Does size matter?

[Jmgerstner]

Hello to everyone, new to forum and to wood burning stoves. I recently purchased a quadrafire pellet stove for my basement and now having buyers remorse. Bought to heat the entire house and placed in the basement, now finding that this isn't working out so well. I've decided to purchase a wood burning stove upstairs in my living room. I'm looking at the Englander wood burning stove. One of the models is rated to heat 1800 sq feet and the other one is rated to heat a 2200 sq foot area. Would it make sense to opt for the 2200 sq ft model and build smaller fires and bigger ones for when it really got cold or would the 1800 sq foot model be adequate? My house is maybe 1100 sq ft. The specs for the 1800 sq foot model says the depth of the stove is just over 12 inches..doesn't seem like a lot of room to me.
Thanks in advance for any information!

 

[Sprinter]

Welcome. Can you tell us a little more about the house and your climate? If the house is reasonably well insulated and the climate is not too severe, then you won't need a very large stove, especially if you intend to keep using the pellet stove in the basement.

It sounds like the Englander models you are referring to are the 13-NC and the 30-NC. The 30 is probably way too large for your house, but the 13-NC with a 1.8 cf firebox would be more appropriate. One thing about the 13-NC to consider is that it requires a hearth with an R factor of 2.0, but otherwise is well respected. I don't know where the "12 inch depth" figure comes from, but it's a respectable size firebox.

 

[Cory S]

Our home is Almost 1900sq ft. Both upstairs and down are the same size. The firebox in my Drolet, is only 1.9cu ft. It can maintain the whole house fine with outside temps down to about 20*. Below that, I would have to run the stove hotter to maintain higher than 68* upstairs. May look into an 30-NCH Englander for next season. I would say youd be fine with the 13-NC. The 30 is a big stove for 1100sq ft.

 

[Hogwildz]

If you opt for the 30, you can build smaller fires that will work just fine, yet have the larger capacity when needed.

 

[tarzan]

I would agree with going bigger unless you plan to keep the pellet stove going in the basement.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Get your wood now and plan on the stove for next year. You need wood with a low moisture content to run the stove right and it's near impossible to find right now.

There is no need to struggle with your stove and decide you made the wrong decision.

 

[bsruther]

We're using a 30 in a 1000 sq ft ranch and it does a fine job of heating the house. It can cook the house, but if I pay attention to the outside temps and build fires accordingly it's very easy to maintain our desired comfort level.
The 30 is built like a tank, but like most stoves, it has weak points and replaceable parts that can fail. I figure that not having to operate the stove at the top end of it's temperature range is going to prolong the life of the stove and it's parts.

 

[blades]

NC 30 designed to operate at around 450-650 cruise ( temps with out fan on) gaskets on door and baffle boards basically consumable items. note with care baffle boards will last many years- most get broken by operator error.

 

[prezes13]

I am heating 1200 sf with a 2.2 cf firebox insert and I wouldn't mind having something bigger, just for the over night burns.

 

[Jmgerstner]

Welcome. Can you tell us a little more about the house and your climate? If the house is reasonably well insulated and the climate is not too severe, then you won't need a very large stove, especially if you intend to keep using the pellet stove in the basement.

It sounds like the Englander models you are referring to are the 13-NC and the 30-NC. The 30 is probably way too large for your house, but the 13-NC with a 1.8 cf firebox would be more appropriate. One thing about the 13-NC to consider is that it requires a hearth with an R factor of 2.0, but otherwise is well respected. I don't know where the "12 inch depth" figure comes from, but it's a respectable size firebox.

Good morning and thanks for the response! I was reading the specifications on the 13-NC. The dimensions for the fire box are Height 12.875 in Width 20.5 in Depth 12.375 In. In my mind Im picturing a box a bit over 12 inches high, a bit over 12 inches deep and 20 inches long. I can't speak to whether or not that is adequate room as I lack experience with wood stoves. What I have running through my mind is a constant stream of loading wood into a tiny space to keep the fire going. As for the hearths R Factor, initially was planning on buying some hearth stones and pouring mortar and making my own hearth pad. However I priced premade hearth pads and the cost is a little cheaper without the mess, so on the fence between building and buying a hearth pad at this time. Also, I can't seem to find any information regarding airflow control on the 13-NC. Was curious if there were airflow controls or is it just a load and burn trouble free type of thing? As for my house, it is insulated but has old drafty windows throughout the entirety of the house. Hoping to get those replaced next year. I live in St. Louis MO, temps in the winter can vary drastically on a day to day basis but single digits to mid/low teens is common.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

 

[johnpma]

I'll quote my chimney sweep "I'd rather see a smaller stove burn hot to heat a home then a larger stove burn cool"

 

[Jmgerstner]

I'm researching Wood burning stoves and came across this youtube video regarding the Englander 13-NC model. Any input regarding single wall stoves VS double wall stoves would be greatly appreciated!!

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Thanks in Advance!

 

[claydogg84]

Why not just bring the pellet stove upstairs?

 

[begreen]

A single-wall steel stove will be more directly radiant off the sides and back than a double-wall or cast iron or soapstone wrapped steel stove. You will note that the single-wall stoves will have higher clearances for this reason. Most come with back shield options and some come with side shield options as well.

 

[Jmgerstner]

A single-wall steel stove will be more directly radiant off the sides and back than a double-wall or cast iron or soapstone wrapped steel stove. You will note that the single-wall stoves will have higher clearances for this reason. Most come with back shield options and some come with side shield options as well.

Thanks for the response! I posted a youtube video link. The couple was complaining that the bulk of the heat was kept inside the stove and that the stove itself didn't put out much heat because of the double wall design. If you have any advice or comments regarding that would be greatly appreciated. I'm researching wood burning stoves catalytic vs non catalytic, the pros and cons of each. Just want to make sure that I don't end up investing in a stove and end up with buyers remorse. Any advice you could impart would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance!

 

[begreen]

We have a convective stove and love it. The house is very evenly warmed. But different strokes for different folks. If you have a large room and the stove can get the clearances it needs then you may like a radiant stove. We had a couple here that had a small place drafty in WY and bought a 30NC. It drove them out of the house. Then they bought an Alderlea T6 with the same sized firebox and complained it didn't put out enough heat. We also had an old fellow here that bought the very popular PE Summit stove and complained it didn't heat like his old stove. Of course not, if he wanted a radiant stove he should have bought one in the first place. Word is he finally bought one after complaining for 5 years. Beware of random opinions, everyone has them, just like other parts of the anatomy.

Here is a stove buying guide:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/choosing_a_wood_stove

 

[branchburner]

I frankly don't like the idea of a firebox less than 2 cu ft even for a smaller house, just due to restriction on wood size and the ability for longer burns. If I was to get a smaller stove it would be a cat stove, but those start at about $2k.

While the NC-30 is probably bigger than you need, Englander does make a newer mid-size stove called the Madison, but it is a special-order only model at this time, so you won't be able to walk into a Lowe's or HD and buy one today. Might be worth checking into, though.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'll quote my chimney sweep "I'd rather see a smaller stove burn hot to heat a home then a larger stove burn cool"

I agree! The only downside is the short burn time.

 

[Jmgerstner]

We have a convective stove and love it. The house is very evenly warmed. But different strokes for different folks. If you have a large room and the stove can get the clearances it needs then you may like a radiant stove. We had a couple here that had a small place drafty in WY and bought a 30NC. It drove them out of the house. Then they bought an Alderlea T6 with the same sized firebox and complained it didn't put out enough heat. We also had an old fellow here that bought the very popular PE Summit stove and complained it didn't heat like his old stove. Of course not, if he wanted a radiant stove he should have bought one in the first place. Word is he finally bought one after complaining for 5 years. Beware of random opinions, everyone has them, just like other parts of the anatomy.

Here is a stove buying guide:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/choosing_a_wood_stove

I guess I'm confused in regards with convection Vs radiant. I just googled those and read about the differences. However I can't seem to grasp how a wood burning stove that has a sweltering hot fire inside not be both radiant and convective at the same time.
If I had a radiant stove and and a convective stove what would be the noticeable difference? Would a radiant stove make the whole room warm where a convection stove would only be perceivable by looking at a thermostat?

 

[JRitz187]

I have a 1200 SF draftyish cabin 8' ceilings with the stove right in front of the couch. I was on the the fence between the 13 and the the 30 and picked up a nearly new 30 for a real good deal on CL I couldn't pass up. I second guessed myself all day until I had it installed. It has worked out fantastic and I'm hoping will only get better once I know how to actually use it and am ahead on wood. I'm still a super newbie with crappy wood (+/- 24% MC white ash) but, 80* inside/20* outside last weekend stove temp 550* with no smoke out of the chimney. I could have easily dialed it back but that is personal preference on what you (or probably more importantly the lady!!) think is to hot or cold, where you have the stove in relation to where you will be spending most of your time, your house layout and ceiling height. I'm very happy I have capacity when it's below 0, loading N/S, and overnights are super convenient to restarting it up in the morning, just make coffee and watch the show start!

 

[NinjaTech]

I live in St. Louis MO

Where are you at? I live over in St Charles. We do have some pretty crazy weather around here. Haven't had to turn the furnace on yet this year, even when it was down to single digits the other night.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I guess I'm confused in regards with convection Vs radiant. I just googled those and read about the differences. However I can't seem to grasp how a wood burning stove that has a sweltering hot fire inside not be both radiant and convective at the same time.
If I had a radiant stove and and a convective stove what would be the noticeable difference? Would a radiant stove make the whole room warm where a convection stove would only be perceivable by looking at a thermostat?

They are both convective and radiant at the same time. But not to the same extent. Some stoves have shields to throw a good deal of the radiant energy back at the stove and have air passages to heat up, forming a stronger convection loop.

 

[Thislilfishy]

To quote our work motto:

Better to be looking at then looking for it.

In the end, size always matters....

...take that to whatever gutter suits your fancy.

Ian

 

[BradleyW]

No one ever said they wished they had a smaller stove.
If I were you I'd probably go with the big one and maybe not even use the pellet stove. The difference in burn time between a 1.8 or 2.0 cubic foot stove and a 2.6 or 3.0 cubic foot stove is enormous.

 

[bsruther]

No one ever said they wished they had a smaller stove.

Especially when it's 10 below.