New to the forum. Essentially new to woodstoves

[SlyGuy]

Greetings wise sages of the trees and their combustion! I live in Maine, and have had woodstoves around me all my life, but never really learned how to use one correctly. I've had an old Russo in my basement for years and used it intermittently, and quite ignorantly too, I might add. Well, now my wife and i are building a new home, the house will be tight and very well insulated with heat pumps ostensibly for our main heat source. That said, we'll have a nice open (1800 sf) floor plan and a centrally located woodstove. I'm hoping to generate a bunch of our heat with the stove.
Now to the quick of my question. Building prices being what they are, I'm hoping to do this on the cheap. At least I'm looking on Craigslist and Marketplace for newer, affordable, used stoves. Anyone care to throw in some recommendations? What to look for? What to avoid? I'm not opposed to do a little work on it (replace firebirck/sand and re-black/new gaskets...). I'm shooting for sub $1000. Thanks!

 

[begreen]

Welcome. You won't need much stove, but installation is not cheap and not a place to cut corners. As for stoves, be on the lookout for good condition, used Woodstock stoves like the Fireview, Palladian or Keystone.

 

[moresnow]

In the big picture a new Cat equipped stove is likely small peanuts compared to the entirety of your new home project.
As mentioned however you may find a nice used Woodstock in your area. That would be nice if it's in great shape.
You will likely use most if not all of your estimated expense in the venting alone depending on what and where you purchase your components. Not to mention the stove.

Good luck and welcome to Hearth. Enjoy.

 

[D. Hermit]

I understand building costs are up, but your still building a home, even if its 10k install w a new stove and up to code install, its still nothing compared to cost of building 1800sq/ft. In my opinion, cut costs in other parts if the home build to save money, and have a beautiful hearth and new efficient stove(Your insurance company will also thank you). Best of luck and welcome to the forum!

 

[gthomas785]

The most important part to get right when installing a stove is the chimney. You can get a cheap stove, swap it out later, rebuild your hearth or whatever, but an improperly installed chimney will burn your house down and is a pain in the butt to fix once you realize it was done wrong.

Read about chimney pipe (different from stove pipe), and the necessary clearances and fixtures to install it.
If you plan on building a masonry chimney, stop and think about that. It will need an insulated stainless liner to get satisfactory performance from most stoves, and generally costs more than a stainless Class A chimney pipe in a chase.

You will thank yourself later if you plan carefully where the chimney will be located, how the roof penetration will work, how much overall chimney height you will have, paying attention to things like the prevailing wind direction and trees etc. Make sure it is installed according to the manufacturer's instructions. "Professional" installers will often cut corners to save time/money so if you hire someone watch them closely and read the old threads here to know what to look for.