I am in the market for a wood stove as the main source of heat for a small 1200 sq/ft poorly insulated home. It’s kinda of a long narrow shape - like a double wide. I am currently using a couple of those mr buddy propane heaters and it’s not cutting it and costs me about $65 a week in propane. I need some recommendations as I am totally new to this. I am located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe in New Mexico climate 7b. The average winter minimum is about 15f but we got down to 5f just three nights ago. The stoves I have available to me are the basic budget ones from Home Depot - Englander and Ashley Hearth. I also have the Pacific Energy Vista, Super 27 and True North TN-20. These are all well within my budget at about 2k. I was just at a show room where someone recommended a jotul 45 v2 Greenville or an Hearthstone green mountain 40. Both these stoves are about 3k and seem smaller than the Pacific Energy. The dealer at the show room mentioned the hearthstone being made out of soap stone and that being better for holding heat through the night. Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Need Stove Recommendations
- Thread starter Jerpover
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I love my Woodstock Fireview, and I do find that the soapstone holds heat well (but conversely, it takes a while to heat up - it's great for when it's running most of the time, but I could see it being annoying if you just had evening fires), but to get a broader range of views, I'd suggest checking out the Ratings section for more details on the stoves and manufacturers you have access to.
Some other things to keep in mind:
- Do you want long burn times for overnight heat/infrequent reloads, or big traditional flames for ambiance while you're in the room? It's not strictly an either-or, but a catalytic stove will get you more of the former, and a non-cat will get you more of the latter. Hybrids claim to get the bost of both worlds.
- There's a 26% tax credit for stoves with 75%+ EPA efficiency (including 26% of the installation cost). Make sure to factor that in to stove prices when you're comparing them.
- Do you have any space restrictions around where the stove can go? Some stoves have lower clearances, and stoves can be shaped differently, so what your hearth needs to look like depends heavily on the stove. Related to this, do you have preferences/restrictions about where to load the stove from - top, side, front? I like my side-loading stove, although I suspect a north-south loading (where you load the logs in pointing away from you, rather than side-to-side) front-loading stove would be nearly as convenient.
Some other things to keep in mind:
- Do you want long burn times for overnight heat/infrequent reloads, or big traditional flames for ambiance while you're in the room? It's not strictly an either-or, but a catalytic stove will get you more of the former, and a non-cat will get you more of the latter. Hybrids claim to get the bost of both worlds.
- There's a 26% tax credit for stoves with 75%+ EPA efficiency (including 26% of the installation cost). Make sure to factor that in to stove prices when you're comparing them.
- Do you have any space restrictions around where the stove can go? Some stoves have lower clearances, and stoves can be shaped differently, so what your hearth needs to look like depends heavily on the stove. Related to this, do you have preferences/restrictions about where to load the stove from - top, side, front? I like my side-loading stove, although I suspect a north-south loading (where you load the logs in pointing away from you, rather than side-to-side) front-loading stove would be nearly as convenient.
Drolet makes.(relatively...) affordable and good quality stoves.
Sizing depends on the floor plan; 1200 sqft is one thing, but a long narrow home will have cold corners. Want to make sure you don't cook yourself out of the stove room. The multiple propane burners already suggest that.
PE is a good brand. Ashley I'm not sure about. Jotul is good too.
Most importantly: modern stoves require dry wood. Dry. DRY. I don't know your climate, but most folks have to let wood season for two years. So if you are serious about getting a stove, go get wood now. Split it, store it off the ground, and covered, have wind blow thru the stacks. Then, if you are lucky with your climate (and don't have oak), you'll be ok next winter. You *will* be disappointed otherwise. And that is not what you want after spending a few grand.
Sizing depends on the floor plan; 1200 sqft is one thing, but a long narrow home will have cold corners. Want to make sure you don't cook yourself out of the stove room. The multiple propane burners already suggest that.
PE is a good brand. Ashley I'm not sure about. Jotul is good too.
Most importantly: modern stoves require dry wood. Dry. DRY. I don't know your climate, but most folks have to let wood season for two years. So if you are serious about getting a stove, go get wood now. Split it, store it off the ground, and covered, have wind blow thru the stacks. Then, if you are lucky with your climate (and don't have oak), you'll be ok next winter. You *will* be disappointed otherwise. And that is not what you want after spending a few grand.
If you have free wood on your property good; many stoves will do, otherwise a pellet stove may suit your needs better.
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