I bought a 1.5 story house last year in a small town here in Palouse, WA. it is approximately 1300sq ft, built in 1895, has blown-in insulation, double-pane windows, vinyl siding.
Downstairs is the master bedroom and upstairs are the two smaller bedrooms. The upstairs is being slowly remodeled by me and there is currently no heat source.
The main floor is about 800 sq ft and heated with a late 70's-era fuel oil furnace rated at 64k BTU and located in a central location. It is vented via a 4" B-vent pipe through the original chimney. I rarely used it last winter due to fuel costs and instead used an oil-filled electric radiator next to the furnace and a portable electric baseboard heater.
It was a relatively mild winter last year and keeping the house temp at around 58 degrees cost me around $230 a month in electric bills. On nights where it dropped to near zero, I had to turn on the oil furnace to get the house to warm up. Needless to say, I froze my rear off most of the time and am ready to upgrade.
I've saved up $2k and wanted to install a gas stove where the oil furnace is. I was hoping to use the existing B-vent/chimney to vent the stove. It is in a central location in the home and would be an ideal spot for a gas stove with or without a blower.
However, I've found several good used gas stoves on Craigslist from $300 to $700 that are all direct-vent. I have a spot in the living room against an exterior wall in which a direct-vent would work, if it had a blower.
But, in the research I've been doing, I've gotten conflicting information on B-vent vs direct vent. I know I will have to buy a direct vent system to go through the exterior wall, which will cost me around $250 for the kit. But, some sources say direct vent is worth the extra expense because it is more efficient.
To get heat upstairs, I'm simply installing vents in the two bedroom floors to allow heat from the downstairs to rise. These are guest rooms and do not need to be heated full-time.
So, my questions:
1. What are the issues when buying a used gas stove? The cheapest new ones I can find are $1600. I can get a very nice condition Vermont Castings or Quadrafire stove for $300 to $500. Plus the cost of the chimney I'd have to install.
2. All the used stoves I've found (and new ones for under $2k) are rated at 35k BTUs or less. Will this be enough to heat my fairly energy inefficient home?
3. How about a new B-vent stove? I can use the existing chimney and the location is ideal for a central heat source. Total cost would be the $1600 to $2k for the stove, plus having black pipe ran from the new gas meter to the unit (I'm having all gas line work done by a contractor). If I buy a new direct-vent stove, then I have the additional chimney cost. But would it be worth it in the long run to go direct-vent vs B-vent??
Downstairs is the master bedroom and upstairs are the two smaller bedrooms. The upstairs is being slowly remodeled by me and there is currently no heat source.
The main floor is about 800 sq ft and heated with a late 70's-era fuel oil furnace rated at 64k BTU and located in a central location. It is vented via a 4" B-vent pipe through the original chimney. I rarely used it last winter due to fuel costs and instead used an oil-filled electric radiator next to the furnace and a portable electric baseboard heater.
It was a relatively mild winter last year and keeping the house temp at around 58 degrees cost me around $230 a month in electric bills. On nights where it dropped to near zero, I had to turn on the oil furnace to get the house to warm up. Needless to say, I froze my rear off most of the time and am ready to upgrade.
I've saved up $2k and wanted to install a gas stove where the oil furnace is. I was hoping to use the existing B-vent/chimney to vent the stove. It is in a central location in the home and would be an ideal spot for a gas stove with or without a blower.
However, I've found several good used gas stoves on Craigslist from $300 to $700 that are all direct-vent. I have a spot in the living room against an exterior wall in which a direct-vent would work, if it had a blower.
But, in the research I've been doing, I've gotten conflicting information on B-vent vs direct vent. I know I will have to buy a direct vent system to go through the exterior wall, which will cost me around $250 for the kit. But, some sources say direct vent is worth the extra expense because it is more efficient.
To get heat upstairs, I'm simply installing vents in the two bedroom floors to allow heat from the downstairs to rise. These are guest rooms and do not need to be heated full-time.
So, my questions:
1. What are the issues when buying a used gas stove? The cheapest new ones I can find are $1600. I can get a very nice condition Vermont Castings or Quadrafire stove for $300 to $500. Plus the cost of the chimney I'd have to install.
2. All the used stoves I've found (and new ones for under $2k) are rated at 35k BTUs or less. Will this be enough to heat my fairly energy inefficient home?
3. How about a new B-vent stove? I can use the existing chimney and the location is ideal for a central heat source. Total cost would be the $1600 to $2k for the stove, plus having black pipe ran from the new gas meter to the unit (I'm having all gas line work done by a contractor). If I buy a new direct-vent stove, then I have the additional chimney cost. But would it be worth it in the long run to go direct-vent vs B-vent??
