Sizing wood burner HELP

[Mrtown]

Hi everyone, need help sizing a wood heater for my house.

I was going to put a zero clearance insert in but now just thinking I'll go with a freestanding one in the space next to it as it will be less work.

The wife is adamant she doesn't want any cords hanging out (fml) so I guess I'm just after after a radiant woodheater, one like your grandparents had that was to f**king hot. I just want to know what size in m2 and kw output and I guess I'm worried it will be between to brick walls that will block its radiant heat.

Room is 8m wide, 14m long, 2.7m high, would like to put ducting in to spread it through house eventually

Be kind, be cruel, just tell me what I need. In Australia.
Thanks

 

[Ashful]

Well, obviously getting heat to the kitchen/dining area is going to be a bit of a thing, no matter the heater. Plenty of solutions for that, but something to keep in mind as you size this thing, and if you plan to use it for heating.

Convective and radiant stoves can work, really not a critical decision in your case, if all masonry walls are interior. It's really only exterior masonry walls that soak up and waste out radiant heat.

Having said that, convective stoves still work without blowers, by natural convection. Totally fine, and they produce a nice gentle heat, without the high (exposed) surface temperatures. Just ask @begreen about his PE Alderlea. I also occasionally run my convective BK Ashford 30's without the blowers.

As to size... where in Australia? That's an awful big country, with a lot of climate range.

 

[begreen]

If this is the east coast of Australia near Sydney, then the heating needs will be moderate. A mid-sized, ~2 cu ft convective stove is what I would put in. Cast -iron jacketed stoves like the PE Alderlea, BK Ashford 30, or Jotul F35 or F45 will do. All of these are convective stoves.

The floorplan calls for convective, not radiant. It's worth trying without a blower at first, but the cut off kitchen/dining area is not going to get a lot of heat without convective assistance. This could be done with an insulated duct and inline fan pulling cooler air out out of the dining area and blowing it into the stove room.

 

[kborndale]

Just put a wood burning cooking stove in the kitchen.

 

[EbS-P]

If the mantel is real wood it likely won’t meet clearances for anything you choose. Jotul has short leg kits if the arch causes problems at the corners of the stove.

 

[stoveliker]

The BK 30 boxes have 3 (2.9) cu ft. If 2 cu ft is appropriate, the BK 20 models are better?

 

[Mrtown]

Well, obviously getting heat to the kitchen/dining area is going to be a bit of a thing, no matter the heater. Plenty of solutions for that, but something to keep in mind as you size this thing, and if you plan to use it for heating.

Convective and radiant stoves can work, really not a critical decision in your case, if all masonry walls are interior. It's really only exterior masonry walls that soak up and waste out radiant heat.

Having said that, convective stoves still work without blowers, by natural convection. Totally fine, and they produce a nice gentle heat, without the high (exposed) surface temperatures. Just ask @begreen about his PE Alderlea. I also occasionally run my convective BK Ashford 30's without the blowers.

As to size... where in Australia? That's an awful big country, with a lot of climate range.

I'm in Sydney on the east coast.

 

[Ashful]

The BK 30 boxes have 3 (2.9) cu ft. If 2 cu ft is appropriate, the BK 20 models are better?

Since the BK 30 can turn down to very low burn rate (10-12 hours per cubic foot), I might be inclined to choose it over the BK 20, in any space big enough to swing an F45 or PE Alderlea. While the gas tank analogy often applied to big BK's is a bit of an exaggeration, there's at least a little truth to it, when comparing BK30's to noncats.

... and for the OP: Some here like to claim that BK's can turn down so low that going big just translates to a larger fuel tank, longer range. It's half true, in that BK's can turn down very low, but that's where the half truth ends. Stuff any big BK full enough to give merit to that gas tank analogy, and it's going to put out more heat than a small one. Less than a non-cat, but still, more than a small BK.

 

[Mrtown]

If this is the east coast of Australia near Sydney, then the heating needs will be moderate. A mid-sized, ~2 cu ft convective stove is what I would put in. Cast -iron jacketed stoves like the PE Alderlea, BK Ashford 30, or Jotul F35 or F45 will do. All of these are convective stoves.

The floorplan calls for convective, not radiant. It's worth trying without a blower at first, but the cut off kitchen/dining area is not going to get a lot of heat without convective assistance. This could be done with an insulated duct and inline fan pulling cooler air out out of the dining area and blowing it into the stove room.

Yes I'm on the outskirts of Sydney, I would have thought I would draw the air out of the stove room into the dining area but I'm guessing this shows how little I know. Thanks

 

[stoveliker]

I agree with the "bigger BK can do similar (even if not equal) to the smaller BK", but if the OP is comparing stoves, and the rest are suitable while having a smaller footprint, a 20 box may be a better comparison - in particular if the footprint is important (given that the room is not too large).

Regarding moving air: pumping (colder) air INTO the stove room does not carry any risk of having the stove leak into the room. If any effect is present (with a door opening there won't be any measurable effect), it would be the opposite, pushing air into the stove.
But if you have a door opening completely open, none of this is measurable with non-commercial blower fans running low (which is what you want, both for noise and for air flow reasons; less turbulence creates better convection loops).

 

[BKVP]

OP,

Is there a crawl space under the home? If so, you might be able to snake an electrical connection into the fireplace and very little cord would be visible, if at all. That would allow for a wider selection of wood heaters.

BKVP