Texas Stove Choice

[jmcox44]

Winter is coming and I'm finally in the position to get the stove for the new house. I started a thread two years ago when I was trying to answer all of the questions about a wood burning stove during the building process. Here is a link to it. After researching and researching I've now come to the conclusion that I might need a smaller stove and that I really don't want to spend a lot of money on something I don't think we will use all that often. We moved into the house in June and with 100 degree days, the AC was not used much, so I think we might have overdone it (is that possible?) on the insulation. Since this might be the case, I really don't want to heat us out of the house during the winter. I just want something capable of heating the living spaces that we will spend the most time in.

I was originally looking at the Osburn 2000, then the Jotul F400 Castine, and now I'm looking at these below:

1. Drolet Escape 1800
2. Osburn 1500
3. Vogelzang Defender
4. Jotul F118 CB

I don't want to spend over $2000 for the stove and stove pipe, and would love to spend less. The hearth is 34" deep so I can't fit a very deep stove, which is the main reason I was most interested in the Osburn 1500. My wife loves the Jotul F118, but it doesn't come with a outside air intake (and can't have one, I think). The other two are both fairly cheap and have good numbers, but I don't have any experience with any stove. Thoughts?

Here is a picture of the vented brick hearth and wall. Fresh air vent below and chimney center above.


Here is a picture of the floor plan. The red box is where the brick wall and hearth are.

 

[begreen]

The hearth is very shallow and most box stoves like the F118CB don't have an outside air option. I'd get the right stove for the job and extend the hearth. The Osburn 1500 is 24.5" deep. It would need a 55" deep hearth. If you don't want to extend the hearth you might want to look at shallower stoves like the Pacific Energy Neo 1.6 which would fit on that hearth.

 

[jmcox44]

I honestly didn't think it would be an issue and only added the hearth after the fact. The whole house is stained concrete so we don't have any flammables on the floor nearby. According to the Osburn website, if you use double wall stove pipe, you can put the back of the stove 5" away from combustibles. Am I not reading that correctly?



I actually like the look of the PE Neo 1.6. It looks like it would perform about the same. Does anyone here have any experience with this stove?

 

[begreen]

We appear to be looking at different stoves. Osburn doesn't list a 1500 stove so I looked at the 1600. Can you provide a link to the stove you are looking at?

The Neo 1.6 and 2.5 have been out for awhile now. It's a simple, but nice design. The smaller Neo has the same issues as any shallow stove. It must be loaded E/W so one must be careful not to overload and have a log rolling up against the glass.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Howdy, neighbor. (3 hours away is still a neighbor in this state, right? I’m over in Hill Country near to San Antonio.)

There aren’t that many Texas posters here, though you see a couple from time to time. I’m actually new to the state but was surprised how cold I got last winter. I think it’s the concrete and tile floors, and our house could stand improving on the insulation and air sealing fronts (and windows, and ...). We’re working on that, but we’re also working on a stove, too.

I don’t have a lot of suggestions for you but did wonder if you would like the style of the Woodstock Survival stove, and if it would suit your needs for a smaller space. I’m not sure I’ve heard of anyone on the forum with that small a stove, but Woodstock seems to make a great product and really stands behind it. Amazingly, they let you use the stove for six months and return it free of charge if it ends up not being right for your space.


I skimmed through your old thread and saw that you have lots of cedar. We do, too, though we have a bunch of oak firewood as well. The cedar is resinous and might make good fuel for a catalytic combustor. That’s been my line of thinking. (By the way, I’m not actually trying to get a Woodstock stove as they don’t fit our needs. I’ve just been spending a lot of time reading and researching on here so thought I’d pop in when I saw the word Texas in your title.)

 

[jmcox44]

begreen, Here is a link to the 1500. Most suppliers don't carry it anymore, but you can order direct from Osburn. It seems to be very similar to the 1600 but shallower and a bit smaller. I showed the wife the Neo last night and she didn't appreciate the styling like I hoped she would. She likes the classic look (like the 1500) a lot better.


DuaeGuttae, you are definitely a neighbor. This state is too large not to call everyone here neighbors. I do have a lot of cedar, but I have access to 300+ acres of mesquite and oak, so I plan to get most of my wood from there. This season I'll have to buy firewood and plan to just get seasoned split oak.
The Woodstock stove you mentioned is very intriguing. I'm not sure the wife will like the looks, but it definitely fits the bill. The size is a bit small as well, but it might get the job done. I don't see anything about fresh air intake. Do you know if it has that option?

 

[begreen]

No link showing, but I managed to find an older Osburn page listing the stove. It is indeed much shallower and has a low rear clearance of 5" with double-wall stove pipe. So 5"+18"+16"= 39". Sounds like you have found your stove if the hearth is extended a little.

Note that you can extend your hearth, for an ember protection only stove by just a strip of sheet metal nailed neatly to the floor in front of the hearth. The key is to select a stove that has this minimal requirement. That expands your choices if the desire is for a larger stove.

 

[jmcox44]

begreen,

Sorry the 'Here' has the link embedded.

Here is the full link: https://www.osburnwoodstoves.com/Osburn_1500_Osburn_Stove_Osburn_Wood_Stove_p/obo1501.htm

 

[begreen]

got it, see above updated posting

 

[DuaeGuttae]

begreen, Here is a link to the 1500. Most suppliers don't carry it anymore, but you can order direct from Osburn. It seems to be very similar to the 1600 but shallower and a bit smaller. I showed the wife the Neo last night and she didn't appreciate the styling like I hoped she would. She likes the classic look (like the 1500) a lot better.


DuaeGuttae, you are definitely a neighbor. This state is too large not to call everyone here neighbors. I do have a lot of cedar, but I have access to 300+ acres of mesquite and oak, so I plan to get most of my wood from there. This season I'll have to buy firewood and plan to just get seasoned split oak.
The Woodstock stove you mentioned is very intriguing. I'm not sure the wife will like the looks, but it definitely fits the bill. The size is a bit small as well, but it might get the job done. I don't see anything about fresh air intake. Do you know if it has that option?

If your wife doesn’t care for the Neo, I can see that the Survival would be out. I’m more traditional myself. I just thought of it primarily because of your desire for a small stove and the budget you mention. Also, the six-month return guarantee is pretty hard to beat. I don’t know about outside air because the manual is not online yet. It is available on some of their stoves, and I think the survival is mobile home approved, which I think means an OAK is required. I understand that Woodstock is helpful in determining if a stove is a good fit if you call the company and describe your space and heating needs.

I think @begreen missed the fact that your entire floor is non-combustible. He might have some other suggestions if the hearth isn’t such a big consideration. He’s an amazing wealth of woodstove knowledge. The Osburn looks like a great find for your space and budget, though, as long as you’re okay with east-west loading. My husband and I concluded after owning a more square insert that we prefer north-south, so that influences us in our stove choices.