ready (?) to buy a stove

[mtntop]

Thanks for all the info on secondary/everburn. Low emissions/high efficiency... who could ask for more?
I'm off-grid in NE Vermont, 1000sqft open, well-insulated, first floor living space.
Master of Fire wrote, "But before you rush out and buy the same model I did, you should do some research yourself and read my full review, because I now believe there are better stoves out there that are more user friendly to operate and able to achieve secondary combustion on a more consistent basis."
I'm open to suggestions as to what to buy, please.

 

[bebopin]

I will give you a bump back to the top in hopes that you will get an answer.
But you will have to give more info as to what you will be doing for a chimney and if you have wood ready to burn this winter.

 

[begreen]

Welcome mtntop. What's the goal? Do you want supplemental heat or are you hoping to heat 24/7 with wood? From what you've specced out, a small soapstone catalytic stove from Woodstock Stoves in VT might be a good fit. I'd start looking at their Keystone and Palladian models and see what you think. If that is out of the budget, perhaps a small Pacific Energy or Napoleon stove would be worth looking at too.

 

[mtntop]

Right, thanks. The structure (Lodge/house) is three storeys on a mountainside/top in far northern VT. The first floor is zoned, that is, it has 6-8 inches of insulation in the ceiling so that, when the door at the top of the stairs is closed, the first floor can be heated separately. The thing is I need about 35'of chimney to get out above the third floor roofline (high ceilings). I was thinking of using masonry blocks (cinderblock with a flue in the middle). Now I'm wondering if a very efficient stove will exhaust enough heat to make a good/adequate draft. I would pass the chimney up through the inside of the house and out the third floor roof, NOT outside. I could use insulated stove pipe if I have to.
It gets brutally cold Jan and Feb- 20 below for weeks at a time. While I hope to be somewhere warmer then, I do want to be able to be here.
The third floor has its own Ashley-type woodstove, but the plumbing and such is downstairs and it'll be nice not to hve to schlep the wood up
I'd be using dried/seasoned hardwood. The stove would be my primary heat source 24/7 (I have a propane heater/oven back up.) Catalytic burners require electricity, no? A problem since I am offf-grid.
I appreciate the advice and your time. Maybe you'll come up for a visit. See (broken link removed).

 

[begreen]

Catalytic burners require no electricity and are known for their steady low burning ability and long burns. Combine this with a soapstone stove and you have a stove that you can sit alongside of, yet still have a good steady heater. If you want more reserve oomph, the larger Fireview has that. The downside is that this is not the ideal stove for bringing the house quickly up from freezing to 72. It takes time for it to get it's mass warmed up. But for 24/7 heating, it's a good solution. From what you've described, a stove that will heat well over a wide range of temperatures is ideal. If each floor is only 300 sq ft, you'll want to be careful to not overheat the area. A softly convecting stove should help. There are other stoves that will also work out, but Woodstock happens to be made in your state and has many happy owners, so that seemed like a good place to start.

Some other stoves I'd also consider would be the Hearthstone Heritage (soapstone), the PE Alderlea T5 (cast/steel hybrid), and maybe the Quadrafire Cumberland Gap? These stoves also are more soft-heaters that convect heat more than radiate it.

If budget is an issue, there are inexpensive 2 cu ft stoves made by Drolet, Napoleon and Englander that will keep you warm. There might be a little more heat management needed, but they're good stoves and will get the job done.

 

[yukiginger]

I'd buy a 3+ cu. ft. stove and pipe it all up through the house. If you have the money the Hearthstone Mansfield would be nice. Drolet's big stove would get my vote as the steel counterpart at a much smaller price. The Drolet is available for shipping from some online retailers.

MarkG

 

[begreen]

A 3 cu ft stove in a 1000 sq ft house might melt a few candles in the process. But if you want a sauna, that would do it.

 

[yukiginger]

His first post mentions 1000 sq. ft. of first floor living space. In a later post he says it's three stories. What, then, is the approximate square footage of living space? And given what he says about his winters, I would definitely go large.

MarkG

 

[begreen]

Right you are. I missed the first floor part, even after reading it twice. That definitely merits a large stove. Thanks for catching that Mark. My error.

 

[mtntop]

Right. Thanks. The first floor is 1000 sf and a separate living space (insulated ceiling), that is, the living space which I need to heat. The third floor has its own heat. The second floor is for group activities. (The first and second floors are each one open room- no interior walls- I'm expecting that for now if I need to heat the second floor I can leave the door open at the top of the stairs and let the heat rise up into it cooling off the first floor. Eventually the second floor will have it's own wood stove.)
Anyway the first floor 's 1000sf is what I need to heat. So I guess I'm looking for a firebox big enough to burn all night, but not oversized (damped down fires cause creosote) for the 1000sf, eh?
Outside air intake seems to make a lot of sense rather than sucking cold air into the interior of the house to replace the air consumed.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the clarifying the confusion. Seems like we're back to something in the 2 cu ft stove range then in order to achieve a good overnight burn. The stoves suggested should put out a softer convective heat.

 

[paulie]

Figure out which one you want, and then go one size bigger. you can always build a smaller fire... I have a Hearthstone Homestead rated for 1800 sqft, my home is 1329 sqft, 21 ft ceilings all open and this stove works GREAT I love the even heat of the soapstone, and it is pleaseing to the eye....after all you do have to look at it all year.

 

[yukiginger]

You have three floors that need heat at least some of the time. Sure, you have a stove on the third, and plan on having another one on the second. That's a lot of stoves to tend. I recommend going with a big stove on the first floor and working at getting the heat to move to the other floors, thus heating your house primarily with this one stove. As you mentioned moving wood to the others really adds a lot of work.

The price difference between a big stove and a medium is not that great if it would keep you from having to worry about different point sources of heating on the other floors. Another thing to mention concerns your chimney options. Have you begun to price these out? I hope you realize how expensive this piping can be - especially at 35' or so (whether inside or outside). Be sure to check your local codes, also.

Research all your stove choices and go with one that you are comfortable with - pricewise, operation-wise, and aesthetically - as you will be looking at it for many years.

You've received some good advice in this thread - keep us posted on how it goes.

MarkG