New to wood stoves in a very large city

[DogDriver]

My wife and I are purchasing a new home (1,200 sq. ft.) and are hoping to install a wood burning stove as our main source of heat. I have lived both in the UP of Michigan and very rural Alaska and love the heat of the stove and the being able to use such a renewable fuel source. Those places, the stoves were already installed and there for me. I have been searching different manufacturers and such of a wide range of stoves, and feel very overwhelmed. If anyone could give me any advice or even where to begin to look, I would be very grateful. We have both agreed that we like the traditional looking stoves and such, but other than that, I am a bit lost. I have a manufacturer that I have seen good reviews about, but other than what I have seen today, there is not much reliable information out there for the person just off the street.

I am not even sure if this is the proper place to start this thread. Thank you in advance for any advice that may be offered.

 

[webby3650]

Which manufacturer are you looking at?

 

[DogDriver]

Which manufacturer are you looking at?

Quadra-Fire, Isle Royal is the model.

 

[Grisu]

Welcome to the forum!

Could you help us by answering some questions? Do you know if your municipality has any emission limits for woodstoves installed within city limits? That may already reduce the size of possible units. Is there already any existing infrastructure in the house that you may want to use like a fireplace? What is your other heating source and how many gallons/therms did the previous owner use per winter? That will help in sizing the stove correctly. Finally, what's your budget for the whole install?

Be also aware that any modern, EPA-approved stove needs dry wood with a moisture content of less than 20% to function properly. Do you have the time and space to season several cords for about two years before burning?

 

[xman23]

Are you looking to run the stove in a congested part of town? Before you get to far into this check if there is an ordinance that prohibits wood stoves. We have that in a very small town near me in PA.

 

[DogDriver]

There are not any regulations, to my knowledge. I live in Chicago, so it would be extremely difficult to be monitored. We have neighbors that also use a wood stove and they did not know of any regulations either. Our other source of heat will be a natural gas furnace, which is typical for northern IL and Chicago. There is nothing currently in the home in terms of infrastructure. The current furnace is a side vent that backs right up to the exterior wall. I am not sure what the previous owners went through. We have gotten estimates for the stove and the piping, and that was $6,000 at two different locations. That was just the purchase, not anything installed.

 

[DogDriver]

For the wood seasoning (I just saw this part of the post,) I will be stacking some of my own but purchasing the vast majority of the wood to be burned. I will purchase it will a two to three year seasoning on it. Expensive yes, but in this area there are not any stands of trees to go out and harvest my own, but still less or equal to natural gas fuels.

 

[Grisu]

Not sure if the Isle Royale is the best stove for you. It is a large stove which sounds a bit excessive for 1200 sqft unless you have very mediocre insulation. I would look more in the size range of 2 to 2.5 cu ft for a firebox. The IR also has a very hefty hearth requirement of more than 2 in r-value. If your floor is combustible you would need a serious hearth pad to get above that level. Finally, $6000 just for chimney and stove sounds pretty high. I would expect something more around $4000.

I would check out the following stoves:
Jotul F500 or F45 (or F50 if you would like a top-loader)
Hearthstone Shelburne
Pacific Energy T5
Enviro Boston 1700
BlazeKing Ashford 30: That one is a catalytic stove which means you will get extended burn times (up to 24 hours) and more even heat output. However, you need to be more selective with the fuel (no treated wood or colorful magazine paper) and the cat may need a replacement between 5 to 10 years. Quite a few members here replaced their initial stove with a BlazeKing due their superior heat regulation.

 

[DogDriver]

Thank you very much! That gives me a jumping off point to look at. The Quade-Fire has a dealer not too far from us and I was able to look at the actual models. The Isle-Royale is one that met the needs of our space, based on the range. Quadre-Fire seems to have a wide array of models to choose from. The cost does seem high, but all three distributors were within $400 of each other.

 

[Grisu]

For the wood seasoning (I just saw this part of the post,) I will be stacking some of my own but purchasing the vast majority of the wood to be burned. I will purchase it will a two to three year seasoning on it. Expensive yes, but in this area there are not any stands of trees to go out and harvest my own, but still less or equal to natural gas fuels.

Make sure the wood has been actually split and stacked 2 to 3 years ago. Many sellers just store logs and call that "seasoning time" but wood does not dry when still in logs.
I would check the wood with a moisture meter during delivery. Split a few pieces in half and press the pins in the fresh surface. "Dry" means it shows less than 20%. Up to 25% will probably get you by. Above 25% still needs more time stacked in your yard. Another option are compressed wood logs like Bio-Bricks, Envi-blocks, Northern Idaho Energy logs etc. They are guaranteed dry and can be stored indoors. They come at a premium of about 30% compared with firewood, though (depending on your local prices).

 

[Grisu]

Thank you very much! That gives me a jumping off point to look at. The Quade-Fire has a dealer not too far from us and I was able to look at the actual models. The Isle-Royale is one that met the needs of our space, based on the range. Quadre-Fire seems to have a wide array of models to choose from. The cost does seem high, but all three distributors were within $400 of each other.

Actually, I forgot one: The Quadrafire Explorer 2 would be another good option and may come cheaper than the IR.

P.S. Those prices still make not much sense unless you need a vastly tall chimney. Consider buying the stove by itself and hiring a certified sweep to do the install for you (http://www.csia.org/search and (broken link removed to http://www.nficertified.org/pages_consumers/consumers-1.cfm)). Chimney can be ordered over the internet.

 

[fespo]

Check Cl for wood. There has been more free wood that is cut up and at the curb then I have ever seen before. What part of the city?

 

[DogDriver]

I have been watching CL pretty close lately. Up near O'Hare.

 

[RickBlaine]

DogDriver: I am at the border of Chicago/Skokie and can tell you that there are no regulations regarding burning wood in a wood stove other than the usual (and important) safety regulations put out by the stove's manufacturer and of course the City. Depending on where you live, you CAN ask either City employees and/or contractors hired by the city to drop off a tree at the end of your driveway (if you have a driveway) for free. They are always cutting trees and have way too much free mulch to give away, anyway. Cutting it to log length, splitting, stacking, etc is on you.

As mentioned, give more details and pictures help! Do you want to load wood every few hours, or just once a day (catalytic stove)? Is your budget $850 (England NC-30) or $3,000 (several manufacturers for cat stoves)? How tall is your chimney? Do you have an idea of where you will place this? A floor plan you can post?

When I decided to install a stove, I got quotes for about $4,500 for a non-cat stove, liner, and installation. I did it myself for about $1,200.

Welcome, fellow Chicago-land-ian! Check out my avatar!

 

[webby3650]

Not sure if the Isle Royale is the best stove for you. It is a large stove which sounds a bit excessive for 1200 sqft unless you have very mediocre insulation. I would look more in the size range of 2 to 2.5 cu ft for a firebox. The IR also has a very hefty hearth requirement of more than 2 in r-value. If your floor is combustible you would need a serious hearth pad to get above that level. Finally, $6000 just for chimney and stove sounds pretty high. I would expect something more around $4000.

I would check out the following stoves:
Jotul F500 or F45 (or F50 if you would like a top-loader)
Hearthstone Shelburne
Pacific Energy T5
Enviro Boston 1700
BlazeKing Ashford 30: That one is a catalytic stove which means you will get extended burn times (up to 24 hours) and more even heat output. However, you need to be more selective with the fuel (no treated wood or colorful magazine paper) and the cat may need a replacement between 5 to 10 years. Quite a few members here replaced their initial stove with a BlazeKing due their superior heat regulation.

Blaze King now has an unconditional 10 year warranty on the catalyst.
With 1200 square feet I would definitely go with a cat stove. I also think there are much better options out there than a quad. I'd keep doing research.

 

[DogDriver]

Thanks Rick! I am stuck with the asking any city employee for wood, because I am one of those city workers and that goes against what we are allowed to do. There is a appearance of favoritism involved. I have looked into that matter greatly. I am in Bureau of Forestry and it takes a lot for a non-employee to have us drop something and just not worth the hassle. The plan is to just buy the minimum and install myself. Thanks!!

 

[begreen]

For a good ~2 cu ft stove and normal installation you should be looking at about $4-5000 before tax. There are many options if you are putting in from scratch. I would recommend you consider a straight up chimney in the interior of the house if possible. And try to locate it as centrally as possible. There are a lot of great stoves to consider. The Quadrafire Explorer 2 looks good, but it's a new stove so we don't have a track record yet. It should be good. Quad makes nice stoves. In this class also take a look at the Jotul Oslo, Enviro Boston 1700, Pacific Energy Alderlea T5, Hearthstone Shelburne, Napoleon 1400c, Hampton H300, and Blaze King Ashford 30 (cat) stoves.

 

[northwinds]

I'm a big proponent of the qualities of the Isle Royale for large indoor spaces to heat in the north, but would be looking at smaller cat stoves with the space that you have. For 1200 feet, I would be looking at a Woodstock Fireview.

Honestly, I don't think you are going to save much money over natural gas if you need to buy your own wood, but your home will probably be warmer.

Finding seasoned firewood in Chicago is going to be a chore, unless you have a lot of space to season it yourself for a couple of years.

 

[gzecc]

Unless Chicago is vastly different from the rest of the country you will not be able to buy pre seasoned wood that is truely ready to burn. This will be your major problem.

 

[DogDriver]

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I ordered the Jotul Oslo 500 this afternoon and was surprised with a $200 instant in store rebate, which made the entire purchase at $4600. Thank you so much!

 

[webby3650]

Wow! That's a big stove for 1200 sqare feet. I had 1500 and had to open a door and/or window just to see a fire. It blew us outa there! Good luck.

 

[Woody Stover]

That's a big stove for 1200 sqare feet

Yeah, but Chicago is the Windy City.

 

[webby3650]

Its a great stove! It will have no trouble heating the entire house. Just find some good fuel for it, it'll reward you!