Sizing help for stove....about to purchase

[MOMENTUM]

Hello,
Looking for some help here as I am close to moving forward on a wood stove but am still a bit uncertain on sizing. im a bit green in this area.

Heres the deal

I am deciding between the Drolet Baltic and HT2000.
I live in New Brunswick Canada
my house is a 2 year old 3000 sq/ft 3 floor home. I have a heat pump as my primary heat source.
I am looking to add a wood stove to the basement for two reasons.(the chimney is already present)
1 - as backup if power goes out.
2 - to utilize the 20 acres of wood at my disposal on my land.

at times I may want to just warm up the 1000 sq/ft basement and also have the ability to heat the whole house decently.

Would the bigger HT2000 be the best bet our would this be overkill and should I go with a smaller stove.
how would the HT-2000 function with only minimal wood in it when just heating the basement.

Thanks
Mo

 

[Swedishchef]

Hey Mo.

First: welcome to the forums!

Second: The one thing an EPA stove NEEDS to burn efficiently is dry wood. If you don't have wood that has been cut/split/stacked for a year or more, it may not work for this winter. Perhaps your wood is already cut or you know someone with seasoned wood? What kind of chimney install do you have?

You can't ever really go too big. HT2000 it would be for me. You can always make a small fire in a big stove but not a big fire in a small stove. What part of NB do you live in? It will be difficult (see near impossible) for a wood stove that is located in the basement to heat 3 floors. HOwever, in a power outage it will keep you comfortable. One suggestion (I learned the hard way..): perhaps install the stove on the main floor? Then you'll get heat on the main floor and some will rise to the second floor (depending on the staircase location, etc).

Ideally if you want to heat the entire house, you'd need a furnace. BUt then you need electricity (generator) for when the power goes out.

Andrew

 

[MOMENTUM]

Thanks or the info.
the ht2000 is where I was leaning and yes I have seasoned wood...I am in Saint john N.B.
I have a stainless Selkirk chimney at one end of the house that is boxed in all the way up the house.
My thinking is the wood stove can supplement the heat pump when it below -15c.(which circulates heat through all room through the duct work)
if the power goes out I can use my generator to switch on just the heat pumps fan that will help circulate the heat from the stove in the basement through the rest of the house.
I should be on track in my thinking

 

[Jags]

Is your basement finished/insulated? If not, you can figure a fair amount of heat loss through the foundation.

 

[MOMENTUM]

The basement is fully insulated with vapour barrier...just not drywalled yet.
I have to finish behind/around where stove will go.

 

[Jags]

That is a good start. Just a fair warning though. You are asking an awful lot out of a basement install. I doubt that you will get much meaningful heat to the second story of the living area (3rd floor counting basement).

 

[blades]

Basement install are always probmatic due to down draft on a cold flue.

 

[MovingOffGrid]

I tried a Drolet Baltic to see if its bypass damper would work to stop all back puffing I occasionally encountered with my PE Summit on my oversize ceramic chimney. Even though I really wanted a solid stove with a bypass, the Baltic's strange overhead air intake, rather than from under the front of the fire like my Summit, worked very poorly on my setup. I went back to my Summit - it is a real fire breathing beast compared to the Baltic's weepy performance on my setup. if I had stuck with the Baltic my furnace would have to be back on in winters.

That said, the Baltic is well made and solid and I suspect the Baltic is a decent performer on the correct 6 inch steel chimney, but it just didn't perform well on my oversize ceramic/brick chimney at all.

I just wish my Summit had a bypass to make re-fueling as easy as the Baltic.

 

[Swedishchef]

Momentum, you should be OK with that wood stove. You guys don't have too many days below -15, especially if you're actually in St John (and not quispam, etc). The BAy of Fundy will help keep you warm How do you like your heat pump? I was going to purchase one for my next home (which will be in NB).

The HT2000 is a beast as is the Baltic. I enjoy the bypass on my Osburn 2300. It has a super long (N-S) firebox and is almost essential to help prevent smoke spillage when reloading. With a small bit of fire, I can't see any draft strong enough to pull all the air from in front od the huge 2300 door into the chimney without any smoke coming out.

Off Grid: I agree your chimney didn't help the situation regarding the Baltic setup.
Andrew

 

[realstihl]

I also didn't have much luck with the Baltic. I prefer the tube and baffle set up.

 

[Charles1981]

I heat 2000 sqft ranch from the basement (finished) with my 2.3cuft stove. You need good airflow to achieve good results on the 1st floor. I have a spiral staircase next to the stove and a ceiling fan directly overhead. There is a very large column of hot air that goes directly up the middle of the house and the chimney is central to the house as well. If I had a 3rd story thought I wouldn't expect much up there though. Your results may vary though. Having the basement finished however is a huge boon.

Get the biggest stove you can.

 

[MOMENTUM]

Thanks for the info and comments...Seems like I should proceed with the larger HT-2000.
Andrew...I'm actually in the grand bay area ..so it does get a bit colder.
The heatpump works great and is very economical..really happy with it.

in the last year here we lost power for two longer stretches (ice storm / hurricane) for a total of 15 days or so..
The wood stove will be a nice security blanket to have in addition to helping on colder snaps.
mo

 

[buck_dizzle]

Thanks or the info.
the ht2000 is where I was leaning and yes I have seasoned wood...I am in Saint john N.B.
I have a stainless Selkirk chimney at one end of the house that is boxed in all the way up the house.
My thinking is the wood stove can supplement the heat pump when it below -15c.(which circulates heat through all room through the duct work)
if the power goes out I can use my generator to switch on just the heat pumps fan that will help circulate the heat from the stove in the basement through the rest of the house.
I should be on track in my thinking

Hey I am also ins SJ and am looking at the HT2000. Do you have any regrets?

***Sorry I didn't look at the date of your posting. I'm assuming you haven't gotten the stove yet? I live in Grand Bay as well and Home Hardware was ordering me in one that was supposed to be here Oct. 29...now its Nov. 29, Im hoping I get it by then!

 

[Swedishchef]

Hey I am also ins SJ and am looking at the HT2000. Do you have any regrets?

***Sorry I didn't look at the date of your posting. I'm assuming you haven't gotten the stove yet? I live in Grand Bay as well and Home Hardware was ordering me in one that was supposed to be here Oct. 29...now its Nov. 29, Im hoping I get it by then!

It all depends on your house size/layout and wood situation. EPA stoves burn DRY wood. You can't go cut wood right now and expect to burn it this winter, it won't burn well at all. It will heat like a beast!

Andrew

 

[MOMENTUM]

It all depends on your house size/layout and wood situation. EPA stoves burn DRY wood. You can't go cut wood right now and expect to burn it this winter, it won't burn well at all. It will heat like a beast!

Andrew

Hello.
The stove has been installed for about 3 weeks. I'm impressed by all aspects.
No issues at all.
Great quality..burns clean..great heat.
100% happy with it!
I'm sure you will be happy with yours.

 

[begreen]

Excellent. Congratulations. Ya know we all want to see some proof, right? Extra points if it has fire in its belly.

 

[MOMENTUM]

Excellent. Congratulations. Ya know we all want to see some proof, right? Extra points if it has fire in its belly.