Replacing Pellet Stove with WB in Rustic Cabin

[ShadySideOfTheHill]

Hi--
Great site, great forum. I've been reading a lot of the messages/reviews, and now we're down to the decision.

2-story rugged chalet-style cabin is on the shady side of a hill on the NY/PA border. It's just under 900 square feet, insulated but drafty with old windows, old sliding glass door. We will replace these eventually. Living room is just under 300 sf. Open staircase on one side leads to the rather open bedrooms on 2nd floor. Replaced old wb stove with pellet stove -- hate it. We're removing that and putting back a wb stove.

Requirements: This is the only source of heat (no indoor plumbing) primarily to heat the living room during occasional weekend visits in winter (nighttime temps around 15), heat the house overall in fall and spring (nighttime temps at around 40).

We're fine with down and wool quilts in the bedrooms -- we just want to be sure we have a warm corner to take the chill off. With our original wb stove, we were in shorts and t-shirts in winter -- not good!

Want the ambiance of a flickering fire as well as radiant heat. We both think the Jotul 602 is very cool -- but is it hot enough for our needs? I just spoke with a dealer, and she thought with the drafts in our house it would be undergunned. She recommended the Jotul F3 CB. We were also looking at Lopi 1250. I was told that the steel stoves don't radiate as well as the cast iron, so a fan is highly recommended. I'd rather not have the white noise of a fan if at all possible.

Thanks for any and all advice!!

 

[Jags]

I agree that the 602 may be a little shy of the heat you will need, not to mention the frequent reloading. The other choices seem to be a fair call. If I were you, I would be in the lookout for a 2.0+ cu ft. firebox for the heat output, but I would also consider how long of a burn the box is gonna give ya. I don't know about you, but I hate waking up to a 50 deg cabin.

The steel/cast/soapstone debate is long and ongoing, but consider the thermal storage of the stove as well. Even though a small stove may be able to keep up heat wise when you can stoke it, what will it do at hour 5.5 of your bed time. Just something to think about.

 

[begreen]

For heating, I didn't find a lot of difference between the older 602 and the F3CB. What you do get though is a nice fire view and longer wood capacity in the F3CB (18" vs barely 16"). If you are going to go with a cast Jotul I would get the Castine F400.

However, if I were trying to heat up a place from 15 degree ambient, I would want even more capacity and a quicker radiator. For that I would be looking at a 2 cu ft steel stove with a blower.

 

[ShadySideOfTheHill]

Thanks for the replies. We're okay with a cold middle of night/early morning (good 0 degree down and the wool quilt from my grandmother, etc.). I think we'll take a trip to our local wood stove shops (even though 130 miles from our cabin) and look at the stoves up close and personal. Comparing them all online-only now has me cross-eyed and in need of a stiff drink!

 

[Bill]

I have a similar cabin like you, it takes a lot of heat to take the chill out of a frozen cabin. It stays drafty for some time. Better off to shoot for a stove one size bigger than you need. My first stove was a smaller steel stove, sold that. I bought a cast iron 3 c' stove that works great, but you have to be careful in the shoulder season, or the windows come open in the middle of the night.