My hopes for a wood stove. (Help!)

[Mercury220]

As some of you know, I am planning on adding a wood stove to my home. My house is 1,800sq feet.
I would like to add the stove to my "foyer" room. It serves no purpose right now but having a green couch in it.
I want to put the stove below the middle window. The space above this area is empty space closed off.

I found this stove on craigslist. (broken link removed to http://allentown.craigslist.org/app/1781993934.html)

Thanks for any help!

 

[maxed_out]

Couple of things you need to research in your town and get back to us...

1. Building codes.... You need an approved hearth to protect your floor thats up to code. You may have structural elements to consider as well.
2. Stove pipe thru window? again is a code issue and you'll need a good +safe design.
3. Stove...Make sure you get a stove that offers secondary combustion. I'm not familiar with that vermont castings in the ad. On a budget, the website is full of good suggestions like blaze king, etc. You will be so much happier with a clean burn stove than a "smoke dragon". Again if you need help, do a you tube search on secondary combustion and you'll see all sorts of videos.
4. Professional advice...theres no shortcuts here...If this is all new by all means, get a pro from a stove shop to help you out. If you do it all right, you'll get a great investment which will pay for itself and you'll sleep at night.

 

[savageactor7]

Well Mercury220 I get a good feel for your house thanks to the pictures...good job with them. I'm just not keen with putting the stove there under the windows. If those windows weren't there it would work out well. Do you have any wood burning friends that you could solicit opinions from? btw welcome to the forum.

 

[SolarAndWood]

It looks like a decent location for the stove, you will just have to keep it away from the glass and/or use double wall pipe. Are you thinking that you will go straight up with the pipe?

 

[Mercury220]

I wouldn't want the pipe to go through the window but rather straight up through the ceiling

 

[gyrfalcon]

Two thoughts. If you want the stove to actually provide heat rather than just look nice, put it in a more central area. If it's in a little room off to the side, you're not going to get a whole lot of practical heating from it.

Ditto for the 2nd floor. To me, putting a stove under an unused space is a criminal waste of BTUs. My second floor is unheated, and having the stove right underneath my bedroom makes a real difference in how cold it gets in winter. (It gets plenty cold, but not as bad as when I was relying on baseboard oil heat.)

 

[begreen]

I'm ok with the location using double-wall pipe. The nice wide openings and nearby staircase should help with heat distribution. I'm happy to hear that you want to go straight up with the pipe. That should be a nice installation. The house has a nice, classic interior. Maybe consider spending some time and a bit more money on getting a classic style stove that will work well for you. With the benefit of the tax credit, I would strongly recommend considering a new stove. Get one that will heat the house well and will compliment the nice interior year round. A Jotul Oslo (F500) would look great there. Or perhaps a Woodstock Fireview or a PE Alderlea T5?

 

[KP Matt]

Are you sure that's a Vermont Castings stove? I guess it might look a little better if it were cleaned up, but I would be looking for something nicer - your house is very nice. If $450 is your price range you might have to look around. Definitely get an EPA, secondary burn stove.

Going straight up with the chimney is a good idea. I wouldn't worry about being in the vicinity of the windows, as long as your proximity to combustibles is OK. As mentioned, double wall pipe will mitigate the heat loss to the windows.

You could build a movable hearth pad to sit the stove on without messing up the existing floor - depending on the stove the hearth pad may be a thin, non-combustible floor protection, or it might be thicker and with a specified R-value. If that's an old stove you'll probably require something substantial.

 

[WES999]

One thing to consider, if you are buying a used stove you may be better off with a welded steel stove.
An older cast iron stove may need rebuilding, new gaskets etc., I have read that parts for the VC stoves are quite expensive. A welded steel plate stove is pretty much bullit proof, there is not a lot that can go wrong with it.

You relly want a newer EPA aproved stove.

There are some great deals on CL, if you are paitient and lucky, I got my stove and hearth pad for about half of what the VC you are looking at.

 

[Mercury220]

Thank you all for the informative replies! I have a feeling this is going to be my new favorite forum site!

The reason I chose this location for the stove is because there are two other "clones" of my house within a mile or two of my house that have fireplaces in the same location.

I will check with my town's building inspector as far as codes and regulations then post the information.

Do you guys think I could do this project for under $2,000?

 

[begreen]

As long as the code clearances for stove and flue are covered and hearth requirements are proper, you should be fine. One problem with a used stove is finding one in good shape. The other problem is that if it's an older stove, it may need much larger clearances than a newer stove.

If under $2000 - after the tax credit, yes. But before the tax credit the piping alone may be $1500. If your budget is tight, consider getting a new Englander, Napoleon or Drolet 2 cu ft, EPA phase II stove. The tax credit will be on the entire installation. So if it comes in at $2500 for the entire system, you will be able to get a credit for $1250 by the new ruling I think.

 

[Mercury220]

Should I look for a local retailer for a new stove or would I need to order one online?

 

[begreen]

I'd check out the local scene for Napoleon. Getting an Englander would probably involve a trip to the local Lowes or Home Depot. Drolet would likely be online.

 

[firefighterjake]

RE: Stove selection. If you're new to wood-burning I would shy away from the Craigslist specials . . . if you don't know what to look for in terms of signs of over-firing or abuse buying that "steal of a deal" could burn you in the long run . . . not to mention the fact that many newbies simply buy a stove because it looks good, it has a name brand recognition or it seems like a good deal when in fact folks really should be buying a stove based on the size of the firebox so they can properly size it to their home. Buying a stove because it looks like a good deal or is pretty, will not seem like such a good idea if you're either finding the stove too small in middle of the winter and freezing your butt off or you find the stove too large and are walking around the house wearing nothing but Speedos. You also have to worry about clearances with old stoves -- and some of these old stoves can have some pretty big clearances to walls compared to modern stoves . . . and we're not even starting to talk about how efficient the stoves are with cats and secondary burning (and in my book getting more heat with less work and wood is a good thing.)

Personally, I would go with a new stove. A classic cast iron stove would fit in nicely here . . . or a soapstove stove . . . but if money is tight some of the steel stoves look decent enough . . . and truthfully while no one wants to install an ugly stove in their living room the truth is the whole goal here is to keep you and your family warm in the winter and not be featured on HGTV, right?

RE: The location. I like this location. Seems like a good place to plunk a stove and it should make for a nice area that was unused before. I would go with doublewall pipe to keep the higher heat away from the windows and of course you'll need to build a hearth (and it will depend on what stove you select in terms of size and what it is built out of) . . . I could envision a nice hearth in here . . . maybe a nice firewood box or holder as well to keep things neat and tidy looking. It seems like most of the newer stoves radiate a good portion of the heat out of the front . . . which is good since it should radiate out into the living space . . . and provide you with a nice view of the fire as you sit there across the room watching TV. Moreover, positioning a fan in the entry way and blowing the air towards the stove should set up a nice draft to move the heated air through the rest of the home.

RE: Your new favorite website. Yeah, this site kind of sucks you in. Many of us came here just looking for some one-off advice . . . figured we would get the advice we needed, maybe come back to thank folks and then we would go back to living our normal, pre-woodstove lives in happy bliss . . . many of us were wrong . . . hearth.com is my life . . . sure work can block my Facebook account . . . and the ATV BBS site I frequent . . . but if they ever block hearth.com . . . well this I could not abide by.

 

[WoodPorn]

Is the floor bowed in that 1st pic or is it just my warped head?

I think the location would work just fine if you put a ceiling fan in the room as well.

 

[Mercury220]

Is the floor bowed in that 1st pic or is it just my warped head?

I think the location would work just fine if you put a ceiling fan in the room as well.

Warped head possibly?

The one stove I posted from craigslist is only a year old and is a Dutch West dw1500L02

Anything good to say about this model?

 

[begreen]

I thought that was a Dutchwest. At 1.5 cu ft it's a bit undersized, but for an area heater it should do the job. This is a simple steel stove, EPA approved and with pretty good clearances. For $300-350 I would go for it and save up my pennies for a nicer 2-2.5 cu ft stove in a year or two.

 

[gpcollen1]

Two thoughts. If you want the stove to actually provide heat rather than just look nice, put it in a more central area. If it's in a little room off to the side, you're not going to get a whole lot of practical heating from it.

It looks like there are two large openings to two adjacent rooms. That works for me in getting heat moving pretty well. Not everyone can have the ideal setup.

 

[humpin iron]

Your 2000 dollar budget is low. Find a good local shop and start working with them to figger out the total nut. You can get the 1/3 tax credit on your total purchase up to 1500. Plus summer time-bad economy- left over inventory or display model......good time to buy a stove. You will need a close clearance model so it does not eat up your whole room. Go straight up with the chimney, it's the least expensive way. You only get tax credit on a new stove, not a used one. Save where you can, advice from this site has resulted in some awesome DIY hearths Quad/Heatilator has some new models coming out in the $15-2000 range named Eco choice.
Good luck Keep us posted

 

[bsearcey]

I would get a larger stove. I have an older VC stove that is about that same size. I also heat a house the same size as your's. Even if the stove is good and effiecient your just not going to get great burn times with a smaller stove. When I started burning in the fall I was getting a good 6 to 7 hours, by the dead of winter it was more like 4 to 5.

 

[Mercury220]

It's been a while since my last post but I've been pretty busy.

So based on your comments and suggestions, I'm going to go with a new wood stove.

Does this model seem decent? It seems feasible to purchase.

(broken link removed to http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100157775&langId;=-1&catalogId=10053)

 

[fossil]

By all accounts, they're excellent stoves. A key player on the manufacturer's payroll is a member and valued regular contributor here, Mike Holton (stoveguy2esw). A good solid, reliable heater, and from a company with industry-leading customer support. Rick

 

[spendaviscpa]

I’ve been shopping these stoves as well lately. I’m still working on a game plan. You’re far ahead of me in that department! You might try Ace Hardware if you have one near. Check out this link:

(broken link removed to http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3933666&cp=2568443.2568453.2627947.1260958)

 

[firefighterjake]

It's been a while since my last post but I've been pretty busy.

So based on your comments and suggestions, I'm going to go with a new wood stove.

Does this model seem decent? It seems feasible to purchase.

(broken link removed to http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100157775&langId;=-1&catalogId=10053)

You can check out the stove ratings section here at hearth.com -- go back to the main page and you'll find it in the drop down menu . . . but honestly I've read a lot of positive reviews on the Englanders/Summer's Heat from members here . . . folks who say the only thing better than the well constructed stove is the excellent customer service and support.

 

[WoodPorn]

It's been a while since my last post but I've been pretty busy.

So based on your comments and suggestions, I'm going to go with a new wood stove.

Does this model seem decent? It seems feasible to purchase.

(broken link removed to http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100157775&langId;=-1&catalogId=10053)

You can check out the stove ratings section here at hearth.com -- go back to the main page and you'll find it in the drop down menu . . . but honestly I've read a lot of positive reviews on the Englanders/Summer's Heat from members here . . . folks who say the only thing better than the well constructed stove is the excellent customer service and support.

I don't have a wood stove from Englander, but I do have a pellet and can vouch for thier TOP notch customer service. I'm very happy w/ my PS for what it's worth.