Need help deciding

[Bungiex88]

woke up Christmas morning to a house that was 58 degrees. My oil boiler quit working. I was able to limp it along till someone came and fixed it the next day. Wanting to put in a coal/wood stove in the basement of my place but having a hard time deciding what size I need. Old farmhouse with little insulation. Started remodeling upstairs and as I’m remodeling I’m insulating the wallls. And I got my entire attic insulated now. So as I go along the more insulated the house will get. I have newer doors and newer windows. I’m looking at ds stove energy max 110, the 160, and the heat right 120. Total square foot on each floor is 600 including the basement. So a total of 1800sqft. The basement gets cold in the winter but next year I’m replacing all the windows and doors for the basement so it will be sealed up a lot better. I just don’t know what would be a good size of stove to get. I’ve been told you don’t want to go off btu per sqft when picking a regular stove out. I live in central pa and plan on using this for the main heat in winter and using the oil boiler fall and spring and when we are away

 

[Bungiex88]

I know it’s a hard question to answer because there a lot of factors I’m just looking for some experiences with similar houses. By next winter the whole 2nd story will be insulated to the fullest and basement will be a lot more sealed off. Most of my basement is underground except for the back non wind side of the house. It’s just the windows and doors are shot. I’d probably be using coal most of the time but wood on occasion

 

[Doc C]

I know it’s a hard question to answer because there a lot of factors I’m just looking for some experiences with similar houses. By next winter the whole 2nd story will be insulated to the fullest and basement will be a lot more sealed off. Most of my basement is underground except for the back non wind side of the house. It’s just the windows and doors are shot. I’d probably be using coal most of the time but wood on occasion

I was in the same boat as you. I bought a 3.5 cubic foot box wood stove for my house before I remodeled. It was great! Kept us warm the first winter.

Problem came after we remodeled. The stove kept the house well above 80 degrees even with the smallest fires I could build. I had to keep windows open to be able to stay in the house. Chimney just about clogged from cresote from running so low, and yes I clean my chimney regularly, so that tells you how bad I was burning.

Afyer the remodel was done I replaced it with a 1.8 cubic foot stove and while this is the first year it is doing a great job heating the whole house. Small firebox causes shorter burn times but at least I can be in my house without sweating

I can't help with a recommendation on a stove as I am not familiar with coal and wood stove combinations.

I am sure there are some people here that are.

Effel S33 I believe is a stove that was talked about recently here as being a screaming deal if you want to search for that thread. It looks like the stove is still being sold for that price on eBay.

I believe it's a 1.7 cubic foot box so I am not confident it is big enough for your house but just throwing it out there as the price is fantastic.

For reference my house is 2 story, 1968 square feet, VERY well insulated, good windows and doors and all above ground. My stove is the Englander 13 1.8 cubic foot box and I'm in North Idaho just south of the Canandian border.

 

[Tar12]

I don't see a problem with going "big" if your operating off of a thermostat controlled unit? Tying into your duct work? Are you hopper feeding the coal?

 

[Bungiex88]

No thermostat it’s just a good old fashioned hand fed coal wood stove Is what I want. See that my problem is I’m afraid to go to big then it being way to much after I get my remodeling done. And the stoves I’m looking at are not cheap. There very well made very efficient stoves that will last a life time or 2. But my aunt is giving me a old coal circulator I just found out. It’s rated for 1800sqft so I’ll just put that in and test it out to see how it does for next winter

 

[Tar12]

No thermostat it’s just a good old fashioned hand fed coal wood stove Is what I want. See that my problem is I’m afraid to go to big then it being way to much after I get my remodeling done. And the stoves I’m looking at are not cheap. There very well made very efficient stoves that will last a life time or 2. But my aunt is giving me a old coal circulator I just found out. It’s rated for 1800sqft so I’ll just put that in and test it out to see how it does for next winter

If nothing else it will be a measuring stick for you..

 

[jwfirebird]

dont know coal just wood i have been around my whole life. you get what you pay for. i had one of those boxwoods for a back up stove up stairs, there is no way to seal it and it uses thin metal so they all end up cracking after a few years. mine ended up in the junk yard. seems like the cheap stoves are this way, heavier weight the better. i got the englander ones now they were miserable to get in here, which means they hold the heat and will last. the problem for me with the smaller ones is they are tiny boxes, you cant put a bunch of big wood in it for long burn times, with the two i got you can fit big wood in it too