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[Bron]

Hi there this is my first post. bet you all can guess i am looking to get a wood stove. Ayep! Well this is how the story goes. Been in my house for 5 years now.. Is a early 90's double wide.. I live in upstate new york. first winter comes and i try to get some heat out of the decorative fireplace that was installed in home when it was made.. Yeah that was fun! Well spring comes and i decide to try a Corn Flame insert.. 40,000 btu claimed.. but the guys claiming all live in alabama or someplace where 30 is cold.. Well it's been 4 years and i am looking to unload the cornstove and get a woodstove. I have done a little bit of searching and am trying to figure out best size stove for my application. Double wide is a 1500 sqft with a pretty open floor plan.. few walls to cut down on the warm air getting around... Thing is , the old fireplace was at one end of house. and the cold air is at the other end. Alot of times it's at both ends.I figure right now that my best bet would be to put my new stove into the one end and use existing chimney .. (double lined pipe inside stainless sleeve.) I would love to put new stove in middle of house but really am trying to avoid if possible (maybe sometime in the future ) house is small enough as it is . I have been looking at quadra fire stoves and at first sight I think the 5700 step top is what I need .. Bigger is better . But after reading a few of the posts in here i am second guessing this now. I figure it will not be too difficult to circulate warm air to rest of house but am worried about burning myself out of the room with stove in it. Yet i don't want to get a little stove and later wish i had bought the next size up .. Remember guys ! i live in upstate ny . there are more dairy cows up here than people . any help given will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[webbie]

First thing is that you probably cannot make use of your existing fireplace chimney. They are JUST for the fireplace, and usually not generic. The exception might be a fireplace insert designed for a pre-fab, but that would be very small and also expensive by the time you finish.

So you should probably be thinking about installing the stove elsewhere and then a new metal chimney straight up through the roof.

Bigger is not always better - especially with smaller houses, smaller wood piles, smaller rooms, etc.

A lot of folks find that a mid-sized stove will suit their needs. It depends.....I like to think of a stove as a supplement, taking care of 65-80% of the heat when running. If you want 100%, then you might need a big stove, but you will get roasted out during warmer weather and maybe burn more wood also

A convection stove - those with double walls around them (PE, Avalon, Etc.) will likely do a better job in small rooms by making the heat more likely to move around.

 

[begreen]

My poppy always told me if you're going to do a job, do it once and do it right. Unless you enjoy installing, changing and reinstalling stoves, put it in the middle and be done with it.

As for the stove, bigger isn't always better, but you'll want something in the 2.5 - 3 cu. ft. range to deal with the cold upstate NY winter and give you good long burn times. I'm thinking the 4300 would be just about right. At 3.4 cu ft, the 5700 might be overkill. You might also want to look at the Napoleon 1900 and the Pacific Energy Summit.

 

[karl]

I'm curious about this corn flame insert. Is it a like a pellet stove only burns corn? 40,000 btus is a good deal of heat. And if it's a pellet/corn type stove then it should be able to produce that all day long. Can you tell us the brand? The reason I'm asking is that if your double wide really requires more than 40,000 btus an hour when its cold out, then you may have a insulation problem and not a stove problem.

A have a Summit insert. Even the people on here that like to pick on us PE owners admit it's a hell of a stove. It's rated at 46,000 btus an hour over an 8 burn. PE rates it at 97,000 btus an hour peak. We are having the coldest night in years here tonight. It's 5 degrees out and heading to minus 2. I have hit my limit with this stove. Now, granted I'm trying to heat 2600 square feet and the insulation isn't the best but you get my point. There are people on here that heat houses as big as mine in alot colder climates with the same stove.

 

[techieguy]

I'm in a double wide in Southern Oregon (1700 SF) at an elevation of 1850 so if get a bit cold here esp being on the North side of a hill. This is our first year burning nothing but wood (mostly Pine and Fir, but we do have a little bit of Oak). Our electric bill has dropped 30% plus percent from last year (even with the 15% increase in power prices when we lost the hydro discount from PPG). We are heating our home with a Blaze King Princess, last month according to the power bill the average daily temp was 36 (in town, and we are usually 10 colder), and quite often our home was 75-80, burn times are 10-14 hours depending wood and thermostat setting. I'm sure other will have more to say, but I thought I would give my 2 cents...

 

[Bron]

It's A Corn Flame Energy Model 5000. I am sure it would heat alot better in a bit warmer climate.. The house is early 90's and insulation isn't all that great .we get a few drafts.. The stove puts out nice heat if you are next to it .. in front of decorative window,with blower hitting you . But the thing about this corn stove is nothing on the machine gets hot. just the glass which is great for kids and safety reasons. But even the blower dosn't really blow hot air.. just warm . Again when it is above 32 outside the stove does a damn good job.. In the fall months it will even get toasty i should say .But once the temp drops down below 32 everyone starts wearing 3 layers of clothes inside. Thanks again for all your input! back to my first question! Do i buy a stove rated for 15 to 2000 sqft. for a 1500sqft double wide or is there a rule of thumb to double that sqft. like with outside boilers.

 

[Jags]

Just to side swipe you a little bit, I am not POSITIVE but I believe that because your house is a double wide, you are required to have an OAK for your stove. If I am wrong I apologize, but I think you may want to check on that.

Many stoves are OAK capable, so finding a stove to fit your bill should still not be too hard.

OAK = Outside Air Kit.

 

[karri0n]

That 5700 in a double wide will likely melt your flesh off. If you're one of those "I want it 115° in the winter" types, then you will be golden.

 

[karl]

I would suggest something with a 2-3 cubic foot fire box. That's big enough to burn all night . You might look into a catlytic stove. Then you can get a big fire box and still be able to turn the thing down enough not to roast you out of the house.

 

[Bron]

Thanks on the OAK info Jags You are correct .. The decorative fireplace that was in here had one already .. when i get new stove all i need to do is hook it up .

 

[Bron]

Have also been looking at Englander NC-30 . any comments? I just hope it'll be enough stove.. And Yes My wife is one of those types that likes it 115o in the winter .. I would just like it warmer than it is.

 

[Bron]

Nother Question . Any downfalls to catalytic versus Non?

 

[moshiersr]

We have a Century FW300010 in a 1792 sq ft double wide, heating about 1500 sq ft of it. The stove is rated to heat 2000 and has a 3cu ft fire box, in my opinion it is a little undersized, we can get overnight burns, but in the heart of winter, like right now.. its a little chilly in the morning. I have been looking at an Englander NC-30 to replace the Century, but I can't make myself spend the money..

Go Big.

 

[Jags]

Have also been looking at Englander NC-30 . any comments? I just hope it'll be enough stove..

That stove has a big firebox....it'll be enough. 3.5 cu ft (I think the manual states 3.4...but whatever). The NC-30 has a good following with superb support and a reputation as a no frills, yet solid heating appliance.

 

[oldgrezmonke]

I also live in a manufactured home about that size [built 1996] , which has leaky windows and doors and almost no trees to block the wind , here in Tennessee . A few days ago the temps were at or below freezing in the day and near single digits at night with gusty winds [we were colder here one day than Alaska that day] . My cheap plate steel stove is rated at only 30,800 btu,s [epa] and centrally located on an outside wall . It never got below 62* overnight inside , we like it 75-80* because we have arthritis , and on the coldest day I was distracted for a while and let it get to 95* before I closed the air down .
40,000 btu's should do better than that , even an insert . Perhaps you should post in the pellet area where the group might be more familiar with your unit and help you get it running better without spending more money right now and at least let you wait till warmer weather to put in a different stove and have the summer to let your wood dry out .

 

[coolidge]

I am doing some insulation work right now on a double wide(whole underside). The guy who owns it has a wood burning stove in it from the factory. Problem is he runs it hard, trying to save on oil(cant blame him) but the water lines froze underneath. Apon removing some of the fiberglass we had a shock to see that the waterlines are not tucked up in the floor joist but just covered with R-13 fiberglass. Something to think about.

 

[cre73]

I have a similar sized home but a little larger. With the help of this forum I installed an NC-30. Could not be happier. At times it is to much but I just crack a window or turn on a fan. This past week I am glad I listened to the people here and went with the larger stove. I woke up 3:00AM one night and the house was down to 77 deg. Luckily I had the temp back up to 85 before the wife woke up. We have made it through without any supplemental heat, and I don't see that changing.