Small stove question

[sambucadog]

First post here. I'm replacing a rather ancient Nordic Eric stove with something more efficient and well, nicer looking. The stove is in a converted garage (slab) which is attached and opens to the rest of the house. The room really needs the supplemental heat, and I'm not super worried about it heating the rest of the house. SO a small stove is in order. The brick floor that it sits on measures 39" deep from the brick wall behind it.
I like the look and reputation of the Pacific Energy T4, but have read that it's a bit of a pain to load, and burn time isn't that long..some said as little as 3 hours. The T5 at 25" deep is just too big.


Any thoughts on the T4 or recommendations for a non cat stove that is not too deep?

Thanks in advance.
PS: will be selling the old stove...still works

 

[rwhite]

Personally I like the Jotul 602 style stoves for smaller stoves. The small steel stoves are economical but they seem to give up the N/S burn capability. Which, depending on your wood, loading E/W seems to reduce your already limited capacity.

 

[sambucadog]

Looking at the specs, I think that it is too deep at 21.25 inches. And it really can't be turned sideways with the room layout. I think I need to stay as much under 20" deep as I can. Cute stove though!

 

[Babaganoosh]

I'm in the same boat with a converted garage on a slab. It's got a cathedral ceiling and it's my den. The heat registers look like an add a duct thing off the furnace. So basically my furnace isn't sized properly for my house. The room gets as much as 5 degrees colder than the set temperature. It explains the wood stove in the corner when I moved in. The den opens to the kitchen with only a standard door.

I bought the house in July and found this site in the fall to learn about how to to run the stove. It was an old pre epa coal wood stove. Wasn't efficient but threw a lot of heat. Turned out that with a fan on the floor 2 rooms away I could heat my entire house. Since I didn't like loading the thing every 3 hours or so I ended buying a nice big catalytic stove from Woodstock. Now I can heat the house for 10 hours on a load of wood.

I suggest getting a bigger catalytic stove because you might be able to heat a lot more area than you think. Also you can turn a catalytic stove down low so you won't heat yourself out of that room. I'm very happy with my stove and my only wish was that it was centrally located. That however wouldn't solve the cold den issue.

Check out some stoves from Woodstock and Blaze King. They would definitely serve your purpose quite well.

 

[rwhite]

Looking at the specs, I think that it is too deep at 21.25 inches. And it really can't be turned sideways with the room layout. I think I need to stay as much under 20" deep as I can. Cute stove though!

Maybe someone can suggest a small side load stove.

 

[sambucadog]

Baba, I can't get a bigger stove for the reason I initially stated...with the size of the floor I have to stay under 20" depth. The smaller Woodstocks possibly would work, but they seem to only have soapstone and I really don't care for the look at all, plus side loading would be tricky in this room. Not impossible, but tricky. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[rwhite]

Baba, I can't get a bigger stove for the reason I initially stated...with the size of the floor I have to stay under 20" depth. The smaller Woodstocks possibly would work, but they seem to only have soapstone and I really don't care for the look at all, plus side loading would be tricky in this room. Not impossible, but tricky. Thanks for the suggestions.

The most economical small front loader is probably the Englander NC13. You can check home depot for prices and clearances.

 

[Babaganoosh]

The entire stove has to be less than 20 inches in depth?

 

[sambucadog]

Style not good...looking for something more "classic" and elegant like the Alderlea or a Vermont Castings classic look. Too bad VC gets such bad reviews!

 

[sambucadog]

yes baba, stove can't be deep because I don't want to enlarge the raised floor it is on. It is only 39" from the wall to the front edge.

 

[begreen]

First post here. I'm replacing a rather ancient Nordic Eric stove with something more efficient and well, nicer looking. The stove is in a converted garage (slab) which is attached and opens to the rest of the house. The room really needs the supplemental heat, and I'm not super worried about it heating the rest of the house. SO a small stove is in order. The brick floor that it sits on measures 39" deep from the brick wall behind it.
I like the look and reputation of the Pacific Energy T4, but have read that it's a bit of a pain to load, and burn time isn't that long..some said as little as 3 hours. The T5 at 25" deep is just too big.


Any thoughts on the T4 or recommendations for a non cat stove that is not too deep?

Thanks in advance.
PS: will be selling the old stove...still works
View attachment 192068

The additional depth allows for N/S burning and larger capacity is going to be needed for longer burntimes. Go for the T5 or the Super 27. You will really like the clean glass and the convenience of N/S loading. This is a very flexible stove. In milder weather it will burn on just 4-6 splits. If there's slab in front of the stove no need to extend the hearth, just cut back the carpet.. Or if the carpet remains all that is needed it to protect if from embers. That can be accomplished at floor level.

Question: What is the construction of the wall behind the stove? There may be other stoves but their clearance requirements need to be honored. That requires either a completely non-combustible wall or a proper NFPA 211 wall shield behind the stove. Not sure if the current setup is actually either.

 

[rwhite]

I doubt you'll do to much better than 3 hours on a 20" deep e/w loading stove. What's behind the brick wall?

 

[sambucadog]

I am not sure why I am not making myself clear on the bigger stove issue. There is not enough room. I just re-checked the PE site and the T5 is almost 30" deep according to their drawing. The raised floor where the stove would sit is only 39" deep. Major code violation and extremely unsafe. I appreciate the N/S burning idea, but it's not an option with a front loader as I can not enlarge the floor.

 

[sambucadog]

I doubt you'll do to much better than 3 hours on a 20" deep e/w loading stove. What's behind the brick wall?

On the bottom couple of feet probably cinder block, not sure above that. It was a garage and the previous owners finished it off over 35 years ago.

 

[rwhite]

On the bottom couple of feet probably cinder block, not sure above that. It was a garage and the previous owners finished it off over 35 years ago.

That may make a big difference in available space. Otherwise you have to assume it's combustible and your clearances will accordingly.

 

[begreen]

On the bottom couple of feet probably cinder block, not sure above that. It was a garage and the previous owners finished it off over 35 years ago.

The wall construction behind the stove is critical info. We have a paradox here. The quest is for longer burn time, but a larger stove is not an option? Could the hearth be extended with a sheet of metal at the floor level?

 

[MaintenanceMan]

Check out Hearthstone Stoves. They have some stoves that might work well for you.

Englanders 17vl would be one that is shallow, but is a bit modern looking for some. It's the stove in my avatar.

 

[rwhite]

Also remember that it's not just the "inches" that matter. There are some larger stoves that require less clearance to combustibles than others. Some stoves with proper shields may be able to back up close to the wall. Looks like even the 13NC will be an inch short on clearances. 8" rear, 16" front and a 20" stove =44" - 4" brick your over an inch. You may have to drop to the 17VL

 

[Babaganoosh]

Ok well how about a pellet stove?

 

[sambucadog]

The wall construction behind the stove is critical info. We have a paradox here. The quest is for longer burn time, but a larger stove is not an option? Could the hearth be extended with a sheet of metal at the floor level?

Yes, a little bit of a paradox. I'm not looking for 12 hour burns, just hopefully 5 or 6 at least. There is most likely sheetrock behind the brickface on top as the wood stove was added a few years after the room was converted from a garage. There is a little shelf on the wall too, which is where I suspect the cinderblock was as the shelf goes all around the room. Here's a more revealing pic. The stairs leading down to the room are directly across from the stove (ugh). The carpeted area between bottom step and hearth edge is only 56" which is pretty darn small..don't want to make it even smaller by extending the hearth closer to the bottom step. It was a single car garage, so the room is long and narrow, and the room is 4 steps below the main house (house is built into a slope). Not ideal, but it is what it is. And it is cold.

 

[sambucadog]

Check out Hearthstone Stoves. They have some stoves that might work well for you.

Englanders 17vl would be one that is shallow, but is a bit modern looking for some. It's the stove in my avatar.

y, way too modern for me.

 

[sambucadog]

Ok well how about a pellet stove?

Wood gives me warm psychological fuzzies...snap, crackle, pop, you know...that whole thing. Plus don't want to rely on power, or availability of pellets.

 

[begreen]

Based on this info it's possible the current installation is not legal as far as clearances go. There are some possible stoves but they would need to have the back to be right up against the brick which means that rear wall must be entirely non-combustible for the stove height.

 

[rwhite]

Check I the jotul f100. It may work for you.

 

[begreen]

One workaround would be to remove the carpet from the hearth all the way to what looks like stairs? Then lay down some tile or slate in that area. That would look finished and attractive and would provide the ember protection needed.