Need input for new stove (rough floorplan attached)

[philNC]

Hello all...about to buy my first wood stove. I'm in Greensboro, NC. 1350 sq ft house, 8' ceilings. Gas furnace, but would be nice to use woodstove for most/all heat. Floorplan is attached (not to scale of course).

There's an existing wood fireplace with vented gas logs. I plan to rear vent the wood stove into the firebox and run the liner all the way up the chimney. The damper opening (which I do NOT want to cut or damage in any way) is about 5.5", so max flue outlet is 6". Lintel height is 26". Hearth only extends about 18" from face; stove will obviously have to sit out past current existing hearth.

I'm the most interested in Jotul stoves, because I like how they look and they have plenty of rear vent options. I don't understand the difference between all of them, especially, for example, what is the difference between F 400 vs F 45?

My biggest question is: What size wood stove (or which model Jotul) would you guys recommend? How would a small Jotul stove like a F 602 or F 118 do for my space? I considered buying a small stove as a way of getting my feet wet and then and moving it to an outbuilding if I need to upgrade to a larger stove. We're also not that concerned about the bedrooms being extremely warm.

Another thing...is it really necessary to do away with the gas line coming through the floor of the firebox if I'm just running the liner through the upper part of the firebox?

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks very much.

 

[begreen]

The F118 is too tall. The F602 might just squeak under the lintel for a straight-up install. Take a look at the Hampton H200 or H300 with the short leg kit for something with a low enough flue exit.

As for heating, the floor plan is not great due to the closed-off rooms. A ceiling fan would help, but it might take a fan blowing from the dining area into the stove room to set up a convection loop.

 

[MagdalenaP]

Always go bigger, it's easier to make less and smaller fires than to not have enough heat.

 

[philNC]

I see now that the 118 is not as small as I thought.

 

[EbS-P]

I would not recommend rear venting the F400. 26” is pretty short. I tucked my F400 all the way in with short legs and top vented it. Over all height was 27”. If you set a stove In the firebox you need a blower. To do that the entire damper assembly, damper and frame, was removed and the center top two firebricks were removed and reset further back and more vertical to get the liner path to line up with the stove. I didn’t want take out the damper either and I had a really strait shot but there was realistically no other way as you will want an insulated liner. My installer said if you ever want to go back to open fireplace a top operated damper is easy enough to install

Have you considered an insert. The Jotuls look nice.
As for size we are heating 2000 sq ft upstairs with not great insulation with the F400. It’s not big enough when it get cold but cold in Wilmington is like 20 or 25 degrees. The rest of the year it’s fine. But when it get cold the heat pump just doesn’t provide much heat. Where you have gas sizing to fit the openings rather than heat output is a trade off you could make. Hope that is helpful.
Evan

 

[philNC]

I would not recommend rear venting the F400. 26” is pretty short. I tucked my F400 all the way in with short legs and top vented it. Over all height was 27”. If you set a stove In the firebox you need a blower. To do that the entire damper assembly, damper and frame, was removed and the center top two firebricks were removed and reset further back and more vertical to get the liner path to line up with the stove. I didn’t want take out the damper either and I had a really strait shot but there was realistically no other way as you will want an insulated liner. My installer said if you ever want to go back to open fireplace a top operated damper is easy enough to install

Have you considered an insert. The Jotuls look nice.
As for size we are heating 2000 sq ft upstairs with not great insulation with the F400. It’s not big enough when it get cold but cold in Wilmington is like 20 or 25 degrees. The rest of the year it’s fine. But when it get cold the heat pump just doesn’t provide much heat. Where you have gas sizing to fit the openings rather than heat output is a trade off you could make. Hope that is helpful.
Evan

Small world...I'm from Wilmington myself! Thanks for your insights.

The thing I'm concerned about is that I'd like to take the stove with me when I move in several years (or the insert). I would love to be able to put the gas logs back in. I like how the freestanding stoves provide more heat for less money and don't require a blower.

 

[EbS-P]

As you can see I didn’t go the insert route either. An insert would do a better job at heating in my case but the opening is huge and I didn’t want a huge black surround. Cost wise it would have been about even. Call it 3000$ for a stove 1k for the liner and and round it up to another 1k to install. I’m considering a cheap insert from Costco for a downstairs fireplace. It ain’t a looker but the wood burns just the same.

Thoughts on moving a stove. My parents moved to ILM with a freestanding pellet stove. Had to get new vent pipe, it doesn’t fit in the fireplace, can’t find a decent source of pellets..... had to move a big heavy thing twice. My opinion was they should have left it with the house not come down in price the extra 1000$ And get the right appliance for the new house. It’s 15 years old now and quit working last February and just got around to fixing it last week.
I feel like the size of stove you are going to end up with given opening dimensions narrows your it options Trust me I was their last year. I spent hours pouring over manuals. The Harmon T200 is about the only thing shorter than the F400 with short legs unless (and not a big firebox) you go to the F100 then it’s tiny and needs like 12” firewood. Unless you have a chainsaw (new stove is as good excuse as any to get one) getting firewood will be a hassle. Enjoy the journey. Florence left me with more wood than I could process. A little over 4 cords todate I still have trees down that I’m sawing away at.
Evan