Question on whether my house is a good candidate for a wood stove.

[undrgrndprdcts]

I have a house that is 2 story plus an unfinished basement. Its roughly 2400 sq ft living area in a rectangular shape. Its relatively new (2007ish I think) and well insulated and fairly tight. It's a heat pump home and it does a pretty good job until about 10-15 degrees. We do have some gas fireplaces that we use a lot. The question is, we have somewhat of an add on room I'd call it, on the main floor and are wondering if putting a wood stove out there is something that makes sense with this type of house. Not 100% sure on size of the room but probably roughly 400 sq ft, and is a square that is off to the side of the houses rectangular shape. Could something like this work or is this type of house not setup for any wood stoves?

 

[begreen]

If the goal is to heat with wood then the best success will be to put it in the main part of the house. Chimneys in one story add-on can be a problem.

A non-commercial service in support of responsible home heating with wood - How Wind Affects Chimney Performance

The Wood Heat Organization was formed to support the public in the responsible use of wood energy in the home. We fulfill our mandate by providing reliable information, by conducting research into wood heating-related issues and by representing the public interest in discussions of policies that...

www.woodheat.org

 

[undrgrndprdcts]

The goal is not necessarily to heat the whole house from that room. It's more of another auxiliary heat source, that we can also use to keep that room warm, plus have wood stove vibes.

 

[begreen]

It's a small room for a wood stove and there can be draft issues. See the provided link.

 

[undrgrndprdcts]

The location of the chimney would actually be a combination of the first and second leftmost images in the link. The wind almost never blows in the direction it shows on that second picture. Basically, 90% of the time it would look like the first image and would be in a negative pressure zone. If we get east winds then it would be completely opposite, but would be blowing parallel to the second story portion of the house.

 

[begreen]

Approximately how tall would the chimney be?

Some small stoves are the Morso 2b or 2110 and the True North TN10.

 

[undrgrndprdcts]

Approximately how tall would the chimney be?

Some small stoves are the Morso 2b or 2110 and the True North TN10.

I'm not sure how to figure that out. I don't know a ton about stoves. Can you use metal tubing type chimneys? I have a hole in the ceiling where there is currently a skylight or whatever and it's roughly where we would want the stove. I was hoping I could get the tube installed through there instead. The roof pitch is low, I thought it was 4/12 but after looking at charts it may be more like 6/12. It's not too hard to walk on and I'm not great with heights.

 

[Eman85]

6/12 would be steeper than 4/12, with 6/12 the roof rises 6' for every 12'.

 

[undrgrndprdcts]

6/12 would be steeper than 4/12, with 6/12 the roof rises 6' for every 12'.

Correct that's what I was saying.

 

[moresnow]

Post a couple pics . Inside and outside.
Might get you some more recommendations.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

6/12 is about the steepest most people would want to walk on. It’s probably steeper than most would feel comfortable.

You can run a stove in a 400 sq ft room.

The main concern you might find with the actual heating with wood is that wood stoves don’t turn off like regular central heat or gas does. If you put too large of a load of wood in and you’re 1/3 of the way through it and it’s already 80 degrees in it, sit tight you have 2/3 of the burn left. Open the windows.

If you’re used to gas, you may want to stick with it.

 

[undrgrndprdcts]

 

[begreen]

This could be an expensive experiment. Between the flue system parts and stove it's probably $3-4K. Then there is the installer cost and roof repair. Putting the stove where the sewing machine is would save the skylight tearout and roof repair costs.

Note that in addition to the stove's flue height requirement, there are some code rules for chimney location and height.

 

[undrgrndprdcts]

You guys make it seem like it's not worth the trouble.

 

[begreen]

In some cases it turns out that way. There is another current poster that is fighting reversing draft in a similar setup.

If the stove was in the main part of the house then the prospects brighten.

 

[undrgrndprdcts]

In some cases it turns out that way. There is another current poster that is fighting reversing draft in a similar setup.

If the stove was in the main part of the house then the prospects brighten.

There probably isn't a great way to put one in the main house is there? I think it's like a colonial revival or similar style house with a grand entryway in the center and rooms on the sides.

 

[begreen]

Can be done with planning. The main things are routing the chimney pipe up through the second floor and heat circulation. Usually a fan is needed to create a convection loop. The larger the doorways, the better this works.

 

[BillBurns]

Im in the mind set that anything is possible with the right money. If youre set on wood, then start planning and saving, you can do it somehow.