Stove for 24x30 cabin

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et_chimney

New Member
Dec 23, 2020
22
Longview TX
Hi,

I'd like to heat my cabin with a wood stove. I'm in Longview TX. It's a weekend 24x32 cabin. Regular pink insulation. I have county water and electric run to the cabin but I'd like to heat it with a wood stove.

I want a very good quality one so it can burn all night and I won't have to get up and feed it at 3AM. I have 80 acres of oak & cherry to burn and have already split two cords that have been drying since January 2019 (I use it to bbq with as well).

Which brand/model should I go with?
Jotul?
Is that $300 us stove from tractor supply any good?
 
One story? Normal 8' ceilings or with a cathedral ceiling and a loft? Will there be a primary heating system to keep pipes from freezing and the cabin above outside temps?
There is a big difference in the amount of heat needed if the place is at 50º, than if it is at 30º. If this is one story, then I would look at 2 cu ft stoves. My preference is for a N/S loader, so look at stoves that have an 18" deep firebox.
 
Being very good quality doesn’t mean it will burn all night. These are independent things. If you want both high quality and an all night burn then we can suggest some models.

The 300$ stove from China probably won’t get the high quality mark.
 
Take a look at the Regency 2450, Quadrafire 3100 Millennium, Pacific Energy Super LE, & Buck 74 for starters.
 
One story? Normal 8' ceilings or with a cathedral ceiling and a loft? Will there be a primary heating system to keep pipes from freezing and the cabin above outside temps?
There is a big difference in the amount of heat needed if the place is at 50º, than if it is at 30º. If this is one story, then I would look at 2 cu ft stoves. My preference is for a N/S loader, so look at stoves that have an 18" deep firebox.

It's a regular shed building lots of places are selling now.
10' gable ceiling but 8' walls.
No loft
Single story
Pipes will be wrapped so not much room for freezing
This winter it has gotten down to 26 thus far
Snow is rare
I was thinking about a Jotul F100
Is that sufficient?
 
Osburn 2000 as well
 
on the less expensive side Englander ( US made0 and Drollet( Canadian made)
 
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It's a regular shed building lots of places are selling now.
10' gable ceiling but 8' walls.
No loft
Single story
Pipes will be wrapped so not much room for freezing
This winter it has gotten down to 26 thus far
Snow is rare
I was thinking about a Jotul F100
Is that sufficient?
No, the F100 has a tiny firebox. It will burn 2-3 hrs between filling. Also, it is no longer sold. If there is no other heat then the pipes are at risk of freezing, even if wrapped. Look at the stoves suggested. A lower cost stove with a square firebox would be the True North TN20.

If this stove is a Buck 74, this is a good price
 
That's a bit of square footage. On a slab, windows. insulation R ceiling and walls.
 
That's a bit of square footage. On a slab, windows. insulation R ceiling and walls.
720 sq ft is a lot?
It's a shed/cabin on blocks 30 inch crawl space.
Last few nights it has gotten down to 28/29. That's about average. I haven't seen snow in quite a few years.
Regular pink insulation in walls and ceiling.
Windows are cheap $20 mobile home windows from Lowes because this is really a shed.
We have spent the last two nights in here and it's not been so bad with 3 comforters on top of us.
But the air inside is really cold.

This is the last winter of this. Next summer we will have proper AC and winter we will have proper wood stove heat.
 
I think any decent quality 2 cu ft firebox will work.


Put your wood up now. It'll take a bit of time for it to dry, even in TX sun.
 
720 sq ft is a lot?
It's a shed/cabin on blocks 30 inch crawl space.
Last few nights it has gotten down to 28/29. That's about average. I haven't seen snow in quite a few years.
Regular pink insulation in walls and ceiling.
Windows are cheap $20 mobile home windows from Lowes because this is really a shed.
We have spent the last two nights in here and it's not been so bad with 3 comforters on top of us.
But the air inside is really cold.

This is the last winter of this. Next summer we will have proper AC and winter we will have proper wood stove heat.

"regular pink" might mean R13 with no housewrap. $20 windows, shed construction.... either you need the biggest stove you can find, or you need to tighten the place up, replace the windows with double pane, and insulate it properly (which probably means taking the siding off, so do the windows and the insulation at the same time, and you can use new construction windows with nailing fins). If it's a gabled shed, you should also install rafters so that you can have an "attic" to hold insulation- otherwise the gable/ridge vents are in your living space.

Fixing the envelope before you worry about the stove will save you countless hours of getting wood (and it will save you a few "my stove isn't putting out enough heat" posts here, too). It's also the difference between always burning your stove on its lowest setting and always burning it on high (and getting up every 4 hours to load it).
 
Well, that is all well and good, but his cabin is between Shreveport, LA and Dallas, TX. He literally has 1500 heating degree days a year. R13 is perfectly acceptable along with single Payne windows in his area. He's going to worry more about solar gain than heating the place. Even if he doesn't get a Woodstove, 2 plug in space heaters are going to cover the heating needs.​
 
Well, that is all well and good, but his cabin is between Shreveport, LA and Dallas, TX. He literally has 1500 heating degree days a year. R13 is perfectly acceptable along with single Payne windows in his area. He's going to worry more about solar gain than heating the place. Even if he doesn't get a Woodstove, 2 plug in space heaters are going to cover the heating needs.​

He said it's in the 20s right now, that's enough for me to recommend insulation and windows.
 
He said it's in the 20s right now, that's enough for me to recommend insulation and windows.

It's 71 right now. But was 33 last night.

That was great advice about tightening up the envelope to making things more efficient.
I asked about putting in closed cell foam and was told it's a waste of money where I am and to use R-13.


2 cu ft box and I'll be on my way
 
Back in 99, I bought a new house in the Houston area. It had single Payne windows and r13 walls. It wasnt hard token it warm,, but heat gain through the windows could be tough..

Spray foam is wonderful stuff and I doubt you'd ever regret having it sprayed.

But a 2 cubic foot stove would absolutely cook you out of the place then.
 
Tight insulation makes all the difference. It sounds like you have unlimited wood but it would be a shame to waste it feeding a 2 cu box for such a small space. Sure it'll burn long but also chew thru wood.

I heat my 1600 sq ft 2 story cape with a 1.85 cu foot Osburn 1600 and I am quite capable of cooking us out of the place even on 20 degree New England winter days. Today was a high of 32 after a 25 degree night and I only had one fire all day to keep the place 72. Burn times dont matter as much if the place holds the heat.

I cant really speak for the desert hot days cold night swings though. Where I live we usually have cold, colder, and holy crap its cold in the winter lol so we mega insulate. Solar gain is just a nice bonus during the day.
 
Update....

i got a brand new Pleasant Hearth 1200sq ft model for $400

so that’s what I’m going with and hopefully it’s not overkill

i see install packages in the $500 range and watching YouTube videos most difficult part seems to be cutting the hole in the tin roof and attaching that exchanger box thing to the rafters
 
Here’s my cabin my stove is going into.
it’s basically a galvanized shell at the moment.

4813-CA11-B84-B-4-BD3-8546-07-B50-F024-B6-E.jpg
 
That's a bit of a jump from "a very good quality one so it can burn all night", but it will probably suffice in most of TX winter weather.
It's a small stove with about a 3-4 hr burntime, so bring an electric blanket to avoid 3am wakeups to feed the stove.
 
That's a bit of a jump from "a very good quality one so it can burn all night", but it will probably suffice in most of TX winter weather.
It's a small stove with about a 3-4 hr burntime, so bring an electric blanket to avoid 3am wakeups to feed the stove.

manufacturer says 8 hrs burn time.
It has a 1.7 cubic foot box.

I hope if I load it at 900PM that it will still have the house warm at 400AM

I normally wake up between 4 and 5
 
Maybe I am mistaken and thinking of a different model. The 1200 sq ft model is WS-2417 which is about 1.3 cu ft. Is your stove the larger, medium-sized WSL1800?