be similar. bay window, double doors, slider, all cold and staying put

 

[Z33]

ah thanks to u both.
yes its always been a bit drafty and cold here, I suspect after new windows it will still be similar. bay window, double doors, slider, all cold and staying put

You might be surprised how much new windows will help. I replaced my old single pane aluminum frame windows from the 70's with new vinyl double pane lowE/Argon models and it made a SUBSTANTIAL difference. in both summer cooling and winter heating.

It cost me 3700 to replace 17 windows and I suspect i will make that back in about 5 years after I figure in the tax credit.

 

[prezes13]

Hey nick where in ct are you? If you will end up buying a stove and don't have any seasoned wood BT enterprises in Bristol has a variety of compressed wood bricks. I tried them all and found out that Ecko Bricks worked best for me. If you still undecided on stove go check the dealers and look at them see what you like the most and what fits your budget. Dean's in Plaintsville has a wide selection of stoves and a beautiful showroom. FWIW if I could do it all over I would go with the BK princess.

 

[Poindexter]

Exactly, a drafty house will lose heat faster so you will have to make more heat to replace what is leaking out the windows and etc.

One thing you can look at is your "degree loss per hour". There are other ways, but this one is easy. Get the house to whatever temp you want, say +65dF, then turn the thermostat down while the wood stove is cold, check your outdoor temperature and time how long it takes your house to lose one degree, or five degrees. Certainly kick your furnace back on before your pipes freeze.

I have gone bananas on air leaks in my house for two years. When I find a cold draft around an outlet or window or light switch I mark the wall near there with some carpenter's chalk, and then come back over the summer with silicone caulking while it is warm enough for the caulk to cure.

Two years ago I was losing 5 degrees per hour at +20dF. Feb 2014 I was losing a fraction of a degree per hour at +20dF, and losing 5 degrees per hour at -20dF. At -40dF I lose about fifteen degrees per hour. The only thing I changed on the building was fix air leaks with caulking and weather stripping, no added insulation.

Thankfully I am only looking at 10-20 nights annually at -40dF or colder. A week of that I can burn a full cord of wood - which saves about $500 off the oil bill.

You might call your local office of the US Forestry service. The foresters up here are very engaged with the wood burning public and aren't in the business of selling wood stoves.

 

[ctswf]

damn poindexter those are some exact numbers! I uave no idea, at the moment what my loss is. its not the worst thats for sure.

prezes, thanks for the heads up, im in north haven... 20, 30 min from Bristol. im going to try to swing by deans in plantsville today if I get time check out some units. I went to two smaller guys over the weekend but hadnt researched much and dont know what I was looking at