This is my first time buying a wood stove and having a hard time deciding on stove size. I have been looking at the Pacific Energy Super 27 for reference. We have oil heat currently and looking to supplement but not heat entire home. My home is a 1642sq ft rancher. Three main living areas on one side, hallway with bedrooms on the other. We aren't concerned so much with heat getting to the bedrooms as they have their own thermostat and we keep them pretty cool. The three main areas are relatively open to each other, side by side, with 8 ft wide walkthroughs. The hearth is located on the far end room that is a 320 sq ft room. All rooms have ceiling fans. The room with the hearth is our TV room and I am worried about heating us out with too big of a stove. We typically don't like the house extremely warm and I don't have experience on how low you can burn. A friend has a VC defiant in dining room of a 3000 sq ft house, and although some heat travels to nearby rooms, its a sweat lodge in the dining room at all times. Would a smaller version like the PE vista be a better choice for us..or maybe another stove all together. Our goal is creating cozy heat in the front of the house about total 1000 sq ft and still be able to hang out in the room with the stove. I get a different answer from every stove store I visit and hoping for some helpful feedback. Thanks everyone.
Need help choosing stove size!
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Is the TV room open to other areas like the kitchen/dining area and living room or closed off by a door? If the latter, then almost any wood stove could overpower the 320 sq ft room.
Yes. The rooms all sit next to each other with walkthroughs about 6 ft wide. Attach is pic for better idea. The one pic taken from hearth looking into kitchen then living room on other end. Second pic taken looking onto the room where stove would go {hearth is where tv is}. Bad lighting! Anyway, many windows in the room with hearth. Hallway to bedrooms is far opposite room from the stove. Thanks for all you input.
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If you like the super 27 size, I'd splurge for the T5. I have the T5 in a 16x12 room, but in a much rougher climate. The cast iron jacket will slow down the heat transfer a bit. They are a very responsive stove.
I dont think the smaller vista is a bad choice either. Due to the smaller firebox you would be able to keep a more active fire compared to the Super. The cast iron jacket could still help moderate the radiant heat coming out of the steel stove, but I dont think it would be an issue either way.
I dont think the smaller vista is a bad choice either. Due to the smaller firebox you would be able to keep a more active fire compared to the Super. The cast iron jacket could still help moderate the radiant heat coming out of the steel stove, but I dont think it would be an issue either way.
Agreed. The large openings will help heat convect. I like the Alderlea series too, it's a more even heat. Both sizes will work. I prefer the Super 27/T5, 2 cu ft firebox for the loading flexibility, EBT, longer burn time and extra heating capacity, but the smaller Vista/T4 will also work albeit with shorter burn times on the coldest days.
Ok..Thank you for the information. Since it being our first time with the wood stove, it's hard to know how much we will heat with it. We both work 9 to 4 , so I am thinking we would use it evenings into night and then all weekends. I don't see us burning 24/7 but who knows. I have read about the limitations of the firebox on the Vista....not sure we would mind the lower burn time. Well..I guess there's pros and cons to both. I will go out and look at the T5 this weekend. Thanks again for info..super helpful!
When I was first shopping for stoves a few years ago the advice I was given is not to go too small. I ended up with the Jotul f45 because although the footprint was somewhat small it holds enough wood to keep going through the night, which is key.
Even if you aren't burning 24x7 you'll still be able to fire it up in the morning before work, let it taper down while you are gone and then pick up where you left off for the evening. Assuming the install is done correctly I'm totally comfortable leaving the house while the stove it still going as long as its set to "cruise" and not still getting hotter.
Even if you aren't burning 24x7 you'll still be able to fire it up in the morning before work, let it taper down while you are gone and then pick up where you left off for the evening. Assuming the install is done correctly I'm totally comfortable leaving the house while the stove it still going as long as its set to "cruise" and not still getting hotter.
Thanks Zach..that's good advice and it would be nice to puck up with the fire when we return home in the evening. We have Jotul here in area..will check it out. Luckily lots of good options here in Lancaster to easily shop around.
I had the F45 at our last house and it was able to heat 1600sqft (800 upstairs and 800 downstairs) without running the furnace unless we were out of town. I work from home so I'm able to keep the fire going 24x7. Keep in mind this was with pine, hardwood would do even better.
I liked the F45 so much that I'm buying another one for our new larger house, this time it will be downstairs in the walk out basement, roughly 700sqft. We have a F55 for upstairs (1800sqft and high ceilings with lots of windows). Both the F55 and F45 are new to this house so I don't have any performance data yet.
Here's from our previous house. I'm not sure how well our climate compares to yours but we do have long cold winters.
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Buck is an old-time stove maker and truthfully their stoves still look like it. They are solid, heavy heaters and they last a long time. Because they don't change design frequently, parts for older models are usually still available. Buck makes both cat and non-cat versions of most of their stoves.
Another question if you don't mind. You said you heated 800 up and 800 down...did the floor/room with the stove get too hot? Btw..that's a lot of snow...we get that here in Pa too! Thanks.
Occasionally it would get pretty warm, say in the 75F range but it was fairly easy to control by using more or less wood depending on heating needs. I always start by getting the stove up to at least 500F (stovetop temp) to keep the chimney clean, however if its 40F outside I'll stop adding wood and let it cruise on coals for much longer before reloading (stovetop temps around 200F). On the coldest days (-30F low, +1F high) I'd keep that thing running like it was the steam train on back to the future, fully loaded with the stovetop temp at 550-700F (room temp around 72-74F).
I used a fan to push cold air toward the stove (and let the hot air circulate up the stairs) and if I didn't turn on the fan the living area would sometimes get too warm.
A friend is selling a 7 yr old Jotul F400. Not sure I want to go used but any opinions on this model? Thank You!
The F400 is a good stove. It's more radiant so its clearances will be larger and it has a shallow firebox which makes it an E/W loader. That said, it puts out good heat and has a 6-8 hr burn time on a full load. It will want decent draft and prefers a straight-up flue system of at least 16 ft.
If buying used the stove must be examined carefully for signs of overfiring and cracks. Why is your friend selling?
If buying used the stove must be examined carefully for signs of overfiring and cracks. Why is your friend selling?
Thank you Begreen..very helpful. I decided to pass. Being a novice with wood stoves, my gut is telling me its not the time to risk buying used.
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