Next size bigger stove?

[knotdodger]

I am going to get a stove for next heating season, might do it this season. Here is my house layout.
The living room area is not that big. I have an existing masonary fireplace I want to place the stove
in front of. After I redo the hearth area. Have 8 ft. by 4 ft like slate their now. The place was built in
1964. I was wondering if you people think a Lopi Leyden whould be too big. ?? I have not bought a
stove yet, just dont want to be under stoved... It has a 2.3 cu ft. firebox. Supposed to be good up
too 2000 sq ft. The Lopi here has gone up 350 dollars in the last year.
I am also looking at a Castine, HS homestead. I may just get a used stove not sure yet. Saving my
cash untill I find a deal. The Jotul f3 cb , I found a 3year old one in nice shape in white enamel for 800.00. I
thought that was a little small. Wasnt sure. Anyway , here is the layout. What do you think?????

 

[wellbuilt home]

I think if you want to heat 24/7 you need to go larger then smaller. If you don't mind putting on the heat for 5 minute now and then you could use a smaller stove. The smaller stove can be run hot for a clean burn when the large one would have to be backed down . The smaller stove my not burn over night . I used a VC Dutch west cat X large and was real happy with it . Now i have HS Equinox and it is nice . The stove can burn real hot for a few hours from 6PM to 10 pm then stay warm the hole next day. It seems like the stoves are rated real hi for there size to me . I'm kind of like a cave man and not on the cutting edge of technology. I heated my 1st floor 1500 feet with a DW Ex large 3.0 ft fire box . It was to hot when it was below 30o . The new stoves seem like more work to me they are kinda picky with wood and how you run them . My DW i could just throw wood in all week and forget about it . The EQ is kinda needy and likes to have the ashes cleaned every day , wants the wood and coals placed just so , needs the air closed off slowly likes real dry wood . When you get every thing just right it will burn my ears off . At 1400 feet there are lost of stove that will work . The f3 is a nice stove , i love a deal , You could use it this year and try it out . I don't know if it will burn over night. I really liked a wood stock fire view stove it is soap stone and has a cat , is of smaller size and will have a long burn time. Your floor plan is good for heating with wood

 

[begreen]

Agreed, if the intent is to heat 24/7 stick with a stove that has at least 2 cu ft capacity. That would be the Oslo in the Jotul line. The Castine will work, but you will be feeding it every 4 hrs when the temps get really cold. If Heartstone, consider the Heritage. I'd give the Woodstock Fireview a good look too. It's a soapstone stove with a catalytic convertor. This combo gives a gentle heat over a long period of time. Could be just the right thing for this situation.

 

[knotdodger]

Thanks for your thoughts. I guess I would rather have to open a window than shake and shiver.hehe.
I have checked out alot of used stoves on craigslist but didnt like most all of them. Exept for the little jotul.
Every stove dealer I have been to dont sell used stoves. I will keep looking untill spring. I will have saved
the money I need by then too get the stove I want. This fireplace is really chewing up all the hard work
I did cutting hauling and splitting the last two years. The furnace dont kick on much when I have a fire going.
I am currently reading on page 87 of this forum. This place is great. !

 

[begreen]

The F3CB is a nice little stove and that is not a bad price if it's in great condition. But the best burn times you are going to see when pushing this little stove are like 3-4 hrs. It's got a lot of heart, but only 1 cu ft capacity.

 

[wellbuilt home]

I did not know that the F3 was only 1cf You could try it for a season its better then nothing and sell it in the fall . At night when it in the 20s I like to run my stove at 1/2 capacity That way if its below 0 o I can crank it up. and if it warmer i could turn it down. Burning a large stove turned down will cost you wood . It is more efficient to run a stove at 3/4 capacity but you mite have to burn some oil when its cold My old stove had a 3cf fire box and burned about 31/2 coard a year . My new stove has 4 cf fire box and looks like it will burn 6 Cord a year . I think most people are better off buying some oil rather then cutting twice the wood. 6 coard a year is lots of weekends for 1 guy.

 

[gpcollen1]

Ive been burning my new to me Castine 24/7 and love it. If you can live with 7-8 hour max burn time then it may suit you. I only sleep 6-7 hours so overnights are fine. Mine is on my hearth so I get some good radiant from the brick. The day at work pushes the length that the stove can holds coals to get you going again. The wife gets home about 9 hours after the stove gets closed down so usually barely a coal left to rekindle with. If there is someone around to tend this stove - it cooks!!

 

[jeffman3]

We heat about the same size house with a Hearthstone Tribute. About the same size as the F3CB. I actually looked at that stove and went with the soapstone. We love this stove and it does a great job allowing that some one is around to load it. By morning it is getting cool in the house, but it brings it back up in no time. We have fair insulation and push the temp up in the evening to hold the house over night. So far it works fine. My wife complains it's to hot when we push the temp up in the evening, but that's what it takes, with a small stove, even a small soapstone stove.

 

[Cedrusdeodara]

HI,
Just my 2cents, but I made a $1000 mistake this fall (OK, really about $630) by selecting what I thought was the appropriate sized stove for my home. I have a 2 story home that is around 80yrs old. Insulation has been upgraded in parts of the house, but some areas it might be a little lame. I have upgraded windows throughout. Anyway, I selected a stove rated "up to" 1800 sqft. It did not do the job. In fact, at full roar it heated the room where the stove was and maybe one or two adjacent rooms.

My opinion: Look at the RANGE that the manufacturer lists and take the medium/average number. For example, the max 1800sqft insert was listed between 500-1800, meaning 1050sqft average. This is only my opinion. It cost me around $630 to swap out the 2month old stove with a new/larger model. I haven't yet had a chance to see the benefits in heating (just put it in today).

Other lessons learned: 1) definitely consider flue insulation, 2) Consider a blockoff plate below your flue. Not advice, just lessons learned the hard way on my part. Didn't know jack about inserts 3 months ago, I've had to learn the HARD WAY ($) but I've been fortunate to speak with others on this forum and elsewhere who have been through the same hurdles.

Brian

 

[gibson]

If I were you I would go with the Jotul Castine if you like Jotul. That is a great looking stove and should do well in your setup