Looking for first wood stove- need help

[jsnider79]

We are renovating my family farm house and need to choose a new woodstove.
The house is being fully re-insulated and has all new windows. 2 storey brick farm house.
We have corn furnace, but also want to install a woodstove.
Growing up we always had a big old woodstove, but it was removed as it doesn't meet code anymore.
House is approx 3300sqft but we just want to heat main floor area of about 1200 sqft.
The stove would be in a room by the stairwell that leads up stairs so we would get some heat to the second floor as well.
We live in southwestern, ontario.

i have been looking at the Napoleon S4 woodstove so far.

 

[begreen]

If the floorplan is pretty open between rooms then a large stove will work. If you can post some pics of the stove room location and maybe turn around and a shot toward the stairwell will help. A simple sketch is good too. Depending on how the stove room is separated from the stairwell and the 2nd floor layout, a lot of heat may make it upstairs. If so, I think I would go for a larger stove.

If a bigger stove will work, it will provide longer burntimes and more reserve heat for extra cold winter days. In Napoleon that might be the S9. The Napoleon line has been a good value, but their prices have been creeping up. We don't see as many of them around as there were 10 yrs. ago. There are many other choices depending on what dealerships in your area are selling. In larger stoves, take a look at the Jotul F55, Pacific Energy Summit, Regency F3100, & Osburn 2400i or Drolet HT2000 for comparison.

 

[jsnider79]

Hi, Here are some pictures of the room. in the one you can see where the old stove pipe comes through the wall (its being moved down to meet code). Another shows the opening towards the kitchen, and the other shows the other end of the room where the stairwell is around the corner leading upstairs. I added one more to show the bottom of stairwell.

 

[begreen]

Great, that's quite a project. It looks like 10' ceilings, is that correct? Unless you are super-insulating the place I think a larger stove will work. I had a small concern that the stairwell would be large and close to the stove which might allow too much heat would convect up there, but that doesn't look to be the case. Is the stairwell at one end of the house instead of central? What insulation level are you putting in for walls and attic?

 

[jsnider79]

there is a new ceiling going in so they will be about 9 feet. There will be spray foam in all walls. The exterior walls are double brick already and then there will be R19 spray foam on them. Attic will be R60 blow in upstairs. Yes the stairwell is at one end, rather than in the middle of the house.

what smaller models would be best if i didn't want to go quite that big as we will be burning corn in the furnace as well. We wanted the woodstove to supplement the furnace in real cold times and to help cut back on corn usage as we have a lot of wood.

 

[begreen]

That's serious insulation. Well done! This investment will pay off for the life of the house. I was thinking of an ordinary 2x4 stud wall with fiberglass. Based on your description a 2 cu ft stove will suffice. The S4 would work. Some other Canadian stoves would be the Enviro Kodiak 1200, PE Super 27, Regency 2400.

Upstairs heating from the wood stove will be biased toward rooms closest to the stairwell. Have you thought about going straight up with the chimney? That not only looks better but it will perform better and stay cleaner.

 

[NoobTube]

Given that you are doing spray foam insulation, your house might be a little too tight. You may want to plan for an Outside Air Kit (OAK) for your stove. Begreen and others can either confirm or deny my suggestion. I have a few friends who are contractors and many of them forego the sprayfoam insulation as it has a tendency to not let the house breath... that and adding wires or plumbing after the fact is impossible.

 

[begreen]

Yes, it's a good time to rewire and replumb if necessary before foaming. I'd definitely plan on an OAK for the stove. The house might also need an Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) after the sealing it up tight.

 

[jsnider79]

we are doing full rewire and replumb as well. We added an addition in the process too.
the house is getting all new duct work too that is sized properly for the house as the old was not done that way....they just stuck some vents in a few rooms and the heating system never did work properly.
we aren't too concerned about getting heat from the stove to the upstairs, if it does great, if not thats fine too. The chimney is a masonry chimney that goes right to roof line. We are putting a liner in it as its about 30-40 years old and want to be sure its good for another 30

 

[blades]

stairwells often lead to a cold air draft flowing down the stairs to the stove room- something to be aware of

 

[jsnider79]

is the OAK necessary for sure? how will i know if i need it or not?
if we do need it, then it would be easier to install now then trying to cut through brick wall after

what is the issue with the cold air and stairwell? we had a woodstove in the same room for over 40 years.

 

[begreen]

I would put in the OAK, otherwise the stove will be competing for air with bathroom and kitchen fans and potentially you too. Watch the corn stove's combustion too. Basements are typically negative pressure zones.

 

[jsnider79]

It's a corn furnace, and we have using it for last 5 years with no issue so far. Thanks for the info ok the OAK. I will look into those other models then for woodstove.

Would the droplet ht2000 be overkill them for what I am looking to do?

Looking at cost, its not much more then some smaller models when it's on sale

 

[begreen]

The Drolet HT2000 is a big stove and a heat monster. Given the now understood level of insulation I think it would be too much stove.

The tightness of the house envelope is changing. Watch the corn furnace operation after the place is buttoned up tightly. If the fire is anemic it may need its own outside air supply.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

It's a corn furnace, and we have using it for last 5 years with no issue so far. Thanks for the info ok the OAK. I will look into those other models then for woodstove.

Would the droplet ht2000 be overkill them for what I am looking to do?

Looking at cost, its not much more then some smaller models when it's on sale

Regarding the corn stove, has the house been tightened up for the last 5 years like it will be when you are done with the project? That's the issue. If everything becomes tight, and it wasn't before, the next 5 won't be like the last 5. And, you may need to account for the corn stove infrastructure just like you are accounting for all the other infrastructure that you are updating. It has to get air from somewhere, and it won't be pulling it through your old leaky walls anymore. A much better problem to have, no doubt.

 

[jsnider79]

its a corn furnace hooked up to full duct work with cold air returns throughout the house. All duct work has been resized properly for the house.
the house was not as tight as it will by any means.
not sure we can hook up outside air to the furnace. would we just run into the cold air return ?

 

[jsnider79]

can an OAK go down through the floor and out the sill plate area of the house, rather than directly behind the stove?

 

[jsnider79]

is the Napoleon Independance 1450 just as good as the s4?

 

[blades]

Oak on furnace- would have to bring in air supply nearby or create an adapter to feed into fire box ( air intake for same) not the cold air return of hvac. Hope your heat ducts have 1" clearance to combustibles ( code here state side for solid fueled appliances). Outside location of OAK intake, least windy side of structure. Can be run up higher out side to clear snow drifts. I always make a U shape with the open end facing down to ward off possible wind shear creating a suction on it.