Needing help best gas stove for heat

[Outdoor]

Ok , building another house and the wife seems to think the days of hauling, cutting, splitting are over. I would have to buy wood at the next location never had to do that before. So if YOU were getting a gas (propane) stove to help heat the house what would you pick and why? The new house will be 2000 sq. ft...time to downsize Thanks for all the advise because I have only owned wood stoves..

 

[johnsopi]

Ok , building another house and the wife seems to think the days of hauling, cutting, splitting are over. I would have to buy wood at the next location never had to do that before. So if YOU were getting a gas (propane) stove to help heat the house what would you pick and why? The new house will be 2000 sq. ft...time to downsize Thanks for all the advise because I have only owned wood stoves..

I'm doing all most the same. I'm going to have my wood furance for heating tied into the ductwork and a gas stove in the family room for looks.

 

[Outdoor]

I have no intention of using wood anymore because our new location I will have to buy wood. So I want (or at least I think I do) to heat with a gas stove. The dirt, soot and everything else gets old not to mention the cutting and splitting.

 

[bogieb]

Have you checked the price of propane recently? It is the most expensive next to electricity in this state (last I knew it was averaging $2.90 / gal. I would go with oil if I had the choice. The whole reason I heat exclusively with pellets is I can heat my place for a lot less than with propane. Plus I can get both floors for that - basement isn't run for heat so for more $$ I heat 2/3 the space if I use propane.

 

[Outdoor]

We are building & electrical contractors and build all the time. I will never use oil again for several reasons its super dirty, efficiency is in the low 80's, constant repairs/maintenance like filters and who wants the exhaust flue. Gas is 99% + efficient and that overrides the BTU that oil provides. I will have radiant floor heat propane fired and hope to use a gas stove to replace the wood stove I have always had as auxiliary heat. I pay 2.40 for propane. However I will look into the pellet stove rather than a propane stove, need to do the comparisons.

 

[DoosanMan]

Ok , building another house and the wife seems to think the days of hauling, cutting, splitting are over. I would have to buy wood at the next location never had to do that before. So if YOU were getting a gas (propane) stove to help heat the house what would you pick and why? The new house will be 2000 sq. ft...time to downsize Thanks for all the advise because I have only owned wood stoves..

We are doing some remodeling and took out our 10 year old pellet stove and replaced it with a 40,000 BTU Lopi Greenfield gas stove. Yes, I am using propane. However propane right now is cheap in my region. I know it may not always be, and likely will not be. We are getting just as much heat out of this as our St. Croix and the fire looks much nicer. I did not have a good place to store pellets and wife did not like pellet stove dust. We have a 2,500 square feet house and it heats it well enough except for now when below zero, and then I kick on the central heat.

 

[bogieb]

We are doing some remodeling and took out our 10 year old pellet stove and replaced it with a 40,000 BTU Lopi Greenfield gas stove. Yes, I am using propane. However propane right now is cheap in my region. I know it may not always be, and likely will not be. We are getting just as much heat out of this as our St. Croix and the fire looks much nicer. I did not have a good place to store pellets and wife did not like pellet stove dust. We have a 2,500 square feet house and it heats it well enough except for now when below zero, and then I kick on the central heat.

DoosnaMan - was specifically talking about using propane in NH. They have to truck every drop of propane in, a lot of our electricity is generated by propane, and we only have one depot, so it is really expensive compared a lot the rest of the nation - especially those out in the Midwest.

 

[bogieb]

We are building & electrical contractors and build all the time. I will never use oil again for several reasons its super dirty, efficiency is in the low 80's, constant repairs/maintenance like filters and who wants the exhaust flue. Gas is 99% + efficient and that overrides the BTU that oil provides. I will have radiant floor heat propane fired and hope to use a gas stove to replace the wood stove I have always had as auxiliary heat. I pay 2.40 for propane. However I will look into the pellet stove rather than a propane stove, need to do the comparisons.

My experience with oil must have been way outside normal. Replace a filter once a year (what, $2?), get it serviced every couple of years (&85) and replaced the boiler after 25 years. Now that I am using propane costs way more for a smaller house and the pilot light blows out on occasion, I got a huge white tank out in the middle of the yard and I can't even get service techs to call me back for cleaning. If it were practical, I would change the whole system for oil, unfortunately the house layout and such is not conducive for swapping (if it had been laid out properly to begin with . . . ).

But, you seem to know what you are getting into, and it's your house, so it really doesn't matter what I think

 

[gmhowell]

Look greenfield is an awesome stove
Jotul GF500 is great as well. I like the flame presentation on the Jotul the best. Looks very authentic

 

[Trouthead]

I have done almost the same thing twice. In my house we replaced a small Jotul wood stove, and lots of baseboard heat with a Heart Stone bluish black natural gas freestanding heat stove. It has a pilot light and a fan. The fan is mostly pointless and has never been quiet enough for my wife. The pilot light on the other had I thought would be pointless and an energy hog has turned out to be just about perfect and the small amount of gas it uses also contributes to the heat. The good point about the pilot is that the stove will run with no electricity. Amazingly in the 6 or 7 years of owning it, the power has never gone out when the stove was running. The flames look real as they are but not quite like wood burning. As many say the heat is not a warm as a wood stove, but that is kind of an odd statement to make because the outside of the stove does not get as hot as a wood stove, so of course it appears to be not as hot. The draw back was cost about $4000 plus install if I remember right.

In a rental we have we put in a Rinnai wall heater. I don't live in the house but so far the tenant reports that it is work perfectly. It has a great quiet fan, but will not run without electricity as there is no pilot light, it has electronic ignition. You can't see the flame but it puts out a lot of heat. Installation of a gas line from the meter, the exhaust system and attaching the heater to the wall was about $700. From a cost effective point it is the way to go. They make several sizes, so you could put two in and be in great shape.

The efficiency of either of these heating units is less than the best condensing furnace, which is worth considering if you want AC. But the efficiency of a furnace does not take into account the losses in the duct work. There is just about no duct work in a heating stove.

Other than Rinnai I would not consider any other brands of wall heaters. There are plenty of gas fueled (wood stove styled) freestanding heaters. My Hearth Stone has been trouble free except for the fan. To move air I put a very small desk fan about two feet away from it aimed right at it. It keeps our whole house warm (1600 sg ft.) even at -25F below.

My house is super insulated with 12 inch thick double 2x4 walls and R-80 in the ceiling. I believe one cannot have too much insulation.

 

[Mainely Saws]

We switched from heating with a wood stove to propane two years ago . We have two propane heaters for our 1000 sq ft . space with average insulation . One is a Rinnai direct vent heater ( 1004 ) & the other heater is a Lopi berkshire direct vent( 30,000 btu's ) .The Lopi has a standing pilot which can be run without power .The fan is very quiet & I run the stove on a thermostat .It is a very nice addition to our living room without the mess ( it is an almond colored enameled stove). I am pleased with the change from wood heat to the ease of usage of gas, but miss the independence of wood . My next move will be to install a pellet stove in the basement/cellar to help on very cold days & to have as a back up . I am pleased so far ............

Bob

 

[murray1113]

I would recommend anything from Lopi, their stoves are top notch. I sell and install gas stoves and fireplaces and I've been very impressed with their quality in comparison to other brands.

 

[Trouthead]

One other point concerning wall heaters vs freestanding. The Rinnai wall heaters can go directly on any hard surface floor (not carpet) they also mount to the wall so they do not take up much floor space. They vent out the back directly into the wall so there is no black pipe sticking up to the ceiling. On the other hand they do not look like a classic wood stove.

Freestanding heaters with a pipe going up to the ceiling do end up putting some of that heat back into the room, so they do gain a bit of efficiency that is not accounted for. Most likely momentarily leaving a door open to let a dog out eats up that bit of efficiency.

 

[Mossbet]

Ok , building another house and the wife seems to think the days of hauling, cutting, splitting are over. I would have to buy wood at the next location never had to do that before. So if YOU were getting a gas (propane) stove to help heat the house what would you pick and why? The new house will be 2000 sq. ft...time to downsize Thanks for all the advise because I have only owned wood stoves..

Well everybody has their best.
So...here is mine (ha) If you are building new I agree LP is Outrageous cost to value...but.. its clean easy and available.

We just built our LAST house and put in for the secondtime the following. 1676 sg ft open loft. Primary is a wood via a Masonry Heater. they rock and little to not much ash evr so wood issues none.

We are well Seasoned people, meaning older and hauling wood etc. sucks but the heater uses 40lbs per fire and with temps zero this year, 1 fire per 24hrs is all and we are fine. The crap about masonry heaters too hot for a super insulated home is wow wrong. they output constant heat regulated by the fire you put in. We have R-30 walls, R48 roof full end wall glass and well its awesome ..price is not as bad as some will say, a core like( not recommending) from tempcast with YOUR own brick outside was under 6000.00.

Gas we have had gas for years and between VC majestic and Jotul I have to say Jotul has been and currently is the best we have had through 4 homes.
Why well VC was very good but did need minor stuff too often, too early like 2 yrs in and more. The VC was nice yet the Jotul tops. The jotul we left at the old house 9yrs old Sebago much more heat with less fuel heated 1800sg ft with a Heat glo 42 fireplace in my office for my peace of mind and soul and Nothing wrong ever just warm efficient Our one Majestic worked well BUT was a blaster always too hot then too cool poor regulation in the enclosure again just opinion. again issues repairs all minor but.....Our three Jotuls honestly NEVER had an issue, and no I don't work for them or anything like that.

We use the gas as a back-up when if we go away for more than 24hrs. I don't know if this helps but I too did not want wood issues as getting older but the masonry heat is wow, no work 2.75 full cords thats it in well its cold here longer.and my wife can bake at 375 6-8hrs yummy

Good luck on the house it is worth the hassle

 

[Trouthead]

So what did you decide on?

 

[Tomrubio]

Hi there, everyone has their different views I think you should choose the one which will be suitable for you.

 

[Sir_Lancelot]

We are doing some remodeling and took out our 10 year old pellet stove and replaced it with a 40,000 BTU Lopi Greenfield gas stove. Yes, I am using propane. However propane right now is cheap in my region. I know it may not always be, and likely will not be. We are getting just as much heat out of this as our St. Croix and the fire looks much nicer. I did not have a good place to store pellets and wife did not like pellet stove dust. We have a 2,500 square feet house and it heats it well enough except for now when below zero, and then I kick on the central heat.

I’m currently looking at the Lopi Greenfield with LP. How have you liked your Greenfield? Any issues with it? Would you buy it again?

Thanks!

 

[DoosanMan]

Yes, it's been a good stove so far. I had one minor problem, but was able to fix it myself. I would buy it again.