After filling up my fuel tank this week while heating oil is "low" and paying over $1,500 just to get it ALMOST HALF full I am going to bite the bullet and get a wood stove, heating oil is killing me. I am not looking into a wood stove as a primary heat source but just to supplement what we have and hopefully use the boiler as little as possible. Our home is 5 star rated so our fuel usage isn't bad in comparison to others but when it is 4.20+ a gallon its just ridiculous and I would rather spend my hard earned money on other things. So with that said our house is a 1,400 sq. foot single story ranch that is pretty open in the layout. The kitchen/ living room are completely open and are the largest part of the house so if I can heat those parts I will be more than satisfied.
I am going with a heatilator ecochoice WS22. I thought I had my plan figured out until I was referred to this site from one of the dealers since I am new to the wood stove scene. The house we had before this one had a fireplace so I am not new to wood burning or chimney maintenance. My question is this. I have ceramic tile flooring throughout the house. Do I really need a hearth? Everywhere I have read says no but the dealer says yes I am pretty sure they are just trying to sell me more crap. The second question is about the wall behind the stove. We are going with a corner install and the manufacturer says 3.5 inches from corner to wall. Is that assuming you have regular drywall or some kind of heat shield? Not really looking to burn my house down so want to get it done right. I am having it professionally installed so I am sure they will know but I just want to be sure and it seems like there is a wealth of knowledge here..
I am going with a heatilator ecochoice WS22. I thought I had my plan figured out until I was referred to this site from one of the dealers since I am new to the wood stove scene. The house we had before this one had a fireplace so I am not new to wood burning or chimney maintenance. My question is this. I have ceramic tile flooring throughout the house. Do I really need a hearth? Everywhere I have read says no but the dealer says yes I am pretty sure they are just trying to sell me more crap. The second question is about the wall behind the stove. We are going with a corner install and the manufacturer says 3.5 inches from corner to wall. Is that assuming you have regular drywall or some kind of heat shield? Not really looking to burn my house down so want to get it done right. I am having it professionally installed so I am sure they will know but I just want to be sure and it seems like there is a wealth of knowledge here..