Jotul wood stove selection help needed

[vabate]

Hello Everyone,

I was hoping for some advice on a wood stove purchase. I live in a 1950's bungalow that has no insulation. The construction is brick over block. In our walkout basement we have an existing fireplace in which I would like to install a wood stove. We heat with natural gas forced air. Our basement is extremely cold in the winter and we can't get the temp downstairs to a comfortable temperature without the main floor being too hot. The location is Toronto.

I am looking for wood stove to fit in our existing fireplace (30" x 30" opening). I need a rear vent to fit the stove which limits my options. I have narrowed my search down to the Jotul F602 and F45 Greenville. I mocked up the size of both stoves with cardboard which you can see in the attached photos. I am leaning towards the F602 but have some questions:

1. Will it be enough to heat the space we have (photo attached, dimensions are to scale)? With the laundry door closed and the bedroom/office door open it seems unlikely to me that the bedroom will benefit much. Would this be an accurate statement?

2. With the stairs open to the main floor (approx 1200 ft2) will to0 much heat be lost from the basement? When looking up the F45 as an alternative I found the following information from the Jotul manuals:

F602 - BTU min 15200, BTU max 49576
F45 - BTU min 16748, BTU max 58657

It doesn't seem like that much difference in BTU range. The 602 is listed to heat 800 ft2 and the F45 is 1800 ft2. Why wouldn't the BTU ratings match the area which is rated to be heated? Would the F45 be too much for this space?

3. I need to extend the hearth I have by roughly 18". What options are decent but cost effective? The flooring is some type of vinyl over concrete. Could I just cut a sheet of steel, paint it black and attach it to the floor in front of the existing hearth? The stove would sit on the existing hearth tile.

4. I have read that some people have had issues with purchasing wood short enough for the F602. Is this something I should be concerned about?

I have 2 reasons for this wood stove purchase. The first is the improve the comfort of my basement. We would be sitting roughly 8-10 away from the wood stove. The second reason is that we get power outages on occasion and I would like to be able to heat and sleep in the basement if this happens.

Any thoughts?

Thank you!

Vito

 

[begreen]

I would go for the F45 with the larger firebox. This will provide heat over a longer period between reloads. The F602 is a more radiant stove that is not going to help that much here and it has a fairly short burn time of 2-4 hrs..

 

[vabate]

I'm less concerned with the reload time. We use the basement mainly in the evenings. We would run it for a few hours and the go to bed upstairs where it is warm. Would this change your recommendation? Do you think the 602 is sufficient in that space?

 

[begreen]

It will warm the space, but with less to spare to heat the upstairs during a power outage, when the longer burn time becomes much more important. The F45 also has a much better fire view. Overall, it's a nicer stove.

 

[vabate]

I do prefer the fire view on the F45. It would cost about $1300 more than the F602 though. I agree that the 602 won't do much for the upstairs during a power outage but I was thinking we would just sleep in the basement. We have had 1 winter night without power in the last 3 years so I don't want to solely make a decision based on whole home heating.

 

[vabate]

It will warm the space, but with less to spare to heat the upstairs during a power outage, when the longer burn time becomes much more important. The F45 also has a much better fire view. Overall, it's a nicer stove.

Do you see any issue with being too hot in that space with the F45? How difficult would it be to run that stove at a lower output to match that space sitting 8 feet away from it?

 

[weatherguy]

You should be able to just cut out the vinyl over the concrete, you can then put some tile or even what you suggested over the concrete to meet code. And I agree with Begreen go with the F45,

 

[begreen]

Do you see any issue with being too hot in that space with the F45? How difficult would it be to run that stove at a lower output to match that space sitting 8 feet away from it?

You control the heat output of either stove by the amount of fuel and air the fire receives.

 

[vabate]

Thanks for the input. I am going to see if I can fit the F45 in my budget. Can anyone recommend a company to purchase and install the stove in the Toronto area? Also would there be any more deals to be had mid summer instead of now?

 

[Zack R]

Go with the F45, but pushed out into the room (larger hearth). You will get plenty of heat and a bonus is the north/south loading.