Tight space wood stove install for supplemental heat (seeking input)

[junkyard_sal]

Hello,

I am looking for a woodstove for a VT home. 1650 sq feet lofted. I have a propane furnace so this is supplemental and ambiance.

I have a narrow hearth area that is roughly 45x45 but the stove can be installed parallel with a front feeding stove open to the room. I was all set to get a Jotul 118 CB (best price $1850) when I saw the VT point of sale program for $750 if I install a stove with emissions less than 2.0 grams per hour, and an "Actual Efficiency" rating from the EPA of 70% or greater. That makes the Woodstock Soapstone Survival stove real competitor at only $700 and no sales tax in NH.

I was planning to locate the stove in the corner by the dining table in this photo. My wife does not want to demo the piece of furniture in the center of the room. I am open to the forums input.

 

[begreen]

Should be ok, except that Woodstock stoves have no blower. Heat is going to stratify up high which can lead to a very hot loft space. Is there a ceiling fan in this room? That would help.

 

[junkyard_sal]

Yes there is a ceiling fan in the room. I was thinking about that issue as the previous owners must have also.

 

[junkyard_sal]

I just read more fine print on Woodstock Soapstone. If I pick up the stove I get another $200 off so that makes this amazing stove $500! I don't know how I can pass that up.

 

[moresnow]

Take a close look at the clearance to combustibles on any stove you are considering. It may weigh heavily on your decision if you have limited space available. Food for thought.

 

[byQ]

Interesting read on how the Navajo/Survival stove originated (scroll to bottom if you only want to read about just the survival stove).

https://woodstocksoapstone.net/inde...111-stove-stories-navajo-survial-hybrid-stove

 

[junkyard_sal]

Take a close look at the clearance to combustibles on any stove you are considering. It may weigh heavily on your decision if you have limited space available. Food for thought.

The clearance to combustibles is a key driver for me. The hearth pad on the Woodstock Survival is only 30x48 and the Jotul is similar. I have a roughly 45 x 45 area but mounted parallel a front loader will be open to the room.

 

[junkyard_sal]

I have always liked the way Jens Risom installed the stove in his Block Island home. I would imagine with Woodstock's metal fabrication, I could have that made and pick it all up as a kit including some sort of wood storage.

 

[Nick Mystic]

From your photo it appears that once you account for the rear corner and back of stove clearance you are going to be pushing out into the room enough that you will have to slide your dining room table back some distance from where it is currently sitting. Any hearth pad will have to extend another 16" - 18" in front of the stove (front loader with corner positioning). Unless you recess it down into the floor it will always be a tripping hazard when walking in front of the stove in close quarters.

 

[RGrant]

I bought the Survival this summer as well, picked it up at the shop and saved the money off the delivery.
I can't wait for it to get cool enough to do a few break in fires. I couldn't help myself and did a few tiny fires in there, just some news paper and a couple branches.
For what it's worth to anyone reading this- I had an old VC Vigilant that I bought second hand and ran it for 3 winters. For my house and my usage it wasn't right. Too big and overproduced heat - 1200 sqft home. Worse yet, I was constantly feeding it and it never once made it through the night. No coals, nothing.
I'm hoping to have a steadier, more even burn.

 

[begreen]

Congrats on the Survival. Looking forward to hearing how it works for you. The Vigilant was a serious heater that could usually do an overnight burn. The thermostatic operation helped it provide steady heat. Was the bypass not closing?

 

[RGrant]

Congrats on the Survival. Looking forward to hearing how it works for you. The Vigilant was a serious heater that could usually do an overnight burn. The thermostatic operation helped it provide steady heat. Was the bypass not closing?

I'll get a separate thread going so as to not hijack this one and further and give my experience with the new stove, but to answer your question about the VC, in short I don't really know... my best guess is that the stove wasn't in the best possible condition, it was a 1977 model manufactured in 1984, so it had some age to it. The seems probably needed attention, but the bypass worked fine. The bimetalic thermostatic control worked as it was supposed to, but I think the real culprit would have been my house being just too small- so while I could burn it as much as I wanted, it would just get too hot. Temps in the downstairs would be in the upper 80s. We'd have the air exchange going, the fans going to move air around, it just wasn't comfortable. So, my problem with the stove is probably more about my use of it, because I couldn't really stuff it full and be comfortable.
Not much of a point of getting the stove roaring if I have to keep opening a window. Even on some of the coldest days around here in CT- 0 F isn't unheard of for a night or two, the stove would be too powerful. I would say to my wife that if she and I lived in the middle of nowhere Alaska I'd have full confidence that this stove would get the job done.
Sorry to the OP for going off on a tangent- I'll get some burns going with the new stove as the colder temps come and see how this Survival stove does for me.

 

[junkyard_sal]

With temps in the low 20s the Woodstock Survival has a chance to do some real work. I am amazed! I got to the house last night with the temp at 50 degrees and immediately lit the stove. It gained to 60 from midnight to 0600 (roughly 1700 sq feet) and with two more modest loads of about three splits each load the house is now 70 degrees and very comfortable.

With the sale, picking it up myself, and the VT rebate this stove plus the custom steel hearth pad, and the stove pipe up to the ceiling cost me $800 all-in! I don’t know how I could have done any better for the tightest UL laboratory stove on the market.

 

[junkyard_sal]

I do plan to shield the walls near the stove because the outer wall does get pretty warm and the paint hasn’t blistered but I could imagine it blistering. I run a fan on that wall to both circulate the heat and keep the wall cool.

 

[begreen]

Good to hear that it is working well. I think the stove is supposed to come with the side and rear heat shield kit. Does the stove have the heat shield kit installed on it?

 

[moresnow]

Impressive. If it all pans out over the long run your ROI will be hard to beat! Keep up with the updates when possible.

 

[junkyard_sal]

Good to hear that it is working well. I think the stove is supposed to come with the side and rear heat shield kit. Does the stove have the heat shield kit installed on it?

Yes it does but the tight space means it is at the UL minimum for the stove and I would prefer to err on the side of caution.

 

[begreen]

Yes it does but the tight space means it is at the UL minimum for the stove and I would prefer to err on the side of caution.

No harm there. To truly protect the wall the shield will need to be on spacers and open at top and bottom. 4" thick brick will also offer some protection. Or, the stove could be rotated 45º into the room. Then the distance from the stove to the wall increases quickly.

 

[junkyard_sal]

The plan is to have wood stove design a metal wall shield spaced off “ from the wall with an opening at the bottom so air works through convection to pass between the wall and the shield. The metal shop at Woodstock can even put a pattern in the metal to match the shielding on the stove

 

[begreen]

Great. Keep us posted on your experiences with the stove over the winter.

 

[junkyard_sal]

Great. Keep us posted on your experiences with the stove over the winter.

Quick update, this stove is awesome. It isn't supplemental heat it is the primary source of heat for the first and second floors and even on single digits days it keeps the house 70 degrees without a lot of effort or tending on my part. The house gets excellent solar gain and is well insulated and sealed. The biggest issue is cold start, I need to crack a door or window near the stove to equalize pressure prior to ignition or it will likely backdraw.

 

[Woody Stover]

I run a fan on that wall to both circulate the heat and keep the wall cool.

I've wondered a couple times if one could rig a computer fan for some of these situations. They come in different sizes and outputs..

biggest issue is cold start, I need to crack a door or window near the stove to equalize pressure prior to ignition or it will likely backdraw.

I couldn't see in the blog if there was any provision for outside air, and the manual isn't up on the website yet..

 

[junkyard_sal]

I've wondered a couple times if one could rig a computer fan for some of these situations. They come in different sizes and outputs..
I couldn't see in the blog if there was any provision for outside air, and the manual isn't up on the website yet..

There is a means for outside air but it involves a snorkel to the front of the stove. I prefer to just open the door right next to the stove and equalize air pressure once I have the flue hot she draws like a champ. I would really like to retrofit the house with an Heat recovery vent system but it seems like no one retrofits those systems into existing homes.