We're looking to put in a wood stove in our house and have gone back and forth on options so many times, and it seems to only get more complicated the closer we (hopefully) get to a decision.
We live in a 1300 square foot house in WNC, so winters can get chilly but not like up north. We have an HVAC system so the wood stove will be an alternate heat source for ambiance, affordability, and disaster preparedness (we're not hardcore preppers but tropical storm Helene was quite an eye-opener). We'll probably have to run stove or HVAC but not both at the same time, since the thermostat will be close enough to the stove that it will temp higher than the farther rooms of the house. The house is one level and the wood stove would be in a middle room, so we'll need some fans to blow hot air into more distal rooms.
Why non-cat? We'd love the efficiency and almost got a Blaze King Ashford or a Jotul Holliday, but we don't want to rely on replacing a part regularly that could become unavailable in a disaster scenario or much more expensive with shifts in global trade. I also do want to see flames much of the time as part of the ambiance factor.
Why cast iron? I've heard it's much better and also cast iron will have less off-gassing? We'll have a baby in the house soon so want good air quality. I'm willing to be argued out of cast iron preference! AHowever, I very much dislike the look of a stove with a pedestal. We do also want to be able to cook on the stove with a skillet or pot. Before I realized they were steel, I was considering a Regency F2450, Osburn 1700, or PE Super 27.
It seems like the Alderlea T5 or the Green Mountain 60 are our best options that I can see. Or maybe a Lynwood W76. I'd love a Jotul, but the Rockwood 35 is rated to 1200 square feet and may not be quite big enough for our space, and all the rest of their stoves are too small or catalytic. I feel like I've read of lots of people having issues with their Green Mountain stoves, in terms of drafting and just being a more finicky stove. I'm not a total beginner, but my experience just reinforces that a good and easy woodstove is the best kind!
Also we considered a Drolet Columbia II but the emissions were really disappointingly high at 2.8g/hr, whereas the other models I've considered were twice as clean.
I'd be so grateful for any input you can give about the Alderlea T5 vs Green Mountain 60 vs Lynwood W76, or other ideas that we haven't considered.
We live in a 1300 square foot house in WNC, so winters can get chilly but not like up north. We have an HVAC system so the wood stove will be an alternate heat source for ambiance, affordability, and disaster preparedness (we're not hardcore preppers but tropical storm Helene was quite an eye-opener). We'll probably have to run stove or HVAC but not both at the same time, since the thermostat will be close enough to the stove that it will temp higher than the farther rooms of the house. The house is one level and the wood stove would be in a middle room, so we'll need some fans to blow hot air into more distal rooms.
Why non-cat? We'd love the efficiency and almost got a Blaze King Ashford or a Jotul Holliday, but we don't want to rely on replacing a part regularly that could become unavailable in a disaster scenario or much more expensive with shifts in global trade. I also do want to see flames much of the time as part of the ambiance factor.
Why cast iron? I've heard it's much better and also cast iron will have less off-gassing? We'll have a baby in the house soon so want good air quality. I'm willing to be argued out of cast iron preference! AHowever, I very much dislike the look of a stove with a pedestal. We do also want to be able to cook on the stove with a skillet or pot. Before I realized they were steel, I was considering a Regency F2450, Osburn 1700, or PE Super 27.
It seems like the Alderlea T5 or the Green Mountain 60 are our best options that I can see. Or maybe a Lynwood W76. I'd love a Jotul, but the Rockwood 35 is rated to 1200 square feet and may not be quite big enough for our space, and all the rest of their stoves are too small or catalytic. I feel like I've read of lots of people having issues with their Green Mountain stoves, in terms of drafting and just being a more finicky stove. I'm not a total beginner, but my experience just reinforces that a good and easy woodstove is the best kind!
Also we considered a Drolet Columbia II but the emissions were really disappointingly high at 2.8g/hr, whereas the other models I've considered were twice as clean.
I'd be so grateful for any input you can give about the Alderlea T5 vs Green Mountain 60 vs Lynwood W76, or other ideas that we haven't considered.
