How big should I go?

[NoMoreCityForMe]

Short story - I'm looking to heat about 900 sq ft with a wood stove. I'm considering the Englander 30-NC after reading reviews on this site, but wonder if it might be too much stove for the space. I'm new to wood burning and have only used the older stove that came with my house, I've never used one of those new fangled EPA stoves.

Long story - I bought a raised ranch style house this summer, about 1850 sq ft with a slab foundation. Upstairs is slightly larger than down and has a kitchen/living room, two bedrooms and a bath. Downstairs is almost the exact same layout with a large living area, office, utility/laundry/mud room and bath. It's well insulated, not quite airtight but not drafty. It came with an older Sierra wood stove (which looks like the one pictured in this thread) in the upstairs living area and a few stacks of dry pine and aspen. The house also has a propane furnace, although I question the efficiency of the vent placement. I'm in the foothills west of Denver at 8800 ft altitude.

Upstairs heats itself pretty well on sunny days thanks to a wall of south facing windows. I've used the stove up there a few times on colder nights, usually to bump the inside temp up to the 70s so that it's still in the 60s when I get up in the morning. Haven't tried to do any overnight burns yet but it might be necessary when it gets colder.

Downstairs tends to be cooler but more stable, almost like a basement but not quite. I'd like to put a stove in the living area, same place as the upstairs stove. The primary purpose would be to heat downstairs, of course, but it'd be nice if it could also give the upstairs a "nudge" when that's all it needs.

If the 30-NC is too big, what size stove should I be looking for? I'm mostly looking at Englander because of the reviews on this site and Home Depot's, but I'm not committed to the brand. Aside from heat, my other main criteria is a good viewing window. I don't care about fancy colors or trim kits, I prefer flat black to the options I've seen.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Might have trouble getting an overnight burn with a smaller stove. I have both the 30 and a stove the size of the NC-13. THe smaller stove i dont even try to burn overnight. Both stoves have nice clear ceramic viewing doors,

 

[begreen]

Welcome. If the heat from the downstairs stove is able to easily get upstairs, then the 30NC might work. If not it may raise the downstairs to bikini temps. Is there a hearth already downstairs and if not, what would the stove use for a chimney? Is there a large open stairway near the proposed downstairs stove location?

Newer stoves are more particular about dry, fully seasoned wood. Can you get some at this time of year or do you already have a good supply?

 

[claydogg84]

My house is also a raised ranch around 2,000 sq ft. I'm running one stove downstairs which heats my entire house all winter. It's in the family room and the heat goes straight up the staircase which is 15-20 feet from the stove. So is it possible that you could get a larger stove to be your main heat source? Unless of course you have a staircase that won't work for that.

 

[Everhard]

I'd say go with it - you'll get overnight heating no problem, it will keep the house warm when it's very cold out, most likely the heat will travel to upstairs, and of course you can burn smaller loads if you don't want as much heat.
I'm in a similar sized house although mine's an open concept 2 story, vaulted to the second floor so I easily heat the whole space - but regardless I couldn't be happier with a larger stove. (I've got a Drolet Austral - huge viewing window, flat black, deliciously plain Jane look, LOL!! Love it. I believe it's similar in size to the unit you're considering.)

E.

 

[bsruther]

This is the first season with a 30 in our 1000 sq ft ranch. So far it's been very easy to maintain desired temps.