It's days like this....

[wood4free]

I envy those of you with newer, well insulated homes that are heating your house solely with a wood stove and keeping temperatures in the 70's during this polar vortex. I would just be happy with 66 degrees. It is 2 outside and I can only heat my 1950's house to 62 with the help of the gas furnace which comes on about every hour set to 60. Plus, I have several rooms closed off just to contain the heat in certain rooms. It is days like this that I wish I had taken delivery of the Progress Hybrid 2 years ago when I put a deposit on one at introductory pricing. Decided against it since I really didn't want a stove sticking way out onto the living room floor. Today I would gladly welcome that additional (I am assuming) heat it would produce over my Appalachian 52 Bay.

 

[Ashful]

I envy those of you with newer, well insulated homes... I can only heat my 1950's house to 62...

In weather like this, I envy those of you with poorly insulated 1950's homes. Poor insulation is better than none at all.

 

[mark cline]

What is the stove top temp when you are burning at your hottest setting ? Insert or freestanding? Moisture content of your firewood, how long has it been since it was split and what species of wood?

 

[wood4free]

In weather like this, I envy those of you with poorly insulated 1950's homes. Poor insulation is better than none at all.

I guess I forgot about those of you who have homes that are even less insulated than mine!

Joful, what kind of temperature are you maintaining with your 2 stoves?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Wood4free, we thought it interesting this morning when we got up late and found our house temperature down to 74. It rarely is that low in here. But we can also relate to what you are saying with heating your home. We used to have the same situation. First we got the Fireview which cut our wood needs in half and we no longer had to close off part of the house. Then we added lots of insulation plus new doors and windows plus an addition. That meant we could heat more space and not use any more wood. Our house is normally 80 degrees or more all winter long. Yes, it is sweet!

And I'm betting you really are wishing you had that Progress right now. But perhaps you might rethink this and consider the new stove which will hit the market in late summer or early fall. It will cost a lot less and is even bigger than the Progress.

 

[mellow]

I feel your pain, I have no insulation as well in a 1950s home. Almost considered throwing the Bay 52 back in the fireplace but that would be a huge undertaking in these temps, gonna ride it out with the Jotul. Even with this Jotul going at 500 stove top and blower on high I am fighting to keep the downstairs 68 with the help of the heat pump kicking on.

I am missing the bigger firebox for sure.

 

[wood4free]

Wood4free, we thought it interesting this morning when we got up late and found our house temperature down to 74. It rarely is that low in here. But we can also relate to what you are saying with heating your home. We used to have the same situation. First we got the Fireview which cut our wood needs in half and we no longer had to close off part of the house. Then we added lots of insulation plus new doors and windows plus an addition. That meant we could heat more space and not use any more wood. Our house is normally 80 degrees or more all winter long. Yes, it is sweet!

And I'm betting you really are wishing you had that Progress right now. But perhaps you might rethink this and consider the new stove which will hit the market in late summer or early fall. It will cost a lot less and is even bigger than the Progress.

Savage, the Steel Hybrid rear flue will not work with my 27" high lintel. I think the minimum lintel height requirement is 28 1/2". Otherwise, I would be thinking about the new stove. I am still learning to use the 52 Bay as this is my first winter after having used a 1.8 cf Drolet insert for 3 years. I am having a large learning curve switching to a catalytic stove and I suspect next winter will be better with drier wood and a year's experience under my belt.

Yes, the house is the big issue. In addition to needing insulation in the walls, I am dealing with old aluminum casement windows and marble sills. The windows on the 1st floor are very large so they would be expensive to replace. I made wood frames covered with plastic to fit on the inside of the windows and they definitely help.

 

[wood4free]

I feel your pain, I have no insulation as well in a 1950s home. Almost considered throwing the Bay 52 back in the fireplace but that would be a huge undertaking in these temps, gonna ride it out with the Jotul. Even with this Jotul going at 500 stove top and blower on high I am fighting to keep the downstairs 68 with the help of the heat pump kicking on.

I am missing the bigger firebox for sure.

Was the 52 Bay really too much of a heater (saw your ad) for your house under normal conditions?

 

[KarlP]

In weather like this, I envy those of you with poorly insulated 1950's homes. Poor insulation is better than none at all.

I'm not sure that's true. Its fairly easy to drill some holes and inject some spray foam or loose cellulite insulation if the wall cavities are empty.

My house was built in 1969 with poorly installed R7 fiberglass in the walls. The attic insulation had been upgraded, but to effectively insulate the walls I first remove sheetrock and old insulation. I'd greatly prefer to drill small holes and inject.

EDIT: I just read the 'stone farmhouse' in your profile. You're doomed.

A few years after we moved in we discovered the furnace would keep the inside ~75 degrees warmer than the outside temps. Luckily I've since reinsulated a third of the walls and now have more BTUs of wood heat than my gas furnace will put out. We've got a Jotul 550 insert (65k btu rated) at the West end of the house and a VC Madison stove (39k btu rated) at the East end of the house. Maintaining 72-73F in the dining room halfway inbetween with the furnace off at -14F with a 20mph 'steady breeze' last week was easy despite the need for better insulation.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Savage, the Steel Hybrid rear flue will not work with my 27" high lintel. I think the minimum lintel height requirement is 28 1/2". Otherwise, I would be thinking about the new stove. I am still learning to use the 52 Bay as this is my first winter after having used a 1.8 cf Drolet insert for 3 years. I am having a large learning curve switching to a catalytic stove and I suspect next winter will be better with drier wood and a year's experience under my belt.

Yes, the house is the big issue. In addition to needing insulation in the walls, I am dealing with old aluminum casement windows and marble sills. The windows on the 1st floor are very large so they would be expensive to replace. I made wood frames covered with plastic to fit on the inside of the windows and they definitely help.

Thought I had the information on heights but can't find it right now. The legs are adjustable and if memory serves me I'm thinking you can even remove that adjustable part to get it lower. If I think of it the next time I'm talking to them, I'll ask.

For sure you need good dry wood and this is why we recommend the 3 year plan. Get 3 years ahead and most of your problems are over with wood heat. It may take a while to get that far ahead but when you do, you will be amazed at the difference.

As for running a cat stove, it should be no more difficult than any other stove. Mostly it is learning just when to engage the cat and that is usually when the wood gets charred and both stove top and flue are at a good temperature.

 

[mellow]

Was the 52 Bay really too much of a heater (saw your ad) for your house under normal conditions?

It would if I let it. I sure could use that extra horse power now.

 

[Ashful]

Joful, what kind of temperature are you maintaining with your 2 stoves?

I can maintain 68F and 72F in the old and new parts of the house in this weather when I'm home, running both stoves fairly hot, and reloading every 4 - 5 hours. However, on work days when the house sits empty, and I'm shooting for a 12 hour burn time, I have the stove turned way down low. It will be 62F when I get home, only because that's where we keep the thermostat set at, and the boiler will be working.

 

[wood4free]

Thought I had the information on heights but can't find it right now. The legs are adjustable and if memory serves me I'm thinking you can even remove that adjustable part to get it lower. If I think of it the next time I'm talking to them, I'll ask.

For sure you need good dry wood and this is why we recommend the 3 year plan. Get 3 years ahead and most of your problems are over with wood heat. It may take a while to get that far ahead but when you do, you will be amazed at the difference.

As for running a cat stove, it should be no more difficult than any other stove. Mostly it is learning just when to engage the cat and that is usually when the wood gets charred and both stove top and flue are at a good temperature.

Savage, see here - http://blog.woodstove.com/2013/08/more-info-on-beta-testing.html#more
"Rear Flue Height is centered at 29.5”. The leg height is adjustable, and the flue outlet can be lowered to 25.5” on center (to go under a 28.5” fireplace lintel). " I confirmed with Woodstock last month that 28.5 is still the minimum lintel height.

I have 4 or 5 years of locust, mulberry, some oat and ash c/s/s but I don't have a lot of property so the wood is stacked on pallets with very little space between rows and there is not much sunlight there. I suspect it will take longer than normal to get really dry.

I am having some catalytic problems and will post them in a new thread so perhaps you, Joful and Mellow can assist me.

 

[Ashful]

EDIT: I just read the 'stone farmhouse' in your profile. You're doomed.

We can keep as warm as we like, thanks to a good boiler and miles of hot water baseboard. However, when the oil man needs to visit every 10 - 14 days mid-winter, to keep the 275 gallon tank from going dry, you start to see the value in supplementing with wood!