Small Wood Stove Help

[Supermoon]

hello! I have a 1100 sq ft home from the 1800s in Central VA. We are planning to install a wood stove as at least supplementary heat in the winter. I'm having trouble finding the right stove for at most $1000 if possible. My fire box opening is 31 in x 30in (H x W) and 18W at the back. It is 19 in in depth. The brick in front goes about 18in in front of the firebox. I'm worries about clearance with the small firebox.

Right now the HiFi Shetland 905 is my favorite but I'd love suggestions!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I think I'd look at a small to medium freestanding stove for that space. I think I'd be looking at a PE Vista.

(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/products/wood/traditional-stoves/vista/)

 

[Supermoon]

I think I'd look at a small to medium freestanding stove for that space. I think I'd be looking at a PE Vista.

(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/products/wood/traditional-stoves/vista/)

Thanks I'll look! I was worries that would be too close to the walls of the firebox based on clearance recommendations? If I'm not understanding the clearance stuff please let me know. I'm learning!

 

[Attaboy]

If I owned a house from the 1800's with a small fireplace opening such as in the photo I would be looking at this type of installation to obtain every possible BTU I could to heat the inside of my house and have a good view of a beautiful burning fire.

 

[Supermoon]

If it could jut out more, any opinions/preferences between these:

http://m.northerntool.com/products/shop~tools~product_200339109_200339109?hotline=false

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...certified-wood-stove-with-blower?cm_vc=IOPDP2


(broken link removed to http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Horse-Flame-Shetland-HF-905-Wood-Burning-Stove?gclid=Cj0KEQiAwrbEBRDqxqzMsrTGmogBEiQAeSE6ZVlE5eGw7S99nm9mQcE6mbyNYKNTLqrETL0PF5p8uFAaApA08P8HAQ)

Thanks in advance for the help! These forums are incredibly helpful.

 

[Attaboy]

From everything I have read I would absolutely stay away from anything Vogelzang !

Unfortunately I am not familiar with the other 2 stoves.

Remember you need to establish the square footage you wish to heat, then take in to consideration your insulation level, air leaks, window sq. ft etc. etc., remember a stoves published square footage is not established at the coldest weather conditions it will operate at, meaning a 800 sq. ft capable stove at 40°F may only be sufficiently powerful to heat 500 sq. ft down at 15°F.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I think you'll have trouble connecting the tractor supply stove to your chimney liner. There's only 1" difference. My hands would never fit in to make the connection.

The horse stove has a very small firebox. If filled to the max you will probably get 2-3 hours of heat from a load. Also, it takes a 12 inch long split of wood. If you cut your own wood, this might not be an issue, but if you buy your wood it might become frustrating to have to cut every piece down from 16-18".



Do a search on the Northern tool stove. It certainly looks interesting, but reviews have been hit or miss with the brand.


I heard home depot and Lowe's were starting to clearance their stoves. Maybe they'd have a good fit.

 

[Woody Stover]

If you're going to spend the money, I would go a bit bigger than the pony stove and try to get rid of the heat bill altogether, not just supplement. It's tempting to go as cheap as possible, but spend a little more if you can; It's something you will have for a while, and stoves that may cost a little more up front will pay off in spades over the years with regard to ease of use, durability and performance. At least move up to the level of Englander or Drolet, but I would go a little better than those if possible. You appear to have a ton of hearth retailers in your area, go look at stoves to get a sense for quality of construction, replaceability of parts, ease of ash removal and chimney cleaning, etc. BTW, a chimney liner may cost almost as much as the stove, and you really do need a liner for performance, safety and ease of cleaning. As Attaboy suggested, I also would set the stove out front of the fireplace opening so l would review stove manuals online to see what is required for clearance to combustibles and floor protection (some need an insulating R-value beneath them, some require only ember protection.) It's a long road, but start reading the forum, searching topics you have questions about, and eventually you will get an idea of what you can do to meet your goals.

 

[Woody Stover]

Oops, I overlooked the flaw in the hearth-stove plan...you need a rear-vent stove, and they're pricier. In that case, you are stuck putting something in the fireplace, or going straight up and tapping into the chimney above the stove..then you have a couple 90* elbows, which will cut your draft. Inserts are generally more expensive. You can put a free-standing stove in there if it will fit, but I would insulate the fireplace and put in a block-off plate to keep the heat in the house. A blower on the stove will be helpful to get the heat off the stove and into the house, but I don't like blower noise.

 

[Attaboy]

This is a steel plate stove with rear or top venting, you can download the manual on their website.
It is narrow enough to be partially pushed back in to the hearth.


(broken link removed to http://www.buckstove.com/model-261.html#.WI6CzGczXb0)

 

[DBoon]

You might want to check out a Lopi 1250i insert. Or I see that they have a small flush hybrid-fyre insert now too...For your climate and house size, these are going to pull a significant part of your heating load. They will be 2x or more than $1k budget you have set, though this would be a better quality stove than you would otherwise get.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

You truly get what you pay for with a stove. They are so much more than a box with a fire in it. Many here have gone through multiple stoves trying to find the right one. They would have easily saved thousands buying what they really wanted first. Myself included.

 

[begreen]

Assuming that the face surrounding the fireplace opening is completely non-combustible that would make the mantel clearances the most important thing to take note of. The mantel looks very basic so removing it is an option to consider. It could be replaced by a non-combustible one or just left out. For an inexpensive small stove I suggest you consider the Englander 13NC or 13NCi (insert) The are sold at HomeDepot and at Lowes under the Summer's Heat brand (same stove). That's a very affordable stove that is decently constructed.

Be sure to budget for an insulated liner in the old chimney.
(broken link removed to http://www.heatredefined.com/englander/stove/Englander-1200-1800-Sq.-Ft.-Wood-Stove)

 

[Attaboy]

If you're going to spend the money, I would go a bit bigger than the pony stove and try to get rid of the heat bill altogether, not just supplement. It's tempting to go as cheap as possible, but spend a little more if you can; It's something you will have for a while, and stoves that may cost a little more up front will pay off in spades over the years with regard to ease of use, durability and performance. At least move up to the level of Englander or Drolet, but I would go a little better than those if possible. You appear to have a ton of hearth retailers in your area, go look at stoves to get a sense for quality of construction, replaceability of parts, ease of ash removal and chimney cleaning, etc. BTW, a chimney liner may cost almost as much as the stove, and you really do need a liner for performance, safety and ease of cleaning.

Supermoon, I know when your on a budget it can sometimes be difficult to see your way to spending more money, however if you can heat your 1100 sq. ft home with a sufficiently powerful quality wood stove to be used as your primary heat source you will save substantial amounts of money on your heating bill year after year after year, benefit of comforting heat, enjoy the pleasures of a beautiful wood fire and congratulate yourself after every heating season is over on the money saved.

Woody Stover has mentioned several good points, I would also add that spring will soon be upon us and many specialty wood stove retailers may want to discount some floor models at interesting prices which are normally very good quality stoves or other stoves they have in inventory. A quality stove used decently will still be there in 20-25-30 years.

Obviously the big box stores will also be dumping inventory to make room for seasonal summer products, surely some deals coming there as well.

 

[tcassavaugh]

using a wood stove is often an evolving process, directly related to your budgetary means. These guys would roll over if they knew what i had used for a heat sources. I have used a home made stove from a car frame that took about 16 inch wood and only burned for a couple of hours, but it heated. I've used a barrel stove after a welder made me the door and pipe connection.....it actually worked great with sand and brick in it but it wasn't too pretty to look at but boy you could put a load in it.....lol. I've had Vermont Castings, Buck inserts, Consolidated Dutchwest, Pacific Energy and Jotul. of them all, i prefer the Jotul for its ease and simplicity. Volgelzang has a bad rap.. i supposed because its assembled in the usa but materials outsourced to china and other areas (i just asked the chat in the website). that said, lower end stoves do allow you to enter the wood burning arena and as long as safety measures are followed, the same with other stoves, they will heat.
As mentioned above, many of us have gone through similar situations looking for the right stove either because of finances or lack of good information. Do your research. If all you have is a grand, thats ok buy a stove that will work. you might have to feed it a little more than others but thats a trade off. the comment about a good connector in the chimney is also great advice. run a direct connect all the way up. you'll save yourself from problems. block off plates with a short connect into the chimney only promote creosote and can lead to fires. good luck

 

[Supermoon]

That's the reason I was at the pony earlier-- everything in my price range with a rear cent just won't fit right. Looking more closely at my sqft. I really am only worries about my 700 sqft 1st floor (2nd floor has 5ft ceilings and is mostly my art studio and a guest room) so I may just go with the pony since it could vent straight up.

Thanks for all the help,

Oops, I overlooked the flaw in the hearth-stove plan...you need a rear-vent stove, and they're pricier. In that case, you are stuck putting something in the fireplace, or going straight up and tapping into the chimney above the stove..then you have a couple 90* elbows, which will cut your draft. Inserts are generally more expensive. You can put a free-standing stove in there if it will fit, but I would insulate the fireplace and put in a block-off plate to keep the heat in the house. A blower on the stove will be helpful to get the heat off the stove and into the house, but I don't like blower noise.