Help deciding on what to do, what kind of stove to use

[Me2]

Please bear with me as I am relatively new to wood burning stoves. My expertise is in hauling out of the woods and stacking neatly, while dad took care of the stove part.

I have this stove right now. It is a very nice old cast iron baby!


Our problems are:
1) the opening is only 9" x 10" because there is a metal apron or something hanging in front of the top part of the inside of the stove so it is difficult to get larger pieces of wood inside without burning our hands or arms or getting soot on our clothes.
2) there is no blower, so it might get up to 70-80 degrees in the living room, but even with the ceiling fan on the neighboring rooms will be up to 10 degrees colder (which is a huge deal in the early mornings when the temps in the other parts of the house are 50 or 60 degrees)

My questions are:
1) will a newer stove (with those glass doors) be easier to load and still burn as well (retain heat etc)? (I've read some bad reviews on Amazon so I'm very confused right now)
2) will a blower help distribute the heat to the rest of the house, which so far is not working with the ceiling fan?

We have very high ceilings and new windows, so not too drafty. The living room is separated from the rest of the house by a 3 1/2 foot wide doorway. Even our bedroom, which is directly off the living room will not warm up anything like that room. We do not have a basement otherwise I would try for a whole house system like we had when I was a kid.
Should we replace this one with a newer stove with a blower? Any suggestions on how to move the heat? We are "heating" the kitchen with the oven right now

Thank you so much!

 

[begreen]

Welcome. That's quite the beauty. She is indeed a grand old lady. Modern stoves need a bit more attention to the quality of the fuel, they like dry wood and proper draft. If you supply them with these 2 ingredients most are pretty easy to run. Can you provide a link to some of the bad reviews you are reading? Often this is a poor workman blaming his tools so it would be good to clarify this for you.

I don't think a stove with a blower is going to solve your problem unless the stove is directly opposite the doorway. The problem is that a stove is an area heater and you have it in a confined area. For better heat circulation you are going to need either a more open floor plan or perhaps some carefully placed fans. Can you provide a simple sketch of the floor plan? That will help with suggestions.

 

[Me2]

Welcome. That's quite the beauty. She is indeed a grand old lady. Modern stoves need a bit more attention to the quality of the fuel, they like dry wood and proper draft. If you supply them with these 2 ingredients most are pretty easy to run. Can you provide a link to some of the bad reviews you are reading? Often this is a poor workman blaming his tools so it would be good to clarify this for you.

I don't think a stove with a blower is going to solve your problem unless the stove is directly opposite the doorway. The problem is that a stove is an area heater and you have it in a confined area. For better heat circulation you are going to need either a more open floor plan or perhaps some carefully placed fans. Can you provide a simple sketch of the floor plan? That will help with suggestions.

Thank you for your reply. I was reading reviews about the Vogelzang line on Amazon, specifically the Performer and the Mountaineer. I was also looking at this other website Northlineexpress.com to try to figure out what to use. I was really hoping to trade this in for a cheaper, newer stove and also to be able to buy more firewood, but the more I read about the newer stoves...I don't know.
I'm not sure how to add a floor plan on here.
I do see what you are saying about the blower. I was hoping that wasn't the case Someone told me that since heat rises I would need to mount a fan in the top of the doorway, which would not work at all for us because of how the doorway is. If I've got the ceiling fan going pulling the cold air up and circulating the hot air, I would think a box fan on the floor of the doorway should help. I haven't tried this yet, as I just reversed my fan.

 

[begreen]

I would keep your current stove for now. Let's see if we can help with the circulation first.

Just draw a sketch of the floorplan and take a picture of it with your camera or cellphone, then post it here. Or take several pictures of the rooms and tell us how they work together.

In general you are going to find blowing air from the cooler room, into the living room, with a simple table fan on the floor is going to be more effective at evening up the heat. That's why I asked for a floor plan sketch to see where it would be best to place the fan.

 

[Baker_Falcon]

Very cool old stove. My father in law restores stoves like that. He uses one of the ones he restored in his basement "man cave" just to add some warmth. Reading a bad review about a newer stove is probably due to user error, as begreen mentioned.

To answer your questions: 1- Yes a newer stove with glass doors will be easier to burn and load. A) Easier to burn because you can see the fire through the glass to have an idea what is going on (very helpful when new) and B) Easier to load because it will have a bigger door.
2- Not sure because I don't know the layout of your house. What has worked for me, suggested by many, is a box fan on low pointed towards the stove room sucking cold air from the other rooms. Try putting one of those in the doorway you are speaking of.

If budget isn't a big issue, yes replace it with a newer stove. Maybe even look for a newer used stove and try it out before buying a new one. Check the local classifieds. Make sure to have a professional install it. You will use less wood and generate more heat. OH and a viewing window makes for great atmosphere.

But don't throw that puppy away! Cool stove. Save it for sometime down the road if you have a hunting cabin, etc...

 

[Me2]

I would keep your current stove for now. Let's see if we can help with the circulation first.

Just draw a sketch of the floorplan and take a picture of it with your camera or cellphone, then post it here. Or take several pictures of the rooms and tell us how they work together.

In general you are going to find blowing air from the cooler room, into the living room, with a simple table fan on the floor is going to be more effective at evening up the heat. That's why I asked for a floor plan sketch to see where it would be best to place the fan.

Pardon my awkward dimensions etc. The kitchen/dining etc are all added on to the main old house. There is a step down and much lower ceilings. Let me know if that sketch works for you.
Thanks!

 

[begreen]

The old stove is going to be more lenient with semi-seasoned wood. If you are going to get a new stove you should have at least a few cords of wood that have been split and drying all summer. Or a couple years if it is oak or hickory wood. Dry wood is what makes these new stoves happy.

 

[Me2]

Very cool old stove. My father in law restores stoves like that. He uses one of the ones he restored in his basement "man cave" just to add some warmth. Reading a bad review about a newer stove is probably due to user error, as begreen mentioned.

To answer your questions: 1- Yes a newer stove with glass doors will be easier to burn and load. A) Easier to burn because you can see the fire through the glass to have an idea what is going on (very helpful when new) and B) Easier to load because it will have a bigger door.
2- Not sure because I don't know the layout of your house. What has worked for me, suggested by many, is a box fan on low pointed towards the stove room sucking cold air from the other rooms. Try putting one of those in the doorway you are speaking of.

If budget isn't a big issue, yes replace it with a newer stove. Maybe even look for a newer used stove and try it out before buying a new one. Check the local classifieds. Make sure to have a professional install it. You will use less wood and generate more heat. OH and a viewing window makes for great atmosphere.

But don't throw that puppy away! Cool stove. Save it for sometime down the road if you have a hunting cabin, etc...

Budget IS an issue and that is why I need my problem solved I can resell this for $1k or a little more back to the antique store (who sold it to the previous owners of the house for $2600). We would THEN buy a newer stove AND a whole bunch of wood! (yay!) But, I agree! It is a very nice stove and we would absolutely not trash it I've been seeing the suggestion about the fans pointed inward (opposite what a person would think would work) so I am going to try that tonight. I hate waking up and seeing my laundry room temprature is only 55 degrees!

 

[begreen]

Great. The narrow door of the stove room is a challenge but this might work. Take a table or box fan and put it on the floor at the entrance to the laundry room. Face it toward the stove room and run it on low or medium speed. Let it run for about an hour and see if the kitchen isn't a lot warmer while the stove room temp drops about 5-10 degrees.

 

[Me2]

Very cool old stove. My father in law restores stoves like that. He uses one of the ones he restored in his basement "man cave" just to add some warmth. Reading a bad review about a newer stove is probably due to user error, as begreen mentioned.

To answer your questions: 1- Yes a newer stove with glass doors will be easier to burn and load. A) Easier to burn because you can see the fire through the glass to have an idea what is going on (very helpful when new) and B) Easier to load because it will have a bigger door.
2- Not sure because I don't know the layout of your house. What has worked for me, suggested by many, is a box fan on low pointed towards the stove room sucking cold air from the other rooms. Try putting one of those in the doorway you are speaking of.

If budget isn't a big issue, yes replace it with a newer stove. Maybe even look for a newer used stove and try it out before buying a new one. Check the local classifieds. Make sure to have a professional install it. You will use less wood and generate more heat. OH and a viewing window makes for great atmosphere.

But don't throw that puppy away! Cool stove. Save it for sometime down the road if you have a hunting cabin, etc...

Oh, and this is the local antique store where the previous owners purchased it.
http://www.millcreekantiques.com/ check out their stoves

 

[Me2]

Great. The narrow door of the stove room is a challenge but this might work. Take a table or box fan and put it on the floor at the entrance to the laundry room. Face it toward the stove room and run it on low or medium speed. Let it run for about an hour and see if the kitchen isn't a lot warmer while the stove room temp drops about 5-10 degrees.

That far away? I will definitely try it!
I am very excited to have found this site. I am just a hapless female when it comes to the technicalities of things
I will have to update in the morning after we start the stove again.
Thanks!

 

[begreen]

That far away? I will definitely try it!
I am very excited to have found this site. I am just a hapless female when it comes to the technicalities of things
I will have to update in the morning after we start the stove again.
Thanks!

It's worth a try. If that is too far away, try bringing it closer by say 10-12 ft. The trick is blowing the cool air down low, toward the hot air. Good luck!