Replacing an old Century Woodstove in a Camp

[CONDA71]

Hi all,

We purchased a camp in the middle of New Brunswick. We use the camp all the time in the summer and less so in the winter. The existing wood stove is a piece of S**t. It barely warms the place in the winter, we can supplement the heat with base board heaters but the burn time in the winter is maybe 3-4 hours. The camp is roughly 1,000 sq. feet with a cathedral ceiling and a loft upstairs. The place is fairly well insulated but does have old single pane windows.
I was looking at the new stoves and was thinking of a PE True North or a Super 27.
Would the Super 27 be overkill for this size camp, I know you can put a small fire in a big stove?
Would the True North be able to achieve an overnight burn of 7-8 hours? I see it as listed as 6 hours but on some of the threads people seem to be getting longer burns.

I believe the Century model # was a S244.

 

[CONDA71]

Sorry, it is the non epa version of the S244.

 

[mellow]

The good ol cfm/haughs stoves. What is your budget for this?

 

[CONDA71]

I would like to keep it under $ 2,000.00

 

[mellow]

I would find a used woodstock keystone or fireview or a comparable cat stove, the larger you go non-cat the longer you can burn but without a cat you would cook yourself out in no time.

 

[CONDA71]

What about heating the place up quickly in the dead of winter on a Friday night? would a non catalytic stove work better for this purpose?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

In the dead of winter, with a structure that might be well below freezing, I would choose a non cat steel stove exactly like the True North or the Super 27. It won't be an instant warm up though. It's still going to take a while as the mass of the cabin is still very cold. You could put in a larger stove, but then you have the problem of a stove that is much too large once the place is warmed up. It's a nasty catch 22 that is softened by the fact that sometimes you'll have a harsh wind where you will need the extra capacity.

For my family cabin I have a small woodstove (I actually want to switch to one of the stoves you suggest.) and I help the initial warm up with a secondary source of heat. I use a portable tank top heater like this to help raise the temp of the main/stove room.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_107999-8864...L=?Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

Once I get the walls warmed a little the stove can handle the work and hold it without any issues.

For back rooms where the heat is slow to get to or doesn't get, a little plug in electric heater does the job.

My cabin is only 16x25 but isn't insulated and is very exposed. One of my projects this year is to insulate the room with the stove in it. I'll still use the propane to kick start the heating though.

 

[CONDA71]

Thanks Eaten,
I do have electric baseboards that I could supplement the heat with if needed. I am also looking for an overnight burn. The wind coming off the water can be nasty in the winter.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The wind will strip the heat faster than you can put it in sometimes.

I'm on the peninsula on the bottom of the pic.

 

[CONDA71]

Looks beautiful. Whats the name of the lake?

 

[jeff_t]

The 27 will be just fine for you. We have an older Spectrum, which is basically the same stove, in a 1350 sq ft place in northern Michigan, and it's about perfect. It is very controllable, and capable of some long burns at lower output. In sub zero temps, we get about 6-8 hours out of it. The insulation is nothing special and the windows are old, but it is protected pretty well from wind. We also have 8' ceilings, so your high ceilings would probably even things out a bit. I wouldn't worry at all about it being too much stove.

Bringing the place up from freezing is a challenge, and we supplement it with the LP furnace, but once warmed up the stove pretty much takes care of it.

Not sure how the TN compares, as I think the air control is a bit different. I have reloaded the Spectrum on coals after more than 16 hours.

Whatever you get, make sure you have good dry wood for it.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I was looking at the new stoves and was thinking of a PE. . . Super 27.

Good choice

 

[Kosmik]

What about heating the place up quickly in the dead of winter on a Friday night? would a non catalytic stove work better for this purpose?

Good thing is once a fire is going, you can hang out by the stove to stay warm till the rest heats up.
Seems hardwoods are essential for the overnight burn. Then it seems firebox size and orientation are next in importance.
An EPA cert stove will put out the heat and use less wood...Win/win.
I would think an outdoor air kit would help the house heat up quicker as it wouldn't draw in as much air as it's heating up (took my pellet stove long time to heat room for that reason).
But I'd either put baseboard on timer if needed, or get a propane heater for getting things 'up to temp' quicker. Finding something that is the right fit is easier if not expected to also overcome a substantial temperature swing in little time.

 

[CONDA71]

I looked at the stoves again and am leaning towards the PE True North 19. It will fit my hearth with no modifications needed.

 

[begreen]

The TN19 should work ok, but if long burn times are the most important goal then go with the Super 27.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

go with the Super 27

Bingo