Love the site, guys. Hopefully you can provide some advice to a Southerner who's never had a wood burning stove before.
I've got a 1500sqft house built in the late 1800s. It's two levels, upstairs is identical to downstairs and it's COMPLETELY open...no dividing walls downstairs and none upstairs that would block airflow. It's basically 750sqft rectangle stacked on 750sqft rectangle with nothing but wood flooring between them. Each floor has 11ft ceilings.
Exterior is solid masonry brick all the way around. Existing chimney is attached at the exterior. It's an old wood burning chimney that hasn't been used in years. Looking to line it and vent a wood stove up through it. Chimney is about 30 ft tall. The back half of the stove would sit IN the existing fireplace to vent, and the front edge of it would be poking into the room.
Lots of glass on the west facing side of the house. Old wood windows that were just recently repaired last year. Hopefully sealed them up pretty well. The inside walls are all exposed brick, so no real insulation from the outside other than really thick brick all the way around the house (it does a surprising good job at insulating). No insulation between 1st and 2nd floor...it's exposed joists and then goes straight to flooring. I have good insulation in the roof.
Arkansas winters are relative mild. Average lows upper 20s and low 30rs. My main heat and air source right now are recently installed mini split units. They work GREAT for cooling the place in the summer, but the heat pump design does horrible in the winter when outside temps drop below 40 degrees. Therefore, I'm looking for a secondary heat source when temps dip down into the 30s and 20s (which, this last winter did a LOT more than normal. Actually got down to 1 degree a few times last winter. Brrr.).
I want to buy a stove locally, and the best shop sells Buck, Quadrafire, Hearthstone, Pacific Energy/Alderlea, and Vermont Casting.
Sooo, I've laid out a lot of info. Based on the external factors I've described, any major arguments for/against:
1) catalytic vs non cat?
2) Output recommendations? My gut says go for something that max output heats around 2500sqft given my very open layout with minimal insulation...also so that a single burn will get me through the night.
3) Best bang for the buck around $2500 given the above brands? Considering ease of cleaning, output, durability, etc?
I know the questions are very vague and answers will be subjective, but I'm hoping some of you all have a similar experience that was driving your decision. Right now I'm leaning towards the Alderlea T6 on upper end of budget, or the Buck Stove 85 or 91 on the lower end of the budget.
MANY thanks in advance if you feel so inclined to leave any comments. I've attached some pics of house and fireplace. And yes...that's SNOW in Arkansas!
I've got a 1500sqft house built in the late 1800s. It's two levels, upstairs is identical to downstairs and it's COMPLETELY open...no dividing walls downstairs and none upstairs that would block airflow. It's basically 750sqft rectangle stacked on 750sqft rectangle with nothing but wood flooring between them. Each floor has 11ft ceilings.
Exterior is solid masonry brick all the way around. Existing chimney is attached at the exterior. It's an old wood burning chimney that hasn't been used in years. Looking to line it and vent a wood stove up through it. Chimney is about 30 ft tall. The back half of the stove would sit IN the existing fireplace to vent, and the front edge of it would be poking into the room.
Lots of glass on the west facing side of the house. Old wood windows that were just recently repaired last year. Hopefully sealed them up pretty well. The inside walls are all exposed brick, so no real insulation from the outside other than really thick brick all the way around the house (it does a surprising good job at insulating). No insulation between 1st and 2nd floor...it's exposed joists and then goes straight to flooring. I have good insulation in the roof.
Arkansas winters are relative mild. Average lows upper 20s and low 30rs. My main heat and air source right now are recently installed mini split units. They work GREAT for cooling the place in the summer, but the heat pump design does horrible in the winter when outside temps drop below 40 degrees. Therefore, I'm looking for a secondary heat source when temps dip down into the 30s and 20s (which, this last winter did a LOT more than normal. Actually got down to 1 degree a few times last winter. Brrr.).
I want to buy a stove locally, and the best shop sells Buck, Quadrafire, Hearthstone, Pacific Energy/Alderlea, and Vermont Casting.
Sooo, I've laid out a lot of info. Based on the external factors I've described, any major arguments for/against:
1) catalytic vs non cat?
2) Output recommendations? My gut says go for something that max output heats around 2500sqft given my very open layout with minimal insulation...also so that a single burn will get me through the night.
3) Best bang for the buck around $2500 given the above brands? Considering ease of cleaning, output, durability, etc?
I know the questions are very vague and answers will be subjective, but I'm hoping some of you all have a similar experience that was driving your decision. Right now I'm leaning towards the Alderlea T6 on upper end of budget, or the Buck Stove 85 or 91 on the lower end of the budget.
MANY thanks in advance if you feel so inclined to leave any comments. I've attached some pics of house and fireplace. And yes...that's SNOW in Arkansas!
