House layout

[PapaDave]

Hey all, just thought I'd pick brains here if you'd be so kind.
Some of you may know my plight......need a new stove, can't get one for a while.
BUT, I'd like to start thinking more about what would be a good fit for this house.
House size is about 1225 sq.ft., and not well insulated (MAYBE r-11 in the attic), and I lose heat somewhat quickly. I'll be working on the insulation.
The stove we have now is about 2.4 cu. ft., and does a good job keeping the house warm, so I'm thinking a similar sized stove would fit the bill. However, will a newer stove of that size be too much simply because it's newer and more efficient, or what?
I guess I'm looking for suggestions on a stove, and I'll consider all suggestions regardless of price. I'm more a function over form person though.
I do have some ideas on what I'd like, but maybe they won't fit so well with my layout.
The new bedroom in the back stays in the area of 60-65....that room has been re-insulated, but only has r-19 in the ceiling and r-15 in the walls.
The stove is in the "stove room" (good place for it, eh?) to the left of the s in the middle of the wall.
Anyway, fire away, ask as many questions as needed, and please help.

 

[katwillny]

First stove that comes to mind is the Englander NC30. Great stove at a not too steep price. Now if you want to go with something on the higher end, look into the Woodstock Fireview. Very nice stove. Some of the guys here have that stove and really like it. just my two cents.

 

[PapaDave]

Katwill, thanks for the response. The 30 is on my list, but it might be a little too much stove, although I'm not ruling it out. The 13 is too little. I have friends with the 13, and don't think it's quite enough.
The quad 4300 ST is about the same size, as is the Regency 2400. Fireview would work, if it passes the "wife" factor, although she would probably tell me to get whatever.

 

[spacecowboyIV]

Just thought I'd put my 2 cents in on this one. I would go with a stove of similar firebox size of what you'v got. Since the stove room is kind of isolated in your layout so you may want to think about a stove with a blower (Pacific Energy comes to mind, but only because I love the look of their free standing cast stoves, there are literally hundreds of choices).

Happy hunting!

 

[spacecowboyIV]

Edit, double post.

 

[jotul8e2]

It is my perception, no evidence per se, just my perception, that a cat stove does actually throw off a bit more heat per cu. ft. of firebox than a non cat, so if you insulate substantially AND get a new cat stove of comparable size to your current model you may find it overpowering at full blast. However, cat stoves do tend to be a bit more controllable, so that may not be a real problem.

 

[rdust]

With all the rooms broken up as they are I'd suggest a convection style stove with a blower to move the heat/air around. Of course I'll suggest Lopi since I own one but there are plenty of stoves that fit that. Maybe a Blaze King Princess with the convection top? I know it sounds over-sized for your area but all the Blaze King owners say you can dial them down.

 

[WidowMaker]

Blaze King Princess and re locate to more central location...relocate regardless of the stove you chhoose, you'll be much happier in the long run...

 

[BrowningBAR]

Hey all, just thought I'd pick brains here if you'd be so kind.
Some of you may know my plight......need a new stove, can't get one for a while.
BUT, I'd like to start thinking more about what would be a good fit for this house.
House size is about 1225 sq.ft., and not well insulated (MAYBE r-11 in the attic), and I lose heat somewhat quickly. I'll be working on the insulation.
The stove we have now is about 2.4 cu. ft., and does a good job keeping the house warm, so I'm thinking a similar sized stove would fit the bill. However, will a newer stove of that size be too much simply because it's newer and more efficient, or what?
I guess I'm looking for suggestions on a stove, and I'll consider all suggestions regardless of price. I'm more a function over form person though.
I do have some ideas on what I'd like, but maybe they won't fit so well with my layout.
The new bedroom in the back stays in the area of 60-65....that room has been re-insulated, but only has r-19 in the ceiling and r-15 in the walls.
The stove is in the "stove room" (good place for it, eh?) to the left of the s in the middle of the wall.
Anyway, fire away, ask as many questions as needed, and please help.

Is there anyway you can relocate the stove to the Living Room? I would think that would give you much better heat distribution.

For 1225 square feet, the 30NC seems to be a bit much unless your house is leakier than you are letting on. I would think something along the lines of the 13NC, Hearthstone Heritage, Woodstock Fireview, Blaze King Princess, and the Jotul F-400 would work.

 

[jharkin]

A good cat stove can be very controllable. If you don't need the max heat output you just trade the big firebox for long burn times. On mine I can fill it up all the way and just leave the air on low for 8-10hr of 350-400F cruising. Perfect for mild fall days. When it gets real cold just crank it up to 500-600 and reload more often.

If I didn't already have the encore I'd be all over a fireview........

 

[Renovation]

Is there anyway you can relocate the stove to the Living Room? I would think that would give you much better heat distribution.

+1 On relocating the stove.

Barring that, how about some mods to move the air around better from your isolated stove room? Say, a separate powered duct run sucking cool air from the far side of the kitchen and blowing it on your stove? From what I've heard, that might really move the heat around nicely.

Regarding stoves, I guess I'll echo what others' suggestions about a cat stove, so you can dial it back if needed.

HTH, Good luck!

 

[PapaDave]

With all the rooms broken up as they are I'd suggest a convection style stove with a blower to move the heat/air around. Of course I'll suggest Lopi since I own one but there are plenty of stoves that fit that. Maybe a Blaze King Princess with the convection top? I know it sounds over-sized for your area but all the Blaze King owners say you can dial them down.

rdust, I really like the Endeavor and Liberty, but the Liberty is about the size of the 30, and I'm concerned 'll be blown out of this small space. If I can get a stove that runs at 500-550 for a few hours, I'd be ecstatic. That seems to be the sweet spot for this house, although on the coldest days I could use just a little more.
Can yo
With the blower on low, I can get the whole place to 70 most of the time. The new bedroom is the master, and we like it somewhat cool for sleeping.
Quite often we keep the other bedroom doors closed, since they aren't used much.
Can you tell me how your Endeavor works for you?

 

[PapaDave]

With all the rooms broken up as they are I'd suggest a convection style stove with a blower to move the heat/air around. Of course I'll suggest Lopi since I own one but there are plenty of stoves that fit that. Maybe a Blaze King Princess with the convection top? I know it sounds over-sized for your area but all the Blaze King owners say you can dial them down.

rdust, I really like the Endeavor and Liberty, but the Liberty is about the size of the 30, and I'm concerned 'll be blown out of this small space. If I can get a stove that runs at 500-550 for a few hours, I'd be ecstatic. That seems to be the sweet spot for this house, although on the coldest days I could use just a little more.

With the blower on low, I can get the whole place to 70 most of the time. The new bedroom is the master, and we like it somewhat cool for sleeping.
Quite often we keep the other bedroom doors closed, since they aren't used much.
Can you tell me how your Endeavor works for you?

Dang it, I hate when that happens.

 

[PapaDave]

BrowningBar,
The bottom of the pic in the living room is where I just recently suggested the stove be relocated to, but the idea wasn't received well. That wall has 2 windows side by side that take up most of the wall.
That location would allow the blower to push heat straight through the house.
The house is a little leaky, and needs more insulation too. That's why the temp falls pretty quickly in this weather, once the stove drops to about 300.

George, funny you mention moving air from the kitchen that way. There is already an inline blower inside insulated flex duct in the attic. It's reversed from your suggested flow though. Register in the stove room ceiling to just before the kitchen wall, where there is a Y fitting that branches to the kitchen and bath. Does a pretty good job for that short run to warm those rooms, but I've wondered if reversing the flow would help even more.

 

[nate379]

My place is ~1400 sq ft

http://www.bylerbuilt.com/floorplans.php?master=1&return=single-family.php&houseType=single-family

The stove is in the corner of the living room against outside wall and bedroom. Heats my place well as long as the bedroom doors stay open.

 

[BrowningBAR]

BrowningBar,
The bottom of the pic in the living room is where I just recently suggested the stove be relocated to, but the idea wasn't received well. That wall has 2 windows side by side that take up most of the wall.
That location would allow the blower to push heat straight through the house.
The house is a little leaky, and needs more insulation too. That's why the temp falls pretty quickly in this weather, once the stove drops to about 300.

I would see if there is anyway to get "others-that-will-remain-nameless" to seriously take a look at the Living Room. Keeping the stove in the "Stove Room" is going to seriously hinder your heating capabilities.

If you stick a 30-NC in there you will see much better results in the rest of the house from the smaller stove you have now, but the "Stove Room" will be EXTREMELY warm.

 

[PapaDave]

BrowningBAR,
Good morning. I've done a TON of reading about the 30, but have no experience with it or any of the newer stoves. The mantra seems to be "you can build a smaller fire", etc.,
but in the end, what kind of burn times am I going to get with the 30 if I put in 1/2-3/4 load? What stove temps? Can I load the stove fully and expect the stove to behave (ie:maintain a temp of around 550 or so) and not melt the stove room walls?
I've finally got this stove somewhat controllable, but I don't get the long burn times the new stoves do.
Example, house was 67 when I loaded for the night last night at midnite, put in 5 splits on a good coal bed, got it going, turned the air way down and the stove was cruising at about 600.
Nice, right? Woke this am (7:30) to the stove having a few (enough for a relight) coals, and the stove at 200, house at 63. Outside temp was 15, with a little wind.
I've mentioned before, but this is MUCH better than last year. I would have to get up at 3:30-4 to those same conditions last year. Then again at 7:00- 7:30.
Maybe I'm expecting too much, but when I read about all the folks on here waking up to house temps close to 70, with coals in the stove and stove temps around 300 or more, I get stove envy. :lol:
I appreciate the help. Most folks around here don't know what DRY wood is, and they'll sell me a new stove, but I'm not sure they fully understand them.

 

[PapaDave]

Didn't mention, the stove room is already the warmest room in the house. The last few years, due to not so dry wood, and the stove being leaky, the fire would burn too hot and I wasn't using the blower. I started using the blower last year and the room is much more bearable.
Not much chance the stove can be relocated, but I hate saying never. ;-)