New guy here researching new stoves

[taylor6400]

Hi, I have been reading here and researching online like crazy. Down to needing to decide what to do. Here is my setup:

1750 sqft on one story, wood stove in finished basement. Stove is close to the stairwell and i leave the door open to upstairs to supplement heat upstairs as much as possible. I am coming from a Hotblast furnace i bought at TSC years ago. We just finished the rest of our basement and plan to spend some time down there and want a nicer looking stove we can sit and enjoy over the winter, as well as eat less wood. My main objectives are to supply some supplemental heat upstairs. The Hotblast was not tied into ducts. I could keep the main living area over 70 and bed rooms stayed cool. I would like to do similar with a new stove but dont have unreal expectations. However I do not want to roast us out of the basement room either. With the hotblast it didnt really have much radiant heat so this is the aspect i dont know what to expect with a new stove. I have a rectangular clay tile lined masonry chimney. I would prefer to not line if possible.

Thinking non-cat. Should i be looking at less than 3.0cuft box size or 3.0+? My local dealer with the best prices on basic wood stoves has Napoleon, Osburn, Ironstrike, and Jotul.

Napoleon S-25 is $2395
Ironstrike 300 is $2695
Jotul F55 is $2595
Osburn 3300 is $2295 (not sure on this firebox size, might be too small
Osburn 3500 $2495

Anything to definitely stay away from? I am leaning Jotul, but my wife likes the pedestal look better. But legs or pedestal arent a total deal breaker for either of us.

 

[begreen]

Ask the dealer what is in stock or available within a month. Stove inventory is strained this year.

Are the basement walls fully insulated? How about the floor? If not, err on the larger side. These are all decent stoves, though we don't hear much about Napolean stoves these days. The Osburn 3300 is sold as a 3.3 cu ft stove, but the actual usable area is more like 2.7 cu ft. It's a good heater, and so is the 3500. Also, look at the Ironstrike Country C310.

 

[taylor6400]

Ask the dealer what is in stock or available within a month. Stove inventory is strained this year.

Are the basement walls fully insulated? How about the floor? If not, err on the larger side. These are all decent stoves, though we don't hear much about Napolean stoves these days. The Osburn 3300 is sold as a 3.3 cu ft stove, but the actual usable area is more like 2.7 cu ft. It's a good heater, and so is the 3500. Also, look at the Ironstrike Country C310.

He has all stoves listed in stock right now. I'd rather buy something in stock than have to order something. Basement walls are not fully insulated nor is the floor. The wall behind the wood burner is the only wall thats not insulated and finished. Im in Central ohio also, so we get cold, but not negative digits for extended periods.

 

[stoveliker]

I think that for more heat going upstairs without roasting yourself out of the basement, a convective stove would work better than a radiant one.
Don't know how that applies to the recommendations above.

 

[taylor6400]

I think that for more heat going upstairs without roasting yourself out of the basement, a convective stove would work better than a radiant one.
Don't know how that applies to the recommendations above.

I guess i dont know what that means. Like soapstone or something that doesnt radiate as much heat? I have fairly good convection. Master bed is furthest from the stove on main floor and i have some returns cut into the floor which returns cold air furthest in the basement from wood stove. I dont think i will have any trouble getting as much heat upstairs as i expect.

 

[stoveliker]

No, it's a stove with a double jacket of steel. The outer surface is not very warm, so it won't radiate as much heat as e.g. a cast iron stove. But there is room air flow between the outer and inner jacket that comes out of the stove someplace. This warm (hot) air is what heats the home.

The advantage is that you can sit closer to the stove without getting your arms burned. So it could result in a more comfortable basement.

One example is the blaze King Chinook. Not to push that stove, but to give an example. Check the drawings on the website of blaze King. Begreen will be able to give other examples of convective stoves.

It does not change the total heat output of the stove as compared to more radiating stoves.

It's good you have good convection from the basement to the rest of the home. Indeed creating a circuit of airflow is the way to go. Seems like you're set up well for a basement stove.

 

[kennyp2339]

As large of a stove you can fit / afford, anything bigger then 2.5cu should be good, I say this out of being practical, when its warmer out, do batch fires, when cold load the thing up, when its just winter, dont load the whole thing and just burn, the nice thing about a larger firebox is not cleaning out the ash all the time, keeps the dust down quite a bit.
Try to avoid the stoves with the little ash clean out hole, if going the ash pan route, also use the search function here to see user results, I remember reading about a few stoves, people said they were nice but... ash pan door seals would come off creating overfire issues, castings would crack, baffles a pia to take out for chimney cleaning, ect.. do your research, also remember the stoves blower, you wont miss it until you need it.

 

[taylor6400]

Updating this, finally got my Osburn 3500 installed. Have made a couple fires this week. No full loads yet. Couple questions, i read the sticky on starting an EPA fire and will try top down this weekend. But i seem to have to leave my door cracked for quite a while before i can close it otherwise even with intake full open it just dies out. I dont have any draft issues with smoke, so what would be the problem? Or is that more common with hard wood? Burning seasoned cherry and ash. I'll check moisture this weekend, but its been cut and split for 2 seasons. I moved from a Hotblast so first EPA stove and dont want to creosote things up.

 

[stoveliker]

You may have some negative pressure issues in the basement that are only overcome once the flue warms up and start drafting better. Does it catch better if you crack a window?

How is the chimney set up (height, elbows etc)?

 

[taylor6400]

You may have some negative pressure issues in the basement that are only overcome once the flue warms up and start drafting better. Does it catch better if you crack a window?

How is the chimney set up (height, elbows etc)?

Its a walkout basement and the stove is near the above ground end, i typically always crack the window there when firing. I have some negative pressure when its cold. There is a cleanout that comes into the house side that i usually burn a piece of newspaper in first that will get things drafting. I didnt have any issues with draft when starting and the stove door cracked. It took off well and with the door cracked i was getting the blow torch effect pretty quickly but if i latched the door within a few minutes it would smother out. Interior pipe is just a vertical about 3ft and 90 into a masonry chimney. Maybe i am going to need to line it? That seems like it would draft less than what i have now though, rectangular liner (I dont know the typical size 8x10ish).

 

[EbS-P]

Top down is the best. Use more kindling than you think you need, light and shut the door. If it goes out you know you have a wood moisture issue or negative pressure issue.

 

[stoveliker]

Shortening the horizontal run as much as possible is important.
And your chimney is rather large. I think the Osburn is specified for a 6" round flue. That's 28 and a quarter square inches cross section. If you have 8x10, that's 80 square inches.
That'll be problematic.

You may also need to line the chimney with an insulated liner (that should fit in an 8x10) for safety reasons if there are combustibles too close to the outside of the brick chimney.

 

[begreen]

Its a walkout basement and the stove is near the above ground end, i typically always crack the window there when firing. I have some negative pressure when its cold. There is a cleanout that comes into the house side that i usually burn a piece of newspaper in first that will get things drafting. I didnt have any issues with draft when starting and the stove door cracked. It took off well and with the door cracked i was getting the blow torch effect pretty quickly but if i latched the door within a few minutes it would smother out. Interior pipe is just a vertical about 3ft and 90 into a masonry chimney. Maybe i am going to need to line it? That seems like it would draft less than what i have now though, rectangular liner (I dont know the typical size 8x10ish).

The cold exterior chimney is likely a large part of the issue. It is oversized for the stove flue and cooling down the flue gases which in turn is making for sluggish starts. If the cleanout door is not gasketed, that also is an issue due to air leakage which further weakens the draft. Be sure to clean out the chimney after every cord of wood burned. The chance of creosote forming, particularly at the upper part of the chimney, is high. An insulated 6" stainless liner would help system performance while reducing creosote buildup.

 

[Caw]

The cold exterior chimney is likely a large part of the issue. It is oversized for the stove flue and cooling down the flue gases which in turn is making for sluggish starts. If the cleanout door is not gasketed, that also is an issue due to air leakage which further weakens the draft. Be sure to clean out the chimney after every cord of wood burned. The chance of creosote forming, particularly at the upper part of the chimney, is high. An insulated 6" stainless liner would help system performance while reducing creosote buildup.

Are you a cow, or just in touch with your emotions?