New to wood stoves and looking for advice

[vatmark]

Hi! I'm looking for some advice. Me and my husband are having a log cabin built in Nebo NC. We have decided we would like a wood stove as opposed to a fireplace. We visited with a dealer nearby and like the Jotul wood stoves. We looked at both the F400 and F500. We are just not sure which size would be better for how we plan to use the stove and the floor plan we will have.

We will have heat pumps for both the first floor and lower level as the main heat source. We would like to use the wood stove to provide ambiance and heat for the first floor and be able to turn the thermostat down. The floor plan is rather open. There is a great room with cathedral ceilings. The ceilings in the kitchen and dining area will be vaulted. We will have 1 or 2 ceiling fans in the great room. We wouldn't want the master bedroom to get hot since we like to sleep in a cooler room. The house is 2771 heated sq ft. First floor is 1640 sq ft and lower level which is a daylight basement is 1131 sq ft. Do you think the F500 would be over kill? We don't want the first floor to get too hot. I'll try to include a floor plan so you can see placement of the stove and overall layout.

Thanks!

 

[rwhite]

Go big! You can build a smaller fire in the big stove. Doesn't work the other way around.

 

[vatmark]

Go big! You can build a smaller fire in the big stove. Doesn't work the other way around.

Is there any downside to burning a smaller fire in a big stove?

 

[rwhite]

Is there any downside to burning a smaller fire in a big stove?

Depends on how you burn. I usually started a bigger fire in the morning then throughout the day instead of a full reload would just add a log here and there. There's not a lot of surface area difference so lb for lb of wood I doubt the difference is noticeable.

 

[husky345 vermont resolute]

Go big sir.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Marshy]

With the vaulted ceilings you have the larger one would be a better stove.

 

[vatmark]

Thanks everyone. Looks like we will go for the F500.

Can any one tell me about the optional accessories and whether they are good to have, a waste of money, not needed? Things such as the heat shield, blower kit, outside air adapter.

 

[Marshy]

Regarding the outside air kit, you will likely find better detailed info by searching on the site but in essence its just a small duct that pipes in outside air for the stove to burn. It connects directly to the stove. Because you are building a new house that will likely be relatively air tight I would suggest you incorporate a fresh air kit into the construction of the home and placement of the stove. Without the kit the stove will draw warm air from your living space to use in the combustion process which means makeup air from the exterior of the home will have to find a way in to replace it. If the home is air tight enough it can cause poor draft of the stove and cause smoke spillage into the living space when refueling and/or poor performance of the stove. Talk with your dealer about the preferred chimney for the stove also. Big masonry chimneys that are clay lined will act as a cold thermal mass and can draw the heat out of the flue gas and cause poor performance and/or creosote issue. A simple solution is an insulated liner inside a masonry chimney to prevent that. Having the proper sized flue in the chimney to accommodate the insulated liner is key though. Build it too small and you wont be able to install the liner.

 

[vatmark]

Regarding the outside air kit, you will likely find better detailed info by searching on the site but in essence its just a small duct that pipes in outside air for the stove to burn. It connects directly to the stove. Because you are building a new house that will likely be relatively air tight I would suggest you incorporate a fresh air kit into the construction of the home and placement of the stove. Without the kit the stove will draw warm air from your living space to use in the combustion process which means makeup air from the exterior of the home will have to find a way in to replace it. If the home is air tight enough it can cause poor draft of the stove and cause smoke spillage into the living space when refueling and/or poor performance of the stove. Talk with your dealer about the preferred chimney for the stove also. Big masonry chimneys that are clay lined will act as a cold thermal mass and can draw the heat out of the flue gas and cause poor performance and/or creosote issue. A simple solution is an insulated liner inside a masonry chimney to prevent that. Having the proper sized flue in the chimney to accommodate the insulated liner is key though. Build it too small and you wont be able to install the liner.

Thanks for that information. The plan calls for an exposed, double walled pipe on the interior of the home and an exposed, stainless steel, double walled pipe on the exterior of the home.