How to size a stove?

[Brucek1$]

Looking at upgrading to a new wood stove and was wondering on which size would be right for our home. The house is at about 950 sq.ft but is quite drafty( we are working on fixing these problems). Would a stove rated for 1000 sq.ft work or should i look at something a little higher? I will add our main heat is electric and the wood stove is just back up for when the electric gets shutoff from the off peak. Any help is appreciated thanks

 

[Poindexter]

Fixing your air leaks will save money no matter what energy source you use for heat. Start there.

The next things to consider are the R values of your existing envelope, desired indoor temp and anticipated outdoor temps.

Next up, how long are you staying at this address? If you upgrade the isulation envelope you will cry once and benefit for many years...

 

[blacktail]

A stove rated for 1000sf may work in a mild climate. For a place that NOAA says is -4°F right now, I'd go bigger.

 

[Brucek1$]

Its not our forever home but will be for 3-4 years, main reason for upgrading is the current stove, i cant meet clearances with and it needs new 7" chimney pipe with is exspensive as almost a new stove. We are fixing air leaks few new exterior doors adding about a foot of blow in to the attic.

 

[Brucek1$]

I'll also add its been -20f here in northern MN for about a week now it gets quite cold lol

 

[woodsHAM]

A stove is like choosing a rifle for a bear hunt. A small caliber may get the job done ...but a bigger caliber WILL get the job done. Always go bigger than what you think you need, youll be sorry you did not when you need it.

 

[St. Coemgen]

First of all, suggest not getting too fixed on sq ft to estimate heating needs. All stoves heat a volume, not a two dimensional area. Sq ft assumes a standard ceiling hight, which may not be quite correct in older houses not build to modern ceiling heights, houses with cathedral ceilings, walls/floors/rooms, etc.

Better to use the volume you need to heat, and either BTU/hr or KW output for the stove to estimate the size of stove you need. If a stove does not report its nominal output in either BTU or KW, don't buy it. See this site for more information:

http://www.stovefittersmanual.co.uk/articles/what-size-wood-burning-stove-for-my-room/

In case you are not familiar with metric (the units used at the above site), then just measure your volume to heat (width x height x length) in feet, then divide by 35.315 to get cubic meters.

Then following the above link, divide by 10 (since your house is "leaky") to get the needed stove size in KW. Then convert to BTU/hr by multiplying by 3412.142. Also see the above site to adjust depending on walls and extra rooms.

And if this is just a "backup" system and a temporary house, buy appropriately for those conditions. Bigger may be generically better, but only to some extent. Don't waste money not needed buying too large a stove for you needs.

 

[Rickb]

Its not our forever home but will be for 3-4 years, main reason for upgrading is the current stove, i cant meet clearances with and it needs new 7" chimney pipe with is exspensive as almost a new stove. We are fixing air leaks few new exterior doors adding about a foot of blow in to the attic.

What is the size of your current chimney? And what brand dealers are within range of you purchase wise? That might help whittle it down. And even a small house I would not go smaller then 2cuft and unless its a BK I would stay closer to 3. And because you are using electric to heat once you start using wood heat I bet you find yourself using it a lot more then the electric.(I have had electric it blows compared to wood or gas.)

 

[Brucek1$]

The current chimney setup is a mess right now. The stove thats their now is a older fisher stove that is 7" but the previous owners used 8 inch all the way up. I switched the stove pipe inside to 7" up to the support box so atleast the pipe going into the stove was going into the flue collar instead of over it. Really isnt much for stove dealers around me besides box stores(menards,l&m supply, and lowes). From what they sell ive been debating between a century,drolet or a pleasant hearth stove. Any input on these brands?

 

[Rickb]

You might be able to run a 6" liner inside the 8 inch chimney system then use a 6 inch stove pipe to connect to your stove. I have heard nothing but bad things about he century stoves. Some Drolet are supposed to be great and if I have no clue on pleasant hearth. Others here are much more knowledgeable about stove then me. I know lowes also sells Summers heat which are rebranded England stoves that get very good review here.

 

[Brucek1$]

Gonna try to revive this thread, i had made my mind up on buying a englander 13-nc, but after seeing it requires a R 2.0 hearth requirement which is alot, i can do it since im rebuilding my hearth anyway but got to looking at stoves again that only reguire ember protection and found a century fw-3000 and drolet escape 1800 that only require ember protection for about the same price as the englander. They say they heat uo to 2000 ft. And my house is 950 ft. Would either of these be to big for my situation?