NEW stove recommendation

[Devon]

I am looking for a new stove. I currently have an harman 300i insert it's nice but to expensive to maintain to picket with wood. I'm look for a nice freestanding stove that's very durable efficient easy to maintain and I would like to cook on it. Our power goes out a lot so that's why free standing would be better for heat with no power. Thanks I appreciate it.

 

[Grisu]

Do you want a rear-vent stove that connects to a liner in the chimney? How does the area in front of the fireplace look like? The hearth I can see there does not look deep enough to accommodate a stove.

How much area do you want to heat? How well is your home insulated? How many cords are you using right now?

 

[Ashful]

You've come to the right place, but you need to post some more details to get started.

1. Square footage and layout.
2. Where in PA? Scranton is a heck of a lot colder than south Philly.
3. How well is your house insulated?
4. Budget?
5. Cosmetics... are you happy with a steel box, or does it have to be cast iron? How do you feel about soapstone?
6. How serious are you about heating with wood?

 

[Devon]

1600 square feet have to build a bigger hearth. I'm in sunbury pa. I'm in the process of insulating my whole house little by little. Budget none. I always heat with wood it's everywhere here. I use 5 to 9 cords. I will post pictures when I get home of the whole section. I have brick on the floor in front of fire place for 27in out

 

[Devon]

(broken image removed)

 

[Devon]

Don't mind the mess this was a while ago.

 

[Ashful]

With only 1600 sq.ft., you don't want too much firepower. From a high level, I see two paths:

1. Smaller non-cat stove, so you don't sweat yourself out of the house. Reload every 6 - 8 hours, or cycle as necessary.
2. Mid-size cat stove (eg. BK 20 or BK 30), run low and slow. Reload every 20 - 30 hours, and just cruise.

Price will be a big factor. You can buy a 2 cu.ft. Englander for $700, or a BK Ashford 30 for $3500.

 

[Devon]

I don't want anything fancy just something that works and will last

When it's -20 I can heat it up.

I looked at a quadrafire 5700 but I heard about their crack firebox and everything else

 

[begreen]

If you are going through 5-9 cords of wood to heat 1600 sq ft there is a lot of heat loss. You should be able to heat that sized space in PA with under 4 cords of wood. Is this a basement or main floor installation?

 

[Devon]

The reason is my whole house is not insulated I just got the living room done so far I got two rooms insulated and new Windows I only had the house two years

 

[Devon]

Which is how long I had the Harman 300i

 

[Grisu]

Given how high up the fireplace is, you could maybe put a top-vented stove in front of it. That would greatly expand your selection and be easier on your budget. How tall is the chimney? Does it have already a liner? Are there any concerns about clearances? And what is the r-value of the brick hearth that you laid out in front of the stove? Just one course of bricks or is there any other insulation underneath?

 

[begreen]

So this is no basement. just one floor like a ranch? Insulation is going to pay back big time.

We need to know whether you need a rear exit stove or if the hearth will be modified enough to give height for a top exit stove. If the hearth is lowered for a top exit stove, then the Englander 30NC or the Drolet HT2000 both provide good value.

 

[Devon]

Chimney is 14 feet fully insulated best flex flue

Not sure I bought it like that their

I think someone just laid one layer of brick down

The chimney guy was very impressed how much draft I had in 14 feet

From the front of the brick on the floor I think is 13ins high off the ground to my harman stove

So I would prolly have to got with a top exit to a 90 degree to 3 1/2 feet back to another 90 and up my insulated flue

I wonder how crappy the would look. I will get a better picture when I go home

Here's another one I found(broken image removed)

(broken image removed)

There is a basement but this is not it. I have a small finished attic that maybe a kid could make a bed room out of but the ceiling is only like 6feet tall and A shaped. This house is all first floor living area. Bacement is like 6 feet tall to

 

[begreen]

I would probably invest primarily in insulation and do the maintenance required for the Harman and keep it.

 

[Devon]

Maintenance requires me to rip a 500 + stove out of the fire place because the afterburner is in the back and you have to rip the stove down to bare bones just to get to it not to mention it cost over $500 to replace every 3 to 7 years

Plus it doesn't.heat the house with no power

 

[begreen]

Looks like the hearth is about 20" tall. You could put an ember protection only hearth on the floor, install the HT2000 and connect it by going up 18" then back to a cleanout tee that connects to the liner. Or you could install a Jotul F55 which can rear vent and may allow you to install on the current hearth if there is enough height.

 

[Devon]

I was thinking about a rear vent inside but there would be no way to hook it up

 

[Devon]

The way I look at it even if I.get another stove and heat my house all winter for $400 the stoves paid off for the $3500 in propane a year I paid so far

 

[Ashful]

The way I look at it even if I.get another stove and heat my house all winter for $400 the stoves paid off for the $3500 in propane a year I paid so far

Are you saying you burned 9-10 cords, PLUS $3500 in propane, in 1600 sq.ft.? I may have a new rival.

 

[Devon]

5 cords this year 9 last year and yes because my whole house is not insulated at the time and my wood stove heat barley made it across the room

 

[Devon]

(broken image removed)

 

[Devon]

It was 80 up stairs tho

 

[Grisu]

Do you have a block-off plate in your chimney? https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/make-a-damper-sealing-block-off-plate/ I am also wondering whether the insert was/is working correctly. 5 cords should make a larger difference, even in a barely insulated home. The wood is dry (= less than 20% internal moisture)?

I was thinking about a rear vent inside but there would be no way to hook it up

Inside where? I does not look like your fireplace would be tall enough to fit a stove. You could put a stove onto the floor level hearth if the pipe is then high up enough. Unfortunately, rear-vented stoves are usually more expensive models. The High Valley 1600 and Woodstock Ideal Steel would be two that could be had for less than $2000. (For the IS you may need to wait for a sale.)

If there is combustible material under the floor-level hearth then the Englander 30NC would need an upgrade to it. It requires a hearth with a r-value of 1.5. Maybe the Englander Madison would be a better option, that is ember protection only. After insulating the house that should heat 1600 sqft. The Heatilator WS22 would maybe be another option for a budget-mid-size stove. Or the already mentioned Drolet HT2000 or Myriad if you want to go large.

The chimney guy was very impressed how much draft I had in 14 feet

I wonder by how much that will change after you tighten up the house.

 

[Devon]

I will check them out if they are near by. Around me I have harman quadrafire and lopi that i know of