Long Burn Time Tiny Stove for a Small House. Is it possible?

[Brassaxe]

First things first- Hello - I am new to the forums but not new to wood stoves, just need more advice than I have at my disposal.

So we just bought a brand new house last year. Its 1300 square feet and really well insulated.. Like really well.. You cook dinner and the temp goes up 1-5 degrees just from the stove and it stays that temp for a while. I like it.. BUT.. I also like wood stoves. Always have. I think most people here can understand when I say. I don;t need a wood stove in the house. I just want one. lol..

Anyway.. I want a stove that will burn cord wood. I got plenty of axes, plenty of wood, and plenty of time. So, I looked at the list of 2020 EPA cert Cord/Crib wood stoves. I see a few that I am interested in, but there has to be more.

Here is some info.

-My house is sealed so I would need a stove that has an external fresh air inlet option.
-My house is single level 1300 square feet
-I want a stove that can run 12+ hours on a load.
-The smaller the footprint the better
-The more efficient the better (70%+)
-The lower the emissions the better
-It has to look good, no real place to hide a stove in this house.

I saw a few that are options

Hase Bari (But the price... AACK..)
Morso 6143
Woodstock Progress Hybrid
Kuma Cambridge LE
Unforgettable Fire Katydid


The top two have great efficiency and a great footprint, but can they really last 12 hours? I dunno.
The Woodstock is my favorite, but is it to much of a stove for our small house?
The Kuma fits the bill but thats all I have to say.
The Katydid is suspicious.

Thoughts or ideas for other options?

 

[Highbeam]

Woodstock makes some similar looking but very small stoves that can do 12 hours. Look at the keystone.

12 hours at low output is cat stove territory.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Yeah, I'd be looking at cats. The only other thing is look towards thermal mass to spread the heat dispersion out.

 

[webby3650]

You described the Blaze King Ashford 20. A progress hybrid would be totally nuclear in your space!

 

[Brassaxe]

I used to have weiner dogs that loved being extra crispy because of an old wood stove we had. But yeah, that was my hang up with the Woodstock PH, it would have to be low burning all the time just to be practical.

 

[begreen]

I agree. It sounds like you want a cat stove, not a hybrid, in order to burn low and slow most of the time. A BK stove with a thermostat is probably the best bet.

 

[Highbeam]

I used to have weiner dogs that loved being extra crispy because of an old wood stove we had. But yeah, that was my hang up with the Woodstock PH, it would have to be low burning all the time just to be practical.

and that PH doesn’t do low and slow as well as their other stoves.

 

[webby3650]

Have you looked at the blaze king line up?

 

[Brassaxe]

Yeah, but we couldn't make any of the BK's work aesthetically for the inside of our small house.

 

[Brassaxe]

and that PH doesn’t do low and slow as well as their other stoves.

Any specific stoves to mention that do well?

 

[bfitz3]

I have a PH... Between being in a relatively mild climate, owning a smaller house, and what sounds like pretty tight, modern construction, the PH would likely roast you out of the house. That being said, they work as advertised!

 

[Highbeam]

Any specific stoves to mention that do well?

In the Woodstock line, go for the small cat only stoves like the keystone or fireview. They have a look that you either love or not.

The BK stoves can also run really low and slow. They’re all pretty capable of running low. The 20 box stoves are slightly physically smaller but need more clearance.

Those European folks that live in tiny houses use really little noncat stoves and just load them every few minutes.

 

[begreen]

Yeah, but we couldn't make any of the BK's work aesthetically for the inside of our small house.

What stove(s) do appeal?

 

[Todd]

Do you like the looks of the Woodstock Keystone or Palladian? I used to get consistant 12 hour burns out of my Keystone. Maybe even a Fireview would work but clearances may put the Woodstocks out in the room a bit more than you would like?

VC Aspen and Intrepid are suppose to burn 10hrs but they are new designs and not many reviews.

Jotul F45 is a smallish to medium stove with a 10+ hr burn time you may want to take a look at.

 

[Brassaxe]

What stove(s) do appeal?

They all appeal as far as specs. But I can't make any of them work aesthetically for a small space. The angular block look works in a bigger house but in ours it would be too heavy visually. The boxer 24 looks the best (To me) but its wide..

 

[Nate R]

If the house is that well sealed, I'd think you wouldn't necessarily NEED 12 hours? Could more pulse and glide the house, heat wise?

 

[Brassaxe]

[/QUOTE]

If the house is that well sealed, I'd think you wouldn't necessarily NEED 12 hours? Could more pulse and glide the house, heat wise?

No, I don't need 12 hours. But since the house can be very stable finding a stove that can match is the goal. If I pulse the swings might sway the family away from using the stove and just revert back to electric. I dunno. Too many variables to know how well it would work.

 

[JKanor]

I'd personally be figuring out a way to make a BK work in your space. Im in a similar situation with a very well insulated, heat pump house (although using a BK princess on 2K sq ft). 38-40* outside is about my limit to burn or it starts to get a little warm BUT it keeps the house temp rock steady for 24 hr burn cycles. Once its 15* or under out I'll add 2 or 3 splits to make the 24 hr cycle. But the low and slow of the cat stove is all its made out to be in the situation.

 

[EbS-P]

I totally get importance of aesthetics. I think your options for 12 hour burn time are really limiting your choices for the size of space you have. Here is point of comparison. My F400 with 1.7 cu ft fire box when running really well and as low as I can with constant tending is luck to get a relight after 8-9 hours. After twelve hours the stove top room temp. Here are my thoughts. Overnight burns/easy morning relights. Have cost me literally hours of lost sleep. Yeah it would be great if I got blaze king but I didn’t like the way they looked. So now starting my 3 rd season I’m really good at getting a fire started top down in a cold stove. It takes a bit more kindling may be another handful. It probably takes 5-8 minutes longer including the time it takes to split the extra kindling. The fire starts cleaner with less smoke top down than with a relight on just a few coals.

Couple thoughts on firebox size. I would never suggest anyone get a stove with a fire box smaller than 1.5 cu ft. With the exception of a house smaller than 8-900 sq ft or if it is going in a room less than 200 sq ft that is fairly isolated from the rest of the house.
I would probably compromise on the burn time unless the house is heated with resistive electrical heat. And then I would probably put in a small mini split before the stove.

Just my thoughts.
Evan

 

[moresnow]

They all appeal as far as specs. But I can't make any of them work aesthetically for a small space. The angular block look works in a bigger house but in ours it would be too heavy visually. The boxer 24 looks the best (To me) but its wide..

BK Chinook 20 may have your look and size if you like the Boxer.

Chinook 20.2 | Blaze King Industries

 

[Brassaxe]

I'd personally be figuring out a way to make a BK work in your space. Im in a similar situation with a very well insulated, heat pump house (although using a BK princess on 2K sq ft). 38-40* outside is about my limit to burn or it starts to get a little warm BUT it keeps the house temp rock steady for 24 hr burn cycles. Once its 15* or under out I'll add 2 or 3 splits to make the 24 hr cycle. But the low and slow of the cat stove is all its made out to be in the situation.

BK Chinook 20 may have your look and size if you like the Boxer.

Chinook 20.2 | Blaze King Industries

Looking at the specs of the Keystone [EPA SPECS KEYSTONE] vs the BK Chinook [EPA SPECS CHINOOK], is there any reason to go with the BK over the Keystone?

Also, I looked at the Intrepid and the Aspen. The Intrepid looks fine. The Aspen looks like you just throw wood in and let it rip till it dies, doesn't seem to be much control.

 

[Highbeam]

Looking at the specs of the Keystone [EPA SPECS KEYSTONE] vs the BK Chinook [EPA SPECS CHINOOK], is there any reason to go with the BK over the Keystone?

Check clearances to combustibles. Some Woodstocks need a lot.

The BK has a thermostat. It’s really nice.

Much longer burn time from the BK, 20 hours with the 20 box and 30 with the 30 vs. just 12 with the smaller keystone.

 

[Brassaxe]

Check clearances to combustibles. Some Woodstocks need a lot.

The BK has a thermostat. It’s really nice.

Much longer burn time from the BK, 20 hours with the 20 box and 30 with the 30 vs. just 12 with the smaller keystone.

The Keystone would only stand out 34" total from the wall, the BK is 32.5" without counting the front handle. Not a huge difference.

I have nothing against the BK other than the fact it looks like a dishwasher. The burn time has to be marketing though right? A Keystone @80% efficient with a 1.5cf box burns 8-10, but the BK @77% with a 1.8 box is over double?

 

[Highbeam]

The Keystone would only stand out 34" total from the wall, the BK is 32.5" without counting the front handle. Not a huge difference.

I have nothing against the BK other than the fact it looks like a dishwasher. The burn time has to be marketing though right? A Keystone @80% efficient with a 1.5cf box burns 8-10, but the BK @77% with a 1.8 box is over double?

It’s not marketing. That super long burn time is the reason I chose a BK. No other stove comes close. It’s all about a wide range of available burn rates and the BK can run clean at very low burn rates.

There are BK 20 box owners on this site that can confirm, more 30 box owners though.

But if you don’t like the look then the keystone is also a great performer with lots of history and happy users getting 12 hour burns.

My princess is not the prettiest stove, I admit, but it burns nice and slow in my 1700 sf home in a moderate climate. When I bought it, the Woodstock fireview was second choice.

 

[JKanor]

Looking at the specs of the Keystone [EPA SPECS KEYSTONE] vs the BK Chinook [EPA SPECS CHINOOK], is there any reason to go with the BK over the Keystone?

Also, I looked at the Intrepid and the Aspen. The Intrepid looks fine. The Aspen looks like you just throw wood in and let it rip till it dies, doesn't seem to be much control.

Yes, the thermostat! As I'm sure you know, wood burns like a bell curve and the thermostat keeps the burn level so you get a longer drawn out burn instead of peaks and valleys.

And the burn time definitely isn't just marketing, I regularly get 24hrs of ACTIVE cat time on one load of wood when the outside temp is above 15-20*, heating 2000 sq ft With the 3 cubic foot firebox on the princess. I could definitely get 30 hours of heat but by that point the cat is inactive and itd be a "cold reload"

But, if the looks are that much of a deciding factor then get what you'll be happy looking at. Its a big investment but not a permanent one.