Need advice on new stove

[CDWBurner]

I am looking for some advice on buying a new stove.

My old CDW Sequoia is either shot, untrustworthy, or both. Time to replace it, or leave it as a decorative piece.

I would like to use wood as a primary heat source weekday afternoons, evenings and overnights, letting it burn down during the day. When I am home on the weekends, and on staycations, I would like to use the potential stove as a primary heat source 24/7.

My best estimate, based on a partial season's worth of use, is that I would use 4-5 facecord of wood per heating season.

I need to heat about 1200-1500 square feet. Two of three upstairs bedrooms are unused, and our master bedroom on the first floor seems to be too far away from the stove (other side of the house, about 30 ft from stove) to heat it sufficiently. Total square footage of house is 2,000.

Each room has electric baseboard, which works well in conjunction with a wood burner.

The Sequoia fits easily on my existing hearth. The stove is 25" W, 31" H, 21" L (front to back).

The stovepipe is 8" diameter before entering the thimble. It exhausts out of the back of the current unit (see pic). The chimney is at least double walled, outside the house, has a clean out at the bottom, and a cap at the top. It is currently clean and free of debris/creosote. The chimney exhausts above the gable of of the house.

I want to spend as little as possible, but am aware that too cheap of a unit may not last long. I guess my first question is, based on usage outlined above, can I get an inexpensive unit and get away with it?

I look forward to your advice, and thank you in advance for your consideration.

 

[Woody Stover]

So you have Class A chimney outside the house and up? Is it 6" or 8"? Can you get a pic? Generally you want the chimney diameter to match the stove. If it's 8" chimney, that limits stoves you can use as most are 6". Depending how tall the chimney is, you might be able to run a 6" stove on 8" chimney if the stove is an easy breather. I'm no expert though, and I don't know if there's a foolproof way to determine beforehand if it would work.

 

[CDWBurner]

I just measured the chimney outside the house, it is 8".

 

[Woody Stover]

If that is OD, probably 6" chimney then. You could look at the "value" lines of steel stoves such as Englander or Drolet, which are generally under 1K. If you can go up closer to 2K, that brings a lot of quality steel stoves into play such as Pacific Energy and others and a little more can get you into the Woodstock steel stoves. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-08/usepa-certified-wood-heater-list.xlsx
You can get heat to the bedroom by putting a small fan on the floor in the hallway, blowing the more dense cool air toward the stove room, which will displace warm air toward the bedroom.

 

[CDWBurner]

If that is OD, probably 6" chimney then. You could look at the "value" lines of steel stoves such as Englander or Drolet, which are generally under 1K. If you can go up closer to 2K, that brings a lot of quality steel stoves into play such as Pacific Energy and others and a little more can get you into the Woodstock steel stoves. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-08/usepa-certified-wood-heater-list.xlsx
You can get heat to the bedroom by putting a small fan on the floor in the hallway, blowing the more dense cool air toward the stove room, which will displace warm air toward the bedroom.

No, I pulled the clean out panel at the bottom of the chimney and measured the inside diameter, and it is 8".

By the way, thanks for the website. Good reference resource.

Just searching around the web...there really isn't much to choose from with an 8" ID chimney and a rear vent. The Woodstock models are expensive, and the Carraig Mor BCMUS needs a 6" chimney.

I'll keep looking ...

 

[Woody Stover]

I see from your other thread that you have a triple-wall chimney. I don't think that stuff holds heat as well as double-wall Class A, so trying to run a 6" stove on it wouldn't have much chance of success I don't think. The Woodstocks are all 6". In this thread, some of the 8" stoves are mentioned but I'm not sure how many can rear-vent. They are for the most part big, expensive stoves and might be overkill for the space you are trying to heat. What is the sq.ft. and the layout you are trying to heat, and how tall is your chimney? Maybe you could find one of the 8" stoves used for cheap, but buying used can be a crapshoot. Replacing your chimney with 6" Class A would be expensive as well. You have your work cut out trying to keep cost down.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/modern-wood-stove-with-8-inch-flue-outlet.150640/

 

[begreen]

No, I pulled the clean out panel at the bottom of the chimney and measured the inside diameter, and it is 8".

By the way, thanks for the website. Good reference resource.

Just searching around the web...there really isn't much to choose from with an 8" ID chimney and a rear vent. The Woodstock models are expensive, and the Carraig Mor BCMUS needs a 6" chimney.

I'll keep looking ...

It's going to be a challenge to match that setup because the rear thimble height controls the stove choice. I would look again specifically at the Woodstock Ideal Steel stove. It has adjustable leg height which may help solve the problem. Starting at around $2k it is reasonably priced. Otherwise this may take relocating the the thimble much higher for a top venting stove.

 

[Woody Stover]

It's going to be a challenge to match that setup because the rear thimble height controls the stove choice. I would look again specifically at the Woodstock Ideal Steel stove. It has adjustable leg height which may help solve the problem.

What do you think the chances are that he will get enough draft on the 8" triple-wall? We might have a better idea if he posts the height of his chimney. The IS manual says "For an outside chimney, an 8 inch x 8 inch square or 8 inch round would be the largest acceptable."

 

[begreen]

Chimney height is unknown. If the OP is considering the Ideal Steel he should call Woodstock first and see what they say. It could be fine with a 2 story chimney.

 

[CDWBurner]

Great advice, thank you.

To answer your question, the chimney is two-stories high; I am guessing 20-25 feet tall. Please see pics.

I also included a pic of the chimney from the bottom, with the clean-out access panel removed. Looking at the pic, the sky is the little blue dot in the background. Is this the double-wall Class A chimney that everyone is mentioning? If so, good news.

FYI: The inner diameter is 8", I measured it this morning.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Looks like a 2 story house, let say 9 feet ceilings plus 5 feet over the roof. 25 feet seems accurate.

 

[chasechimney]

That's a nasty looking chimney . I would replace with a nice class A stainless outer wall .

 

[HomeinPA]

Great advice, thank you.

To answer your question, the chimney is two-stories high; I am guessing 20-25 feet tall. Please see pics.

I also included a pic of the chimney from the bottom, with the clean-out access panel removed. Looking at the pic, the sky is the little blue dot in the background. Is this the double-wall Class A chimney that everyone is mentioning? If so, good news.

FYI: The inner diameter is 8", I measured it this morning.

The pictures of the chimney look a little.....rough. Have you had anyone out yet to inspect the chimney itself? If not you may want to consider it. It looks like it's been there quite a while and it doesn't appear to be stainless but I can't tell for certain. Better to be safe.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

The pictures of the chimney look a little.....rough. Have you had anyone out yet to inspect the chimney itself? If not you may want to consider it. It looks like it's been there quite a while and it doesn't appear to be stainless but I can't tell for certain. Better to be safe.

Looks galvanized as far as I can see.

 

[CDWBurner]

Looks galvanized as far as I can see.

Yes, it is galvanized. If it was installed at the same time as the Sequoia, it is 20-25 years old.

I had it cleaned in November, and there wasn't much in it. I would definitely have it inspected before getting a new stove, that's for sure.

I have my four face cord for sale on Craigslist for $240, which is about the going rate for pickup in this area.

I want the new Woodstock Ideal Steel Hybrid ... its a beauty, its efficient, and my wife likes it. We all know which of those factors is the most important.

With half the house in college right now, finding a spare $2000 ain't easy ... and Im not into payments ... plus, with the uncertainty of the draft in my house, the chimney, I just can't commit to a new stove right now.

I won't give up - perhaps next year or the year after - gives me more time to learn from the pros on this site anyway.