Looking for new stove advice

[SterlingSL]

Let me start off by saying I came here asking the same thing 5 years ago and ended up with a fantastic insert that we put in our existing fireplace. Roll forward and the wife has decided her horses need more land so we are moving way the hell out.

New house characteristics:
North Texas - minor cold, this isn't Minot ND.
Need to heat 3500 sqft. Hate the size of this house but we're buying for the barns and land. The house is a POS.
Windows are old crap and too many to replace right now. Need stove to be able to
NO EXISTING FIREPLACE. Will have to be a freestanding stove (I kind of like that since more of the heat will stay put)
I burn real cut firewood - no pellet B.S.

Just need some ideas of stoves to go start researching.

Many Thanks!

 

[marty319]

Osburn 3500

 

[Dataman]

Blaze King "King".

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I don’t have a particular stove to suggest but wanted to mention that I had a good experience with working with The Fireplace Shop in Stephenville this past year. Chris installed an insulated liner and Enviro Kodiak insert for us, even though we live outside of San Antonio. He did good work and had good prices. I don’t know what freestanding stoves he sells, but it might be worth inquiring. He might also be willing to install a product that you buy elsewhere. That’s what he did for us after he was unable to obtain the insert we wanted.

We too have a large house with poor windows in a mild climate. Having the insert was wonderful, though it sounds like you’ve been seeing that for years in your current home. It couldn’t heat our whole house because of the layout, but it certainly reduced our gas bill and kept our house much more comfortable.

I will also add that we have done a lot of work on our own to insulate and air seal the house. Two things that really helped were putting window inserts in the windows to reduce leaks and the cold/heat from the aluminum frames and putting foam seals behind outlet and lightswitch plates. It seems like a small thing (and it was definitely a small cost and not too much time), but it really made an actually noticeable difference in the feel of our home.

We burn oak and cedar, and it sure is nice how well it seasons in this climate.

 

[kennyp2339]

The BK King is a nice stove due to your climate, the ability to turn the stove down so it ooz's heat, say when temps are in the 50's but you have a cold draft due to the house leaks is where the stove pays for itself, long burn times are the bonus.
When you say 3500 sq ft, is it an open floor plan, 2 story house or a rambling ranch? How high are the ceilings?

 

[showrguy]

Another vote for the Blaze King-King..
I’d strongly advise an OAK also !!
my biased .02 cents

 

[begreen]

There is a wide spectrum of stoves available. Look at stoves in the 3.0 cu ft range and larger. As for what stove will work, that depends on your budget, lifestyle and aesthetic choices. Most will provide 10 hrs of steady heat and some will go twice that time or more between refills. What is most important, long time between refills or a nice fire view?

Tell us more about the home. 1 or 2 stories? Does it have a basement and if it does, is that included in the sq ftg? Open or closed off floorplan? Ceiling height on the main floor? Can a portion of the house be closed off in the winter to make less space to heat? What is the primary heating source?

 

[SterlingSL]

Sorry for late reply. The deal on the house fell through, then is back on again (long story!). The house is 1 story with really tall roof in the living area and about 8-9 feet elsewhere. We also found out the house is 'only' 3100sqft vs 3500. It has a LOT of space inside due to the tall ceilings. We can seal off the rear two bedrooms + bath if no one is staying with us at the time. So essentially we could get the sqft down to about 2500 (guessing). It's mostly open floor plan. The master bedroom is through a single doorway. No hallways as in our current home. I hate hallways! Currently the primary heat/cool is heatpump. We both hate heatpump heat, it's a cold heat and has never been comfortable for us.

 

[begreen]

A big stove will handle most of the heating, especially if it is centrally located. Heat is going to pocket up at the tall ceiling peak. It will take ceiling fans to move that heat back down, maybe with one in reverse and one regular direction.

Heat pump heat has been great for us in milder weather. We love it.

 

[Dataman]

Love my X13 Trane Heat Pump. Had to have repairs done last year. Now I know why it could not keep up with heat in Summer. Expansion Valve in Coil was only letting 1/2 thru. Last Winter it was great heating the house. Cheaper than Pellets for Mild Cold Temps (Until 30f at night).

 

[begreen]

Yes, we have the American Standard equivalent of the Trane X16. It's been great for whole-house heating in 40-60º weather which is a lot of our fall and spring days. We start burning at around 45º so this has worked well for us.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Sorry for late reply. The deal on the house fell through, then is back on again (long story!). The house is 1 story with really tall roof in the living area and about 8-9 feet elsewhere. We also found out the house is 'only' 3100sqft vs 3500. It has a LOT of space inside due to the tall ceilings. We can seal off the rear two bedrooms + bath if no one is staying with us at the time. So essentially we could get the sqft down to about 2500 (guessing). It's mostly open floor plan. The master bedroom is through a single doorway. No hallways as in our current home. I hate hallways! Currently the primary heat/cool is heatpump. We both hate heatpump heat, it's a cold heat and has never been comfortable for us.

We moved to Texas less than three years ago, and we weren't even sure whether we'd even think about heating with wood again. It only took us part of our first winter to realize that we were cold in our house, and we wanted wood heat again to be warm. Our insert only heats about 1/2 of our house because of its size and layout. (We have three gas furnaces: one never ran after the install; one ran less, and one was similar to previous usage but probably a bit less.) The particularly nice thing was having a place in the house where we could bask in the heat. Being able to warm up one's toes before bed makes life better in our house!

What kind of style do you want in a freestanding stove?