Looking for right stove size. Need advice.

[skamp]

Hi
My name is Steven and this my first post here.
I'm going to try and describe my home and ask for advice on what I should be looking at as far as stove size.
First of all I live in southeastern CT., on the shoreline. I live in a 1200sq.ft. ranch. The house is well insulated and very tight as far as drafts. my home rus about 80ft. straight and then makes a right and goes another 40 ft. L shaped best way to describe it.

I'm looking to heat as mush space as possible. The room that the stove will be located is the living room,in the fireplace. which is centraly located in the house. The living room is 280sq.ft. the dining room is 154 sq.ft.The living room and dining room are open to each other and measure a total of 434 sq.ft. From the living foom there is a hallway about 8ft. down the hallway there is a room off to the right we use as a den is 10x10 sq.ft. the hallway continues on about another 10ft. makes a right hand turn to where the three bed rooms are located. The 1st. bedroom is at the end of the hall to the left before it takes the right turn, that room is 17x12. After you take the right there are two more bedrooms each 10x12 and at the end of the hall is a small bath room 6x9. Celings through out the house are 8ft. Ther are also a ceiling fan in both the living and dining rooms.

I am thinking about purchasing the Jotul F400 or the F500 and using fans to push some of the heat from the living room area down the hallway to the bedrooms. oh forgot to mention the hallway is pretty narrow about 3ft. across.

I've looked at the specs on both stoves and it seems to me that either one would bake me right out of the house.
I did have a mason come in and take a look at what i was thinking of doing. Really nice man 60's with lots of experience. he said that the F500 would be ok and that i could just build a desired size fire. He also mentioned the 500 would be good because it fits up to a 22" log.


Would really appreciate any input you guy's on helping me decide what to do. Thanks, Steven

 

[begreen]

Hi Steven, welcome.

As you've probably gathered, ranches are tough to heat with a central heat source. Although either Jotul would do the job, I tend to agree with your mason. You'll need to learn how to build shorter, hot fires in an F500, but for heating this is a good stove. It may be a bit oversized for your needs in autumn and late winter, but in the core of winter, it will keep you warm 24/7. In the shoulder seasons when it's 30-40 outside, you'll probably need to burn a hot fire and let it burn out. But when it's in the 20's and lower, the F500 will give you the heat and extended burn you are looking for. The F400 is a really nice stove, but it is not as good as the F500 for holding a long fire. It will likely do the job, but you will be feeding it more often and on cold days may need to wake up early to feed the stove.

As for distributing the heat, it may seem counterintuitive, but it's usually better to blow the cold air towards the stove to establish a convective loop. You'll probably need a floor fan in the hallways blowing towards the stove to circulate the heat. The rooms off the hallway will be cooler. If you spend a lot of time in a particular room like the den, consider a small electric heater in it as a supplement.

 

[skamp]

Thank you for your reply BeGreen. Very happy I found this forum and glad to be here.

The thought of blowing the colder air towards the warmer air is an interesting idea,never thought of that.
Short hot fire, by this do you mean putting a large amount of wood in the stove,getting it going real hot and then letting it burn down? I'm pretty sure thats what you ment. I was also wondering what would be the lowest temps. I could burn the the stove. I'm just curious because 80 degree heat for me would be uncomfortable. I would like a temps. lower to mid seventies. Would this be possible with the 500.
Another question is,do you think I will still save a good amount of money on oil even though I'm heating a ranch? Also forgot to mention. the den is somwhat connected to the living room by a 5x3 entertainmeant center opening. I figure a smal fan in the entertainmet center opening to drew heat into that room.

 

[begreen]

Full loads in the stove will probably be only for the colder months. You'll more likely burn partial loads of wood in fall in spring. Let them burn hot and then die out, maybe once in the morning and night. We often burn only 3 splits when the temp is above 40.

The larger opening between the rooms may help if not blocked with equipment and a big screen.

 

[Hogwildz]

If you have access to your attic, I just did this.........................









And it pushes a lot of air from one room to another, need a good fan, and I used galv. duct & wrapped it in R-6 duct insulation.
You can also go through a closet or such and do this set up through the walls. I do have fire dampers being delivered to install in this system.
Before going nuts, I would run the stove for a season at least, get used to the stove and fine tune your burning with that stove. Then if you still need heat in another area, then make some decisions.
I am going from office to connected bedroom. So not a big stretch.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Steve,
I live in northeastern CT and run an Oslo. My house is a bit larger ( 1850 square ft ) and it heats it no problem. There are many times during the winter when its not running full tilt (about 400) but during those cold nights in Jan /Feb though its often cranking at night at about 600 and that is when having a bigger stove helps out ....but .....thats when your not planning on watching a movie in the stove room (even with my 16' vaulted ceiling). I use it 24/7 and burned about 3.75 cords this year. Depending on the wood your burning, your burn times will be about 7-10 hours. The side door is also real handy when packing in big chunks. We have 3 woodburners in the family my brother in law (Flashman) packs a F600.......my father in law and I pack F500's........Actually, Flashman and I took him last month and picked up an Oslo at Preston Trading post for 1,679.00. We called so many dealers and got so many different prices....so call around it will save you money! We cut our own wood to 20 " which is the perfect size for the Oslo.

Goodluck with your purchase!


WoodButcher

 

[skamp]

Full loads in the stove will probably be only for the colder months. You'll more likely burn partial loads of wood in fall in spring. Let them burn hot and then die out, maybe once in the morning and night. We often burn only 3 splits when the temp is above 40.

The larger opening between the rooms may help if not blocked with equipment and a big screen.

Thanks BeGreen. I think I'm starting to get the picture of what I will need to do. i had a long talk to a coworker today who owns an oslow. After our conversation he said the oslow wouldn't disappoint me.
I'm also going to 4 season my porch in Sept. The porch is located off of the living room separated by french doors. it measures 12x20. With the french doors open I'm pretty sure I will get enough heat out there to be comfortable. Am very excited about this new project.
I'm going to a store called the preston trading post tomorrow to buy my stove. I chose to get the enamel blue-black. Out the door the stove will cost $2351 includes tax and delivery. The stove went up $120 in price from the 1st. time I was up there 3 weeks ago. I figure I better get it now because it's not going to get any cheaper. Also ordered 3 cord of seasoned 20" today should receive in two weeks,that will give me time to prepare a place to stack it. I'm going to use 2x4s and bricks to keep it off the ground.
I'm really tyring to learn as fast as I can about burning wood, and this forum is a blessing. I realize it will take a couple seasons to get it most of this stuff under my belt but it helps to have all you guy's advice to fall back on . Will keep you posted. Thanks, Steve.

 

[begreen]

I predict by January you'll be a seasoned wood burner. Welcome to the club Steven! The Oslo is a great stove and it is great in blue-black enamel. I think you're going to love your new stove.

 

[skamp]

If you have access to your attic, I just did this.........................

That's awsome hogwild. Your already giving me ideas. Yes and I think your right I better learn how to run and fine tune the stove for a year before going nuts. Thanks alot.







And it pushes a lot of air from one room to another, need a good fan, and I used galv. duct & wrapped it in R-6 duct insulation.
You can also go through a closet or such and do this set up through the walls. I do have fire dampers being delivered to install in this system.
Before going nuts, I would run the stove for a season at least, get used to the stove and fine tune your burning with that stove. Then if you still need heat in another area, then make some decisions.
I am going from office to connected bedroom. So not a big stretch.

 

[skamp]

Steve,
I live in northeastern CT and run an Oslo. My house is a bit larger ( 1850 square ft ) and it heats it no problem. There are many times during the winter when its not running full tilt (about 400) but during those cold nights in Jan /Feb though its often cranking at night at about 600 and that is when having a bigger stove helps out ....but .....thats when your not planning on watching a movie in the stove room (even with my 16' vaulted ceiling). I use it 24/7 and burned about 3.75 cords this year. Depending on the wood your burning, your burn times will be about 7-10 hours. The side door is also real handy when packing in big chunks. We have 3 woodburners in the family my brother in law (Flashman) packs a F600.......my father in law and I pack F500's........Actually, Flashman and I took him last month and picked up an Oslo at Preston Trading post for 1,679.00. We called so many dealers and got so many different prices....so call around it will save you money! We cut our own wood to 20 " which is the perfect size for the Oslo.

Goodluck with your purchase!


WoodButcher

Thanks for the info on the temps your running with your stove, that is a very important for me to understand, also good to have someone from CT., who knows are weather conditions so I can relate. knowing that you have three yotuls in your family gives me peace of mind.

 

[skamp]

I predict by January you'll be a seasoned wood burner. Welcome to the club Steven! The Oslo is a great stove and it is great in blue-black enamel. I think you're going to love your new stove.

Thanks BeGreen. I've done the research and think it's the stove for me. I look foward to using my new stove this winter.
Will keep you posted on how eveythings going.

 

[gibson]

Just an observation, and no I do not work for this company. For those of you in CT and RI, even SE Mass, Preston Trading Post has the best prices, most professional and knowledgeable employees that I have come across. I bought a Jotul Rockland Insert from them this week. I shopped every stove shop in RI and Preston was head and shoulders above the rest. I had always wanted the Jotul but refused to buy it from the other dealer. Thanks to Preston, I got what I wanted and had a good experience. FWIW...

 

[stoveguy13]

Just an observation, and no I do not work for this company. For those of you in CT and RI, even SE Mass, Preston Trading Post has the best prices, most professional and knowledgeable employees that I have come across. I bought a Jotul Rockland Insert from them this week. I shopped every stove shop in RI and Preston was head and shoulders above the rest. I had always wanted the Jotul but refused to buy it from the other dealer. Thanks to Preston, I got what I wanted and had a good experience. FWIW...

Thank you enjoy