Hi everyone,
We are currently wanting to put a Kitchen Queen 380 in our home for a cookstove (and domestic hot water in the heating season). We also were considering installing our already-purchased Jotul F55 in another section of the house. I'd love some feedback on things. We had a very well-versed stove installer come out last year and talk us into installing the Jotul into the center section of the house. But, we really want to do a cookstove with domestic hot water as well. Here are some of our thoughts/considerations.
House: 1832 original homestead farmhouse, in southeast Michigan. Renovated and reinsulated. Most is R-19, fiberglass insulation; some is R-23 mineral wool (and a few sections have 2x6 walls, so R 35-ish mineral wool). First floor is not insulated to the basement, which is a standard "Michigan" basement (granite and mortar walls, about 18 inches thick; cellar/Bilco door that is insulated slightly to the exterior).
We have a 2-story section of the house (about 1100 sqft) connected to a 1.5-story section (about 800 sqft)...connected to a 1-story section of the house (about 400 sq ft). Lots of doorways and walls (and windows)...everywhere. There is a door that separates the 1-story section from the other two sections. This is where the kitchen and a small laundry room exist.
Heating season: about 7 or 8 months out of the year (depending on how fall and spring are)
Stove ideas:
1) We wanted to put the Jotul at the junction of the 2-story and 1.5-story part of the house as a heat source (literally the center of the main two sections of the house). It would send heat throughout those two levels (there are two separate staircases, too, for circulation of air).
2) We'd like to install a wood cookstove, with plumbed in domestic hot water (tank in the same area, thermosyphon system), in the 1-story (400 sqft) section of the house. This would be in the current laundry room (has 3 small windows, cathedral ceiling, and the most-used exterior door in the house; this room is 16' x 8' and has a door to the kitchen area). This 1-story section is where we spend most of our time and we want to have the cookstove plus the hot water system more than anything. The stove installer guy originally said putting the Jotul back there was a terrible idea, since it is literally on the back side of the house and wouldn't distribute heat elsewhere efficiently. Which got us thinking that we might be able to install a cook stove back there instead and put the Jotul in the front section of the house
Biggest worry...we will roast ourselves out of the 1-story section with the KQ 380.
Thoughts?
We are currently wanting to put a Kitchen Queen 380 in our home for a cookstove (and domestic hot water in the heating season). We also were considering installing our already-purchased Jotul F55 in another section of the house. I'd love some feedback on things. We had a very well-versed stove installer come out last year and talk us into installing the Jotul into the center section of the house. But, we really want to do a cookstove with domestic hot water as well. Here are some of our thoughts/considerations.
House: 1832 original homestead farmhouse, in southeast Michigan. Renovated and reinsulated. Most is R-19, fiberglass insulation; some is R-23 mineral wool (and a few sections have 2x6 walls, so R 35-ish mineral wool). First floor is not insulated to the basement, which is a standard "Michigan" basement (granite and mortar walls, about 18 inches thick; cellar/Bilco door that is insulated slightly to the exterior).
We have a 2-story section of the house (about 1100 sqft) connected to a 1.5-story section (about 800 sqft)...connected to a 1-story section of the house (about 400 sq ft). Lots of doorways and walls (and windows)...everywhere. There is a door that separates the 1-story section from the other two sections. This is where the kitchen and a small laundry room exist.
Heating season: about 7 or 8 months out of the year (depending on how fall and spring are)
Stove ideas:
1) We wanted to put the Jotul at the junction of the 2-story and 1.5-story part of the house as a heat source (literally the center of the main two sections of the house). It would send heat throughout those two levels (there are two separate staircases, too, for circulation of air).
2) We'd like to install a wood cookstove, with plumbed in domestic hot water (tank in the same area, thermosyphon system), in the 1-story (400 sqft) section of the house. This would be in the current laundry room (has 3 small windows, cathedral ceiling, and the most-used exterior door in the house; this room is 16' x 8' and has a door to the kitchen area). This 1-story section is where we spend most of our time and we want to have the cookstove plus the hot water system more than anything. The stove installer guy originally said putting the Jotul back there was a terrible idea, since it is literally on the back side of the house and wouldn't distribute heat elsewhere efficiently. Which got us thinking that we might be able to install a cook stove back there instead and put the Jotul in the front section of the house
Biggest worry...we will roast ourselves out of the 1-story section with the KQ 380.
Thoughts?