Need a beautiful lifetime stove for SHTF scenario.

[EatenByLimestone]

I also considered it a place to save some money. If you are going to sell through a box store, you have to cut costs somewhere. A slab of quality stainless may cost half of what they wholesale the stove at.

 

[Hermit]

How big of an issue is it to mitigate high temps. We are NOW looking at the Shelburne, jotul f500 Oslo, alderlea t5, Ashford 30.

Our house is 1000 square feet but our main room is 600sqr ft.

Are these stoves all way too big?! We'd like to be able to see the fire most of the time during the day without cooking ourselves out. Are we going to have to run our stove in black box mode all day just to not get too hot?

 

[rijim]

This kind of drifted away from the stove selection. With the size of the house; the Ashford can be adjusted down with a full load of wood and not over heat you while getting long burns. Buy a spare CAT or 2, gaskets and adhesive and call it good.

 

[Hermit]

This kind of drifted away from the stove selection. With the size of the house; the Ashford can be adjusted down with a full load of wood and not over heat you while getting long burns. Buy a spare CAT or 2, gaskets and adhesive and call it good.

Indeed it did. If I got the ashford 30.2, it's pretty huge stove, would i (on an average winter day) get to watch the fire burning in the stove, or would it be pretty hot for the small house we're in to run it that high

 

[begreen]

It's hard to say. If the house is moderately insulated then once temps dropped into the -10C you may be able to open it up for medium burn and some fire show, though it sounds like the actual open area to the stove is much less than 1000 sq ft, is that correct? How large is the open area not including the small closed off rooms?

 

[rijim]

Unless your house is poorly insulated allowing you to run the Ashford higher, probably not. If you want overnight burns (or longer) you will face a tradeoff; sitting in your skivvies watching the flames or engaging the cat throttling back your damper without having to strip down; on the colder times you can get more ambiance from the flames.

 

[stoveliker]

Unless your house is poorly insulated allowing you to run the Ashford higher, probably not. If you want overnight burns (or longer) you will face a tradeoff; sitting in your skivvies watching the flames or engaging the cat throttling back your damper without having to strip down; on the colder times you can get more ambiance from the flames.

The cat should always be engaged (i.e. the bypass should always be used once the cat is up to temperature).

 

[rijim]

The cat should always be engaged (i.e. the bypass should always be used once the cat is up to temperature).

unless you don’t have a CAT stove which is the decision the OP is making.

 

[stoveliker]

unless you don’t have a CAT stove which is the decision the OP is making.

He asked a question about the Ashford. You answered "skivvies or engage that cat". That is incorrect as an answer to a question about the Ashford.

 

[Highbeam]

I also considered it a place to save some money. If you are going to sell through a box store, you have to cut costs somewhere. A slab of quality stainless may cost half of what they wholesale the stove at.

It’s not just box store stoves, even the most premium brands use the stupid fragile boards.

 

[Hermit]

It's hard to say. If the house is moderately insulated then once temps dropped into the -10C you may be able to open it up for medium burn and some fire show, though it sounds like the actual open area to the stove is much less than 1000 sq ft, is that correct? How large is the open area not including the small closed off rooms?

I'd say the main room is around half the house. 500

 

[Hermit]

Btw I just wanna thank everyone for helping me out here and participating in the discussion. I'm really starting to get fed up with the hard decision and feel like I'm just going to impulse choose something just to get this over with haha

 

[Woody Stover]

Good points! A little insurance for these over drafting incidents would be a pipe damper or dare I say it, a slight mod of the air intake.

EPA’S greatest concern. And they follow these threads.....

When my dad was driving the family station wagon to a remote campground way out in the sticks, down some little county road, he'd say "This road looks like it will go up a tree and into a knothole pretty soon." Well, that's where Todd and I live..far off the beaten path, far from the madding crowds..and the authorities. It's beyond jurisdiction. Same holds true for Hermit. No one goes up there, with the threat of hypothermic death ceaselessly stalking you.
The only law out here in the hinterlands is frontier justice. But if the feds ever do come after us, we just take the restrictions off the air, let the stove run, and melt the evidence.
Leads one to wonder if we have any moles on the forum, reporting back. Let's see...who here has the closest relationship with the wood heat powers that be....Ohhhh, myyyyyy!!
SHTF..Sheriffs Halt The Fires.

 

[begreen]

I'd say the main room is around half the house. 500

OK, I was thinking 600 sq ft. This is a small area to heat. The side rooms will get some heat, but not nearly as much. This small of an area is a challenge to heat 24/7 with wood so caveat emptor. I understand it can get very cold there, but what is the temp for 85% of the winter? That is what will determine the best stove size, not the extreme weather events. A BK stove running on low may work out best as long as a great fire view is not a priority for all of the time.

 

[bholler]

It’s not just box store stoves, even the most premium brands use the stupid fragile boards.

Not most really. Hearthstone and quad use them. Regency lopi PE and several others dont

 

[Hermit]

When my dad was driving the family station wagon to a remote campground way out in the sticks, down some little county road, he'd say "This road looks like it will go up a tree and into a knothole pretty soon." Well, that's where Todd and I live..far off the beaten path, far from the madding crowds..and the authorities. It's beyond jurisdiction. Same holds true for Hermit. No one goes up there, with the threat of hypothermic death ceaselessly stalking you.
The only law out here in the hinterlands is frontier justice. But if the feds ever do come after us, we just take the restrictions off the air, let the stove run, and melt the evidence.
Leads one to wonder if we have any moles on the forum, reporting back. Let's see...who here has the closest relationship with the wood heat powers that be....Ohhhh, myyyyyy!!
SHTF..Sheriffs Halt The Fires.

I may pm you asking how to do this if it ever comes down to it haha

 

[Hermit]

OK, I was thinking 600 sq ft. This is a small area to heat. The side rooms will get some heat, but not nearly as much. This small of an area is a challenge to heat 24/7 with wood so caveat emptor. I understand it can get very cold there, but what is the temp for 85% of the winter? That is what will determine the best stove size, not the extreme weather events. A BK stove running on low may work out best as long as a great fire view is not a priority for all of the time.

I'd say average winter is -5 to -20 for most of the winter. Extreme weather events get to like - 35 or so, more with windchill. Milder days hover around 0

Edit: all degrees are in Celsius.

 

[ABMax24]

Unfortunately there is information you need to clarify to make the best suggestions. Are you looking for an offgrid lifestyle where you still have periodic trips to civilization, or a completely secluded situation where you need to be self sufficient for years at a time? These are very different things.

If you are just after the offgrid lifestyle a cat stove (I mean BlazeKing) is your best bet, it will be the most convenient for accurate temperature regulation.

If you need total self-sufficiency a basic non-cat is probably best, and you better count on having a case of firebrick, a couple baffles, secondary tubes, door gaskets, and maybe even a spare glass on hand at the time of purchase, plus spare chimney components just in case. Temperature regulation will be a concern and will require more supervision to maintain comfort, this can however be improved by adding thermal mass to the cabin; rock, stone, concrete, brick etc in the living space can help immensely with temperature regulation.

All this being said I believe you are after the first situation, very few people have the skills necessary to live in seclusion for extended periods of time, social media, Youtube and TV make it seem easy but unfortunately that's not the case. Life in seclusion is about simplicity, and many hours of daily work to fulfill the basic needs.

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

All great discussion here guys, I would love to get a Woodstock, but I don't know if I'm able to up here in Canada. If someone wants to work out a deal and deliver it to me from the states, I'll pay you personally in the CryptoCurrency of your choice. Does Woodstock have a huge backlog right now?

You’re worried about solar flares wiping out the electronic infrastructure of civilization and you keep your savings in crypto? How will you pay your neighbor for grain when your phone dies and all the networks are dead?

Buy a good reliable stove that doesn’t need frequently replaced parts, like a cat. Lobby the govt to invest in space research to predict solar flares and industry to invest in ways to mitigate the impact. It’s a known risk that serious people are working. Enjoy the warmth and view by your new stove and ponder that fleeting moment of relaxation before you realize that everyone you know will die and everything you see will one day be a cold black nothing in a trillion years at the heat death of the universe. Then find hope in a new birth somewhere in the multiverse while looking at the pretty fire with a loved one and say “it’s a nice night tonight”.

 

[begreen]

I'd say average winter is -5 to -20 for most of the winter. Extreme weather events get to like - 35 or so, more with windchill. Milder days hover around 0

Edit: all degrees are in Celsius.

Got it. Cold temps, but heating a small space. That's a challenge, Stick with the Blaze King. It's sold in CA and will run on low when needed.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

OK, I was thinking 600 sq ft. This is a small area to heat. The side rooms will get some heat, but not nearly as much. This small of an area is a challenge to heat 24/7 with wood so caveat emptor. I understand it can get very cold there, but what is the temp for 85% of the winter? That is what will determine the best stove size, not the extreme weather events. A BK stove running on low may work out best as long as a great fire view is not a priority for all of the time.

I heat a 16'x29' cabin with the T5. If I was there all the time the T4 would do fine. I dont run the stove until its below freezing. Its too hot. My walls and ceiling are insulated ok, but the floor is the only 3/4" of wood between heated space and whatever outside is. Sometimes in the -20sF. The only reason why I have the T5 is I often walk into the cabin when it's well below freezing and I don't want to spend all weekend warming it up. I often have a layer+ of extra firebrick on the bottom and the key damper closed. I also play the thermal mass game in the cabin with plenty of mass to heat up, then slowly cool down. The cast iron cladding does a great job of softening the scortch of a radiant steel box.

 

[begreen]

Yes, there is a big difference from bringing a cold cabin up to temp vs 24/7 heating a small space with wood. I like the T5 a lot for it's robust design, esthetics, ease of use, low maintenance, etc. but in this circumstance a BK stove can run at a lower continuous output which is an advantage. Even then I suspect that in above freezing weather the stove would need to be run in a pulse and glide fashion. The T5 would probably be running at half-loads until temps dropped well below freezing.

It would help to know how this house is currently heated and what the fuel consumption is during winter.

 

[EbS-P]

alderlea t5

Is my vote. No cat = less maintenance. Firebrick interior easy to make off grid repairs possible. Good
fire show. Stainless baffle could be fixed or repaired
Steel jacket evens heat out. Looks good. Swing out trivets aid cooking. If it’s too hot build smaller fire or use use lower BTU wood. It’s it to much stove? Absolutely. So is the F500. BK is the only sure thing for the right size that won’t roast you out. Decision time.

Cat or no cat? BK if you want the cat. T5 if you don’t.

 

[Highbeam]

Is my vote. No cat = less maintenance. Firebrick interior easy to make off grid repairs possible. Good
fire show. Stainless baffle could be fixed or repaired
Steel jacket evens heat out. Looks good. Swing out trivets aid cooking. If it’s too hot build smaller fire or use use lower BTU wood. It’s it to much stove? Absolutely. So is the F500. BK is the only sure thing for the right size that won’t roast you out. Decision time.

Cat or no cat? BK if you want the cat. T5 if you don’t.

Two great stoves. If SHTF you can burn furniture in the noncat but a cat can be poisoned if you burn garbage.

 

[rijim]

Btw I just wanna thank everyone for helping me out here and participating in the discussion. I'm really starting to get fed up with the hard decision and feel like I'm just going to impulse choose something just to get this over with haha

To simplify; buy a secondary non-cat stove with a large enough fire box for an 8-10hr burn, you will have a beautify fire view of the secondary burn but will sweat your crackers off for 3-4 hours then it will level off; or go with the Ashford, 20 minutes after engaging the cat you can turn the damper setting down and level off the heat output on low (for the next 25- 30 hours) while only seeing a glow rather than a flame. Life is full of shade offs.