Recommendation For Smallish Cape

[bldvdb]

We have a new 1700 SF cape that has a place for a woodstove. We went all winter last year without one and I refuse to do another winter without a stove! We have baseboard heat upstairs with a separate control so I'm not too worried about heating the upstairs. I'd say the downstairs is 900 or so SF.

My questions - am I going to heat myself out of my dining room with the stove right there? It is about 4-5 feet from the table. How do I get the warm air circulating to rooms on the otherside of the stairwell?

I have my eye on the Jotul Castine. Thoughts?

Here is my talented drawing of my home's layout.

 

[firefighterjake]

A couple of thoughts . . .

Is it possible to move this stove to the living room? I personally like putting the stove where I spend most of my time . . . well . . . awake time . . . if there is room and you spend most of your time here watching TV, reading, etc. I might suggest putting it here. It will work in either location, but I tell ya . . . there's nothing like sitting there watching TV or reading and just feeling that radiated heat, watching the flames, smelling the simmering potpourri . . .

Second thought . . . depending on the level of insulation and where in Maine you are located (i.e. The County vs. coastal for example) I might suggest bumping it up to the Oslo . . . mainly because my Cape (1970s vintage) is about the same size and I've been very happy with the Oslo in terms of size. Occasionally there are times when it is wicked cold and then I think I should have gone a size larger . . . but usually the Oslo does quite well at heating the whole house. Incidentally, you will probably find that the heat will naturally flow up to the second floor -- my second floor is quite comfortable without being over-hot.

OK . . . I lied . . . a few more thoughts.

You can move the heat most efficiently by placing a fan in an adjacent room pointing TOWARDS the woodstove. It sets up an air current with cold air moving towards the stove, air is heated and heated air moves outward. Sounds a bit crazy as most folks try to blow the heat towards the cold areas . . . but it works. The only two areas in my house that are a bit cool are the master bedroom (about where your living room would be) as the heat curls around the hall and then goes up to the second floor so it gets a bit chilly there . . . that and the added mudroom/half bath/boiler room (where I have an electric space heater to keep my boiler warm.)

It will get warm in the room with the stove . . . there is a learning curve . . . you will no doubt over heat the place a few times before you learn when and how to reload the stove. Reloading too soon . . . reloading too much during this time of year, etc. will result in it being wicked warm . . . but eventually you learn how to keep the temps more or less moderate. That said . . . again . . . it will be warmer in the room with the stove . . . but most folks also get used to that level of heat, providing it isn't unbearingly hot.

 

[tigger]

I have a cape and its the same layout as yours, and most every other one out there. I have a fireplace w/ insert in the living room. Like jake said the living room is where we spend most of out time. What I do is put a fan in the dining room pointing at the living room. (this is the least intrusive also) This pulls cold air from the kitchen and send it to the living room. The colder air is replaced with warm air. I run this during the day and it keeps the first floor very warm. At night when I go to bed we shut the fan off and the warm air then heats the upstairs. Works great. I went with an insert, but if you can go free standing go for it. My TV is mounted above my fireplace and I didn't want the heat effecting it.

 

[bldvdb]

Thank you! Awesome info already!

I'm terrified to ask the price of the Oslo. I'm likely going to Rocky's in Augusta.

I can't move the location of the stove. I grabbed this off Trulia. This is where the stove will go.

 

[bldvdb]

P.S. I forgot to mention my concern for overnight burn. I'm worried the Castine won't burn 8 hours in central Maine.

Damn. Now I'm Googling the Oslo. My father has one and loves it. It is a beast!

 

[begreen]

The stove location is good, but you might want to consider a less radiant stove than the Castine or Oslo. The Jotul F50 or F55 are cast iron jacketed steel stoves and are more convective by nature. Other stoves to look at would be the Pacific Energy Alderlea T5 or T6, Napoleon 1400C and the Enviro Boston. Quadrafire came out with a new clad stove this year called the Explorer II that should also work. The cast iron jacket on these stoves softens the side radiated heat. Most of them also have closer clearances because of the better shielding by the cast iron cladding.

Heat distribution can be improved by putting a table or box fan in the LR at the far end and facing the opening to the kitchen. Place the fan on the floor, pointing toward the woodstove. Run it on low speed. It will blow the cooler air down low, toward the woodstove. The denser cool air will be replaced with lighter warm air from the stove room. Running this way you should notice at least a 5F increase in the LR temp after about 30 minutes running.

 

[jharkin]

If 1700sq is smallish, my cape must be tiny.

Anyway, I'm heating a 1400 sqft cape with a 2.2cu ft firebox cast iron radiant stove. My place is old so considering insulation and climate my heating load is probably close to yours. The 2.2cuft stove is adequate for this but not overpowering. With outdoor temps down to the teens I can get the room the stove is in up to the 80s but the far rooms on the second floor for example might never get above the mid 60s. When it start pushing subzero temps I have to really crank the stove to keep up, and sometimes give the central heat a blast to even things out, especially in the morning when the overnight load is burned down.

Keep in mind as an antique the layout of my cape is not the same as a postwar cape. My stairwell is in the back and on one end of the house, so warm air to the upstairs goes up the stairs into one room and then has to travel through that room across the house to the next room - it doesn't heat evenly like a central stair would.


Id second BeGreens recommendation to look for something more convective, maybe with a blower, and then work on airflow. You probably also wont regret going up a size as I believe that F400 is only like 1.8cu ft??

 

[begreen]

Yes, new construction may work fine with a good 2 cu ft stove, even in ME. My measurement put the Castine's usable firebox capacity at around 1.6-1.7 cu ft. If the goal is to just supplement the central heating on evenings and weekends, then the F400 would do the job well as long as the chimney is tall enough to provide good draft. It is a very good looking stove and would look good in that location. If the goal is to heat 24/7 with wood then I would go a with bit larger, convective design.

 

[efoyt]

Rocky's sells the Oslo for about 300 more then the Castine. Since I just bought the Oslo at Rocky's over the Castine I suggest you go with the Oslo. We have close to the same sq footage.