Help choosing a VC wood stove

[shadow_smoker]

Hi--I am deliberating on what stove to purchase and would be grateful for any input from stove owners with relevant experiences. I will be using it in a single-story 1300 sq ft house in the piedmont of NC (climate zone 4a). The house is 100 years old, poorly sealed, and poorly insulated (no insulation in walls or floor). I intend to add more ceiling insulation and improve the air sealing over the coming year. The house has a dual-fuel central air system that uses natural gas and a heat pump. I intend to use central heat system to supplement but would like to heat to a large extent with a wood stove. I intend to replace an old wood burning insert currently installed in the living room with a high-efficiency wood stove.

Looking at square footage and BTU output specs, especially across manufacturers, has me somewhat lost in determining what size stove I need and how to factor in the particularities of my house particularly the poor insulation/sealing. Due to space constraints around the chimney and hearth, I do not want a larger stove than necessary but, of course, I also do not want an undersized stove that struggles to keep the house warm. I have been looking at both the Encore and Dauntless but would appreciate any thoughts about stove size for my situation and if anyone has used one of these stoves in a comparable situation.

Thank you

 

[bholler]

Hi--I am deliberating on what stove to purchase and would be grateful for any input from stove owners with relevant experiences. I will be using it in a single-story 1300 sq ft house in the piedmont of NC (climate zone 4a). The house is 100 years old, poorly sealed, and poorly insulated (no insulation in walls or floor). I intend to add more ceiling insulation and improve the air sealing over the coming year. The house has a dual-fuel central air system that uses natural gas and a heat pump. I intend to use central heat system to supplement but would like to heat to a large extent with a wood stove. I intend to replace an old wood burning insert currently installed in the living room with a high-efficiency wood stove.

Looking at square footage and BTU output specs, especially across manufacturers, has me somewhat lost in determining what size stove I need and how to factor in the particularities of my house particularly the poor insulation/sealing. Due to space constraints around the chimney and hearth, I do not want a larger stove than necessary but, of course, I also do not want an undersized stove that struggles to keep the house warm. I have been looking at both the Encore and Dauntless but would appreciate any thoughts about stove size for my situation and if anyone has used one of these stoves in a comparable situation.

Thank you

Why are you only considering Vermont castings?

 

[shadow_smoker]

Why are you only considering Vermont castings?

I am open to other manufacturers as well. A looked at Vermont casting stoves at a local dealer and liked their styling.

I am open to recommendations!

 

[EbS-P]

Is this going in a fireplace?

 

[shadow_smoker]

Yes it is going into a fireplace, the fire box opening is 32" wide and 28-1/4" tall

 

[EbS-P]

At that height I would choose an insert. You have so many more options. The short top vent options are very few

 

[Eman85]

The only "modern" stove I've owned is a VC Encore. I've heated a 2 story and now a single story home with it. Current home is 1500 sq. ft. and the stove is in the main room towards one end of the house. It was in the 20's last night and we were very comfortable. I'm sure there are better stoves out there as mine is 35 YO, but it's done well and for size we like it and it looks good. ours is on an open hearth.

 

[shadow_smoker]

I was mostly looking at rear vent stoves and planning on using a elbow or tee with cleanout to connect to the flue liner. That being said Iam open to considering inserts, although my aesthetic preference is a free standing stove.

 

[30WCF]

I can’t be far from you. I’m just south of Greensboro.
I have 1950s leaky and poorly insulated 1100sqf single story house. I tried running a stove rated for 2000sqf for about 8 years. I thought, well, I just won’t load it as full. If it was really cold out, like teens at night and 30s during the day I could put in 3 ( occasionally 4 ) splits. I never got close to a full load in it. With all that surface area from a big stove in a small space, I would try to keep it around 300-350 stt. On the average days in the 50s and 30s at night, I only used 1 or 2 splits at a time once I had coals. A good bed of coals would keep 1 split going just fine.
I just got the VC Aspen C3 a couple weeks ago. I’d say I like it a lot better, but honestly haven’t used it enough yet to go around trying to persuade folks on it.
I would recommend you to size appropriately to your space so you run more efficiently and don’t run yourself out.

 

[Eman85]

I was mostly looking at rear vent stoves and planning on using a elbow or tee with cleanout to connect to the flue liner. That being said Iam open to considering inserts, although my aesthetic preference is a free standing stove.

My VC Encore can be swapped from top exit to rear, I've run it both ways. I don't know about any of the newer ones.