Help for 1st time buyer from South Georgia

[lcoalcat]

My husband and I are building a new house in Southern Georgia where the climate is fairly moderate. (Dec. – Feb. highs avg. 60, lows avg. 39) We can have days that leave you chilled to the bone mainly because of damp conditions and not necessarily temperature. Instead of a fireplace, as we had in our existing house, we would like install a wood stove in the family room. I first was interested in the Vermont Castings Encore, because of the ability to use the stove with a fire screen and the doors open. After a trip to a dealer to look at stoves I was more impressed with the quality of the Jotul stoves, which will also operate with the doors open and a screen. (Do I hear groans? I know that this will greatly reduce the efficiency of the stove as a main heat source, but unless my power goes out, that’s not really a concern for us.)

The room the stove will be in (installed in a corner) has a 3 ft. ledge all around the room with 9” ceilings. The room its self is 22’-2” x 17’-2”. The rest of the room is vaulted and open for about 3 stories. This area is also open to a kitchen and dining nook besides the upper story. I have tried to attach approximate floor plans; we have made some changes but the changes just increase the sq. footage.

I love both the Jotul 500 and the 600 in the blue/black enamel. My main fear is buying too much stove and burning the place down! Any advice and suggestions from those more experienced would be greatly appreciated.

 

[begreen]

Greetings. No groans here. The Encore takes a bit of getting used to, especially the non-cat version. But fortunately, there are other good choices. Jotuls are simpler stoves and should work fine. However, running a stove in moderate weather is a bit more of a challenge than when it's cold outside due to reduced draft. You'll want to have a good flue on the stove, with double-wall pipe, going straight up in the interior of the house to keep the flue interior hot and draft strong. That will help prevent smoke spillage from the stove with the screen in place. I suspect that you'll also need ceiling fans to break up the layer of hot air that will stratify at the upper portion of the high, peaked ceiling. Otherwise, if rooms open up to the upper story, they could get very warm.

As for stove size, how many square feet are on the first floor? If this is mostly for ambiance and chill chasing, I would recommend looking at the Jotul F400 Castine. It is shallower than the F500 and works well in corner installations. Side-loading doors are not usable in corner installations, so it's hard to justify that additional expense. Another couple nice mid-sized stoves that have the screen option are the Quadrafire Cumberland Gap or the Napoleon 1600C. Or for a big stove, a Quadrafire Isle Royale.

The floor plans didn't make it. Perhaps they are at too high a resolution or file size? There's an information section at the top of this forum that has good tips about posting pictures:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewannounce/27_2/

 

[gpcollen1]

I installed the F400 in my house as a second stove. I ran it for about an hour while I sat in front of it just to see how much heat it would throw. It still put out some decent heat and Ill be happy to have fires in it when the stoves are officially out of the 24/7 mode come Aprilish. As noted, you will have to figure out what size is good for your application but I do like the idea of having a fireplace and then being able to fill it with wood and get some heat all night long too instead of having it suck the heat back out of the house all night long.

 

[lcoalcat]

Thanks for the info. I hadn't thought about the side door not being usable in a corner installation. Would it help to pull the stove out into the room or is it a matter of shielding? We are putting a stone surround in the corner that will be shielded.

I believe I got the floor plans attached this time; thanks for the tips. I don't really know the square footage of the 1st floor, but as you can see, there is a large area to heat, especially with the vaulted area. And while this stove will be mostly for chill chasing and ambiance, we can and do have periods of power outages when we would like to use it for heat and cooking.

 

[rijim]

I just installed the F400 and have been working thru the learning curve, with a lot of help from people here, Jotul stoves are well made and I am generally pleased with the stove but here are a few things to consider:
- These units are very sensitive to draft, my 15' total chimney height is marginal. You are in a warmer climate so I would expect draft will be more of a challenge; what is the maximum height you can get and does it run inside or outside your house?? I get a little smoke roll out when I open the door to load, not something you want if you plan to burn with door open and screen inserted.

- Stove burns excellent w/dry small splits, larger splits are difficult.

Good luck,

 

[Sealcove]

If you are thinking Jotul I would concur with the suggestions to consider the 400. I think there is a good chance that the larger stoves will roast you out of the house in that climate. I know my F600 gets to be a challenge when temps rise into the high 20's or above; by challenge I mean it is very easy to overheat our entire 2200sq home. When temps get into the 30's we pretty much have to let the stove go out for the day.

BTW no groans about the screen. I got one for the F600, and it is a very nice option when I don't need full heat.

 

[shinyhaid]

I have a 400 here in North GA and it works well to chase the chill or as a primary heat source. It can run you out of the room on those 50+ degree nights unless you build small, hot fires and let it die out once the chill is off. You should have no trouble with heating a large area if you install a ceiling fan at the top of the vaulted ceiling. I have about 16' of chimney and have no problem with draft once it gets warm. All of those gnats shouldn't cause a draft problem since the temps should be too warm for a fire by then :-D!

I think the ambiance of the 400 with just the glass door is nice, too, especially when you realize your heat isn't being sucked up the chimney as with an open fireplace.

 

[jotul8e2]

I have a Jotul Oslo 500 to heat 2500 sq. ft., and here in southern Missouri there are many weeks during the heating season where I have exactly your problem. There are three solutions:

1. Get the optional screen and run it with the door open, like a fireplace. This greatly reduces efficiency, but also greatly reduces the heat output.
2. Get a smaller stove. If you like the Jotul line, the Castine gets very good reviews. My house size would seem to dictate the 600, but I knew it would be way too much for many, many weeks every year. Even with the smaller Oslo I sometimes have to...
3. Build one fire a day. Or even every other day.

Mark

 

[firefighterjake]

One thing to keep in mind is that there is no rule that says you have to load the firebox full all the time . . . you can always load it up with smaller loads and have smaller fires in a larger firebox.

That said, I am rather partial to the Jotul line-up myself (and like the blue-black enamel -- I went with the traditional black matte finish due to the availability, price and ease of refinishing) . . . but you should be aware of some potential "problems" which have been mentioned . . . namely a) Jotul specifically prohibits the use of the side loading doors with corner installs (although some folks are not really sure why this is the case and continue to use the side doors) and b) the Castine (F400) has had several owners mention that it sometimes is a bit finicky with the draft.

This said I think the Oslo or Castine may be a good fit . . . but I would also look around at some other small to mid-sized stoves as well. Have you looked at any soapstone stoves -- these stoves are sort of known for their "gentler" heat production and in my own opinion are pretty snazzy looking.

Finally, you did say something and I thought it worth clarifying . . . you said "My main fear is buying too much stove and burning the place down" . . . I think it should be mentioned that a properly installed and maintained stove no matter the size can be safe no matter what the size . . . and an improperly installed or maintained stove can be quite dangerous no matter what the size is . . . heck . . . even the flame from a tiny candle can burn down a house. Of course, buying a stove too big may not burn down your house, but it may make it quite warm inside and uncomfortably hot if the fire is too big.

 

[Chettt]

If I lived in northern Alaska and asked which brand of air conditioner to buy, what would you tell me? Just get one that looks nice.

 

[begreen]

The side door is supposed to be locked when in a corner installation. I suppose that this is because with the side door open, the nearest combustibles are exposed to the open flame of the fire. Sparks can (and will) occasionally pop out from logs and can land on walls, nearby furniture, etc. Stove mfgs. provide a door lock for this purpose. If the wall has a stone veneer, it "might" qualify for a clearances reduction. That would depend on the either the thickness of the stone or the construction of the wall. If the wall is constructed to NFPA standards as a wall shield (with a ventilated 1" air space behind it) that will give the maximum reduction.

Thanks for posting the plans. That looks like a good place for the stove. I think you will be alright using a 1.5-2 cu ft stove. In the event of a power outage, it may not be that efficient but not because of the stove size. The big issue is going to be heat pocketing at the top of the vaulted ceiling. During an outage, with no power for ceiling fans, this will be worse. If the power goes out for an extended period, I'd close off the sunroom, dining and living rooms and focus on heating the central great room, master br, and kitchen areas.

 

[lcoalcat]

Thanks, I am getting really great ideas and info here.

We had actually thought about closing off the master bedroom in the case of a power outage, opening one bedroom upstairs and sleeping there.

 

[begreen]

Due to the plumbing, I'd leave the masterbr door open if temps are below freezing for an extended period of time during the outage.

 

[firefighterjake]

Good luck . . . keep us informed . . . and if you have more questions ask away . . . there's lots of good folks here with good answers and good experiences.