For the most part, yes, firebox size is the most important part for determining the heating capacity of a stove.is the size of the firebox the biggest determination of the amount of space a stove can heat?
Would a fully loaded 2 cuft box heat as much space as a 1/2 loaded 3 cuft box?
In simple physical terms: The amount of heat produced is equal to the BTUs contained in the wood times efficiency of the stove (how much heat goes in the house versus up the chimney). The more wood you burn the more heat you will get out. The more efficient your stove the more heat will be retained to actually heat your house. Thus, if you burn the same amount of wood in a medium size stove and a large stove you should pretty much get the same heat if efficiencies are the same. However, what people are mainly interested in is the heat output per hour meaning you divide above equation by burn time. If a larger stove has a longer burn time it actually may not produce that much more heat per hour than you would expect from the bigger load.
Makes total sense. Well put. Essentially it comes down to the amount of wood and quality of the wood being burned. Importance of firebox is it allows someone to burn more wood if they choose, therefore more heat, which the extra heat is capable of heating more space. Wonder how much of a factor other things like blowers, etc play in the ability to heat more area.
However, rather than trying to blow that hot air into the cooler rooms, you reverse that and blow the cooler air into the warmer stove room. The heavier cool air will move out the lighter warm air and will amaze most folks in how well they can heat up the further rooms in just a short time with the little fan sitting on the floor and blowing at a low speed. Some will use a box fan but to me that is too drafty. Our little vornado fan with the tiny blades works wonders when it is needed. In addition, the smaller fans are quiet.
A blower trades some radiant heat for heating the air directly for convection. If your goal is to heat the air and distribute it with convective currents, then a blower on a stove will help do that. You just won't get as much of the radiant effect from it.Wonder how much of a factor other things like blowers, etc play in the ability to heat more area.