New to wood stoves and cold winters, stove advice?

[THirning]

Hello! I am a So. Cal. transplant to Flagstaff AZ. We moved here 3 years ago and now have a 2007 manufactured home on 4+ acres of Ponderosa Pines. We are at 7000 feet and get pretty good snow fall and decent winter weather (low teens is average overnight in winter). Our home is 2200 sq ft. We have a bonus room at one end which came with a fireplace. We use that as our office and the fireplace eats a fair amount of wood but with heat curtains blocking off the entry to the hall, it stays pretty warm enough for my workday at home. But, the rest of the house is chilly. We are only on electric here.

We want a wood stove for the living room. Our floorplan is open, living room with kitchen/dining room. Our floorplan is split, master bedroom off of the living room and then on the other side are our kids rooms (3) and hallway and then our big office/craft area at the end of the hall with that other fireplace.

So.....being new to both wood stoves AND cold winters, I have been reading up to make an educated decision. I have scoured this site for reviews, comments, etc. and thought I would finally jump in with my own questions to further our decision making.

Here goes:
1. Flagstaff, AZ, 7000 ft in the mountains, average of low teens (f) overnight and regular "highs" of mid 20's is last 2 winters are indicative.
2. I want to ideally heat the whole 2200 sq. ft (single level)
3. Pretty well insulated, stays pretty warm without any heat, built in 2007.
4. Stove will be approx in the middle of the house, closer to our master bedroom but kids rooms are on the opposite wall and down the hall.
5. We plan on burning pine, we have quite the abundance.
6. I would love to have nice coals in the morning to start the fire up quickly.
7. I LOVE the look of the Hearthstone Shelburne but have shied away due to the maintenance of a cast iron stove. We are seriously looking at the Osburn 2000 right now. We have several dealers (Lopi, BK, Jotul, as well as big box stores to choose from).
8. From what I have read and heard for sales folks, I really like the NW loading feature.

I think that is it. Any other questions, let me know. I am learning slowly and value any input.

Thanks,
Terri

 

[firefighterjake]

Just one thought . . . or question . . . what is the concern with maintenance of a cast iron stove? I have yet to do anything to my cast iron stove other than clean it . . . haven't even had to replace the gaskets yet.

That said . . . if you like the idea of never having to rebuild a stove, but like the cast iron look there are many steel stoves with cast iron jackets -- Pacific Energy and Jotul make a few models that are built this way . . . there may be other makes/models as well.

 

[bholler]

I agree with ffjake the maintenance on a cast stove is not a big deal a good cast stove shouldnt need anything more than a steel stove for at least 20 years probably more. And when the time comes it is usually not that big of a deal to tear it down and rebuild it. And at that point allot of steel stoves could be pretty pretty beat to depending on how hard they are used.

 

[THirning]

Love the feedback, thank you! From a newbie, some of the stories of cast iron stoves were a bit daunting. That was my only hesitance.

 

[branchburner]

Disregarding the aesthetics of steel vs cast vs stone, I would personally consider a catalytic stove of 3+ cu ft, the best brands of which would be (in no particular order) Buck, BK and Woodstock.

 

[Bmore]

You can find a nice used insert and install yourself. In my area you can find a Buck 91 for 1k plus $500 for a liner kit. Huge firebox.

 

[THirning]

You can find a nice used insert and install yourself. In my area you can find a Buck 91 for 1k plus $500 for a liner kit. Huge firebox.

So are you saying ditch the idea of the new wood stove in the living room and get an insert for the fireplace in the office? I must admit, I did mention that to my husband, he wasn't too enthusiastic but again, he also knows very little about stoves, lol.

 

[aansorge]

Being centrally located, I think a woodstove in the middle will work much better than an insert on the end. Stick with the original plan.

Blaze Kind Ashford...look it up!

 

[THirning]

What a beautiful stove

 

[prezes13]

+1 for Ashford or shirroco if you like contemporary look more.

 

[hman]

I would look at the Kuma line of stoves.They can be installed in a manufactured home.I have the Kuma Scott ht.I have it installed in a manufactured home.They are built in Idaho.

 

[FTG-05]

My vote is for the Englander 30-NCH, but I'm a little biased since I got mine installed a couple weeks ago and it has been outstanding.

Note that with a manufactured home, you'll have to install an OAK (Outdoor Air Kit); I believe it's a requirement (or at least it was with the 30-NCH).

Good luck!

 

[WriteNoob]

Your winters sound fairly temperate. This is where a stove such as the Ashford, or other Blaze Kings really seem to shine. One question; how important is fire view, for this central stove?