Requesting Guidance on New Stove

[David4945]

Hello all,

I discovered this forum while doing research on wood stoves and have been reading the forums ever since. The site has been a great source of information. Thank you!

At this point I have done so much reading that I am swimming in the choices that are out there. I am requesting your expertise to help me break it down to a couple options that would work best for my setup. I am currently building a home in North Carolina in a rural area northwest of Charlotte. Our winters are mild, with temperatures rarely below 20 degrees at night. Most of the time we see low temperatures in the thirties and highs during the day in the forties and fifties. The home is a well insulated brick veneer with roughly 1350 sq ft on the main level, and about 1000 sq ft finished in the walkout basement. The main level is a very open floor plan with 9 ft ceilings. The staircase to the basement is open and is located on the opposite side of the living room from where the wood stove would be. My plan was to use the HVAC fan to circulate the heat around the main level and down into the basement, and supplement downstairs if needed with a heat pump.

I would like to have an efficient stove that can get through the night. I also don't want it to burn us out of the main level. I hope I have given enough information, but if I haven't please ask. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[begreen]

Welcome David. If the home is well insulated you won't need too large a stove to heat 1350 sq ft.. A good 2 cu ft stove will do the job. There are several on the market from Lopi, Osburn, Enviro, Pacific Energy, etc. in non-cats and from Buck, Blaze King and Woodstock in cats. Do you have a preference? Is there a style you prefer?

Regardless of choice, get some wood stacked up right away in a sunny place where the prevailing wind can blow through the stacks. Dry wood is the key to good heat with a stove.

 

[David4945]

Thanks for the reply! I prefer the looks of an enameled cast iron stove, but I'm not set on that. I think the Woodstock soapstone stoves are very nice looking as well. Aside from looks though, I am looking for a stove that I can burn at length for consistent temperature. I grew up with an old VC and it always seemed like we were too hot when it was burning and too cold when we had to let it die down. I have read great things about Blaze King in this respect. Are there others that can give that long consistent heat output? Also, is my plan sound for using the HVAC fan to circulate the heat down to the basement?

 

[begreen]

A Woodstock cat stove like the Fireview or Keystone will provide good long steady low heat as will the BK Ashford. In non-cats I would recommend a cast-iron clad steel stove. The cast iron jacket buffers the strong radiant heat and gently releases it later much like soapstone. In non-cat the PE Alderlea T5 classic is enameled and has this nice slow heat property. If you want a little larger look at the Enviro Boston 1700.

 

[David4945]

Wow that Enviro Boston sure does look great. I haven't read much about them on here. Does anyone have experience with these?

 

[begreen]

It's a castiron jacketed Enviro Kodiak steel stove with a great reputation. There are several owners of this stove or the insert equivalent.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/enviro-boston-kodiak-questions-before-purchase.148120

I wouldn't expect too much heating from the first floor to make it to the basement, even with hvac assist. That often disappoints due to the duct losses being too high.

 

[JA600L]

Woodstock's new Absolute Steel Hybrid would be a great option for you. The Ideal Steel would be big, but it can be run very low and slow. Low and slow means a black box though.

 

[David4945]

Being in the south we don't have many wood stove dealers here. That concerns me with dealer support after the sale and is one reason I have been looking at Woodstock. I have read great things on here about their customer service, and I can order the stove direct from them. I like the looks of the Progress Hybrid, but would that be too much stove for my home?

 

[JA600L]

Being in the south we don't have many wood stove dealers here. That concerns me with dealer support after the sale and is one reason I have been looking at Woodstock. I have read great things on here about their customer service, and I can order the stove direct from them. I like the looks of the Progress Hybrid, but would that be too much stove for my home?

I don't have any experience with that particular stove. I've heard people comment that there is not as much low end control as the Ideal Steel. The soapstone should give nice even soft heat if you can run it low enough. If you crank it I'm sure it will overpower the house quickly though. My Ideal Steel does stealth mode well, but open the air up a bit and you have to back up.

 

[jotul8e2]

There are two schools of thought on moving heat from the main level to a basement. One is that it is extremely difficult, the other is that it is impossible.

HVAC systems are totally inadequate for circulating the heat from a wood stove. The duct work is far too small, the fan speed is far too high.

If it is not too late, insulate the exterior of your basement walls with at least 2" of foam before you backfill. For the framed portion of the basement use six inch framing on 24" centers. This might seem like overkill for your climate, but the extra expense of these items is small, and the benefit is far more even temperatures throughout the structure. By doing this you may find that the natural convection from upstairs will be adequate, and if not the heating requirements for the basement will be minimal.

As for stove choice, the 2.0 cu. ft. size recommended above is probably sound. I know of no non-cat stove that can reliably hold a fire overnight in that size. I agree that your needs will be best served by a cat stove, whether steel, cast iron, or soapstone.

 

[begreen]

The 2 cu ft PE Super Series firebox stoves including the Alderlea T5 will hold a fire overnight. Our next door neighbor's Spectrum does this daily. The stove won't be cranking out heat 8 hrs later, but should have a decent coal bed still glowing. There are h.com folks as far north as upstate NY heating 24/7 with this stove.

 

[David4945]

Thank you all for the help so far. I really appreciate you taking the time to assist me. I am going to keep researching the few stoves that have been mentioned here.

 

[David4945]

If I went with Blaze King should I be looking at the Ashford 20.1 or 30.1? Does anyone know the price difference?

 

[Heftiger]

30.1 if you have the room. There's no reason to get the 20.1, it's just a smaller firebox but you can turn the 30.1 down.

 

[David4945]

That's what I figured. I've read a ton of great things about the ability to burn Blaze Kings really low. Does it truly burn low enough to not burn me out of 1350 square feet in moderate NC winters?

 

[JA600L]

Blaze King rates it around 12,000 btus for 30 hours on their website. Maybe you could figure out what you need. Keep in mind that most stoves including smaller firebox models aren't going to cruise at that low of a btu output. The Progress hybrid offers a similar low output around 12,000 but doesn't have a thermostat to make it consistent.

 

[begreen]

Get the heat loss calculations from whomever is designing the hvac system. This will be helpful info for sizing. The Ashford 30.1 should work. It's larger but can burn low and slow if you need it to.

 

[HisTreeNut]

I have a Buck 94NC stove I am pretty pleased with. I am heating a lot more space than you are and it would cook you out. Buck Stoves are made in Spruce Pine, NC which is not all that far from you and I think you can order direct from them. I do not think they make any enameled stoves but have some that have a similar look. Our stove is heavy and once it is hot, it takes a while for it to cool off. You might want to take a drive out there and check the factory out. They have all heir stoves out so you can see them hands on. Just a thought there...

 

[Poindexter]

That's what I figured. I've read a ton of great things about the ability to burn Blaze Kings really low. Does it truly burn low enough to not burn me out of 1350 square feet in moderate NC winters?

I am running an Ashford 30.0 (2014 version) in 1200sqft in interior Alaska. House is 5 star + energy efficient. Wide open throttle at 30 below I can keep the house at +80dF getting 12 hour burns out of very dry birch. At +40 to +50dF outdoors I can easily get 24 and 36 hour burns and keep the house at +75dF or so.

One key to running my stove low and slow is having adequate draft. 13-14 feet of stack on an Ashford is going to be a temperamental stove for you 11 months out of the year and run pretty OK in January. Add a couple feet of stack to 15', 15'6", 16', something like that - no elbows all straight pipe- and I can run mine pretty low even when outdoor temps are in the +40s dF.

Besides adequate stack height (my local dealer is OK with anything up to 30 feet total stack, no more), the other key to running an Ashford low and slow is really dry wood. Like 16% per handheld electronic $30 gizmo. You can't buy that anywhere. You got to season it yourself. Buy less expensive green wood now, get it split and stacked and covered on top, any stove you pick will run better with drier wood.

I think if you look carefully at the specs the Ashford 20 can't put out as much heat on high as an A30 - and puts out more heat on low than the A30. The only reason I can think of to seriously look at the A20 would be a small alcove install that won't meet clearance requirements for an A30.

I am in the "not economical" camp re moving heat downstairs. You can do it, but it is cheaper and more efficient (for me) to just heat the down stairs with anything other than the wood stove upstairs. Heat pump is fine. If you are going to be down there a lot and the prevailing winds are favorable, maybe a pellet stove or direct vent gas stove on the walkout wall?

Anticipating a possible followup question, the floor plan you describe, in my opinion, is not conducive to heating both floors with one larger wood stove in the basement. If you had a stairwell at each end of the house...

In conclusion, if you got enough real estate to be burning wood you stacked two years ago the A30 (or similar) could be a good fit for you.